Art. 17.42. PERSONAL BOND OFFICE.
Sec. 1. Any county, or any judicial district with jurisdiction in more than one county, with the approval of the commissioners court of each county in the district, may establish a personal bond office to gather and review information about an accused that may have a bearing on whether he will comply with the conditions of a personal bond and report its findings to the court before which the case is pending.
Sec. 2. (a) The commissioners court of a county that establishes the office or the district and county judges of a judicial district that establishes the office may employ a director of the office.
(b) The director may employ the staff authorized by the commissioners court of the county or the commissioners court of each county in the judicial district.
Sec. 3. If a judicial district establishes an office, each county in the district shall pay its pro rata share of the costs of administering the office according to its population.
Sec. 4. (a) If a court releases an accused on personal bond on the recommendation of a personal bond office, the court shall assess a personal bond fee of $20 or three percent of the amount of the bail fixed for the accused, whichever is greater. The court may waive the fee or assess a lesser fee if good cause is shown.
(b) Fees collected under this article may be used solely to defray expenses of the personal bond office, including defraying the expenses of extradition.
(c) Fees collected under this article shall be deposited in the county treasury, or if the office serves more than one county, the fees shall be apportioned to each county in the district according to each county's pro rata share of the costs of the office.
Sec. 5. (a) A personal bond pretrial release office established under this article shall:
(1) prepare a record containing information about any accused person identified by case number only who, after review by the office, is released by a court on personal bond;
(2) update the record on a monthly basis; and
(3) file a copy of the record with the district or county clerk, as applicable based on court jurisdiction over the categories of offenses addressed in the records, in any county served by the office.
(b) In preparing a record under Subsection (a), the office shall include in the record a statement of:
(1) the offense with which the person is charged;
(2) the dates of any court appearances scheduled in the matter that were previously unattended by the person;
(3) whether a warrant has been issued for the person's arrest for failure to appear in accordance with the terms of the person's release;
(4) whether the person has failed to comply with conditions of release on personal bond; and
(5) the presiding judge or magistrate who authorized the personal bond.
(c) This section does not apply to a personal bond pretrial release office that on January 1, 1995, was operated by a community corrections and supervision department.
Sec. 6. (a) Not later than April 1 of each year, a personal bond office established under this article shall submit to the commissioners court or district and county judges that established the office an annual report containing information about the operations of the office during the preceding year.
(b) In preparing an annual report under Subsection (a), the office shall include in the report a statement of:
(1) the office's operating budget;
(2) the number of positions maintained for office staff;
(3) the number of accused persons who, after review by the office, were released by a court on personal bond; and
(4) the number of persons described by Subdivision (3):
(A) who were convicted of the same offense or of any felony within the six years preceding the date on which charges were filed in the matter pending during the person's release;
(B) who failed to attend a scheduled court appearance;
(C) for whom a warrant was issued for the person's arrest for failure to appear in accordance with the terms of the person's release; or
(D) who were arrested for any other offense while on the personal bond.
(c) This section does not apply to a personal bond pretrial release office that on January 1, 1995, was operated by a community corrections and supervision department.
Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 2, Sec. 5.01(a), eff. Aug. 28, 1989; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1080, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Secs. 5, 6 added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 318, Sec. 44, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
Amended by:
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 420 (S.B. 882), Sec. 1, eff. June 17, 2011.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1174 (S.B. 965), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2015.
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