88R6779 MCF-F
By: West S.B. No. 1535
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the review and modification of bail for certain
defendants.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 17.029 to read as follows:
Art. 17.029. BAIL MODIFICATION FOR CERTAIN DEFENDANTS. (a)
This article applies only with respect to a defendant:
(1) who, in a county with a population of one million
or more, is charged with an offense punishable as a Class B
misdemeanor or any higher category of offense;
(2) for whom a bail decision under Article 17.028:
(A) is made by a mayor, recorder, or judge of a
municipal court; and
(B) denies the defendant's release on bail or
sets an amount of monetary bail for the defendant; and
(3) who, following the bail decision, is transferred
from a municipal jail to a county jail in the county described by
Subdivision (1).
(b) Not later than 48 hours after a defendant described by
Subsection (a) is transferred to the county jail, a judge of a court
in that county with jurisdiction over the category of offense
charged, or any magistrate designated in writing by that judge,
other than a mayor, recorder, or judge of a municipal court, may
review and modify the bail decision for the defendant.
(c) In modifying a bail decision under Subsection (b), the
judge shall conduct the individualized consideration required by
Article 17.028(a).
SECTION 2. The change in law made 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.