The Professional Bondsmen of Texas- Blog

  This is a summary of the bail bills or bills that may relate to the bail industry that were enacted in the 2025 Texas Legislative Session. HB 1522-  This bill amended the Texas Open Meetings Act to change the notice requirement from 72 hours to 3 business days.  The biggest impact of this change will impact Bail Bond Board meetings.  The notice now must be posted 3 business days before the meeting.  A weekend cannot be counted in that time period. To see the final bill CLICK HERE .  HB 1778- This bill created Section 43.032 of the Texas Penal Code with creates a new offense "Continuous Promotion of Prostitution." Additionally, the bill amends article 17.081 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure to add 43.032 to the list of offenses.  This section requires that for the list of offenses, the bail bond must include the address and driver's license number for the defendant and the surety.  Additionally, article 17.465 (b) of the Texas Code of Crim...

  SB 9-   This is the clean up bill for SB 6 that was passed 2 session ago.  This is a large bill and we will summarize the bill by sections. Section 1-    This section creates article 16.24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.  The section requires that once the defendant enters a pretrial intervention program, the attorney representing the state or the attorney's designee who is responsible for monitoring the defendant's compliance SHALL enter the conditions in the appropriate statewide law enforcement information system maintained by DPS or modify or remove the information.   This section goes into effect January 1, 2026. Section 2-    Amends 17.021 of the Code of Criminal Procedure regarding the public safety report.  The new portions of the report require it to state: (F)  whether the defendant is currently on community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision for an offense; (G)  whether the defenda...

HB 2697- This bill amended article 17.19 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.  Article 17.19 authorizes a surety or bail bondsman to file a request for a warrant with the magistrate or the trial court based upon some action on the part of the defendant.   The existing statute required the surety or bail bondsman to give notice of the request to the defense attorney if the defendant was represented by counsel.  That notice must comply with Rule 21a of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.  Further, the statute requires that  the affidavit set out certain matters regarding the defendant including the reason why a warrant is needed. Section 17.19 states that if the request for a warrant meets the statutory requirements the trial court or magistrate must or shall issue a warrant of arrest for the defendant.   If the trial court refuses to issue a warrant, then the surety or bail bondsman has an affirmative defense to any subsequent failure to appear...

On this episode of The Bail Post we discuss the 2025 Texas Legislative Session to highlight the major bail bills and proposed constitutional amendments that were considered.  We highlight important changes to 17.19 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.  Also, we highlight, SJR 5, SB 9 and SB 40 that were passed this session.  Our guest are the PBT Legislative Committee Chair Cory Lee and former PBT Legislative Committee Chair Scott Walstad. Relevant Bills- SB 9 by Sen. Huffman-        CLICK HERE SB 40 by Sen. Huffman-      CLICK HERE SJR 5 by Sen. Huffman-    CLICK HERE HB 2697 by Rep. Anchia- CLICK HERE Audio Podcast- Also available on- Apple Podcasts-            CLICK HERE Spotify-                        CLICK HERE Google Podcasts-        CLICK HERE Podcast Index-    ...

In Texas, the new rules for magistration went into effect on April 1, 2022 that required the review of a Public Safety Report setting out the defendant's criminal history before bail is set.  On Episode Number 40 of The Bail Post we discuss the lessons that have been learned after magistrating under the new rules for the last year.  Our guest is The Honorable Tamara Tinney who is a magistrate judge from Burnett County.  We discuss issues regarding certification of magistrations, bond modifications and other issues using the OCA System.  Other issues discussed involve the illusive solution regarding mental health patients in the criminal justice system and the impact on drug abuse. Video version of Podcast- To view on Youtube-  CLICK HERE . Audio only- Also available on: Apple Podcasts-            CLICK HERE Spotify-                        CLICK HERE...

On this Episode of The Bail Post we get a report of the Texas Legislative Session looking at Criminal Justice Issues including SB 1318, SJR 44, HB 227 and others.  We also touch on whether bail will be part of any upcoming Special Sessions and the elephant in the room regarding the Impeachment trial planned for September. Our guest is the PBT Legislative Committee Chair- Scott Walstad. Video version of Podcast- To view on Youtube-  CLICK HERE . Audio only- Also available on: Apple Podcasts-            CLICK HERE Spotify-                        CLICK HERE Google Podcasts-        CLICK HERE Podcast Index-            CLICK HERE Amazon Music-          CLICK HERE Stitcher-                    ...

  There will be a hearing before the House Criminal Jurisprudence committee tomorrow. The committee is scheduled for 10:30 am or at the end of the House session. The House is scheduled to go into session at 10:00 am and will we extimate that the session will last a couple of hours. There are two bills on the agenda for consideration: 1.   HB 227 by Ann Johnson. This bill is a companion bill for Whitmire's SB 1151. We expect Whitmire's bill to be voted out of the Senate tomorrow. 2.   HB 4517 by Moody creates a presumption in favor of personal bonds. WAYS YOU CAN HELP: 1.   Plan to come Austin, Texas tomorrow at around 12:00 noon to sign in and register your opposition to these bills. 2.   Dowload our Whitepaper on HB 227 and either hand deliver it or forward it to your sheriff and/or district attoney asking them to contact the committee and let them know that they have issues with the bill. The Whitepaper is available by  CLICKING HERE . 3.   Download ...

  On Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at 10:3O am. The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee will hold a hearing on HB 4517 by Moody. This bill creates a presumption to use personal bonds. This undermines the bail reforms enacted last session as a result of SB 6 last session. We have started an email campaign regarding SB 4517. The message that we are sending is as follows: *** {LegislatorFirstName}, HB 4517 removes accountability and will increase the numbers of failures to appear further stressing court backlogs. This bill will bring the current problem in Harris County and will bring it to the entire state. The research confirms this conclusion: • Harris County entered into a settlement to use almost exclusively simple release for misdemeanor offenses. • The district attorney was the first to issue a report saying that the failures to appear for misdemeanor defendants increased to over 50%. Cite- https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZIzziTYC_BVVsOxoykUGp6U3wWC0pgZb • The Houston Poli...