By: Oliveira, Lucio III (Senate Sponsor - Lucio) H.B. No. 3417
         (In the Senate - Received from the House May 13, 2009;
  May 14, 2009, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
  Justice; May 22, 2009, rereferred to Committee on International
  Relations and Trade; May 25, 2009, reported favorably by the
  following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 25, 2009, sent to printer.)
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the jurisdiction of criminal law hearing officers in
  Cameron County.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 54.1356(a), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  A criminal law hearing officer appointed under this
  subchapter has limited concurrent jurisdiction over criminal cases
  filed in the district courts, statutory county courts, and justice
  courts of the county.  The jurisdiction of the criminal law hearing
  officer is limited to:
               (1)  determining probable cause for further detention
  of any person detained on a criminal complaint, information, or
  indictment filed in the district courts, statutory county courts,
  or justice courts of the county;
               (2)  committing the defendant to jail, discharging the
  defendant from custody, or admitting the defendant to bail, as the
  law and facts of the case require;
               (3)  issuing search warrants and arrest warrants as
  provided by law for magistrates; [and]
               (4)  as to criminal cases filed in justice courts,
  disposing of cases as provided by law, other than by trial, and
  collecting fines and enforcing judgments and orders of the justice
  courts in criminal cases;
               (5)  hearing, considering, and ruling on writs of
  habeas corpus filed under Article 17.151, Code of Criminal
  Procedure; and
               (6)  on motion of the district attorney:
                     (A)  dismissing a criminal case when the arresting
  agency has not timely filed the offense report with the district
  attorney; and
                     (B)  reducing the amount of bond on prisoners held
  at the county jail whose cases have not been filed in a district
  court or a statutory county court.
         SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
 
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