Relating to the release of defendants on bail, the duties of a magistrate in certain criminal proceedings, and the regulation of charitable bail organizations.
relating to the release of defendants on bail, the duties of a
magistrate in certain criminal proceedings, and the regulation of
charitable bail organizations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 15.17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
(h) Not later than 24 hours after the time a magistrate
determines that no probable cause exists to believe that a person
committed the offense for which the person was arrested, the
magistrate shall make oral or written findings of fact and
conclusions of law on the record to support that finding.
SECTION 2. The heading to Article 17.027, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
Art. 17.027. RELEASE ON BAIL OF DEFENDANT CHARGED WITH
FELONY OFFENSE [COMMITTED WHILE ON BAIL].
SECTION 3. Article 17.027, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) A criminal law hearing officer appointed under
Chapter 54, Government Code, may not release on bail a defendant
who:
(1) is charged with committing an offense punishable
as a felony if the defendant:
(A) was on parole at the time of the offense;
(B) has previously been finally convicted of two
or more offenses punishable as a felony and for which the defendant
was imprisoned in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; or
(C) is subject to an immigration detainer issued
by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement; or
(2) is charged with committing an offense under the
following provisions of the Penal Code:
(A) Section 19.02 (murder);
(B) Section 19.03 (capital murder);
(C) Section 20.04 (aggravated kidnapping);
(D) Section 22.02 (aggravated assault); or
(E) Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual assault).
SECTION 4. Article 17.03(b-2), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(b-2) Except as provided by Articles 15.21, 17.032, 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 under:
(i) Section 19.02(b)(4), Penal Code (murder
as a result of manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance in
Penalty Group 1-B);
(ii) Section 22.07, Penal Code (terroristic
threat);
(iii) Section 25.07, Penal Code (violation
of certain court orders or conditions of bond in a family violence,
child abuse or neglect, sexual assault or abuse, indecent assault,
stalking, or trafficking case); or
(iv) Section 46.04(a), Penal Code (unlawful
possession of firearm); or
(2) while released on bail or community supervision
for an offense 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); or
(iii) [Section 22.07 (terroristic threat);
or
[(iv)] Section 42.01(a)(7) or (8)
(disorderly conduct involving firearm).
SECTION 5. Articles 17.071(a), (f), (h), and (k), Code of
Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
(a) In this article:
(1) “Charitable [, “charitable] bail organization”
means a person who accepts and uses donations from the public to
deposit money with a court in the amount of a defendant’s bail bond.
The term does not include:
(A) [(1)] a person accepting donations with
respect to a defendant who is a member of the person’s family, as
determined under Section 71.003, Family Code; or
(B) [(2)] a nonprofit corporation organized for
a religious purpose.
(2) “Office” means the Office of Court Administration
of the Texas Judicial System.
(f) Not later than the 10th day of each month, a charitable
bail organization shall submit to the office [, to the sheriff of
each county in which the organization files an affidavit under
Subsection (e),] a report that includes the following information
for each defendant for whom the organization paid a bail bond in the
preceding calendar month:
(1) the name of the defendant;
(2) the cause number of the case;
(3) each charge for which the bond was paid;
(4) the amount of the bond paid;
(5) the county in which the applicable charge is
pending, if different from the county in which the bond was paid;
(6) [and
[(4)] any dates on which the defendant has failed to
appear in court as required for the charge for which the bond was
paid; and
(7) whether a bond forfeiture has occurred in
connection with the charge for which the bond was paid.
(h) If the office has reason to believe that a charitable
bail organization may have paid one or more bonds in violation of
this article, the office shall report that information to the
sheriff of the county in which the suspected violation occurred.
The sheriff of that [a] county may suspend a charitable bail
organization from paying bail bonds in the county for a period not
to exceed one year if the sheriff determines the organization has
paid one or more bonds in violation of this article and the
organization has received a warning from the sheriff in the
preceding 12-month period for another payment of bond made in
violation of this article. The sheriff shall report the suspension
to the office [Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial
System].
(k) Not later than December 1 of each year, the office
[Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System] shall
prepare and submit, to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker
of the house of representatives, and presiding officers of the
standing committees of each house of the legislature with primary
jurisdiction over the judiciary, a report regarding the information
submitted to the office under Subsections (f) [(f-1)] and (h) for
the preceding state fiscal year.
SECTION 6. Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 17.092 to read as follows:
Art. 17.092. MODIFICATION OF BOND. A magistrate described
by Articles 2A.151(5)-(14) may not modify the amount or conditions
of bond set by the judge of a district court, including the judge of
a district court in another county.
SECTION 7. Article 17.21, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 17.21. BAIL IN FELONY. (a) In cases of felony, when
the accused is in custody of the sheriff or other officer, and the
court before which the prosecution is pending is in session in the
county where the accused is in custody, the court shall fix the
amount of bail, if it is a bailable case and determine if the
accused is eligible for a personal bond; and the sheriff or other
peace officer, unless it be the police of a city, or a jailer
licensed under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is authorized to
take a bail bond of the accused in the amount as fixed by the court,
to be approved by such officer taking the same, and will thereupon
discharge the accused from custody. The defendant and the
defendant’s sureties are not required to appear in court.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a magistrate may not
release on bail a defendant charged with an offense punishable as a
felony unless:
(1) the defendant has appeared before the magistrate;
and
(2) the magistrate has considered the public safety
report prepared under Article 17.022 for the defendant.
SECTION 8. Articles 44.01(a) and (g), Code of Criminal
Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The state is entitled to appeal an order of a court in a
criminal case if the order:
(1) dismisses an indictment, information, or
complaint or any portion of an indictment, information, or
complaint;
(2) arrests or modifies a judgment;
(3) grants a new trial;
(4) sustains a claim of former jeopardy;
(5) grants a motion to suppress evidence, a
confession, or an admission, if jeopardy has not attached in the
case and if the prosecuting attorney certifies to the trial court
that the appeal is not taken for the purpose of delay and that the
evidence, confession, or admission is of substantial importance in
the case; [or]
(6) is issued under Chapter 64; or
(7) grants bail, in an amount considered insufficient
by the prosecuting attorney, to a defendant who:
(A) is charged with an offense punishable as a
felony; and
(B) has previously been granted bail for a
pending offense punishable as a felony.
(g) If the state appeals pursuant to this article and the
defendant is on bail, the defendant [he] shall be permitted to
remain at large on the existing bail. If the defendant is in
custody, the defendant [he] is entitled to reasonable bail, as
provided by law, unless the appeal is from an order which would:
(1) terminate the prosecution, in which event the
defendant is entitled to release on personal bond; or
(2) grant bail in an amount considered insufficient by
the prosecuting attorney, in which event the defendant shall be
held in custody during the pendency of the appeal.
SECTION 9. Article 17.071(f-1), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is repealed.
SECTION 10. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
