88R11951 MCF-D
By: Huffman S.B. No. 1279
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the release on personal bond of certain defendants with
a mental illness or an intellectual disability.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Articles 17.032(a) and (b), Code of Criminal
Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
(a) In this article, "offense involving violence" has the
meaning assigned by Article 17.03 ["violent offense" means an
offense under the following sections of the Penal Code:
[(1) Section 19.02 (murder);
[(2) Section 19.03 (capital murder);
[(3) Section 20.03 (kidnapping);
[(4) Section 20.04 (aggravated kidnapping);
[(5) Section 21.11 (indecency with a child);
[(6) Section 22.01(a)(1) (assault), if the offense
involved family violence as defined by Section 71.004, Family Code;
[(7) Section 22.011 (sexual assault);
[(8) Section 22.02 (aggravated assault);
[(9) Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual assault);
[(10) Section 22.04 (injury to a child, elderly
individual, or disabled individual);
[(11) Section 29.03 (aggravated robbery);
[(12) Section 21.02 (continuous sexual abuse of young
child or disabled individual); or
[(13) Section 20A.03 (continuous trafficking of
persons)].
(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 an [a violent] offense involving violence;
(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 and the victim of the alleged
offense.
SECTION 2. Article 46B.073(c), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(c) If the defendant is charged with an offense involving
violence as defined by [listed in] Article 17.03 [17.032(a)] or if
the indictment alleges an affirmative finding under Article
42A.054(c) or (d), the court shall enter an order committing the
defendant for competency restoration services to a facility
designated by the commission.
SECTION 3. Article 46B.104, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 46B.104. CIVIL COMMITMENT PLACEMENT: FINDING OF
VIOLENCE. A defendant committed to a facility as a result of
proceedings initiated under this chapter shall be committed to the
facility designated by the commission if:
(1) the defendant is charged with an offense involving
violence as defined by [listed in] Article 17.03 [17.032(a)]; or
(2) the indictment charging the offense alleges an
affirmative finding under Article 42A.054(c) or (d).
SECTION 4. Article 17.032, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
amended by this Act, applies 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 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.