Can a Texas sheriff charge an inmate $20 just to file a bail bond for release?

Texas AG Opinion JM-1172: Could a Sheriff Charge $20 to File a Bail Bond?

Plain-English summary

The Erath County Attorney asked whether a sheriff had authority to impose a $20 fee on an inmate at the time a bail bond was filed for the inmate's release. The opinion reviewed the fee statutes then in effect: article 102.011 of the Code of Criminal Procedure authorized a $10 fee for a peace officer taking and approving a bond, but only as a cost payable by a defendant upon conviction, not at the time of release. Article 17.42, added that same year by Senate Bill 1451, authorized a $2 fee collected from certain defendants on release on bail bond or personal bond. A related provision, also numbered article 17.42 but added by a different 1989 bill (Senate Bill 211), created personal bond offices and let a court assess a $20 or three-percent personal-bond fee, but only when the court released the defendant on the recommendation of that personal bond office, not as something a sheriff could collect when a bail bond was filed.

The Attorney General concluded that none of these statutes gave a sheriff authority to impose a $20 fee at the time a bail bond was filed. The $10 conviction-fee statute didn't apply until conviction, the $2 fee statute set the amount at $2 (not $20) and was collectible by a court, magistrate, or peace officer on release, and the $20 personal-bond fee was a court-assessed fee tied to a personal-bond-office recommendation, not a sheriff-collected bail-bond fee. Finding no statute covering the fee described in the question, the opinion concluded a sheriff could not lawfully impose it.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1990, shortly after the statutes it construed were enacted. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific fee or rule mentioned here.

Who this opinion affected (as of 1990)

County sheriffs and jail staff: The opinion meant sheriffs had no statutory basis to collect a $20 fee from an inmate at the time a bail bond was filed for release, since the only fees the statutes authorized were a $10 post-conviction cost, a $2 release fee, and a $20 fee assessed by a court in personal-bond-office cases.

Defendants and their families: The opinion meant a $20 charge demanded at the jail at the moment of posting bail bond had no statutory authority behind it, as distinct from the separate $20 personal-bond fee a court could assess in personal-bond-office cases.

Common questions

Was there any statute that let a sheriff collect $20 when a bail bond was filed?
No. The opinion reviewed article 102.011 (a $10 fee payable only upon conviction) and article 17.42(a) (a $2 fee collectible on release), and found no provision authorizing a sheriff to collect $20 at the time a bail bond was filed.

Isn't there a $20 personal-bond fee in the law?
Yes, but it works differently. That $20-or-three-percent fee was assessed by a court, not collected by a sheriff, and only applied when the court released a defendant on the recommendation of a personal bond office, not to every bail bond filing.

Background and statutory framework

Article 102.011(a)(5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure required a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor to pay $10 for a peace officer taking and approving a bond, and, if necessary, returning the bond to the courthouse, a cost triggered only by conviction. Article 17.42(a), added by Senate Bill 1451 of the 71st Legislature (Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 698, at 3207, eff. Sept. 1, 1989), directed a court, magistrate, or peace officer to collect a $2 fee from a defendant charged with an offense other than a fine-only misdemeanor upon release on bail bond or personal bond, waivable for good cause. Separately, article 17.42 as added by Senate Bill 211 (Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 2, § 5.01(a), at 127) created personal bond offices to review information bearing on whether an accused would comply with bond conditions, and authorized a court to assess a personal bond fee of $20 or three percent of bail, whichever was greater, when the court released a defendant on the office's recommendation, with the proceeds defraying the personal bond office's expenses, including extradition costs. The opinion found no provision in any of these statutes authorizing a sheriff, rather than a court, to impose a $20 fee at the time a bail bond (as opposed to a personal bond following an office recommendation) was filed.

Citations

Statutes:

• Code Crim. Proc. art. 102.011(a)(5)
• Code Crim. Proc. art. 17.42(a), Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 698, at 3207 (Senate Bill 1451)
• Code Crim. Proc. art. 17.42, Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 2, § 5.01(a), at 127 (Senate Bill 211)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/jim-mattox/jm-1172
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1990/jm1172.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain, the linked PDF is authoritative.

May 2, 1990

Honorable Phil Nichols
Erath County Attorney
Courthouse
Stephenville, Texas 76401

Opinion No. JM-1172

Re: Authority of a sheriff to impose a $20 fee on an inmate who is released on bond (RQ-1944)

Dear Mr. Nichols:

You ask whether a sheriff has authority to impose a $20 fee on an inmate at the time a bail bond is filed for his release. Your question necessitates a review of the statutes authorizing the assessment of a fee against a defendant for taking and approving a bond.

Article 102.011 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides in relevant part:

(a) A defendant convicted of a misdemeanor shall pay the following fees for services performed in the case by a peace officer:

. . . .

(5) $10 for taking and approving a bond and, if necessary, returning the bond to the courthouse. (Emphasis added.)

Article 17.42(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by Senate Bill 1451 of the 71st Legislature, provides:

(a) A court, magistrate, or peace officer shall collect a $2 fee from a defendant charged with an offense other than a misdemeanor punishable by fine only on the release of the defendant on bail bond or personal bond. The court, magistrate, or peace officer may waive the fee for good cause shown.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 698, at 3207 (eff. Sept. 1, 1989).

Article 17.42, as added by Senate Bill 211 in 1989, provides for the creation of 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. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 2, § 5.01(a), at 127. The court is authorized to assess a personal bond fee of $20 or three percent of the amount of bail, whichever is greater, if the court releases the defendant upon the recommendation of the personal bond office. Fees collected under this provision may be used to defray the expenses of the personal bond office, including the expenses of extradition.

The fee authorized for taking and approving a bond under article 102.011 is only payable upon conviction. Article 17.42(a), as added by Senate Bill 1451 in 1989, authorizes a court, magistrate, or a peace officer to collect a $2 fee from a defendant charged with a misdemeanor (other than one punishable by fine only) on the release of the defendant on bail bond or personal bond. Under the provisions of article 17.42 as added by Senate Bill 211, the court assesses the fee in cases where the court releases the defendant on personal bond upon recommendation of the personal bond office. We find no provision authorizing the sheriff to impose a $20 fee at the time a bail bond is filed.

SUMMARY

A sheriff may not impose a $20 fee for the release of an inmate at the time a bail bond is filed.

JIM MATTOX
Attorney General of Texas

MARY KELLER
First Assistant Attorney General

JUDGE ZOLLIE STEAKLEY
Special Assistant Attorney General

RENEA HICKS
Special Assistant Attorney General

RICK GILPIN
Chairman, Opinion Committee

Prepared by Tom G. Davis
Assistant Attorney General