BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2141

By: González, Jessica

Corrections

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Local specialty courts, attorneys, and advocates have recently brought attention to stringent requirements associated with procedures surrounding community supervision. Judges, attorneys, and defendants have all noted that the related law as written ties the hands of judges in their ability to remedy a violation of community supervision, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the violation. H.B. 2141 seeks to address this issue by updating applicable law to give judges more discretion with respect to deciding how best to proceed with a case. H.B. 2141 will allow judges to issue a summons instead of a warrant or capias for a defendant who violates any condition of community supervision. However, the ability for the judge to issue a summons does not preclude them from issuing a warrant if the summons is not adhered to.

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. 2141 amends the Code of Criminal Procedures to authorize a judge to issue a summons instead of a warrant or capias for a defendant who violates any condition of community supervision, including deferred adjudication community supervision, for certain offenses on request of the state's attorney or the defendant's supervision officer or at the judge's discretion. The bill requires the following:

· that the summons be in the same form as the warrant or capias, except that it must summon the defendant to appear at a stated time and place for a hearing on the alleged violation before the court that placed the defendant on community supervision; and

· that the summons be served on the defendant by in-person delivery of a copy to the defendant, leaving the summons at the defendant's residence with a person of suitable age and discretion who resides there, or by mailing the summons to the defendant's last known address.

The bill requires a judge to issue a warrant or capias if the defendant fails to appear in response to such a summons. The bill's provisions apply to a person on community supervision, including deferred adjudication community supervision, on or after the bill's effective date, regardless of whether the person was placed on community supervision before, on, or after that date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.