By Puente H.B. No. 248
76R765 JMC-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the requirement that a surety notify a principal of a
1-3 bail bond or the principal's attorney of the surety's intention to
1-4 surrender the principal.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Article 17.19(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-7 amended to read as follows:
1-8 (a) Any surety, desiring to surrender his principal and
1-9 after notifying the principal or the principal's attorney in a
1-10 manner provided by Rule 21a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, of
1-11 the surety's intention to surrender the principal, may file an
1-12 affidavit of such intention before the court or magistrate before
1-13 which the prosecution is pending. The affidavit must state [the]:
1-14 (1) the court and cause number of the case;
1-15 (2) the name of the defendant;
1-16 (3) the offense with which the defendant is charged;
1-17 (4) the date of the bond; [and]
1-18 (5) the cause for the surrender; and
1-19 (6) that notice of the surety's intention to surrender
1-20 the principal has been given as required by this subsection.
1-21 SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
1-22 to a principal who executes a bail bond on or after the effective
1-23 date of this Act. A principal who executes a bail bond before the
1-24 effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the
2-1 bail bond was executed, and the former law is continued in effect
2-2 for that purpose.
2-3 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-4 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
2-5 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-6 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-7 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-8 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.