HBA-KMH H.B. 831 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 831
By: Talton
Criminal Jurisprudence
3/16/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Pretrial services agencies supervise different types of defendants.
Generally, these defendants can be categorized as: 1) those who are
released by the courts on a personal bond through the agency, 2) those who
the courts order to submit to agency supervision as a condition of release
on a cash or surety bond, or 3) adjudicated defendants who the court
directs to the agency for monitoring. 

Currently, courts can assess a personal bond fee on defendants in the first
category pursuant to Article 17.42, Code of Criminal Procedure.    The
existing rate is "$20 or three percent of the amount of the bail fixed for
the accused, whichever is greater."  This fee helps to defray the agency's
operational costs.  When the agency supervises any other type of defendant
the court does not have statutory authority to assess a fee that may help
defray the associated costs.  In Harris County, for example, almost half of
the defendants with a felony offense that the Harris County Pre-Trial
Agency supervised in 1997 were not released on a personal bond and
therefore could not pay a personal bond fee. 

H.B. 831 authorizes the court to assess a supervision fee of  "not less
than $25 or more than $40 each month" when the accused is released on a
cash or surety bond.  This bill sets one uniform fee of $30 to be assessed
for the supervision of those defendants released on a personal bond.  This
bill also authorizes county commissioners courts to allow district and
county courts served by a pretrial agency to participate in the management
of a program. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Article 17.031(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, to
replace personal bond office with pretrial services office.  Makes
conforming and nonsubstantive changes. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Article 17.42, Code of Criminal Procedure, as follows:

ARTICLE  17.42.  New Title: PRETRIAL SERVICES OFFICE

Sec.  1.  Expands the reporting duty of a pretrial services office to
include each court in the county or judicial district, as appropriate,
having criminal jurisdiction.  Authorizes a pretrial services office
established under this subsection to operate programs in order to supervise
persons released on personal, cash, or surety bond and defendants placed on
community supervision.  Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes. 

Sec.  2.  Entitles appropriate judges to participate in the management of
the pretrial services office.  Authorizes district and county judges who
participate in the management of a pretrial services office to employ a
director of the office.  Redesignates existing Subsections (a) and (b) to
Subsections (b) and (c).  Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes. 

Sec.  3.  Makes no changes.
 
Sec.  4.  Increases the personal bond fee to $30, from $20.  Requires a
court to assess a fee of between $25 and $40 each month during which the
defendant is under the supervision of the pretrial services office.
Authorizes a court to require payment of these fees as a condition of
release or bond, or as court costs.  Authorizes the court to require a
defendant to pay costs incurred by a pretrial services office in requiring
the defendant to submit to electronic monitoring or urinalysis or to
provide the defendant with an interlock ignition device or other services
related to the supervision of the defendant.   Redesignates existing
Subsections (b) and (c) to Subsections (e) and (f).  Makes conforming and
nonsubstantive changes. 

Sec.  5.  Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes.

Sec.  6.  Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes.

SECTION 3.  Repealer: Article 17.03(g), Code of Criminal Procedure (which
authorizes a court to order that a personal bond fee assessed under Section
17.42 be paid before the defendant is released, paid as a condition of
bond, paid as court costs, reduced as otherwise provided for by statute, or
waived). 

SECTION 4.  Makes application of this Act to Section 4 prospective.

SECTION 5.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 6.  Emergency clause.