HBA-NMO H.B. 3168 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3168 By: Keel Criminal Jurisprudence 3/21/99 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Bond forfeiture cases are civil lawsuits in which the county is the plaintiff and the criminal defendant and the defendant's surety, if any, are the defendants. Such suits are governed by the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, which provide that a judgment becomes final 30 days from the time it is entered by the court. A provision in Article 17.11 (How Bail Bond is Taken), Code of Criminal Procedure, has been used by at least one county to contend that judgments in bond forfeiture suits become final at the time the court enters the judgment. This interpretation eliminates the defendants' time to file an appeal, ask for a new hearing, file any other motion, or satisfy the judgment. H.B. 3168 requires that a bail bond surety be deemed in default from the time the judgment becomes final in accordance with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedures (sic), rather than from the time the trial court enters its final judgment on the scire facias until such judgment is satisfied or set aside. 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 Article 17.11, Code of Criminal Procedure, by requiring that a bail bond surety be deemed in default from the time the judgment becomes final in accordance with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedures (sic), rather than from the time the trial court enters its final judgment on the scire facias until such judgment is satisfied or set aside. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.