Three proposals aimed at narrowing who can receive bail and controlling charitable bail organizations were passed by the Texas Senate on Wednesday, less than two weeks after they were filed.
Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston) authored the bills, which are a part of a greater package of bail legislation that includes two proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution.
Tightening up who Texas allows out on bail is a top priority for Republican leaders in the state this legislative session. Gov. Greg Abbott designated bail reform as an emergency item during his State of the State address, saying that Texas judges currently have “too much discretion” on whether to release people charged with a crime on bail.
“Lawmakers must choose: Support the safety of the citizens they represent or the criminals who kill them,” Abbott said.
The issue is also a top priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Texas Senate. In a press conference last week, Patrick called on House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) to unite his delegation and urge them to pass the proposals.
“I’m putting my faith in the speaker to get it done,” he said. “I believe he's sincere about it, and he has the power to do it because he appointed 30 Democrats as vice chairs.”
After Wednesday’s votes, the legislation now moves to the Texas House for consideration.
Among the items passed was Senate Joint Resolution 1, or ‘Jocelyn’s Law,’ a constitutional amendment that would deny bail for undocumented immigrants charged with a felony. The bill was named after Houstonian Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old who was killed by two undocumented immigrants.
“Members, we need to remember that our first and foremost duty as legislators is looking out for the safety and wellbeing of the citizens of texas and the constituents that elect us,” Huffman said.
The proposals, which also included Senate Bill 9 and 40, passed with minor opposition from members of the Senate.
SB 9, which was a priority item for Patrick, would no longer allow judges to issue bail to defendants who are charged with certain offenses, like making a terroristic threat or unlawfully owning a firearm. In certain instances, the proposal would also stop magistrates and other judicial officers ranking below district judges from being able to modify the amount or conditions of a bond.
The bill addresses what Huffman considers a loophole in the bail system.
“This change ensures that the most important bail decisions are made by judges who are elected officials and held accountable by their constituents,” she said.
During questioning on SB 40, which would prohibit political subdivisions from using public funds for bail payment, Sen. Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas) pushed back on allegations that Travis County misappropriated funds to pay for bail bonds. Ultimately, Johnson did vote in favor of the bill.
Advocacy groups speak out against proposed changes to bail in Texas
Meanwhile, a group of civil rights organizations shared their disapproval of Huffman’s bail bill package at a virtual press conference Wednesday. Emma Stammen, a policy strategist with The Bail Project, called SJR 1 and the other proposals “regressive.”
“(SJR 1) would significantly increase racial profiling and racial disparities within the criminal justice system, as well as impose an unjust and unnecessary processing delay that would keep more Texans in jail longer so that their immigration status can be checked elsewhere,” she said.
Stammen, along with representatives from the Texas Civil Rights Project and the Vera Institute of Justice, also made the case against the use of cash bail and pretrial detention for individuals accused of crimes.
A Vera Institute study analyzing nearly a year’s worth of data found that, in cases involving low-level charges that less often pose a public safety risk, Texas judges set cash bail more than 78% of the time.
The groups decried the ways Texas’ current pretrial detention methods have a disproportionate negative effect on low-income defendants and make it harder for individuals to find and maintain housing, jobs, provide for their families and stay out of jail in the future. They propose limiting the use of cash bail in Texas and providing resources to help defendants show up to court and resolve underlying issues that contribute to alleged offenses, like poverty and mental illness.
“The bills passed by the Senate will spend more money on putting Texans behind bars before they even have their day in court,” said David Gaspar, CEO of The Bail Project, in a statement. “Destabilizing people by separating them from their jobs and homes and subjecting them to unnecessary incarceration will only drive more people into desperate circumstances that perpetuate the very conditions that make communities less safe.”
The Bail Project, which helps people pay bail across the country, also addressed what it called misinformation that contributed to the creation and passage of SB 40.
Sen. Huffman has made it clear that she filed the bill with Harris County in mind. She and others accused the county of using public funds to pay The Bail Project. According to calculations from Huffman’s office, Harris County has issued at least 311 payments totaling $2.1 million to the Bail Project.
While those numbers from the auditor’s office might be accurate, county officials have said the way Huffman described their purpose was not. Harris County Auditor Mike Post said in a statement that judges order these refunds and the money used for them doesn’t come from taxpayers (cash bails can be fully refunded to the payor if a defendant’s case is closed and they attend all their court hearings).
“The reports that were being referenced during the hearing in connection to this bill were simply a reflection of our own funds coming back to us in the form of refunds for bill payments that we made on behalf of our clients when we were operating in Texas,” Stammen said.
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