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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the release of certain defendants detained in jail |
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pending trial. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended by adding Article 17.1511 to read as follows: |
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Art. 17.1511. RELEASE OF DEFENDANT DETAINED LONGER THAN |
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POTENTIAL PUNISHMENT. (a) Notwithstanding any other law and |
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except as provided by Subsection (b), a defendant charged with an |
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offense may not be detained in jail pending trial for a cumulative |
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period that, when considering the maximum credit toward the |
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defendant's sentence to which the defendant would be entitled to |
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earn as a result of the defendant's conduct while confined in the |
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county jail of the county in which the offense occurred, exceeds the |
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maximum term of confinement that may be imposed on conviction of the |
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offense of which the defendant is accused. |
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(b) This article does not apply to a defendant who is: |
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(1) being evaluated for competency or subject to an |
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order of commitment issued under Chapter 46B; or |
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(2) charged with: |
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(A) a Class C misdemeanor under Section 49.02, |
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Penal Code, and no other offense; or |
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(B) any other Class C misdemeanor, if the |
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defendant is also being detained due to an outstanding warrant for |
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any offense. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to a person who is arrested on or after the effective date of this |
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Act. A person arrested before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the person was arrested, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |