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Senate Bill 6 (2nd C.S.) |
Senate Author: Huffman et al. |
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Effective: See below |
House Sponsor: Smith et al. |
Senate Bill 6, the Damon Allen Act, amends the Code of Criminal Procedure, Government Code, and Local Government Code to revise the right to bail of criminal defendants, provide for a public safety report system, and set out procedures for bail proceedings and requirements relating to certain training courses and charitable bail organizations. The bill makes a person eligible for bail unless denial of bail is expressly permitted and prohibits the release on personal bond of a defendant who is charged with an offense involving violence or a defendant who, while released on bail or community supervision for such an offense, is charged with committing certain offenses.
Senate Bill 6 requires the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System (OCA) to develop and maintain a public safety report system that is available for the purposes of setting bail and sets out various system and OCA requirements.
Senate Bill 6 subjects the imposition of conditions of bail to the statutory rules for setting bail and revises those rules. The bill sets out requirements for a magistrate considering the release on bail of a defendant charged with an offense punishable as a Class B misdemeanor or any higher category of offense. The bill provides for the authority of a magistrate to order, prepare, or consider a public safety report with respect to a defendant charged with a fine‑only misdemeanor and to set bail for a defendant charged with a misdemeanor without a public safety report. In addition, the bill limits the authority of a magistrate to release on bail a defendant who is charged with an offense punishable as a felony or a misdemeanor punishable by confinement and provides for the limited release on bail of a defendant who is charged with committing an offense while on bail.
Senate Bill 6 requires a magistrate to make a bail decision without unnecessary delay but not later than 48 hours after a defendant is arrested and to impose the least restrictive conditions, if applicable, and the personal bond or cash or surety bond necessary to reasonably ensure the defendant's required appearance in court and the safety of the community, law enforcement, and the victim of the alleged offense. The bill sets out hearing and review procedures for a defendant who is charged with an offense punishable as a Class B misdemeanor or any higher category of offense and unable to give bail in the required amount.
Senate Bill 6 sets out certain requirements for a sheriff, peace officer, or jailer with regard to obtaining a defendant's criminal history record information before taking bail in a misdemeanor or felony case. If the defendant is charged with or has previously been convicted of an offense involving violence, the sheriff, officer, or jailer may not set the amount of the defendant's bail but may take the bail in the amount set by the court.
Senate Bill 6 sets out notification procedures for a court clerk after a magistrate issues an order relating to a condition of bail for a defendant and provides for the reporting of those conditions by a police chief or sheriff in the appropriate database and for the monthly reporting of certain bail and pretrial release information.
Except as otherwise provided by the bill, the bill takes effect January 1, 2022.