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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the release on personal bond of certain defendants |
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charged with a misdemeanor or state jail felony. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Article 17.03(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter |
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[Subsection (b) or (b-1)], a magistrate may, in the magistrate's |
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discretion, release the defendant on personal bond without sureties |
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or other security. |
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SECTION 2. Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended by adding Article 17.034 to read as follows: |
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Art. 17.034. RELEASE ON PERSONAL BOND OF CERTAIN DEFENDANTS |
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CHARGED WITH MISDEMEANOR OR STATE JAIL FELONY. Notwithstanding |
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Article 17.03(b), or a bond schedule adopted or a standing order |
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entered by a judge, a magistrate shall release a defendant charged |
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with a misdemeanor or state jail felony on personal bond unless the |
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release on personal bond is otherwise prohibited by law or the |
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magistrate makes a finding that no nonmonetary conditions of |
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release are sufficient to reasonably ensure: |
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(1) the defendant's appearance in court as required; |
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and |
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(2) the safety of the community, law enforcement, and |
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the victim of the alleged offense. |
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SECTION 3. 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |