By: Edwards H.B. No. 1382 73R5186 CLG-F A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to bail for persons charged with felonies under the Texas 1-3 Controlled Substances Act. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Article 17.15, Code of Criminal Procedure, is 1-6 amended to read as follows: 1-7 Art. 17.15. Rules For Fixing Amount Of Bail. (a) The 1-8 amount of bail to be required in any case is to be regulated by the 1-9 court, judge, magistrate or officer taking the bail; they are to be 1-10 governed in the exercise of this discretion by the Constitution and 1-11 by the following rules: 1-12 1. The bail shall be sufficiently high to give 1-13 reasonable assurance that the undertaking will be complied with. 1-14 2. The power to require bail is not to be so used as 1-15 to make it an instrument of oppression. 1-16 3. The nature of the offense and the circumstances 1-17 under which it was committed are to be considered. 1-18 4. The ability to make bail is to be regarded, and 1-19 proof may be taken upon this point. 1-20 5. The future safety of a victim of the alleged 1-21 offense may be considered. 1-22 (b) In setting bail under this article for a defendant 1-23 charged with a felony under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, it 1-24 is suggested that the following amounts be set: 2-1 1. for a felony of possession that is not classified 2-2 as an aggravated felony under that chapter, not less than $5,000; 2-3 2. for a felony of possession that is classified as an 2-4 aggravated felony under that chapter, not less than $10,000; 2-5 3. for a felony of manufacture, delivery, or 2-6 possession with intent to manufacture or deliver that is not 2-7 classified as an aggravated felony under that chapter, not less 2-8 than $15,000; and 2-9 4. for a felony of manufacture, delivery, or 2-10 possession with intent to manufacture or deliver that is classified 2-11 as an aggravated felony, not less than $20,000. 2-12 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies 2-13 only to a person charged with an offense committed on or after the 2-14 effective date of this Act. For purposes of this section, an 2-15 offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any 2-16 element of the offense occurs before the effective date. 2-17 (b) A person charged with an offense committed before the 2-18 effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the 2-19 offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect 2-20 for this purpose. 2-21 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993. 2-22 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the 2-23 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-24 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-25 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-26 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.