88R7018 MCF-D
By: Moody H.B. No. 4517
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the release of certain defendants on personal bond.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Articles 17.03(a) and (b-2), Code of Criminal
Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), [or] (b-1), or
(b-2), a magistrate shall [may, in the magistrate's discretion,]
release a [the] defendant on personal bond without sureties or
other security unless the magistrate enters a finding on the record
that conditions of release are insufficient to reasonably ensure
the defendant's appearance in court as required and the safety of
the community, law enforcement, and the victim of the alleged
offense. This subsection does not apply to a defendant described by
Article 17.032(b).
(b-2) Except as provided by Articles 15.21, 17.033, and
17.151, a defendant may not be released on personal bond if the
defendant:
(1) is charged with:
(A) an offense involving violence; or
(B) an offense for which an element of the
offense involves offensive or provocative sexual contact with
another; or
(2) while released on bail or community supervision
for an offense described by Subdivision (1) [involving violence],
is charged with committing:
(A) any offense punishable as a felony; or
(B) an offense under the following provisions of
the Penal Code:
(i) Section 22.01(a)(1) (assault);
(ii) Section 22.05 (deadly conduct);
(iii) Section 22.07 (terroristic threat);
or
(iv) Section 42.01(a)(7) or (8) (disorderly
conduct involving firearm).
SECTION 2. Articles 17.032(b) and (d), Code of Criminal
Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
(b) Notwithstanding Article 17.03(b), or a bond schedule
adopted or a standing order entered by a judge, a magistrate shall
release a defendant on personal bond unless good cause is shown
otherwise if:
(1) the defendant is not charged with and has not been
previously convicted of a violent offense or an offense for which an
element of the offense involves offensive or provocative sexual
contact with another;
(2) the defendant is examined by the service provider
that contracts with the jail to provide mental health or
intellectual and developmental disability services, the local
mental health authority, the local intellectual and developmental
disability authority, or another qualified mental health or
intellectual and developmental disability expert under Article
16.22;
(3) the applicable expert, in a written report
submitted to the magistrate under Article 16.22:
(A) concludes that the defendant has a mental
illness or is a person with an intellectual disability and is
nonetheless competent to stand trial; and
(B) recommends mental health treatment or
intellectual and developmental disability services for the
defendant, as applicable;
(4) the magistrate determines, in consultation with
the local mental health authority or local intellectual and
developmental disability authority, that appropriate
community-based mental health or intellectual and developmental
disability services for the defendant are available in accordance
with Section 534.053 or 534.103, Health and Safety Code, or through
another mental health or intellectual and developmental disability
services provider; and
(5) the magistrate finds, after considering all the
circumstances, a pretrial risk assessment, if applicable, and any
other credible information provided by the attorney representing
the state or the defendant, that release on personal bond would
reasonably ensure the defendant's appearance in court as required
and the safety of the community, law enforcement, and the victim of
the alleged offense.
(d) In addition to a condition of release imposed under
Subsection (c), the magistrate may require the defendant to comply
with other conditions that are reasonably necessary to ensure the
defendant's appearance in court as required and the safety of the
community, law enforcement, and the victim of the alleged offense.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a person who is arrested on or after the effective date of this Act.
A person arrested before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect on the date the person was arrested, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.