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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the manner in which a bail bond or personal bond is |
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forfeited. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Article 22.02, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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Art. 22.02. MANNER OF TAKING A FORFEITURE. Bail bonds and |
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personal bonds are forfeited in the following manner: The name of |
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the defendant shall be called distinctly at the courthouse door, |
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and if the defendant does not appear within a reasonable time after |
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such call is made, judgment shall be entered that the State of Texas |
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recover of the defendant the amount of money in which the defendant |
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[he] is bound, and of the defendant's [his] sureties, if any, the |
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amount of money in which the sureties [they] are respectively |
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bound, and the [which] judgment shall state that the judgment |
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[same] will be made final, unless good cause be shown why the |
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defendant did not appear. For purposes of this article, a |
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reasonable time is presumed to be not less than 72 hours. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to a bail bond or personal bond executed on or after the effective |
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date of this Act. A bail bond or personal bond executed before the |
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effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the |
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bond was executed, and the former law is continued in effect for |
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that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |