HBA-NMO H.B. 1321 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1321 By: King, Phil Criminal Jurisprudence 3/18/99 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE A recent court decision stated that a trial court does not have the inherent authority to impose conditions on a defendant's pre-trial bond that are not authorized by statute. H.B. 1321 authorizes a magistrate who finds that a defendant is likely to commit an offense during the defendant's release on pre-trial bond to impose any reasonable condition of bond related to the safety of a victim of the alleged offense or to the safety of the community that the magistrate finds is reasonably certain to secure the attendance of the defendant at trial. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding Article 17.40, as follows: Art. 17.40. CONDITIONS RELATED TO VICTIM OR COMMUNITY SAFETY. Authorizes a magistrate who finds that a defendant is likely to commit an offense during the defendant's release on pre-trial bond to impose any reasonable condition of bond related to the safety of a victim of the alleged offense or to the safety of the community that the magistrate finds is reasonably certain to secure the attendance of the defendant at trial. SECTION 2. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 4. Emergency clause.