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By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 1597
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the issuance of citations to and the arrest of persons
for certain misdemeanor offenses punishable by fine only.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 543.004, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 543.004. NOTICE TO APPEAR REQUIRED[: CERTAIN
OFFENSES]. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the issuance
of a written notice to appear as provided by Section 543.003 is
mandatory and an [An] officer shall issue a written notice to appear
if:
(1) the offense charged is a misdemeanor punishable by
fine only [speeding or a violation of the open container law,
Section 49.03, Penal Code]; [and]
(2) the person displays an unexpired driver's license
or permit issued to the person by the department or by another state
or country; and
(3) the person makes a written promise to appear in
court as provided by Section 543.005.
(b) If the person is a resident of or is operating a vehicle
licensed in a state or country other than this state, Subsection (a)
applies only as provided by Chapter 703.
(c) Subsection (a) does not require an officer to issue a
written notice to appear if:
(1) the arresting officer believes that taking the
person before a magistrate is necessary to prevent imminent bodily
injury to the person or another;
(2) the offense was committed in the presence of the
arresting officer and the officer believes that because of the
commission of the offense a substantial risk of harm to the person
or another exists and will continue to exist unless the person is
taken before a magistrate;
(3) the arresting officer believes that the person has
insufficient ties to the jurisdiction to assure that the person
will comply with a written notice to appear in court issued under
Section 543.003 and that there is a substantial likelihood that the
person would fail or refuse to comply with a written notice to
appear in court; or
(4) the arresting officer believes that the person has
intentionally failed to appear without just cause in response to a
written notice to appear, a citation, a summons, or other legal
process issued in connection with an offense committed by the
person, other than an offense involving the parking of a motor
vehicle [The offenses specified by Subsection (a) are the only
offenses for which issuance of a written notice to appear is
mandatory].
SECTION 2. Article 14.06, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 14.06. MUST TAKE OFFENDER BEFORE MAGISTRATE.
(a) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (b)-(e), in
each case enumerated in this Code, the person making the arrest or
the person having custody of the person arrested shall take the
person arrested or have him taken without unnecessary delay, but
not later than 48 hours after the person is arrested, before the
magistrate who may have ordered the arrest, before some magistrate
of the county where the arrest was made without an order, or, if
necessary to provide more expeditiously to the person arrested the
warnings described by Article 15.17 of this Code, before a
magistrate in a county bordering the county in which the arrest was
made. The magistrate shall immediately perform the duties
described in Article 15.17 of this Code.
(b) A peace officer who is charging a person, including a
child, with committing an offense that is a Class C misdemeanor,
other than an offense under Section 49.02, Penal Code, or a traffic
offense, may, instead of taking the person before a magistrate,
issue a citation to the person that contains written notice of the
time and place the person must appear before a magistrate, the name
and address of the person charged, and the offense charged.
(c) A peace officer who is charging a person, including a
child, with committing a traffic offense that is a Class C
misdemeanor, including an offense under Section 49.031, Penal Code,
shall, instead of taking the person before a magistrate, issue a
citation to the person that contains written notice of the time and
place the person must appear before a magistrate, the name and
address of the person charged, and the offense charged if the person
displays:
(1) an unexpired driver's license or permit issued to
the person by the Department of Public Safety or by another state or
country; or
(2) an unexpired personal identification certificate
issued to the person by the Department of Public Safety.
(d) If a person charged as described by Subsection (c) is a
resident of or is operating a vehicle licensed in a state or country
other than this state, Subsection (c) applies only as provided by
Chapter 703, Transportation Code.
(e) Subsection (c) does not require a peace officer to issue
a citation if:
(1) the person making the arrest believes that taking
the arrested person before a magistrate is necessary to prevent
imminent bodily injury to the arrested person or another;
(2) the offense was committed in the presence of the
person making the arrest and the person making the arrest believes
that because of the commission of the offense, a substantial risk of
harm to the arrested person or another exists and will continue to
exist unless the arrested person is taken before a magistrate as
required by Subsection (a);
(3) the person making the arrest believes that the
arrested person has insufficient ties to the jurisdiction to assure
that the arrested person will comply with a citation that contains a
written notice to appear before a magistrate issued under
Subsection (a) and that there is a substantial likelihood that the
arrested person would fail or refuse to comply with the written
notice to appear before the magistrate; or
(4) the person making the arrest believes that the
arrested person has intentionally failed to appear without just
cause in response to a written notice to appear, a citation, a
summons, or other legal process issued in connection with an
offense committed by the arrested person, other than an offense
involving the parking of a motor vehicle.
SECTION 3. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
(b) The change in law made by this Act applies only to an
offense committed on or after September 1, 2003.
(c) An offense committed before September 1, 2003, is
covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
this section, an offense was committed before September 1, 2003, if
any element of the offense was committed before that date.