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By: Lindsay S.B. No. 1049
(In the Senate - Filed March 7, 2005; March 21, 2005, read
first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence;
April 22, 2005, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 5,
Nays 0; April 22, 2005, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the efficient administration of county government.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 85.001, Local Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A person elected as sheriff, before beginning to perform
the duties of office, must execute a bond with:
(1) two or more good and sufficient sureties; or
(2) a solvent surety company authorized to do business
in this state.
SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 86.002, Local Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) Before entering on the duties of office, a person who is
elected to the office of constable must execute a bond with two or
more good and sufficient sureties or with a solvent surety company
authorized to do business in this state. The bond must be payable
to the governor and the governor's successors in office and
conditioned that the constable will faithfully perform the duties
imposed by law. The bond must be approved by the commissioners
court of the county. The commissioners court shall set the bond in
an amount of not less than $500 or more than $1,500.
SECTION 3. Subsection (b), Section 403.1042, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The advisory committee is composed of 11 members
appointed as follows:
(1) one member appointed by the comptroller to
represent a public hospital or hospital district located in a
county with a population of 50,000 or less or a public hospital
owned or maintained by a municipality;
(2) one member appointed by the political subdivision
that, in the year preceding the appointment, received the largest
annual distribution paid from the account;
(3) one member appointed by the political subdivision
that, in the year preceding the appointment, received the second
largest annual distribution paid from the account;
(4) four members appointed by the Texas Conference of
Urban Counties from nominations received from political
subdivisions that,[:
[(A)] in the year preceding the appointment,
received the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th
largest annual distribution paid from the account[; and
[(B) do not have an appointee serving on the
advisory committee at the time of appointment];
(5) one member appointed by the County Judges and
Commissioners Association of Texas;
(6) one member appointed by the North and East Texas
County Judges and Commissioners Association;
(7) one member appointed by the South Texas County
Judges and Commissioners Association; and
(8) one member appointed by the West Texas County
Judges and Commissioners Association.
SECTION 4. Subsection (c), Section 511.009, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(c) At any time and on the application of the county
commissioners court or sheriff, the commission may grant reasonable
variances, including variances that are to last for the life of a
facility, clearly justified by the facts, for operation of a
facility not in strict compliance with state law. A variance may
not permit unhealthy, unsanitary, or unsafe conditions.
SECTION 5. Section 501.138, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
follows:
(b) The county assessor-collector shall send:
(1) $5 of the fee to the county treasurer for deposit
in the officers' salary fund;
(2) $8 of the fee to the department:
(A) together with the application within the time
prescribed by Section 501.023; or
(B) if the fee is deposited in an
interest-bearing account or certificate in the county depository or
invested in an investment authorized by Subchapter A, Chapter 2256,
Government Code, not later than the 35th day after the date on which
the fee is received; and
(3) the following amount to the comptroller at the
time and in the manner prescribed by the comptroller:
(A) $20 of the fee if the applicant's residence
is a county located within a nonattainment area as defined under
Section 107(d) of the federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. Section
7407), as amended, or is an affected county, as defined by Section
386.001, Health and Safety Code;
(B) $15 of the fee if the applicant's residence
is any other county; or
(C) on or after September 1, 2008, $15 regardless
of the county in which the applicant resides.
(b-1) Fees collected under Subsection (b) [this subsection]
to be sent to the comptroller shall be deposited as follows:
(1) [(i)] before September 1, 2008, to the credit of
the Texas emissions reduction plan fund; and
(2) [(ii)] after September 1, 2008, to the credit of
the Texas Mobility Fund.
SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Article 14.06, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), 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 any other [a] county of this state [bordering the
county in which the arrest was made]. The magistrate shall
immediately perform the duties described in Article 15.17 of this
Code.
SECTION 7. Article 15.16, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 15.16. HOW WARRANT IS EXECUTED. (a) The officer or
person executing a warrant of arrest shall without unnecessary
delay take the person or have him taken before the magistrate who
issued the warrant or before the magistrate named in the warrant, if
the magistrate is in the same county where the person is arrested.
If the issuing or named magistrate is in another county, the person
arrested shall without unnecessary delay be taken before some
magistrate in the county in which he was arrested.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), to provide more
expeditiously to the person arrested the warnings described by
Article 15.17, the officer or person executing the arrest warrant
may as permitted by that article take the person arrested before a
magistrate in a county other than the county of arrest.
SECTION 8. Subsection (a), Article 15.17, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(a) In each case enumerated in this Code, the person making
the arrest or the person having custody of the person arrested shall
without unnecessary delay, but not later than 48 hours after the
person is arrested, take the person arrested or have him taken
before some magistrate of the county where the accused was arrested
or, [if necessary] to provide more expeditiously to the person
arrested the warnings described by this article, before a
magistrate in any other [a] county of this state [bordering the
county in which the arrest was made]. The arrested person may be
taken before the magistrate in person or the image of the arrested
person may be presented [broadcast by closed circuit television] to
the magistrate by means of an electronic broadcast system. The
magistrate shall inform in clear language the person arrested,
either in person or through the electronic broadcast system [by
closed circuit television], of the accusation against him and of
any affidavit filed therewith, of his right to retain counsel, of
his right to remain silent, of his right to have an attorney present
during any interview with peace officers or attorneys representing
the state, of his right to terminate the interview at any time, and
of his right to have an examining trial. The magistrate shall also
inform the person arrested of the person's right to request the
appointment of counsel if the person cannot afford counsel. The
magistrate shall inform the person arrested of the procedures for
requesting appointment of counsel. If the person does not speak and
understand the English language or is deaf, the magistrate shall
inform the person in a manner consistent with Articles 38.30 and
38.31, as appropriate. The magistrate shall ensure that reasonable
assistance in completing the necessary forms for requesting
appointment of counsel is provided to the person at the same time.
If the person arrested is indigent and requests appointment of
counsel and if the magistrate is authorized under Article 26.04 to
appoint counsel for indigent defendants in the county, the
magistrate shall appoint counsel in accordance with Article 1.051.
If the magistrate is not authorized to appoint counsel, the
magistrate shall without unnecessary delay, but not later than 24
hours after the person arrested requests appointment of counsel,
transmit, or cause to be transmitted to the court or to the courts'
designee authorized under Article 26.04 to appoint counsel in the
county, the forms requesting the appointment of counsel. The
magistrate shall also inform the person arrested that he is not
required to make a statement and that any statement made by him may
be used against him. The magistrate shall allow the person arrested
reasonable time and opportunity to consult counsel and shall, after
determining whether the person is currently on bail for a separate
criminal offense, admit the person arrested to bail if allowed by
law. [A closed circuit television system may not be used under this
subsection unless the system provides for a two-way communication
of image and sound between the arrested person and the magistrate.]
A recording of the communication between the arrested person and
the magistrate shall be made. The recording shall be preserved
until the earlier of the following dates: (1) the date on which the
pretrial hearing ends; or (2) the 91st day after the date on which
the recording is made if the person is charged with a misdemeanor or
the 120th day after the date on which the recording is made if the
person is charged with a felony. The counsel for the defendant may
obtain a copy of the recording on payment of a reasonable amount to
cover costs of reproduction. For purposes of this subsection,
"electronic broadcast system" means a two-way electronic
communication of image and sound between the arrested person and
the magistrate and includes secure Internet videoconferencing.
SECTION 9. Article 15.18, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 15.18. ARREST FOR OUT-OF-COUNTY OFFENSE. (a) A
person arrested under a warrant issued in a county other than the
one in which the person is arrested shall be taken before a
magistrate of the county where the arrest takes place or, to provide
more expeditiously to the arrested person the warnings described by
Article 15.17, before a magistrate in any other county of this
state, including the county where the warrant was issued. The
magistrate [who] shall:
(1) take bail, if allowed by law, and, if without
jurisdiction, immediately transmit the bond taken to the court
having jurisdiction of the offense; or
(2) in the case of a person arrested under warrant for
an offense punishable by fine only, accept a written plea of guilty
or nolo contendere, set a fine, determine costs, accept payment of
the fine and costs, give credit for time served, determine
indigency, or, on satisfaction of the judgment, discharge the
defendant, as the case may indicate.
(b) Before the 11th business day after the date a magistrate
accepts a written plea of guilty or nolo contendere in a case under
Subsection (a)(2), the magistrate shall, if without jurisdiction,
transmit to the court having jurisdiction of the offense:
(1) the written plea;
(2) any orders entered in the case; and
(3) any fine or costs collected in the case.
(c) The arrested person may be taken before a magistrate by
means of an electronic broadcast system as provided by and subject
to the requirements of Article 15.17.
SECTION 10. Subsection (b), Article 15.19, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(b) If a person is arrested and taken before a magistrate in
a county other than [bordering] the county in which the arrest is
made [under the provisions of Article 15.17(a) of this code] and if
the person is remanded to custody, the person may be confined in a
jail in the county in which the magistrate serves for a period of
not more than 72 hours after the arrest before being transferred to
the county jail of the county in which the arrest occurred.
SECTION 11. The changes in law made by this Act to the Code
of Criminal Procedure apply only to an offense committed on or after
the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the
effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the
offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose. For the purposes of this section, an offense is
committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of
the offense occurs before that date.
SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
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