Senate Jurisprudence met on July 10 to consider SB 6 (Huffman), SB 9 (West), and SJR 3 (Huffman). The witness list can be found here and a recording of the hearing can be found here.

 

This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics taken up. It is not a verbatim transcript of the discussions but is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.

 

SB 9 (West) Relating to requiring public schools to provide instruction and materials and adopt policies relating to the prevention of child abuse, family violence, and dating violence

  • West – Worked with the Governor’s office and the Lt. Governor’s office to craft language in this bill
  • SB 1109 from the 87th was vetoed after passing the house and the senate
  • Governor said it failed to allow parents to opt their children out of the instruction
  • Have addressed these concerns with both offices
  • SB 9 requires a parent be provided notice of the instruction, right to review material, and right to remove child from the instruction

 

Public Testimony

Deborah Blubaugh, Self – For

  • Mother of 16-year-old dating violence victim Christine Blubaugh
  • Provides an anecdote of her daughter’s life and death
  • Education is key to fighting dating and domestic violence
  • If we’re going to talk about bullying, puberty, etc., why can’t this be included?

 

Judge Dimple Malhotra County Court at Law 4, Self – For

  • Presides over domestic violence court
  • Sees 3,000-4,000 cases a year on average
  • In April in Austin, 3 people were murdered in a family violence event
  • In 2019, 185 people were murdered by their intimate partner in Texas
  • Christine Blubaugh didn’t have the knowledge and that is where we failed as a community
  • It is time to start preventing this issue

 

Ronnie Morris, Self and Grand Prairie Police Department – For

  • Has seen more than he cares to remember as a result of teenage dating violence
  • Provides an anecdote of his experience with victims of this kind of violence, including Christine Blubaugh
  • This bill will help police officers do the preventative part of their job

 

William West, Texas Council on Family Violence – For

  • Major and necessary step to inform young Texans about red flags and what they can do
  • This bill will save lives
  • It’s crucial for parents to support and understand the issue
  • All students learning together creates safety and a common language
  • What happens to the youth that are opted out of this education?
  • We raise these considerations while still in full support of this bill

Voted out of committee 4-0

 

SB 6 (Huffman) Relating to rules for setting the amount of bail, to the release of certain defendants on a monetary bond or personal bond, to related duties of certain officers taking bail bonds and of a magistrate in a criminal case, to charitable bail organizations, and to the reporting of information pertaining to bail bonds

  • Huffman – Releasing offenders without regard to risk has led to this trend and we have failed our communities
  • The focus is not a means to imprison low-level or indigent offenders
  • Bill is not intended to cause mass incarceration, instead it should keep those who need to be in jail, in jail
  • Misdemeanor bond reform in Harris County has helped to keep low-level offenders out of prison
  • Bill does not apply to cite-and-release offenses
  • Will bring accountability and transparency to magistrates, judges, JPs
  • Will be known after the Damon Allen Act after individual who was shot in killed by a person out on multiple felony bonds
  • Any person shall be eligible for bail unless it explicitly states otherwise in the Texas Constitution
  • Introduces a public safety report system free of cost to all counties
    • System will not make a risk assessment
  • Analysis must consider criminal history, public safety report, etc.
  • Bill increases training requirements for those that are setting bail
  • Bail schedules will have to align with the O’Donnell requirements
  • Sets parameters of who can get personal bonds, defines a violent defense
  • Establishes new reporting requirements including a new summary-type report
  • Hinojosa and Huffman discuss the importance of a judge having fill history of a defendant before bail is set
  • Hinojosa – If the bail is too high and the defense attorney tries to reduce bail, the attorney could get a writ of habeas corpus
    • Huffman – That process has not changed
  • Hinojosa – Bill itself does not require a risk assessment schedule
    • Huffman – Are you talking about a county that has a bail schedule?
    • Hinojosa – Yes
    • Huffman – The risk assessment cannot be used to determine amount of bail or indigency status
  • Hinojosa – Just trying to clarify the process and that there are a lot of safeguards within it
  • Huffman – There is confusion about the hearings, but we are not trying to drag out the time a person is in jail while these decisions are being made
    • Looking at language to see if hearings can be held concurrently
  • Johnson – Even since this session, sections of the bill have improved
  • Johnson – This bill gives a sheriff the power to suspend the ability of a charitable bail organization to pay bail bonds in the county for a year if the sheriff determines the organization has paid bonds in violation of this article. In Dallas, I’m fine with this. I have some concern that this could be arbitrarily applied. Could we add some protection for bail orgs.?
  • Huffman – I would be happy to work with you on that

 

Public Testimony

 

Lindsay Aronstein, Self – For

  • SB 6 is about violent felony defendants continuing to repetitively offend while awaiting trial
  • Violent criminals have little to no fear of consequences

 

Ken Good, General Counsel Professional Bailbondsmen of Texas – For

  • If the Constitutional Amendment doesn’t pass, the least restrictive means puts further restrictions upon judges
  • Harris County went the opposite route as suggested by the federal courts, which has created a mass of confusion and chaos

 

Nissi Hamilton, CFO A Survivors Voice of Victory – For

  • Shares her personal story of sex and labor trafficking and her experience with the criminal justice system
  • Less than 10% of sexual abusers will ever have a criminal record
  • Survivors are walking away from the criminal justice process because of the lack of protection
  • It is reckless endangerment to let repeat violent offenders out on low bonds or PR bonds

 

Michelle Heinz, Self – For

  • Lifestyle has changed since the re-release of so many violent offenders
  • Has been a victim of a crime and knows several people that have been victims of crimes by perpetrators out on felony bond
  • Knows people who have moved out of Harris County due to crime
  • No one wants low-level offenders kept in jail
  • This is common sense legislation that will save lives

 

Rick Hill, Brazos County Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 & Justices of the Peace and Constables Association of Texas – For

  • The three important aspects of bail reform are training for all magistrates, increased information, broadened authority to deny bail to certain violent offenders
  • A lot of counties don’t have personal bond offices, so we would like a tweak to make it clearer for those counties
  • The 48-hour hearing is going to be an issue in many counties
  • We will provide language to consider
  • Bail is not about resources, it is about risk
  • The requirements of a court setting bond to report to OCA, including those who subsequently fails to appear need clarification
    • How do we know?
  • Hinojosa – If there is a delay, it requires that you notify the defense attorney in regard to the 48-hour rule.
  • Hill – You might run into a due process issue when you have a prosecutor present
  • Training magistrates is the key and the need for this would go down

 

Melanie Infinger, Self – For

  • Speaking on behalf of her daughter who was a victim of a failed bail system
  • Her husband was in jail for a felony and 3 misdemeanors and was released
  • He then stabbed her to death
  • Murderer would not have been released under SB 6

 

Anday Kahan, Director Victim Services Crime Stoppers – For

  • Showed a visual of murder victims of offenders released with multiple felony bonds
  • These were preventable tragedies
  • Gives example of Zacchaeus Gaston, who killed 24-year-old Layla Steele and shot their one-year-old son while out on seven felony bonds
  • This bill will track data that we need to know
  • Since the regular session ended, 5 people in Harris County have been murdered by defendants released on multiple felony bonds
  • Judges need our help to make public safety the priority

 

Rania Mankaridus, CEO Crime Stoppers of Houston & Self – For

  • Houston is undergoing a violent crime surge
  • When you systematically release habitual defendants, crime will grow up
  • Violent defendants use the current system against their communities
  • Failing to clean up gaps within the bail systems is negligent on every level
  • Crime Stoppers has tracked over 120 victims that have died at the hands of released offenders
  • SB 6 is not about infringing upon the Constitutional Rights of violent repeat offenders
  • The bill simply increases the tools available and the clarity of the criminal justice process

 

Nikki Pressley, Texas State Director Right on Crime & Texas Public Policy Foundation – For

  • This bill is a great start for bail reform
  • Good components of the bill include:
    • Requiring least restrictive conditions and lowest possible bond
    • Requiring magistrates to consider criminal history
    • Training magistrates
    • Reporting requirements
  • We would like to see the inclusion of a risk assessment that is researched and validated

 

Theresa Seck, Self – For

  • Brother was murdered by people trying to rob him outside of his apartment in Houston
  • One of the defendants was out on bond and wearing an ankle monitor at the time of the murder
  • We are all at risk of becoming a victims of these repeat violent offenders

 

Andani Alcantara Diaz, Self & RAICES – Against

  • Against inclusion of citizenship status as a requirement for bail
  • There is no connection between citizenship status and likelihood to comply with terms of bail
  • Negative impact that law could have on U.S. citizens in mixed status families

 

Steven de la Torre Jr., Self – Against

  • Was arrested and held in Harris County for 20 months pre-trial
  • Shares his negative experience with the criminal justice system

 

Joe Fonseca, The Bail Project – Against

  • Our system is flawed
  • Charitable bail orgs can support poor individuals and should not be a target for government overreach
  • We facilitate court appearances
  • Our approach is fiscally responsible
  • Targeting charitable bail funds will cause poor Texans, many of them people of color, to be detained pre-trial

 

Krish Gundu, Co-Founder & Executive Director Texas Jail Project – Against

  • We are all here to increase public safety
  • The bill’s completion of bail reform requirement raises questions regarding implementation
  • Retaining people in jail pre-trial is damaging due to non-compliance with practices related to disabilities
  • Hinojosa – We are trying to educate and train the judges.
  • Huffman – There is nothing in this bill that would hurt Robert (example provided in Gundu’s pamphlet)
    • He should have been out on PR bond
    • The bill is meant to help people like Robert and stop repeat violent offenders from being released
  • There have been many deaths in Texas jails
  • Huffman – That is an issue as well
  • Gundu – I think these issues are connected
  • Huffman – We are not here to discuss that

 

Anna Harris, Executive Director Just-Us Participatory Defense – Against

  • Tells husband’s story of arrest for intoxication manslaughter and 18-month incarceration pre-trial
  • Family suffered serious financial consequences as a result

 

Chris Harris, Director of Criminal Justice Programs Texas Appleseed – Against

  • I don’t believe that this bill will fix the problem that it wants to solve and may actually make things worse
  • There is a national increase in murders and there is a tendency to blame certain reforms for crime increases
  • Involvement within the criminal legal system increases the potential for new criminal cases to be filed against them in the next 2 years
  • We need to see a drastic reduction in the amount of people brought into the criminal justice system

 

Nick Hudson, Policy and Advocacy Strategist ACLU of Texas – Against

  • Pretrial system should maximize public safety, court appearance, and pretrial fairness
  • This bill implicates bedrock constitutional principles
    • Failure to consider ability to pay violates Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses
  • SB 6 can lead to wealth-based detention
  • Secure bond is no more effective at ensuring public safety
  • One study showed higher rates of violence under cash bonds versus personal bonds

 

Justin Martinez, Texas Criminal Justice Coalition – Against

  • Section regarding the public safety report is concerning due to practicality
  • What does failure to appear data mean?
    • This is often due to other causes including confusing bureaucracy, access to transportation, affordable childcare, etc.
  • Focusing more on understanding individuals’ needs
  • We are fearful that more people will be trapped in our jails

 

Karen Munoz, Co-Founder Mano Amiga San Marcos – Against

  • Speaking to Hays and Hidalgo Counties, both of which have overcrowding in jails
  • Detaining more people pre-trial will not solve overcrowding
  • Charitable bail fund was founded to get people out of unlivable conditions in Hays County Jail
  • This bill undermines local efforts to decrease bail population
  • Bill also does not help with public safety
  • Hinojosa – Your main issue is overcrowding?
    • We created a bail fund to help with overcrowding

 

Samantha Smith, Self – Against

  • Concerned about people’s citizenship status and verification
  • Worried that a broad and vague statute will have poor results
  • Application process is extremely inefficient
  • Flight risk and danger to community are already considered
  • Citizenship status is not relevant on its own

 

Peter Steffensen, Attorney Texas Civil Rights Project – Against

  • We support liberatory bail reform
  • Four core goals that must be met:
    • Reduce statewide jail population
    • Stop jailing for poverty
    • Invest in community-based services
    • Avoid expanding government surveillance systems
  • We don’t believe that SB 6 and SJR 3 achieves those goals
  • We worry that this bill will harm black, brown, and poor communities
  • Bill language on charitable bail funds can hurt these communities
  • There is a public safety justification for eliminating negative language on charitable bail funds
  • Additional burdens are placed on low-income people to prove indigence

 

Jeffrey Stein, Senior Attorney Civil Rights Corps – Against

  • This bill prohibits judges from releasing many people on personal bonds
  • People with access to money will be released
  • More people will be detained
  • Lawsuit struck down Harris County’s system
  • SB 6 has the same constitutional problems as the systems in our lawsuits
  • Johnson – You may be looking at this bill for things it is not trying to achieve, like the overloading of jails with non-violent offenders. Do you have statistical analysis for how many indigent people are held for low-level offenses?
    • I don’t have that statistic on me right now
    • This bill encompasses people who are charged with any sort of felony, like a personal possession drug offense
  • Johnson – I think that has actually been changed; need to look at it
  • Huffman – If you are charged with a violent offense or are on bond for a violent offense, and then you commit another violent offense

 

Tara Wilson, Tarrant County Bail Fund – Against

  • Concern for jail health during pandemic
  • Community bail funds let poor offenders await their trial at home instead of jail
  • Many people died in jail while awaiting trial because they were too poor to get out
  • Community bail funds are successful and fiscally responsible
  • Ask that we let this bill die in committee

 

Amanda Woog, Executive Director Texas Fair Defense Project – Against

  • We were co-counsel on the O’Donnell case
  • The detailed affidavit that is required if someone isn’t able to make bail is of concern
  • The central holding of O’Donnell is not in SB 6
  • As the 5th circuit says, the court has to verify that someone can pay a certain amount and then there is a hearing on the individual’s ability to pay
  • There are layers of procedural protections missing from SB 6

 

Pamela Young, Tarrant County Community Bail Fund – Against

  • Elected officials refused to release people that simply couldn’t pay to get out
  • People were dying due to COVID-19, so we started the Tarrant County Community Bail Fund
  • Charitable bail funds make communities safer
  • Let the provision targeting charitable bail funds die
  • Huffman – Just to be clear, charitable bail funds can still exist, they just cannot bail out violent offenders
  • Urge the committee to remove the extra reporting requirements

 

Michael Acuna, Texas Municipal Courts Association – On

  • TMCA supports bail reform, but the bill could produce adverse outcomes for some municipal courts
  • People on felony charges could be released with the requirements for which particular judge can grant bonds
    • Huffman – We are working on that
  • Bill requires reporting requirements, but does not limit it to arrests
    • Huffman – We are also fixing that

 

Mollee Westfall, District Judge 371st District Court – On

  • There are overinclusive and underinclusive issues
  • Judges cannot hold any offender without bail
  • Judges need the tools provided in SB 6
  • Tarrant County public safety assessment doesn’t limit judicial discretion
  • It would be helpful for everyone to know criminal history
  • Consider an addition to SB 6 that allows certain counties to continue to use systems like the one in Tarrant County
  • Hinojosa – The problem is that we have some judges that are not trained on how to set bail
    • If we have an equivalent, we want to continue with that without adapting to something new
  • Huffman – This is going to be a statewide system so that everyone can be trained properly and held accountable
  • State funding doesn’t cover pre-trail supervision. Consider mandating funding for probation departments that engage in this supervision

 

Virginia McIntyre, Self – For

  • Was robbed at gunpoint in her home after being followed home from dinner
  • People are being released and committing the same crimes
  • No longer feels safe in her home
  • Huffman – Where were you at dinner?
    • River Oaks District
  • Huffman – These crimes can occur anywhere

Voted out of committee 4-0

 

SJR 3 (Huffman) Proposing a constitutional amendment requiring a judge or magistrate to impose the least restrictive conditions of bail that may be necessary and authorizing the denial of bail under some circumstances to a person accused of a violent or sexual offense or of continuous trafficking of persons

  • Huffman – The accompanying constitutional amendment to SB 6
  • Current options of denying bail requires a full trial of merits and is currently underutilized
  • Expands potential denial of bail to those who commented a sexual violent offence of the first degree, a violent offence, or committing continuous trafficking
  • Judge must bring clear and compelling evidence to deny bail to those who apply
  • Those who deny bail would have to issue a written order of why denial is necessary
  • Would add language to the constitution to the “least restrictive” amount of bail

 

Public Testimony

Nikki Pressley, Right on Crime & Texas Public Policy Foundation – For

  • Addresses both sides of the spectrum
  • Violent crime and crimes under this bill are defined by the constitution, so could not be changed unless another constitutional amendment was presented

Voted out of committee 4-0