BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	H.B. 2697
89R8639 AJZ-F	By: Anch�a et al. (Huffman)
	Criminal Justice
	5/15/2025
	Engrossed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Under the current law, when a bail bondsman relinquishes responsibility for a defendant's bond as a result of a violation of their court-ordered bail bond conditions, the bondsman is under no obligation to notify the prosecuting attorney that the defendant's bond has been canceled. This lack of notification allows defendants who have violated their bail conditions to abscond the court for months, despite the bail bondsman's recommendation to order the defendant back into custody. H.B. 2697 requires a surety, in cases classified as a felony, to notify the prosecution of their intent to surrender a defendant to the court before filing an affidavit, effectively canceling their bond.

H.B. 2697 amends current law relating to certain procedures in connection with a bond forfeiture.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Article 17.19, Code of Criminal Procedure, by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1), as follows:

(a) Authorizes a surety that wants to surrender the surety's principal and has notified the principal's attorney, if the principal is represented by an attorney, in a manner provided by Rule 21a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, of the surety's intention to surrender the principal, subject to Subsection (a-1), to file an affidavit of that intention before the court or magistrate before which the prosecution is pending. Requires that the affidavit state certain information, including that notice of the surety's intention to surrender the principal has been given as required by this subsection and Subsection (a-1), if applicable. Makes nonsubstantive changes.

(a-1) Requires a surety, if the offense with which the defendant is charged is classified as a felony under the Penal Code, in addition to satisfying the requirements provided by Subsection (a), before filing the affidavit described by that subsection, to notify the attorney representing the state with jurisdiction in the case of the surety's intention to surrender the principal.

SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2025.