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) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, if a court releases an accused on personal bond on the recommendation of a personal bond office, the court shall assess a personal bond reimbursement 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. A court that requires a defendant to give a personal bond under Article 45A.107 may not assess a personal bond fee under this subsection.
(b)Reimbursement fees collected under this article may be used solely to defray expenses of the personal bond office, including defraying the expenses of extradition.
(c)Reimbursement 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 before sentencing in a pending case;
(2)update the record on a monthly basis;
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