Texas constitutional amendment aims to keep state judges from releasing violent offenders on low bail

CBS News

04-05-2025

With about a month left in the Texas legislative session, Governor Greg Abbott is pushing another one of his "emergency items": a constitutional amendment on bail reform. The Governor is urging Texas lawmakers to pass a bill and Constitutional amendment to crack down on local judges who he says repeatedly release violent offenders on low bail, only to see them commit more violent crimes, including murder.
At an event in Houston last week, Abbott joined family members whose loved ones he said were killed by offenders let out on low bail after committing violent crimes. Chuck Cook spoke in favor of the legislation because his mother Rosalie was stabbed to death, "My mom died a lonely, painful death on the hot asphalt of a Walgreens parking lot drowning in her own blood. The system is supposed to be designed to protect the public and most importantly, the most vulnerable. The system failed my mother."
While the Texas Senate passed SB 9 and SJR 5, the Governor had a message for the Texas House, which will soon consider the legislation. "This is common sense," said Abbott. "You pass this bill, pass this constitutional amendment, lives will literally be saved. You fail to pass this; more people are going to be murdered. This has to get done." Earlier last week, the Governor spoke before local sheriffs. "The fact is that activist judges let repeat offenders, gang members, career criminals, back out into the neighborhoods with little or no bail. All must end this easy bail system this session."
Among other things, this constitutional amendment will require judges to automatically deny bail for violent crimes, including murder, rape, and human trafficking. It would also give prosecutors the right to appeal a judge's decision on bond and require judges to explain in writing why they released a violent criminal on what the Governor called easy bail.
Texas Senators comment on the measures
State , D-Austin, is one of two Democrats in the Senate who voted against the measures. She told CBS News Texas, "There was a lot of good stuff in the bill, but on balance, I had to vote against it because it took away fundamental rights to individuals based on where they were born, and that under the U.S. Constitution as well as the state constitution, a judge gets to determine the risk of you reoffending or being a flight risk based on an individual analysis, not on where you were born."
State Senator Joan Huffman, R-Houston, wrote the bill not only this year, but two years ago when it was killed in the House. She told CBS News Texas, "We need to give judges the ability to hold the most violent offenders without bond awaiting trial after due process and finding a probable cause. We have seen incident after incident in Harris County alone. There's been 162 murders in the last couple of years by individuals out on bond for a felony or a violent offense. People are dying. It's not just in Harris County. It's happening throughout the state."
Asked if judges have the ability to place a high bond, Huffman said, "They do have that ability to do so, to put a high bond. Many times, they go back and lower those bonds. They do not have the ability to set a no bond or a strict, holding of a person."
Senator Eckhardt said if a judge is found to be releasing violent offenders on lower bail, voters have a remedy. "We have elected judges in Texas, and if an elected judge is too lenient and doesn't protect the community's safety, the remedy is to vote them out, and we have."
In response Huffman said, "They can vote them out, but there are many judges especially in these large counties. It's very hard for the public to be informed about these judges. That's part of what we're trying to do with this legislation is bring transparency to the process."
What is next for the constitutional amendment on bail reform?
The bill is making its way through the Texas House. Because this is a constitutional amendment, 100 votes are needed to send this to the voters to decide this in November. There are 88 Republicans in the House, and all are expected to vote for this, and so that means, they will need 12 Democrats to approve it.
In March, CBS News Texas asked Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, about this scenario and whether he would lean on the Democrats who serve as committee vice-chairs and subcommittee chairs if necessary. Burrows said, "It's why working across the aisle is so important. Many of the big things we do does require working across the aisle and I think at the end of the day, we're going to find a solution. We're going to find the 100 votes that are necessary. But we're going to work to get those, and it may take a little bit to figure out how to get that done. But we're going to continue to work with all our colleagues."
Some House Democrats have vowed to block some constitutional amendments after Republicans rejected their plan to send the school choice-education savings account bill to the voters. In an interview with CBS News Texas, Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder said, "I would hope that the Democrats would remain true to their word, and they would move forward with trying to block any of these constitutional amendments, moving forward until the Texan public have a right to vote on whether or not they are going to have their community schools raided by billionaires."
House Republicans rejected a voter referendum last month on the school choice education savings accounts bill that will provide tax dollars for students to attend private school. That bill is now law in Texas.
Texas Republican Party Chairman Abraham George told CBS News Texas that the party is behind the Governor's effort and wants him to play hardball. "I hope he will call special sessions if he doesn't get this. I really do hope he will do that because this has been a problem especially in the last few years with all the illegal immigration. We have people who are charged for murder walking out and going and committing crime. It's been crazy. The party would support and will stand with the governor on this, 100 percent."
Senator Huffman said she will work with House Republicans to get this passed.