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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the review and modification of bail for certain |
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defendants. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended by adding Article 17.029 to read as follows: |
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Art. 17.029. BAIL MODIFICATION FOR CERTAIN DEFENDANTS. (a) |
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This article applies only with respect to a defendant: |
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(1) who, in a county with a population of one million |
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or more, is charged with an offense punishable as a Class B |
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misdemeanor or any higher category of offense; |
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(2) for whom a bail decision under Article 17.028: |
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(A) is made by a mayor, recorder, or judge of a |
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municipal court; and |
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(B) denies the defendant's release on bail or |
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sets an amount of monetary bail for the defendant; and |
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(3) who, following the bail decision, is transferred |
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from a municipal jail to a county jail in the county described by |
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Subdivision (1). |
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(b) Not later than 48 hours after a defendant described by |
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Subsection (a) is transferred to the county jail, a judge of a court |
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in that county with jurisdiction over the category of offense |
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charged, or any magistrate designated in writing by that judge, |
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other than a mayor, recorder, or judge of a municipal court, may |
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review and modify the bail decision for the defendant. |
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(c) In modifying a bail decision under Subsection (b), the |
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judge shall conduct the individualized consideration required by |
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Article 17.028(a). |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to a person who is arrested on or after the effective date of this |
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Act. A person arrested before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the person was arrested, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |