1-1     By:  Giddings (Senate Sponsor - Nelson)                H.B. No. 577
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 30, 1999;
 1-3     May 3, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
 1-4     Justice; May 14, 1999, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
 1-5     Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 14, 1999,
 1-6     sent to printer.)
 1-7     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 577                   By:  Nelson
 1-8                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-9                                   AN ACT
1-10     relating to the period for which a person arrested or held without
1-11     a warrant in the prevention of family violence may be held after
1-12     bond is posted.
1-13           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-14           SECTION 1.  Article 17.291(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-15     amended to read as follows:
1-16           (b)  Article 17.29[, Code of Criminal Procedure,] does not
1-17     apply when a person has been arrested or held without a warrant in
1-18     the prevention of family violence if there is probable cause to
1-19     believe the violence will continue if the person is immediately
1-20     released.  The head of the agency arresting or holding such a
1-21     person may hold the person for a period of not more than four hours
1-22     after bond has been posted.  This detention period may be extended
1-23     for an additional period not to exceed 48 hours, but only if
1-24     authorized in a writing directed to the person having custody of
1-25     the detained person by a magistrate who concludes that:
1-26                 (1)  the violence would continue if the person is
1-27     released; and
1-28                 (2)  if the additional period exceeds 24 hours, there
1-29     is probable cause to believe that the person committed an offense
1-30     [, but in no case may such a period of detention exceed 24 hours].
1-31           SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
1-32     to a person whose period of detention begins on or after the
1-33     effective date of this Act.  A person whose period of detention
1-34     begins before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law
1-35     in effect when the period of detention began, and the former law is
1-36     continued in effect for that purpose.
1-37           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
1-38           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
1-39     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-40     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-41     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-42     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
1-43                                  * * * * *