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12 Document(s) [ Subject: Bail ]

Committee: House Criminal Justice Reform, Interim Study
Title: Interim Report
Subjects: Asset forfeiture | Bail | Juries | Jury instructions | Juvenile detention facilities | Juvenile justice system | Parole | Penalties and sentences (Criminal justice) | Police misconduct | Police officers | Police reform | Prisons | Prosecutorial misconduct |
Library Call Number:
Session: 87th R.S. (2021)
Online version: View report [42 pages  File size: 1,951 kb]
Charges: This report should address the charges below.
1. Monitor the implementation of SB 6, 87th 2nd C.S., relating to changes in the state's bail system, to determine if additional legislation is needed to ensure Texans are protected from the most dangerous criminals while ensuring the constitutional rights of defendants.
2. Examine the following areas of criminal justice policy: (A) Policing, including training, use of force, arrest procedures, and alternative responses to nonviolent and noncriminal issues; (B) Criminal procedure and due process from initial detention through appeal, including:
  • policies and penalties relating to drug offenses;
  • use of prosecutorial discretion;
  • use and conditions of detention and incarceration;
  • the civil asset forfeiture process; and
  • jury instructions and sentencing guidelines in felony cases;
(C) The level of transparency in policing and prosecution, including the grand jury process; (D) The appropriate age range for the juvenile justice system and parole eligibility, in addition to procedures for juveniles certified as adults; and (E) Opportunities to reduce recidivism and remove barriers to re-entry after justice involvement.
Committee: Senate Finance
Title: Interim Report
Subjects: Bail | Border security | Coronavirus | Economy | Employees Retirement System of Texas | Federal funds | Harris County | Homestead exemptions | Hospitals | Inflation | Investment of public funds | Long-term care | Medicaid | Mental health services | Nursing homes | Operation Lone Star (Border security) | Property tax exemptions | Property taxes | Public retirement systems | Recidivism | Retirees | Russia | School finance | State employee salaries | State employee turnover | Tax and expenditure limits | Tax revenue | Teacher Retirement System of Texas |
Library Call Number: L1836.87 F49
Session: 87th R.S. (2021)
Online version: View report [108 pages  File size: 4,001 kb]
Charges: This report should address the charges below.
1. Federal Funds: Report on the state use of federal COVID-19 relief funds provided under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, the American Rescue Plan Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Acts, and similar federal legislation. Examine local use of federal relief funding, including funding provided to school districts through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. Evaluate the overall fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on state agencies, including costs incurred due to federal mandates. Identify barriers to the effective utilization of funds and make recommendations on the expenditure of unappropriated funds. In addition, evaluate and report on the spending by state agencies that have been utilizing "one-time" federal funding (temporary enhancements, e.g. FMAP and ESSER) sources, where federal funding will likely be significantly reduced in future biennia.
2. Property Tax Relief: Examine and recommend ways to reduce Texans' property tax burden. Review and report on proposals to use or dedicate state revenues in excess of the state spending limit to eliminate the school district maintenance and operations property tax.
3. Inflation: Review and report on the effect inflation is having on the business community and state government, including state salaries, retiree benefits, the state economy, and cost of state services.
4. Inflation: Review and report on the impact of inflation on units of local governments' revenue collections and property taxpayers' tax bills, including the homestead exemption.
5. Tax Exemptions: Examine Texans' current tax exemptions and report on whether adjustments are merited because of inflation or any other factors.
6. Russia Divestiture: Examine and report on options for state asset owners to divest their positions in companies that invest in the Russian Federation.
7. State Pension Reforms: Monitor the implementation of recent statewide pension reforms to the Employees Retirement System of Texas and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
8. Bail Bond Reform: Monitor the implementation of recent bail bond reform legislation along with its economic impact on the judicial and correctional system. Assess any barriers to implementation, the law’s effect on pretrial release and jail populations, and ways to further promote public safety and efficiency.
9. Operation Lone Star: Monitor appropriations and spending supporting Operation Lone Star. Evaluate and report on the effectiveness of spending to secure the southern border. Identify and report on resources needed to ensure support for the State National Guard, as well as overall resources necessary for border security for future legislative consideration.
10. Long-term Care Funding: Examine state investments in the long-term nursing home care system. Study nursing facility funding issues and the impact of the pandemic on capacity and delivery of care. Explore nursing facility quality metrics and recommend strategies to improve the sustainability of the long-term care workforce.
11. Medicaid: Monitor the financial impact of federal decision-making affecting supplemental Medicaid funding for Texas hospitals and health care systems, including negotiations between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Texas Medicaid agency regarding the state's 1115 Medicaid waiver and other federal proposals reducing supplemental funding streams for Texas.
12. Mental Health Delivery: Examine the state mental health service delivery system. Study the state's Comprehensive Plan for State-Funded Inpatient Mental Health Services and the Statewide Behavioral Health Strategic Plan and evaluate the existing state investments in mental health services and state hospital capacity. Review current forensic and civil mental health service waitlists, and recommend ways to improve coordination and outcomes to reduce waitlists. Explore and report on options for additional mental health service capacity, including building state hospitals in the Panhandle and Rio Grande Valley areas.
Committee: House Criminal Jurisprudence
Title: Interim Report
Subjects: Bail | Capital punishment | Capital punishment of mentally ill inmates | Capital punishment of mentally disabled inmates | Court Administration, Texas Office of | Court costs and fees | Courts | Criminal justice | Emergency management | Fines | Gun control | Guns | Hurricane Harvey | Jury instructions | Legal malpractice | Marijuana | Mentally ill persons | Penalties and sentences (Criminal justice) | Prosecutorial misconduct | Risk-based decision-making | School safety | School violence | Sex crimes | Shootings | State jail system |
Library Call Number: L1836.85 C868h
Session: 85th R.S. (2017)
Online version: View report [103 pages]
Charges: This report should address the charges below.
1. Evaluate the impact of Hurricane Harvey on the Texas criminal justice system, including its effect on the speed of criminal trials and litigation, criminal courts, district attorneys' ability to prosecute, and attorneys' ability to provide proper defense. Recommend any changes that could improve operational stability of state criminal justice institutions following a natural disaster and changes that would allow for a more effective response.
2. Assess developments in medical science and legal standards related to the imposition of the death penalty on defendants with serious mental illness or intellectual and developmental disabilities. Review statutorily prescribed jury instructions used during capital sentencing.
3. Study current practices for the enforcement of criminal laws against low-level possession of marijuana. Examine the use of alternative punishments and improvements to criminal enforcement mechanisms and community supervision.
4. Examine instances of prosecutorial misconduct and ineffective assistance of defense counsel. Review systemic and structural issues affecting the resolution of criminal cases.
5. Examine the legal framework surrounding sexual assault prosecutions, including statutory definitions, certain age-based offenses, and ongoing developments in evidence collection and processing.
6. Review the Texas state jail system, including its original intent, sentencing guidelines, effectiveness, and recidivism rates. Make recommendations for changes in the state jail system that will improve outcomes. (Joint charge with the House Committee on Corrections)
7. Monitor the work of the Office of Court Administration on pre-trial risk assessment tools for the Texas Judiciary, and study the use of risk assessment tools at various stages in the criminal justice process. Monitor litigation on Harris County pretrial bond practices. Monitor the implementation of the legislation passed by the 85th Legislature regarding the imposition of fines, fees, and court costs in criminal courts.
8. Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee’s jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 85th Legislature.
9. Review the applicable portions of the state's penal laws and make legislative recommendations regarding whether existing protective order laws are sufficient or could be amended to include 'red flag' or mental health protective orders or whether 'red flag' or mental health protective orders should be independently created to allow law enforcement, a family member, a school employee, or a district attorney to file a petition seeking removal of firearms from a potentially dangerous person and providing for mental health treatment for the potentially dangerous person, while preserving the fundamental rights of the Second Amendment and ensuring due process.
10. Examine current statutes designed to protect minors from accessing firearms without proper supervision and make recommendations to ensure responsible and safe firearm storage, including enhancing the penalty to a felony when unauthorized access results in death or bodily injury.
Committee: House Corrections
Title: Interim Report
Subjects: Administrative segregation | Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Texas Commission on | Bail | Court costs and fees | Criminal justice | Criminal Justice, Texas Department of | Drug enforcement | Drug rehabilitation programs | Expunged criminal records | Fees | Illegal drugs | Inmate rehabilitation | Inmates | Pardons and Paroles, Texas Board of | Parole | Probation | Recidivism | State jail system | Substance abuse | Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facilities | Technical parole violations | Windham School District |
Library Call Number: L1836.84 C817
Session: 84th R.S. (2015)
Online version: View report [73 pages]
Charges: This report should address the charges below.
1. Examine fees and revocations for those on probation and parole; examine effectiveness of fees imposed as a condition of probation and parole; study technical revocations in adult probation to identify drivers of revocations, disparities across the state, and strategies for reducing technical revocations while ensuring program effectiveness and public safety. (Joint charge with the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence)
2. Study recidivism, its major causes, and existing programs designed to reduce recidivism, including a review of current programs utilized by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and the Windham School District for incarcerated persons. Examine re-entry programs and opportunities for offenders upon release. Identify successful programs in other jurisdictions and consider how they might be implemented in Texas.
3. Study incarceration rates for non-violent drug offenses and the cost to the state associated with those offenses. Identify alternatives to incarceration, including community supervision, that could be used to reduce incarceration rates of non-violent drug offenders.
4. Study inmate release policies of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, including the release of inmates directly from administrative segregation. Identify best practices and policies for both the transitioning of these various inmate populations from the prison to appropriate supervision in the community. Identify any needed legislative changes necessary to accomplish these goals.
5. Conduct legislative oversight and monitoring of the agencies and programs under the committee’s jurisdiction and the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 84th Legislature. In conducting this oversight, the committee should: a. consider any reforms to state agencies to make them more responsive to Texas taxpayers and citizens; b. identify issues regarding the agency or its governance that may be appropriate to investigate, improve, remedy, or eliminate; c. determine whether an agency is operating in a transparent and efficient manner; and d. identify opportunities to streamline programs and services while maintaining the mission of the agency and its programs.
Committee: House County Affairs
Title: Interim Report
Subjects: Bail | Child abuse | Child Protective Services | County jails | County roads | Court costs and fees | Criminal justice | Criminal records | Electronic security | Emergency management | Fees | Indigent health care | Jail Standards, Texas Commission on | Managed care | Medicaid | Mentally ill inmates | Mentally ill persons | Natural disasters | Police officers | Suicide |
Library Call Number: L1836.84 C832
Session: 84th R.S. (2015)
Online version: View report [112 pages]
Charges: This report should address the charges below.
1. Review jail standards and procedures with regards to potentially mentally ill persons in county jails, as well as issues stemming from interactions between the general public and peace officers. *
2. Study the effectiveness and efficiency of current programs in Texas as well as best practices to determine how to decrease the risk and mitigate the impact of wildfires, floods, and other natural hazards in the wildland-urban interface. Examine the duties, performance, and jurisdictions of water districts, municipalities, Emergency Services Districts, other similar districts, and state offices like the Fire Marshal and Extension Services. Evaluate current regulations and identify best practices. Recommend approaches for hazard mitigation and response to natural disasters. (Joint charge with the House Committee on Urban Affairs)
3. Identify and address potential gaps in counties’ cybersecurity policies and ensure that personal information held by counties and other local governmental entities is secure.
4. Evaluate the Texas Commission on Jail Standards to determine if the Commission has the resources and structure to provide sufficient oversight, regulation, and enforcement over Texas county jails.
5. Review pretrial service and bonding practices throughout the state. Examine factors considered in bail and pre-trial confinement decisions, including the use of risk assessments; assess the effectiveness and efficiency of different systems in terms of cost to local governments and taxpayers, community safety, pretrial absconding rates and rights of the accused. (Joint charge with the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence)
6. Study the implications and effects on law enforcement agencies and individuals that stem from the publication, republication, or other dissemination for public internet access of mug shots and other criminal history information regarding involvement of an individual in the criminal justice system.
7. Study statutorily mandated services provided by sheriffs and constables, and determine whether fee schedules allow cost recovery without placing undue burdens on recipients of those services.
8. Study the effect of Proposition 5 (SJR 17 (84R)) on the quality of private roadways in counties with a population of less than 7,500. Make recommendations to ensure the amendment does not result in undue competition between counties and private industry, and whether additional counties could benefit from a similar authorization.
9. Conduct legislative oversight and monitoring of the agencies and programs under the committee’s jurisdiction and the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 84th Legislature. In conducting this oversight, the committee should: a. consider any reforms to state agencies to make them more responsive to Texas taxpayers and citizens; b. identify issues regarding the agency or its governance that may be appropriate to investigate, improve, remedy, or eliminate; c. determine whether an agency is operating in a transparent and efficient manner; and d. identify opportunities to streamline programs and services while maintaining the mission of the agency and its programs.
Committee: House Criminal Jurisprudence
Title: Interim Report
Subjects: Asset forfeiture | Bail | County jails | Family violence | Fees | Indigent criminal defense | Innocence projects | Parole | Probation | Protective orders | Technical parole violations |
Library Call Number: L1836.84 C868
Session: 84th R.S. (2015)
Online version: View report [55 pages]
Charges: This report should address the charges below.
1. Examine the feasibility of utilizing GPS monitoring in protective orders as a tool to help reduce family violence; study programs and identify best practices focused on the intervention and prevention of family violence and consider statutory changes needed to further deter the offense of family violence and domestic abuse.
2. Review pretrial service and bonding practices throughout the state. Examine factors considered in bail and pre-trial confinement decisions, including the use of risk assessments; assess the effectiveness and efficiency of different systems in terms of cost to local governments and taxpayers, community safety, pretrial absconding rates and rights of the accused. (Joint charge with the House Committee on County Affairs)
3. Examine the use of asset forfeiture in this state, including data reporting on forfeiture actions and procedures from seizure through forfeiture in both contested and uncontested cases. Make recommendations for improving these systems that balance law enforcement needs, private property rights, and government transparency.
4. Study the constitutional requirements and local practices for the appointment of counsel to indigent defendants and the operation of innocence projects at the state’s six public law schools. Compare different indigent defense plans and the innocence projects across the state and identify best practices for system management, including appointment methods and timing, cost effectiveness, timeliness of case disposition, compensation of counsel, quality of representation, and protection of procedural rights. Consider the effectiveness of each of the programs currently funded and the funding strategy as a whole.
5. Examine fees and revocations for those on probation and parole; examine effectiveness of fees imposed as a condition of probation and parole; study technical revocations in adult probation to identify drivers of revocations, disparities across the state, and strategies for reducing technical revocations while ensuring program effectiveness and public safety. (Joint charge with the House Committee on Corrections)
6. Conduct legislative oversight and monitoring of the agencies and programs under the committee’s jurisdiction and the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 84th Legislature. In conducting this oversight, the committee should: a. consider any reforms to state agencies to make them more responsive to Texas taxpayers and citizens; b. identify issues regarding the agency or its governance that may be appropriate to investigate, improve, remedy, or eliminate; c. determine whether an agency is operating in a transparent and efficient manner; and d. identify opportunities to streamline programs and services while maintaining the mission of the agency and its programs.
Committee: House County Affairs
Title: Interim Report
Library Catalog Title: House Committee on County Affairs, Texas House of Representatives interim report, 2010 : a report to the House of Representatives, 82nd Texas Legislature
Subjects: Agriculture | Bail | Counties | County government | Economy | Indigent health care | Land use regulations | Open government | Rural economic development |
Library Call Number: L1836.81 C832
Session: 81st R.S. (2009)
Online version: View report [99 pages  File size: 2,515 kb]
Charges: This report should address the charges below.
1. Study the current practices and tools available to counties to manage growth and development. Consider incompatible land uses and county rulemaking authority, including rulemaking authority bracketed to counties of a certain population.
2. Study county- level health care delivery models for indigent health care that emphasize community-based care to improve the continuity and quality of care. Compare urban and rural health care delivery models and make necessary legislative recommendations.
3. Study county oversight related to pretrial release on bond in criminal cases.
4. Examine how local governments can better inform the public about local government debts.
5. Survey rural economic development programs. Analyze the economic relationship between rural communities and the agriculture industry and their combined impact on the state's economy. Joint Interim Charge with House Committee on Agriculture and Livestock
6. Monitor the agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction.
Committee: House Criminal Jurisprudence
Title: Interim report
Library Catalog Title: Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, Texas House of Representatives interim report, 1992 : a report to the House of Representatives, 73rd Texas Legislature.
Subjects: At-risk youth | Bail | Crime Victims' Compensation Fund | Elder abuse | Fraud | Gangs | Juries | Juvenile crime | Juvenile justice system | Mental health services | Penalties and sentences (Criminal justice) | School safety | School violence | Senior citizens | Trial by jury | Youth Commission, Texas |
Library Call Number: L1836.72 c868hj
Session: 72nd R.S. (1991)
Online version: View report [74 pages  File size: 3,239 kb]
Charges: This report should address the charges below.
1. Study the feasibility of developing and implementing a uniform method of reporting gang activity (crime reporting program). Study ways of suppressing gang activity (alternative programs, enhanced penalties, vertical proesecution, parental responsibility, etc.) Study methods to remove hard core gang members from the street (training developing job skills and placement, counseling, community activities). Develop definition of "gang member" to apply on a state-wide basis.
2. Review and compare rules of the 36 County Bailbond Boards. Compare bail bonds and personal bonds as used in the counties; the rate of collection on forfeitures; the cost of forfeitures to the county; and the rearrest rates. make recommendations for improvements to both systems.
3. Review the grand jury process. Consider the jury wheel system versus the jury commission.
4. Study the prevalence of fraud perpetrated upon the elderly in the state. Make recommendations for prevention and protection.
5. Study the impact of mental health care on the Texas Crime Victims Compensation fund.
6. Monitor the Texas Punishment Standards Committee.
Committee: House County Affairs
Title: Interim report
Library Catalog Title: Interim report to the 71st Texas Legislature / Committee on County Affairs, Texas House of Representatives.
Subjects: Appraisal districts | Bail | County budgets | County government | County treasurers | Indigent health care | Jail Standards, Texas Commission on | Real estate development | State mandates | Tax assessor-collectors |
Library Call Number: L1836.70 c832
Session: 70th R.S. (1987)
Online version: View report [16 pages  File size: 622 kb]
Charges: This report should address the charges below.
1. To monitor all activities and have budget oversight responsibilities for those agencies, boards and commissions as listed in Rule 3, Section 6.
2. To study the current funding sources of Texas county government in light of comparative studies on the funding of county governments nationwide. Make recommendations on adequacy of current revenue to meet current and future county responsibilities including the infrastructure needs of county programs.
3. To study the need for ordinance making power for county government to protect the health and welfare of citizens living in unincorporated areas.
4. To study and evaluate the county indigent health programs resulting from the Indigent Health Care and Treatment Act and develop recommendations for any necessary revisions. (Joint study with House Committee on Public Health).
5. To study the possible consolidation of tax collection efforts under one entity and project the fiscal impact of such programs.
6. To study the abolishment of the office of county treasurer and the transfer of the treasurer's duties to auditor's office.
7. To study the reorganization of county government to allow for the abolition of unnecessary offices on a local option basis.
8. To study the impact of state programs and expenditures mandated by the state for counties.
9. To study the development of a County Fiscal Responsibility Act to insure all funds linked to county government are under the purview of the commissioner's court.
10. To study the operation of county bail bond boards.
11. To study the need for citizen representation on boards.
Committee: House Criminal Jurisprudence
Title: Interim Report
Library Catalog Title: To the speaker and members, Texas House of Representatives, 68th Legislature : report of the / Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, 67th Legislature.
Subjects: Appellate courts | Bail | Criminal appeals | Criminal justice | Illegal video recordings | Indigent criminal defense | Penalties and sentences (Criminal justice) | Privacy | Recidivism | Searches and seizures | State income taxes |
Library Call Number: L1836.67 j979cr
Session: 67th R.S. (1981)
Online version: View report [58 pages  File size: 1,900 kb]
Charges: This report should address the charges below.
1. Review federal and state wiretap statutes and court cases related to wiretapping and electronic surveillance to determine if pen registers, devices which record the numbers dialed by a particular telephone, are covered by the procedures, restrictions and safeguards of the state wire communications laws. *
2. Compare Texas' statutes with those of other states to assess differences in programs and compensation for counsel appointed to defend indigents.
3. Compare our penalty schedule, including the habitual criminal law, and our recidivism rates to those of other states to determine if any other penalty schedule tends to reduce recidivism more than our present penalty schedule.
4. Consider whether the Courts of Appeals are able to effectively accomplish their constitutional and statutory duties in disposing of intermediate criminal appeals. Determine what resources are necessary to allow the Courts of Appeals to handle the larger load of criminal cases. *
5. Make recommendations for clarifying the status of habeas corpus orders issued by Courts of Appeals. *
6. Monitor the implementation of HB 360, 67th R.S..
7. Monitor the implementation of SJR 36, 67th R.S., through the requirements set by SB 265, 67th R.S..
Committee: House Bail Bond Business Regulation
Title: Interim Report
Library Catalog Title: Report to the House of Representatives of the 62nd Legislature / House Interim Committee to Study the Bail Bond Business in Texas.
Subjects: Bail |
Library Call Number: L1836.61 b15f
Session: 61st R.S. (1969)
Online version: View report [19 pages  File size: 1,031 kb]
Charge: This report should address the charge below.
1. Make a study of the bail bond business and the need for licensing, restricting activities of bail bondsmen to signing bonds, and other possible regulatory measures in the State of Texas.
Supporting documents
Committee: House Bail Bond Business Regulation
Title: Report
Library Call Number: L1836.61 B15r
Session: 61st R.S. (1969)
Online version: View document [5 pages  File size: 1,001 kb]

* This represents an abstract of the report contents. Charge text is incomplete or unavailable.

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