SRC-JBJ S.B. 799 76(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 799
76R6737 JMC-FBy: Ellis
Jurisprudence
3/26/1999
As Filed


DIGEST 

Currently, a county pretrial services agency oversees certain defendants.
The agency will supervise a defendant ordered by a court into supervision,
posting a personal bond, or monitoring through adjudication proceedings.
While the agency may assess a fee for defendants the agency supervises, no
statutory authority permits the agency to assess a personal bond fee.
Authorizing a court to levy fees on a personal bond or supervision would
allow the agency to partially offset its costs.  Flexibility in the fee
requirements would permit a court to choose a standard fee for defendants
released on a personal bond or a supervision fee.  Finally, judicial
supervision of the agency would allow for closer coordination between the
courts and the agency's operations.  S.B. 799 would authorize a court to
assess either a personal bond fee or a supervision fee for a pretrial
service agency and allow a commissioners court to authorize a district or
county court to participate in managing the agency. 

PURPOSE

As proposed, S.B. 799 authorizes a court to assess either a personal bond
fee or a supervision fee for a pretrial service agency and to authorize a
commissioners court to permit a district or county court to participate in
supervising a pretrial service agency. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Article 17.031(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, to
provide that if there is a pretrial services office, rather than a personal
bond office, in the county from which the warrant for arrest was issued,
the court releasing the defendant will forward a copy of the personal bond
to the pretrial services office, rather than the personal bond office, in
that county.  Makes a nonsubstantive change. 

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

Art. 17.42.  New heading:  PRETRIAL SERVICES OFFICE  

Sec. 1.  Authorizes certain courts to establish a pretrial services office,
rather than a personal bond office, to gather and review information about
an accused that may have a bearing on whether the accused will comply with
the conditions of bail, rather than a personal bond, and report the
office's findings to a certain court having criminal jurisdiction, rather
than report to the court before which the case is pending.  Authorizes a
pretrial services program, including a program that requires testing for
controlled substances, to supervise a person released on a bond or to
supervise a defendant under community supervision.  Makes a nonsubstantive
change. 

Sec. 2.  Entitles certain district and statutory judges served by a
pretrial services office to participate in the management of the office,
with the approval of the commissioners court that created the office.
Requires the commissioners court or the judges of a district that
establishes or participates in the office to employ a director for the
office.  Makes conforming changes. 

Sec. 4.  Requires a court to assess a personal bond fee of $30, rather than
the greater of $20 or three percent of the amount of the bail fixed for the
accused, if a court releases an accused on  personal bond based on a report
received from a pretrial services office, rather than release on the
recommendation of a personal bond office.  Requires the court to levy a fee
between $25 and $40 per month that a defendant is under the supervision of
a pretrial services office.  Authorizes the court to impose certain
conditions when assessing a fee.  Authorizes the court to charge the
defendant the costs incurred by the services office and to use electronic
monitoring, urinalysis, an interlock ignition device, or other monitoring
services.  Makes conforming changes. 

 Sec. 5.  Makes conforming changes.

 Sec. 6.  Makes conforming changes.  

SECTION 3.  Repealer:  Article 17.03(g), Code of Criminal Procedure
(Personal bond). 

SECTION 4.Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 5.Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 6.Emergency clause.