Texas Code of Criminal Procedure - CRIM P Art. 15.03. Magistrate may issue warrant or summons

(a) A magistrate may issue a warrant of arrest or a summons:

(b) A summons may be issued in any case where a warrant may be issued, and shall be in the same form as the warrant except that it shall summon the defendant to appear before a magistrate at a stated time and place. The summons shall be served upon a defendant by delivering a copy to him personally, or by leaving it at his dwelling house or usual place of abode with some person of suitable age and discretion then residing therein or by mailing it to the defendant's last known address. If a defendant fails to appear in response to the summons a warrant shall be issued.

(c) For purposes of Subdivision 2, Subsection (a), a person may appear before the magistrate in person or the person's image may be presented to the magistrate through an electronic broadcast system.

(d) A recording of the communication between the person and the magistrate must be made if the person's image is presented through an electronic broadcast system under Subsection (c). If the defendant is charged with the offense, the recording must be preserved until:

(e) The counsel for the defendant may obtain a copy of the recording on payment of an amount reasonably necessary to cover the costs of reproducing the recording.

(f) In this article, “electronic broadcast system” means a two-way electronic communication of image and sound between a person and magistrate and includes secure Internet videoconferencing.