HBA-NMO C.S.H.B. 3168 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 3168 By: Keel Criminal Jurisprudence 5/10/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) 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. C.S.H.B. 3168 requires that a bail bond surety be deemed in default from the time the judgment may be executed in accordance with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, rather than from the time the trial court enters its final judgment on the scire facias, until the 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 Section 2, Article 17.11, Code of Criminal Procedure, by requiring that a bail bond surety be deemed in default from the time the judgment may be executed in accordance with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, rather than from the time the trial court enters its final judgment on the scire facias, until the judgment is satisfied or set aside. Provides that a surety, for the purposes of this section, is not considered in default on a bail bond if it deposits with the appropriate court cash in the full amount of the judgment, pending appeal. Requires that the deposit be applied to the payment of any final judgment in the case. SECTION 2. Amends Section 14A(c), Article 2372p-3, V.T.C.S. (Chapter 550, Acts of the 63rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1973), to make conforming changes. SECTION 3. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 4. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 5. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The substitute differs from the original in the caption by reflecting changes made by the substitute. The substitute differs from the original in SECTION 1 (Section 2, Article 17.11, Code of Criminal Procedure) by requiring that a bail bond surety be deemed in default from the time the judgment may be executed in accordance with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure until the judgment is satisfied or set aside, rather than from the time the judgment may be executed in accordance with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. The substitute further modifies this section by adding language to provide that a surety, for the purposes of this section, is not considered in default on a bail bond if it deposits with the appropriate court cash in the full amount of the judgment, pending appeal; and to require that the deposit be applied to the payment of any final judgment in the case. The substitute redesignates SECTIONS 2 (effective date) and 3 (emergency clause) of the original as SECTIONS 3 and 4. The substitute adds a new SECTION 2 to make conforming changes. The substitute adds a new SECTION 3 to make application of this Act prospective.