Bill Text: TX HB1173 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Enrolled

Texas House Bill 1173 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Relating to the release on bond of certain persons arrested for a misdemeanor without a warrant in certain counties.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2011-06-17 - Effective on 9/1/11 [HB1173 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB1173-Enrolled.html



	H.B. No. 1173




	AN ACT
	relating to the release on bond of certain persons arrested for a
	misdemeanor without a warrant in certain counties.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Article 17.033, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
	amended by adding Subsections (a-1) and (e) and amending
	Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:
	(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) and except as provided
	by Subsection (c), a person who, in a county with a population of
	three million or more, is arrested without a warrant and who is
	detained in jail must be released on bond, in an amount not to
	exceed $5,000, not later than the 36th hour after the person's
	arrest if the person was arrested for a misdemeanor and a magistrate
	has not determined whether probable cause exists to believe that
	the person committed the offense.
	(c) On the filing of an application by the attorney
	representing the state, a magistrate may postpone the release of a
	person under Subsection (a), (a-1), or (b) for not more than 72
	hours after the person's arrest. An application filed under this
	subsection must state the reason a magistrate has not determined
	whether probable cause exists to believe that the person committed
	the offense for which the person was arrested.
	(d) The time limits imposed by Subsections (a), (a-1), and
	(b) do not apply to a person arrested without a warrant who is taken
	to a hospital, clinic, or other medical facility before being taken
	before a magistrate under Article 15.17. For a person described by
	this subsection, the time limits imposed by Subsections (a), (a-1),
	and (b) begin to run at the time, as documented in the records of the
	hospital, clinic, or other medical facility, that a physician or
	other medical professional releases the person from the hospital,
	clinic, or other medical facility.
	(e) Subsection (a-1) and this subsection expire on
	September 1, 2013.
	SECTION 2. Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
	amended by adding Article 17.0331 to read as follows:
	Art. 17.0331. IMPACT STUDY. (a) This article applies only
	to a county with a population of three million or more.
	(b) Each county to which this article applies shall conduct
	an impact study to determine the effect of Article 17.033(a-1) on
	the county's ability to control and process the county's
	misdemeanor caseload, including a specific assessment of the effect
	of that subsection on:
	(1) the average number of hours a person who is
	arrested for a misdemeanor is detained in jail before being
	released on bond;
	(2) bonding practices, including the number of persons
	released on personal bond;
	(3) the inmate population in a county jail and in each
	municipal jail located in the county;
	(4) the number of arrests for misdemeanor offenses;
	(5) public safety;
	(6) costs to the criminal justice system; and
	(7) the number of applications filed by the attorney
	representing the state under Article 17.033(c).
	(c) The county shall also determine whether a more
	cost-effective method of controlling and processing misdemeanor
	caseloads exists than an extension of the period for which a person
	may be detained after a misdemeanor arrest.
	(d) Not later than October 15, 2012, the county must file
	the impact study with:
	(1) the commissioners court of the county;
	(2) the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice;
	(3) the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence; and
	(4) the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.
	(e) The county shall make the results of the impact study
	available to the public.
	(f) This article expires on September 1, 2013.
	SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act in amending
	Article 17.033, Code of Criminal Procedure, applies only to a
	person arrested for an offense committed on or after the effective
	date of this Act. A person arrested for 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.
	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.


	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House


	I certify that H.B. No. 1173 was passed by the House on April
	7, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 1, 1 present, not
	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
	No. 1173 on May 27, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 136, Nays 1,
	2 present, not voting.

	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House

	I certify that H.B. No. 1173 was passed by the Senate, with
	amendments, on May 23, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 22, Nays
	9.

	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date

	__________________
	Governor