Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4517 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R7018 MCF-D
2	2	By: Moody H.B. No. 4517
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the release of certain defendants on personal bond.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Articles 17.03(a) and (b-2), Code of Criminal
10	10	Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
11	11	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), [or] (b-1), or
12	12	(b-2), a magistrate shall [may, in the magistrate's discretion,]
13	13	release a [the] defendant on personal bond without sureties or
14	14	other security unless the magistrate enters a finding on the record
15	15	that conditions of release are insufficient to reasonably ensure
16	16	the defendant's appearance in court as required and the safety of
17	17	the community, law enforcement, and the victim of the alleged
18	18	offense. This subsection does not apply to a defendant described by
19	19	Article 17.032(b).
20	20	(b-2) Except as provided by Articles 15.21, 17.033, and
21	21	17.151, a defendant may not be released on personal bond if the
22	22	defendant:
23	23	(1) is charged with:
24	24	(A) an offense involving violence; or
25	25	(B) an offense for which an element of the
26	26	offense involves offensive or provocative sexual contact with
27	27	another; or
28	28	(2) while released on bail or community supervision
29	29	for an offense described by Subdivision (1) [involving violence],
30	30	is charged with committing:
31	31	(A) any offense punishable as a felony; or
32	32	(B) an offense under the following provisions of
33	33	the Penal Code:
34	34	(i) Section 22.01(a)(1) (assault);
35	35	(ii) Section 22.05 (deadly conduct);
36	36	(iii) Section 22.07 (terroristic threat);
37	37	or
38	38	(iv) Section 42.01(a)(7) or (8) (disorderly
39	39	conduct involving firearm).
40	40	SECTION 2. Articles 17.032(b) and (d), Code of Criminal
41	41	Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
42	42	(b) Notwithstanding Article 17.03(b), or a bond schedule
43	43	adopted or a standing order entered by a judge, a magistrate shall
44	44	release a defendant on personal bond unless good cause is shown
45	45	otherwise if:
46	46	(1) the defendant is not charged with and has not been
47	47	previously convicted of a violent offense or an offense for which an
48	48	element of the offense involves offensive or provocative sexual
49	49	contact with another;
50	50	(2) the defendant is examined by the service provider
51	51	that contracts with the jail to provide mental health or
52	52	intellectual and developmental disability services, the local
53	53	mental health authority, the local intellectual and developmental
54	54	disability authority, or another qualified mental health or
55	55	intellectual and developmental disability expert under Article
56	56	16.22;
57	57	(3) the applicable expert, in a written report
58	58	submitted to the magistrate under Article 16.22:
59	59	(A) concludes that the defendant has a mental
60	60	illness or is a person with an intellectual disability and is
61	61	nonetheless competent to stand trial; and
62	62	(B) recommends mental health treatment or
63	63	intellectual and developmental disability services for the
64	64	defendant, as applicable;
65	65	(4) the magistrate determines, in consultation with
66	66	the local mental health authority or local intellectual and
67	67	developmental disability authority, that appropriate
68	68	community-based mental health or intellectual and developmental
69	69	disability services for the defendant are available in accordance
70	70	with Section 534.053 or 534.103, Health and Safety Code, or through
71	71	another mental health or intellectual and developmental disability
72	72	services provider; and
73	73	(5) the magistrate finds, after considering all the
74	74	circumstances, a pretrial risk assessment, if applicable, and any
75	75	other credible information provided by the attorney representing
76	76	the state or the defendant, that release on personal bond would
77	77	reasonably ensure the defendant's appearance in court as required
78	78	and the safety of the community, law enforcement, and the victim of
79	79	the alleged offense.
80	80	(d) In addition to a condition of release imposed under
81	81	Subsection (c), the magistrate may require the defendant to comply
82	82	with other conditions that are reasonably necessary to ensure the
83	83	defendant's appearance in court as required and the safety of the
84	84	community, law enforcement, and the victim of the alleged offense.
85	85	SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
86	86	a person who is arrested on or after the effective date of this Act.
87	87	A person arrested before the effective date of this Act is governed
88	88	by the law in effect on the date the person was arrested, and the
89	89	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
90	90	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.