HBA-EDN C.S.H.B. 1102 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1102 By: Hinojosa Criminal Jurisprudence 4/17/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law prohibits the complete forfeiture of a bond until a final judgment has been entered in a forfeiture case and further prevents a final judgment from being entered for nine months in a misdemeanor case and eighteen months in a felony case. This provision of the statute has been held unconstitutional because it interferes with the judiciary's ability to enter final judgments in accordance with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. The effect of this nullification is that a bail bondsman can lose the entire amount of a posted bond if a defendant misses a court date but is immediately or soon thereafter returned to custody. Once a bond is forfeited, there is no incentive for the bail bondsman to continue to search for the defendant. There is also concern that a defendant who has advance notice of a bondsman's intent to revoke the defendant's bail may use that opportunity to flee. C.S.H.B. 1102 allows a bondsman's forfeited bond to be remitted, minus certain costs incurred in the return of the defendant, and removes the requirement that a bondsman give notice of intent to revoke a defendant's bail. 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. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 1102 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to remove the requirement that a surety give notice of the surety's intention to surrender the principal (Art. 17.19). The bill provides that the incarceration of the principal in any jurisdiction at the time of or not later than 10 months after the principal's failure to appear in court is a cause for exoneration of the defendant and the defendant's sureties from liability upon the forfeiture taken, provided that during such period of incarceration of the principal the surety requests confirmation of the principal's incarceration by submitting a written request for confirmation to the law enforcement agency of the county in which the prosecution is pending. The bill requires a law enforcement agency receiving a request for confirmation to notify the court in which the prosecution is pending and to notify the surety whether or not the principal is or has been incarcerated in another jurisdiction and the date of the incarceration. The bill provides that a defendant and the defendant's sureties are liable for costs of court, any reasonable and necessary costs to the county for the return of the principal, and interest accrued on the bond amount from the date of forfeiture until the date of the principal's incarceration in the same manner and at the same rate as provided for the accrual of prejudgment interest in civil cases (Arts. 22.13 and 22.16). C.S.H.B. 1102 removes time limits for a final judgment to be entered against a bond. The bill authorizes a court to remit to the surety all or a portion of the amount of the bond before the entry of a final judgment and sets forth provisions regarding such remittance (Art. 22.16). The bill removes provisions relating to a defendant's bond for a misdemeanor conviction that is being appealed (Art. 44.04). EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 1102 modifies the original by authorizing, rather than requiring, a court to remit to a surety all or a portion of the amount of the bond after deducting the costs of court, any reasonable costs to the county for the return of the principal, the interest accrued on the bond amount, and any reasonable costs of the state incurred for producing witnesses on the dates of trial. The substitute authorizes a court to remit a percentage of the bond if the surety submits a motion in writing and establishes that the principal is incarcerated in the county in which prosecution is pending or in another jurisdiction, is released on bail, or is deceased. The substitute sets forth provisions specifying the percentage of the bond to be remitted for a felony and for a misdemeanor based on when the motion for remittance is filed, but authorizes a court by agreement of the parties or for good cause set forth in the final judgment to remit an amount different from the amount specified (Art. 22.16). The substitute decreases, from 12 months to 10 months, the duration of time after a principal's failure to appear in court for which the incarceration of the principal is a cause for exoneration, provided that during such period of incarceration the surety requests confirmation of the principal's incarceration (Art. 22.13).