Amend HB 1528 (senate committee printing) by adding the following appropriately numbered SECTIONS to the bill and renumbering the SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:

SECTION ____.  Article 27.14(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

(b)  A defendant charged with a misdemeanor for which the maximum possible punishment is by fine only may, in lieu of the method provided in Subsection (a), mail or deliver in person to the court a plea of "guilty" or a plea of "nolo contendere" and a waiver of jury trial. The defendant may also request in writing that the court notify the defendant, at the address stated in the request, of the amount of an appeal bond that the court will approve. If the court receives a plea and waiver before the time the defendant is scheduled to appear in court, the court shall dispose of the case without requiring a court appearance by the defendant. If the court receives a plea and waiver after the time the defendant is scheduled to appear in court but at least five business days before a scheduled trial date, the court shall dispose of the case without requiring a court appearance by the defendant. The court shall notify the defendant either in person or by regular mail of the amount of any fine or costs assessed in the case, information regarding the alternatives to the full payment of any fine or costs assessed against the defendant, if the defendant is unable to pay that amount, and, if requested by the defendant, the amount of an appeal bond that the court will approve. Except as otherwise provided by this code, the defendant shall pay any fine or costs assessed or give an appeal bond in the amount stated in the notice before the 31st day after receiving the notice. This subsection does not apply to a defendant charged with a misdemeanor involving family violence, as defined by Section 71.004, Family Code.

SECTION ____.  Article 27.14(e)(2), Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

(2)  The court may provide the admonishment under Subdivision (1) orally or in writing[, except that if the defendant is charged with a misdemeanor punishable by fine only, the statement printed on a citation issued under Article 14.06(b) may serve as the court admonishment required by this subsection].

SECTION ____.  Subchapter B, Chapter 45, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Article 45.0211 to read as follows:

SECTION ____.  Article 27.14, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, and Article 45.0211, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, apply only to the entry of a plea with respect to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. The entry of a plea with respect to an offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date 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 the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.