87(1) HB 170 - Introduced version - Bill Text

	87S10167 MEW-F
	By:  Reynolds	H.B.  No.  170

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to bail proceedings and related duties of a magistrate in a
	criminal case.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION  1.    This Act may be cited as the Damon Allen Act.
	SECTION  2.    Article 1.07, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
	amended to read as follows:
	Art.  1.07.    RIGHT TO BAIL. (a) Except as provided by
	Subsection (b) or Chapter 17, any person [All prisoners] shall be
	eligible for bail, [bailable] unless the person is accused of a
	[for] capital offense for which [offenses when] the proof is
	evident. This provision shall not be [so] construed [as] to prevent
	bail after indictment found upon examination of the evidence, in
	such manner as may be prescribed by law.
	(b)    A person who is charged with a felony offense involving
	the use or exhibition of a deadly weapon or who is charged with an
	offense listed in Article 42A.054(a) other than a nonviolent drug
	offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, may be denied
	bail pending trial if a judge or magistrate determines by clear and
	convincing evidence that requiring bail and conditions of release
	is insufficient to reasonably ensure:
	(1)    the person's appearance in court as required; or
	(2)    the safety of the community or of any person,
	including the victim of the alleged offense.
	SECTION  3.    Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
	amended by adding Articles 17.027, 17.028, 17.029, 17.034, 17.035,
	17.036, and 17.037 to read as follows:
	Art.  17.027.    PRETRIAL RISK ASSESSMENT. (a)    The judges of
	the county courts, statutory county courts, and district courts
	trying criminal cases in each county shall adopt an instrument to be
	used in conducting a pretrial risk assessment of a defendant
	charged with an offense in that county. The instrument adopted must
	be the automated pretrial risk assessment system developed under
	Section 72.038, Government Code, or another instrument that is:
	(1)    objective, validated for its intended use, and
	standardized;
	(2)    based on an analysis of empirical data and risk
	factors relevant to:
	(A)    the risk of a defendant failing to appear in
	court as required; and
	(B)    the safety of the community or of any person,
	including the victim of the alleged offense, if the defendant is
	released;
	(3)    transparent and available for review by the
	public; and
	(4)    designed to reduce the likelihood of bail
	decisions being affected by bias based on sex, race, or other
	protected classifications.
	(b)    A magistrate considering the release on bail of a
	defendant charged with an offense punishable as a Class B
	misdemeanor or any higher category of offense shall order that:
	(1)    the personal bond office established under Article
	17.42 for the county in which the defendant is being detained, or
	other suitably trained person, use the instrument adopted under
	Subsection (a) to conduct a pretrial risk assessment with respect
	to the defendant; and
	(2)    the results of the assessment be provided to the
	magistrate without unnecessary delay to ensure that the magistrate
	is able to make a bail decision under Article 17.028 within the
	period required by Subsection (a) of that article.
	(c)    A magistrate may not, without the consent of the
	sheriff, order a sheriff or sheriff's department personnel to
	conduct a pretrial risk assessment under Subsection (b).
	(d)    Notwithstanding Subsection (b), a magistrate may
	personally conduct a pretrial risk assessment using an instrument
	adopted under Subsection (a).
	(e)    The results of any pretrial risk assessment conducted
	under this article must be promptly provided to the defendant and
	the attorney representing the state.
	(f)    The magistrate must consider the results of the pretrial
	risk assessment before making a bail decision under Article 17.028.
	Art.  17.028.    BAIL DECISION. (a)    Without unnecessary delay
	but not later than 48 hours after a defendant is arrested, a
	magistrate shall hold a proceeding open to the public and, after