HBA-KMH H.B. 490 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 490
By: Lewis, Glenn
Criminal Jurisprudence
3/22/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, in counties with a bond office, a report is required before a
magistrate may release a defendant on personal bond.  H.B. 490 codifies the
instances in which these reports are required in Tarrant County.  This bill
also sets forth specific instances and circumstances when such a report is
required. 

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 Criminal Procedure, by adding Article
17.033, as follows: 

Art.  17.033.  PERSONAL BOND OFFICE REPORT REQUIRED.  (a) Prohibits a judge
or magistrate (judicial officer), in a county with a personal bond office,
from releasing a defendant on personal bond unless the judicial officer
orders the personal bond office to prepare a report on the accused as
provided by Section 1 (Personal Bond Office), Article 17.42, Code of
Criminal Procedure, and the judicial officer has examined the report. 

(b) Makes this article applicable to a defendant who:

_is charged with an offense listed in Section 3g(a)(1), Article 42.12
(Community Supervision), or described by Section 3g(a)(2), Article 42.12; 
_is charged with a capital felony or a felony of the first degree;
_has been convicted of a felony and served a sentence in a correctional
facility for that conviction; 
_has been on community supervision, probation, or a similar form of
supervision for a felony within the five years preceding the date the
offense is alleged to have occurred; 
_is charged with the commission of an offense while on community
supervision, probation, or a similar form of supervision in connection with
the commission of another offense; 
_is charged with the commission of an offense while released on bail or
personal bond in connection with another offense; 
_has been previously convicted of another offense under the same statute as
the offense for which the defendant has been arrested; 
_has been charged with two or more offenses alleged to have been committed
in the same criminal episode; 
_is a known or admitted member of a criminal street gang as defined by
Section 71.01 (Definitions), Penal Code; 
_has had bail set in the case in an amount that exceeds $10,000; or
_is charged with an offense listed in Subsection (c) or (d).

(c) Provides that the following offenses are covered by Subsection (b):

 _Criminal Solicitation, if the offense solicited is capital murder or a
felony of the first degree; 
_Criminal Solicitation of a Minor, if the offense solicited is an offense
listed in Section 3g(a)(1), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure; 
_Manslaughter; or Criminally Negligent Homicide;
_Unlawful Restraint or Kidnapping;
_Indecency With a Child, by exposing the defendant's anus or any part of
the defendant's genitals, knowing the child is present, with intent to
arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person; 
_Assault, if the offense is committed against:
_an elderly individual or disabled individual, as those terms are defined
by the offense of Injury to a Child, Elderly Individual, or Disabled
Individual; 
_a family member when the defendant has been previously convicted of an
offense against a family member under that section; or 
_a public servant, if the defendant knows the person is a public servant,
while the public servant is lawfully discharging an official duty, or in
retaliation or on account of an exercise of official power or  performance
of an official duty as a public servant; 
_Sexual Assault of an adult, by causing contact or penetration of an anus,
mouth, or female sexual organ without the other's consent; Aggravated
Assault; Injury to a Child, Elderly Individual, or Disabled Individual; or
Terroristic Threat; 
_Prohibited Sexual Conduct; Agreement to Abduct From Custody; Enticing a
Child; Harboring Runaway Child; Violation of Protective Order or
Magistrate's Order; or Sale or Purchase of Child; 
_Arson or; if the offense involves discharging a firearm or weapon or
causing bodily injury, Interference with Railroad Property; 
_Robbery or; if the offense is burglary of a habitation, Burglary;
_Theft, if the offense is a felony of the second degree or higher, or if
the property came into the defendant's possession by virtue of the
defendant's employment as a civil servant or a contractual relationship
with a governmental entity, or the defendant has been previously convicted
of Theft; 
_Theft of Service, if the offense is a felony of the second degree or
higher or the defendant has been previously convicted of Theft of Service; 
_Bribery; Coercion of Public Servant or Voter; Tampering with Witness; or
Obstruction or Retaliation; 
_Perjury; Aggravated Perjury; or Tampering With or Fabricating Physical
Evidence; 
_Resisting Arrest; Search, or Transportation; Evading Arrest or Detention;
Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution, if the offense is a felony of the
second degree or higher or the defendant has been previously convicted of
the same offense; 
_Escape; Implements for Escape; Bail Jumping and Failure to Appear;
Prohibited Substances in Correctional Facility or on Property of Texas
Department of Criminal Justice; Unauthorized Absence from Community
Corrections Facility, County Correctional Center, or Assignment Site; or
Taking or Attempting to Take Weapon from Peace Officer; 
_Abuse of Official Capacity; Official Oppression; or Violations of the
Civil Rights of Person in Custody; Improper Sexual Activity with Person in
Custody; 
_Riot; Silent or Abusive Calls to 9-1-1 Service; Harassment; Stalking; or
Abuse of Corpse; 
_Prostitution; Promotion of Prostitution; Aggravated Promotion of
Prostitution; Compelling Prostitution; Sale, Distribution, or Display of
Harmful Material to Minor; Sexual Performance by a Child, Employment
Harmful to Children; or Possession or Promotion of Child Pornography; 
_Prohibited Weapons, if the offense is a felony;
_Components of Explosives; or Deadly Weapon in Penal Institution; 
_Prohibition of the Purchase and Sale of Human Organs;
_Driving While Intoxicated; Flying While Intoxicated; or Boating While
Intoxicated, if the person has been previously convicted of the same
offense; 
_Intoxication Assault; or Intoxication Manslaughter; or
_Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity; or Violation of Court Order
Enjoining Organized Criminal Activity. 

(d) Provides that an offense under Chapter 481 (Texas Controlled Substances
Act), Health and Safety Code, punishable by imprisonment for life is
covered by Subsection (b). 

SECTION 2.  Amends Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding
Article 17.421, as follows: 

Art.  17.421.  RESTRICTIONS ON PERSONAL BOND OFFICE.  Prohibits a personal
bond office from preparing or delivering to a court a report on a defendant
to whom proposed Article 17.033  applies, except on written order of a
judge or magistrate. 

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.