88R7018 MCF-D
 
  By: Moody H.B. No. 4517
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the release of certain defendants on personal bond.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Articles 17.03(a) and (b-2), Code of Criminal
  Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b), [or] (b-1), or
  (b-2), a magistrate shall [may, in the magistrate's discretion,]
  release a [the] defendant on personal bond without sureties or
  other security unless the magistrate enters a finding on the record
  that conditions of release are insufficient to reasonably ensure
  the defendant's appearance in court as required and the safety of
  the community, law enforcement, and the victim of the alleged
  offense. This subsection does not apply to a defendant described by
  Article 17.032(b).
         (b-2)  Except as provided by Articles 15.21, 17.033, and
  17.151, a defendant may not be released on personal bond if the
  defendant:
               (1)  is charged with:
                     (A)  an offense involving violence; or
                     (B)  an offense for which an element of the
  offense involves offensive or provocative sexual contact with
  another; or
               (2)  while released on bail or community supervision
  for an offense described by Subdivision (1) [involving violence],
  is charged with committing:
                     (A)  any offense punishable as a felony; or
                     (B)  an offense under the following provisions of
  the Penal Code:
                           (i)  Section 22.01(a)(1) (assault);
                           (ii)  Section 22.05 (deadly conduct);
                           (iii)  Section 22.07 (terroristic threat);
  or
                           (iv)  Section 42.01(a)(7) or (8) (disorderly
  conduct involving firearm).
         SECTION 2.  Articles 17.032(b) and (d), Code of Criminal
  Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  Notwithstanding Article 17.03(b), or a bond schedule
  adopted or a standing order entered by a judge, a magistrate shall
  release a defendant on personal bond unless good cause is shown
  otherwise if:
               (1)  the defendant is not charged with and has not been
  previously convicted of a violent offense or an offense for which an
  element of the offense involves offensive or provocative sexual
  contact with another;
               (2)  the defendant is examined by the service provider
  that contracts with the jail to provide mental health or
  intellectual and developmental disability services, the local
  mental health authority, the local intellectual and developmental
  disability authority, or another qualified mental health or
  intellectual and developmental disability expert under Article
  16.22;
               (3)  the applicable expert, in a written report
  submitted to the magistrate under Article 16.22:
                     (A)  concludes that the defendant has a mental
  illness or is a person with an intellectual disability and is
  nonetheless competent to stand trial; and
                     (B)  recommends mental health treatment or
  intellectual and developmental disability services for the
  defendant, as applicable;
               (4)  the magistrate determines, in consultation with
  the local mental health authority or local intellectual and
  developmental disability authority, that appropriate
  community-based mental health or intellectual and developmental
  disability services for the defendant are available in accordance
  with Section 534.053 or 534.103, Health and Safety Code, or through
  another mental health or intellectual and developmental disability
  services provider; and
               (5)  the magistrate finds, after considering all the
  circumstances, a pretrial risk assessment, if applicable, and any
  other credible information provided by the attorney representing
  the state or the defendant, that release on personal bond would
  reasonably ensure the defendant's appearance in court as required
  and the safety of the community, law enforcement, and the victim of
  the alleged offense.
         (d)  In addition to a condition of release imposed under
  Subsection (c), the magistrate may require the defendant to comply
  with other conditions that are reasonably necessary to ensure the
  defendant's appearance in court as required and the safety of the
  community, law enforcement, and the victim of the alleged offense.
         SECTION 3.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
  a person who is arrested on or after the effective date of this Act.  
  A person arrested before the effective date of this Act is governed
  by the law in effect on the date the person was arrested, and the
  former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.