(The Center Square) – A key legislative priority of Gov. Greg Abbott’s – bail reform – failed in the Texas House after passing in the Texas Senate with bipartisan support. In previous legislative sessions, similar measures passed the Senate but failed in the House.
The governor has yet to announce if he’ll call a special session to address the issue.
On the last day of the legislative session for the House to pass Senate bills, roughly 40 Democrats blocked two joint resolutions that would have created constitutional amendments to be added to the November ballot for voters to decide on the issue.
One hundred votes are needed to pass a constitutional amendment resolution in the House.
Senate Joint Resolution 1, filed by state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, would require bail to be denied pending trial to “an illegal alien if a judge or magistrate determines after a hearing that probable cause exists to believe that the person engaged in the conduct constituting the applicable offense.”
Applicable offenses include murder; capital murder; aggravated kidnapping; human trafficking; sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, continuous sexual abuse of a child or disabled individual; indecency with a child; possession or promotion of child pornography; aggravated robbery; burglary (if a first degree felony), weapons related charges; third degree felony election fraud; felony drug charges; among others, according to the resolution analysis.
“Illegal alien” is defined “as an alien who entered the United States without inspection or at any time or any place other than as designated by the U.S. attorney general; who was admitted as a nonimmigrant and failed to maintain the nonimmigrant status under which the alien was admitted or to which it was changed under applicable federal immigration law or to comply with the conditions of the alien’s status; and did not attain and maintain lawful presence in the United States before the date of the commission of the offense.”
After two recorded votes on Wednesday, only 87 Republicans supported the measure.
Thirty-nine Democrats voted against it: Bhojani; Bowers; Bryant; Bucy; Campos; Canales; Collier; Cortez; Davis, Y.; Flores; Garcia Hernandez; Garcia, J.; Gervin-Hawkins; González, J.; González, M.; Goodwin; Howard; Jones, J.; Jones, V.; Lalani; Lopez, R.; Martinez Fischer; Meza; Morales Shaw; Morales, C.; Morales, E.; Ordaz; Perez, V.; Reynolds; Rodríguez Ramos; Romero; Rose; Rosenthal; Thompson; Turner; Vo; Walle; Wu; Zwiener.
Four voted, “present, not voting;” 19 were absent and didn’t vote.
Huffman’s Senate Joint Resolution 87 also failed in the House. After two failed votes, a third vote was scheduled for reconsideration but never happened, according to the House record.
This resolution received more votes, with 10 Democrats joining all Republicans, to bring the total vote to 97 in favor, three votes shy of the 100 needed.
SJR 87 would require bail be denied to those charged with felonies who were previously convicted of and were released on bail for certain felony offenses at the time of the new offense. Applicable offenses include murder; capital murder; aggravated assault (if serious bodily injury) using a firearm, club, knife, or explosive weapon; aggravated kidnapping; aggravated robbery; aggravated sexual assault; indecency with a child; trafficking of persons and continuous trafficking of persons, according to the bill analysis.
For years, Huffman, a former prosecutor, has championed bail reform, seeking justice for residents in a city plagued by violent crime.
Last November, Harris County voters ousted some Democratic judges who released violent offenders onto the streets to allegedly commit more violent crimes, The Center Square reported. The practice is ongoing, with 248th District Court Judge Hilary Unger earlier this year releasing a capital murder suspect who allegedly ambushed and killed a sheriff’s deputy, The Center Square reported.
Statewide, the problem is persistent. In 2024, of the more than 30,000 people charged with violent offenses, two-thirds received bail of under $50,000, paying roughly $5,000 if they used a surety, according to state data.
Forty Democrats voted against SJR 87: Allen; Bernal; Bryant; Bucy; Campos; Cole; Collier; Davis, A.; Davis, Y.; Flores; Gámez; Garcia, J.; Gervin-Hawkins; González, J.; González, M.; Goodwin; Guerra; Hernandez; Howard; Johnson; Jones, J.; Jones, V.; Martinez Fischer; Meza; Moody; Morales, C.; Ordaz; Perez, V.; Reynolds; Rodríguez.
Eleven members were absent and didn’t vote.
The legislature did pass a committee substitute to Huffman’s Senate Joint Resolution 5, which requires bail to be denied if clear and convincing evidence is presented to show that bail “is insufficient to reasonably prevent the person’s willful nonappearance in court or ensure the safety of the community, law enforcement, and the victim of the alleged offense.” Applicable offenses include murder; capital murder; aggravated assault (causing serious bodily injury), using a firearm, club, knife, or explosive weapon; aggravated kidnapping; aggravated robbery; aggravated sexual assault; indecency with a child; trafficking of persons; or continuous trafficking of persons.
SJR 5 will be on the ballot in November as a proposed constitutional amendment.
