Honorable Pete Gallego, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1748 by Kuempel (Relating to the refund of a cash bond to a defendant in a criminal case.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to allow a court to refund any cash funds to a defendant after the defendant complies with the bond conditions. A defendant would be allowed, as part of a plea bargain or deferred prosecution agreement, to request funds to be withheld for outstanding fines, court costs, or amounts of restitution, but not to repay attorney’s fees.
Local Government Impact
To the extent that authorizing direct allocation of bail bonds to pay outstanding fees would allow cases to be processed more efficiently and quickly, counties could experience a cost savings and/or increased collections; however, no significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council