AUSTIN (Nexstar) — During his State of the State address, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared bail reform an emergency item, allowing the legislature to prioritize it immediately.
On Feb. 3, Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, filed a bail reform package with five proposed bills, including two proposed Constitutional amendments. Here’s what the future of bail reform could look like in Texas.
SB 9: Who gets to set bail? Who gets out for free?
According to Huffman’s st atement of intent , Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) is primarily intended to close loopholes left open by the last major piece of bail reform, 2021’s Senate Bill 6.
First, the bill takes away the power for unelected criminal law hearing officers to set bail for defendants who were on parole, defendants who have two or more felony convictions, defendants charged with violent felonies and defendants charged with any felony if they have an immigration hold. Instead, elected presiding judges would have the sole authority to determine what bail, if any, should be set.
The bill also takes aim at personal bonds, a system where the court waives the majority of the posted bail if the defendant agrees to certain conditions, including showing up at all required court dates. Under SB 9, those accused of unlawful possession of a firearm, violation of a family violence protective order, terroristic threat or murder as a result of manufacturing or delivery of fentanyl would no longer be eligible for personal bonds.
SJR 1: Denial for undocumented resident felony charges
Also a constitutional amendment that would require voter approval, Senate Joint Resolution 1 (SJR 1) simply states that an undocumented resident (“illegal alien” in the bill’s text) accused of a felony would not be allowed bail once a judge determined there was enough probable cause to continue their case.
SJR 5: No bail options for violent and sexual offenders
Senate Joint Resolution 5 (SJR 5) would allow judges or magistrates to deny bail to defendants accused of first-degree felony sexual offenses, defendants accused of violent offenses or defendants accused of continuous human trafficking. Judges would have to consider the defendant’s likelihood to appear for their court dates and the safety of the public in their decision.
SJR 5 would require a constitutional amendment, meaning the voters would get final approval in November if the legislature approves the bill.
SB 1047: Adding new information to public safety reports
Another simple change, Senate Bill 1047 (SB 1047) would give judges more information when looking at a Public Safety Report System (PSRS) report.
Created in 2022 to help aid the courts in bail decisions for any charge carrying a class B misdemeanor or higher, PSRS reports currently show a defendant’s criminal history and alerts the court if the defendant is ineligible for a personal bond. SB 1047 would add any protective orders against the defendant, their parole/probation status and any outstanding warrants they have to the report.
SB 40: Bans taxpayer money to bail-paying organizations
Senate Bill 40 (SB 40) prevents local municipalities from giving money to nonprofits that accept and use public donations to pay for defendant bail bonds. SB 40 would give taxpayers the right to request injunctive relief from the courts to prevent their municipality from continuing to give money to those nonprofits and to be reimbursed for legal fees incurred during the relief process.
All five of these proposals will be discussed at the Senate Criminal Justice hearing Wednesday at 8 a.m.
