Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 403 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to expand the requisites of a bail bond to include specifying that a surety is not bound after a defendant receives an order of deferred adjudication or is acquitted, sentenced, placed on community supervision, or dismissed from the charges. The act establishes that a surety is in default from the time execution is issued on a final judgment in a bond forfeiture proceeding unless the final judgment is superseded by the posting of a supersedeas bond. It permits a court to approve any proposed settlement of liability on the bond forfeiture if it is agreed to by the state and the defendant or surety. It establishes that a surety must notify a principal's attorney when desiring to surrender the principal. The act limits the length of time the state may bring a cause of action to forfeit a bail bond to the fourth anniversary of the date the defendant failed to appear in court. It establishes that a peace officer or a private investigator may execute an arrest warrant issued after a bond forfeiture. The act also establishes certain requirements and restrictions for a private investigator when executing an arrest warrant on behalf of a surety on a bail bond and creates a state jail felony offense for violations.