BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3165

By: Moody

Criminal Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties contend that some reporting requirements of a personal bond pretrial release office regarding a defendant's criminal history or applicable post-trial events create an undue burden on these offices considering that relevant information is often inaccessible. H.B. 3165 seeks to address this issue by removing and revising certain reporting requirements of a personal bond pretrial release office with respect to information related to certain released defendants.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 3165 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to specify that a personal bond pretrial release office's duty to prepare, routinely update, and file with the appropriate court a record containing information about any accused person who is released by a court on personal bond after the office's review applies with respect to such a person so released before sentencing in a pending case. The bill specifies that such an office's duty to include in the annual report on office operations submitted to the county commissioners court or district and county judges that established the office a statement of the number of accused persons who were released by the court on a personal bond after the office's review applies with respect to such persons so released before sentencing in a pending case. The bill removes the requirement for the office to include in the report the number of such released persons who were convicted of the same offense or of any felony within the six years preceding the date on which charges were filed in the matter pending during the person's release. The bill specifies that the requirement to include in the report a statement of the number of persons so released by a court on personal bond before sentencing in a pending case who were arrested for any other offense while released on personal bond applies with respect to an arrest for any other offense in the same county in which the persons were released.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2017.