A bipartisan majority in the Republican-led Texas Senate approved three bills aimed at tightening restrictions on bail for people accused of certain violent crimes Feb. 19. A fourth bill passed out of the chamber Feb. 20.
Gov. Greg Abbott deemed tightening bail policies an emergency priority during his Feb. 2 State of the State address, allowing lawmakers to fast-track the package of legislation.
The proposals by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, now head to the Texas House. Bail-related measures faced pushback in the House in previous legislative sessions.
“We need to remember that our first and foremost duty as legislators is looking out for the safety and well-being of the citizens of Texas,” Huffman, a former Harris County prosecutor, said on the Senate floor Feb. 19.
The overview
For the third session in a row, Huffman has proposed amending the Texas Constitution to allow judges to deny bail to defendants accused of murder, a felony sex crime, or aggravated assault, robbery or kidnapping. She said the change is needed to prevent violent offenders from being released from jail and committing more crimes.
“Since January 2021... 162 people have been murdered in Harris County by individuals who were out on one or more bonds,” Huffman said during a Feb. 12 committee hearing, citing data from Crime Stoppers of Houston.
Senators passed Huffman’s proposal, Senate Joint Resolution 5, in a 28-2 vote Feb. 20. The upper chamber approved similar legislation in 2023 and 2021, which died in the House.
“We’ve sent a clear message to the House that we’re tired of seeing people die because this bill did not pass,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who oversees the Senate, said before the Feb. 20 vote. “We’re gonna fight for this bill because we’re fighting for the families.”
If approved by both chambers, SJR 5 would be on Texas voters’ ballots in November.
On Feb. 19, the Senate passed a trio of bills authored by Huffman. Senate Joint Resolution 1 would require judges to deny bail to undocumented immigrants charged with a felony. Senate Bill 9 would expand a list of offenses for which defendants could not be released on low-cost bonds, while Senate Bill 40 would prohibit local governments from giving public money to nonprofits that help cover bail costs.
More details
Huffman said Feb. 19 that SJR 1 would help Texas comply with the Laken Riley Act, a new federal law that directs federal officials to detain undocumented migrants arrested for or charged with violent or theft-related crimes.
Texas’ version of the measure is named Jocelyn’s Law, in memory of Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl killed last year in Houston.
Senators voted 29-2 to pass the proposed constitutional amendment and send it to the House. If approved it would also appear on the statewide ballot this November.
Nungaray’s mother, Alexis, testified during a Feb. 12 committee hearing on SJR 1 and other bills.
“I feel outraged that Texas judges are allowed to provide bail for evil people who do heinous things,” Alexis Nungaray said Feb. 12, adding she attended hearings for the two alleged killers while planning her daughter’s funeral. “I feel like it was a slap in the face to Jocelyn and our family to even make sure that they got an adequate bond, because they preyed on her, on her innocence, and they had no business being here in the first place.”
During the Feb. 12 hearing, several Texans testified that detaining people based on immigration status or national origin would violate the U.S. Constitution.
“I believe that protecting victims of violent crime is absolutely critical. That being said, I’m here in opposition of SJR 1,” said Emily Anaya, a second year-student at the University of Texas School of Law. “Rather than narrowing the eligibility of bail... this [constitutional] amendment would target a protected class.”
Zooming out
SB 9 would expand on a 2021 state law that limited who is eligible for low-cost personal bonds. Under the bill, defendants would have to meet a higher bond if accused of unlawful possession of a firearm; violation of a family violence protective order; terroristic threat; or murder as a result of manufacturing or delivering fentanyl.
Huffman said Feb. 19 the proposal would only apply to “violent repeat offenders” and would not alter bond policies for misdemeanors or lower-level offenses.
“A judge still has full discretion to set any bond,” she said. “If the judge thought a $100 bond was appropriate, then they could certainly set that. ... They may choose to set a $50,000 bond, because they're very concerned once they weigh all the factors.”
SB 9 was passed out of the Senate in a 28-2 vote Feb. 19.
“I'm really proud of the Senate’s bipartisan support to protect the lives of adults and children in the state of Texas,” Patrick said following the vote.
SB 40 would prohibit the use of public funds to pay nonprofit organizations that cover bail costs. The legislation stemmed from allegations that Harris County has given nearly $2.1 million since 2022 to the Bail Project, an organization that helps low-income defendants meet bail.
“If true, this practice raises serious public safety concerns, as it allows defendants to be released from jail using the same source of taxpayer dollars that were used to arrest and process the offender,” Huffman said Feb. 19.
The organization’s communications director, Jeremy Cherson, told Community Impact that the Bail Project does not accept public dollars. Money received from Harris County were reimbursements, he said, because state law allows refunds if a defendant appears at all required court dates.
“All of the transactions that they are referring to are just refunds of bails deposited by our organization on behalf of our clients that are returned to us when those cases close and are disposed,” Cherson said in a Feb. 12 statement. “That's the way [cash] bail works and we've never accepted public money in Texas.”
On the Senate floor, Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, said he supported the legislation but believed governments “already can't do this under the law.”
Senators passed SB 40 in a 27-3 vote.
