By: Huffman S.B. No. 21
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to rules for fixing the amount of bail, to the release of
  certain defendants on a bail bond or personal bond, to related
  duties of a magistrate in a criminal case, to the reporting of
  information pertaining to bail bonds, and to the regulation of
  charitable bail organizations.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Articles 17.03(b) and (b-1), Code of Criminal
  Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  Only the trial court with jurisdiction over [before
  whom] the case [is pending] may release on personal bond a defendant
  who:
               (1)  is charged with an offense under the following
  sections of the Penal Code:
                     (A)  Section 19.03 (Capital Murder);
                     (B)  Section 20.04 (Aggravated Kidnapping);
                     (C)  Section 22.021 (Aggravated Sexual Assault);
                     (D)  [Section 22.03 (Deadly Assault on Law
  Enforcement or Corrections Officer, Member or Employee of Board of
  Pardons and Paroles, or Court Participant);
                     [(E)]  Section 22.04 (Injury to a Child, Elderly
  Individual, or Disabled Individual);
                     (E) [(F)]  Section 29.03 (Aggravated Robbery);
                     (F) [(G)]  Section 30.02 (Burglary);
                     (G) [(H)]  Section 71.02 (Engaging in Organized
  Criminal Activity);
                     (H) [(I)]  Section 21.02 (Continuous Sexual Abuse
  of Young Child or Children); or
                     (I) [(J)]  Section 20A.03 (Continuous Trafficking
  of Persons);
               (2)  is charged with a felony under Chapter 481, Health
  and Safety Code, or Section 485.033, Health and Safety Code,
  punishable by imprisonment for a minimum term or by a maximum fine
  that is more than a minimum term or maximum fine for a first degree
  felony; or
               (3)  does not submit to testing for the presence of a
  controlled substance in the defendant's body as requested by the
  court or magistrate under Subsection (c) of this article or submits
  to testing and the test shows evidence of the presence of a
  controlled substance in the defendant's body.
         (b-1)  A defendant is not eligible to be released [magistrate
  may not release] on personal bond if the [a] defendant:
               (1)  [who,] at the time of the commission of the charged
  offense, is civilly committed as a sexually violent predator under
  Chapter 841, Health and Safety Code;
               (2)  has, in the preceding two years, failed to appear
  after being released on personal bond or has had a bond found to be
  insufficient;
               (3)  is charged with committing any offense while
  released on bail for another offense;
               (4)  was convicted of any felony offense in the
  preceding three years or any Class A or Class B misdemeanor offense
  in the preceding year;
               (5)  is currently charged with multiple offenses,
  regardless of whether the offenses are pending before the same
  court;
               (6)  is charged with any offense under Title 5, Penal
  Code, in which there is an identifiable victim;
               (7)  is charged with an offense that involves
  possession of four or more grams of a controlled substance;
               (8)  is charged with, or in the preceding five years was
  charged with, an offense under Section 38.06, Penal Code;
               (9)  has been convicted of an offense under Section
  22.011 or 22.021, Penal Code; or
               (10)  is charged with any offense involving the use of a
  deadly weapon as defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code.
         SECTION 2.  Article 17.15, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Art. 17.15.  RULES FOR FIXING AMOUNT OF BAIL. (a) The
  amount of bail to be required in any case is to be regulated by the
  court, judge, magistrate or officer taking the bail; they are to be
  governed in the exercise of this discretion by the Constitution and
  by the following rules:
         1.  The bail shall be sufficiently high to give reasonable
  assurance that the undertaking will be complied with.
         2.  The power to require bail is not to be so used as to make
  it an instrument of oppression.
         3.  The nature of the offense and the circumstances under
  which it was committed are to be considered.
         4.  The ability to make bail is to be regarded, and proof may
  be taken upon this point.
         5.  The future safety of a victim of the alleged offense and
  the community shall be considered.
         6.  The criminal history and immigration status of the
  defendant, including any prior offenses committed against a public
  servant or involving family violence, shall be considered.
         (b)  In this article, "family violence" has the meaning
  assigned by Section 71.004, Family Code.
         SECTION 3.  Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
  amended by adding Article 17.1501 to read as follows:
         Art. 17.1501.  BAIL SCHEDULE; HEARING. (a) The judges of
  the courts trying criminal cases in a county may promulgate a
  standing order setting out a schedule of suggested bail amounts for
  any offense over which the courts have jurisdiction under Chapter
  4.
         (b)  A defendant who is unable to give bail in the amount
  required by the schedule may file with the applicable magistrate a
  sworn affidavit declaring the maximum amount that the defendant
  would be able to pay or provide as security within 48 hours of
  arrest for purposes of obtaining a bail bond. The affidavit must
  set out sufficient facts to clearly establish that amount, given
  the totality of the defendant's circumstances.
         (c)  A defendant who files an affidavit under Subsection (b)
  is entitled to a hearing before the magistrate on the bail amount.
  The hearing must be held not later than 48 hours after the charges
  were filed against the defendant or 48 hours after the defendant was
  arrested, whichever is later. At the hearing, the magistrate shall
  consider the facts stated in the affidavit and the rules
  established by Article 17.15 and set the defendant's bail. The
  magistrate shall issue oral or written findings of fact supporting
  the decision.
         (d)  A defendant who has not given bail before the fourth
  business day after the date bail is set under this article shall be
  taken before the court before whom the case is pending for a hearing
  to reconsider the bail amount. At a hearing under this subsection,
  the court may adjust the bail, keep the bail as previously set, or
  impose any additional conditions of release on bond the court
  considers necessary.
         (e)  This article may not be interpreted as creating a right
  to release on bail in this state that does not exist under the
  constitution of this state.
         SECTION 4.  Section 27.005, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 27.005.  EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS. (a) For purposes
  of removal under Chapter 87, Local Government Code, "incompetency"
  in the case of a justice of the peace includes the failure of the
  justice to successfully complete:
               (1)  within one year after the date the justice is first
  elected, an 80-hour course in the performance of the justice's
  duties, including not less than four hours of instruction regarding
  the justice's duties:
                     (A)  under Article 15.17, Code of Criminal
  Procedure; and
                     (B)  with respect to setting bail in criminal
  cases; and
               (2)  each following year, a 20-hour course in the
  performance of the justice's duties, including not less than:
                     (A)  two hours of instruction regarding the
  justice's duties:
                           (i)  under Article 15.17, Code of Criminal
  Procedure; and
                           (ii)  with respect to setting bail in
  criminal cases; and
                     (B)  10 hours of instruction regarding
  substantive, procedural, and evidentiary law in civil matters.
         (b)  The courses must [may] be completed:
               (1)  in an accredited state-supported school of higher
  education; or
               (2)  through a course in bail bond law that is:
                     (A)  approved by the State Bar of Texas; and
                     (B)  offered by a public or accredited private
  institution of higher education in this state.
         SECTION 5.  Subchapter C, Chapter 71, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 71.0354 to read as follows:
         Sec. 71.0354.  BAIL & PRETRIAL RELEASE INFORMATION. (a) As a
  component of the official monthly report submitted to the Office of
  Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System, the clerk of
  each court at law shall report:
               (1)  the number of bail bonds given for each level of
  offense;
               (2)  the number and type of bail bonds given;
               (3)  the number of defendants that posted bail;
               (4)  the number of defendants released on bail who
  failed to reappear; and
               (5)  the number of defendants released on bail who
  committed new offenses.
         (b)  The Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial
  System shall post the information in a publicly accessible place on
  the agency's website without disclosing any personal information of
  any defendants, judges, or magistrates.
         SECTION 6.  Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
  amended by adding Article 17.071 to read as follows:
         Art. 17.071.  CHARITABLE BAIL ORGANIZATIONS. (a) In this
  article, "charitable bail organization" means a person who solicits
  donations from the public for the purpose of depositing money with a
  court in the amount of a defendant's bail bond.
         (b)  This article does not apply to a charitable bail
  organization that pays a bail bond for not more than one defendant
  in any 180-day period.
         (c)  A charitable bail organization shall file in the office
  of the county clerk of each county where the organization intends to
  pay bail bonds an affidavit designating the individuals authorized
  to pay bonds on behalf of the organization.
         (d)  A charitable bail organization may only pay bail bonds
  for indigent defendants charged with misdemeanors. The
  organization may not pay more than a total amount of $2,000 for each
  defendant, regardless of the number of misdemeanor charges pending
  against the defendant.
         (e)  Not later than the 10th day of each month, a charitable
  bail organization shall submit, to the sheriff of each county in
  which the organization files an affidavit under Subsection (c), 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)  the county in which the applicable charge is
  pending, if different from the county in which the bond was paid;
  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.
         (f)  Not later than January 10 and June 10 of each year, a
  charitable bail organization shall submit, to the sheriff of each
  county in which the organization files an affidavit under
  Subsection (c), a report that includes the following information
  for each donation of $100 or more received after the organization's
  most recent report under this subsection:
               (1)  the name, address, and telephone number of the
  donor; and
               (2)  the amount donated.
         (g)  A charitable bail organization's initial report
  submitted under Subsection (f) must include the information
  required by that subsection for donations received by the
  organization in the preceding two years.
         (h)  A charitable bail organization shall maintain records
  of all donations received and bail bonds paid by the organization
  until the fifth anniversary of the date the donation was received or
  bond was paid. The sheriff or county clerk may audit the records.
         (i)  A charitable bail organization may not pay a bail bond
  for a defendant at any time the organization is considered to be out
  of compliance with the reporting requirements of this article.
         (j)  A sheriff may suspend a charitable bail organization
  from paying bail bonds in the sheriff's county for one year if the
  sheriff determines the organization has paid bonds in violation of
  this article.
         (k)  Chapter 22 applies to a bail bond paid by a charitable
  bail organization.
         (l)  A charitable bail organization shall maintain an office
  in each county in which the organization files an affidavit under
  Subsection (c).
         (m)  A charitable bail organization may not accept a premium
  or compensation for paying a bail bond for a defendant.
         SECTION 7.  (a) Section 27.005(a)(1), Government Code, as
  amended by this Act, applies only to a justice of the peace who is
  first elected or appointed on or after the effective date of this
  Act. A justice of the peace who is first elected or appointed
  before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
  effect on the date the justice was first elected or appointed, and
  the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         (b)  A justice of the peace serving on the effective date of
  this Act must complete the justice's initial two hours of
  instruction required by Section 27.005(a)(2)(A), Government Code,
  as added by this Act, not later than September 1, 2022.
         (c)  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 8.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.