1-1     By:  Ogden                                            S.B. No. 1807
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed April 12, 2001; April 17, 2001, read
 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
 1-4     April 30, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 6,
 1-5     Nays 0; April 30, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to the duties of a magistrate regarding the provision of
 1-9     bail for a person arrested for a criminal offense.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Subsection (a), Article 15.17, Code of Criminal
1-12     Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
1-13           (a)  In each case enumerated in this Code, the person making
1-14     the arrest shall without unnecessary delay take the person arrested
1-15     or have him taken before some magistrate of the county where the
1-16     accused was arrested or, if necessary to provide more expeditiously
1-17     to the person arrested the warnings described by this article,
1-18     before a magistrate in a county bordering the county in which the
1-19     arrest was made.  The arrested person may be taken before the
1-20     magistrate in person or the image of the arrested person may be
1-21     broadcast by closed circuit television to the magistrate.  The
1-22     magistrate shall inform in clear language the person arrested,
1-23     either in person or by closed circuit television, of the accusation
1-24     against him and of any affidavit filed therewith, of his right to
1-25     retain counsel, of his right to remain silent, of his right to have
1-26     an attorney present during any interview with peace officers or
1-27     attorneys representing the state, of his right to terminate the
1-28     interview at any time, of his right to request the appointment of
1-29     counsel if he is indigent and cannot afford counsel, and of his
1-30     right to have an examining trial.  He shall also inform the person
1-31     arrested that he is not required to make a statement and that any
1-32     statement made by him may be used against him.  The magistrate
1-33     shall allow the person arrested reasonable time and opportunity to
1-34     consult counsel and shall, after determining whether the person is
1-35     currently on bail for a separate criminal offense, admit the person
1-36     arrested to bail if allowed by law.  A closed circuit television
1-37     system may not be used under this subsection unless the system
1-38     provides for a two-way communication of image and sound between the
1-39     arrested person and the magistrate.  A recording of the
1-40     communication between the arrested person and the magistrate shall
1-41     be made.  The recording shall be preserved until the earlier of the
1-42     following dates:  (1) the date on which the pretrial hearing ends;
1-43     or (2) the 91st day after the date on which the recording is made
1-44     if the person is charged with a misdemeanor or the 120th day after
1-45     the date on which the recording is made if the person is charged
1-46     with a felony.  The counsel for the defendant may obtain a copy of
1-47     the recording on payment of a reasonable amount to cover costs of
1-48     reproduction.
1-49           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
1-50     only to a person arrested for an offense committed on or after the
1-51     effective date of this Act.  For purposes of this section, an
1-52     offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any
1-53     element of the offense occurs before that date.
1-54           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this
1-55     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
1-56     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
1-57           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
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