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.