Latest news with #SJR87
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bail reform legislation dies in Texas House. Will Greg Abbott call a special session?
Two proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution which were a major part of GOP-priority bail reform legislation are dead after the state House declined to pass them by a Wednesday deadline. Senate Joint Resolution 1 and SJR 87 were part of the bail reform package authored by Houston Republican Sen. Joan Huffman and backed by Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and a bipartisan majority of the state Senate. Neither resolution, however, garnered the constitutionally required 100-vote supermajority to advance from the House to a November statewide referendum despite attempts by supporters to rally additional votes. Down to the wire: Key highlights from Texas' legislative session with one week to go SJR 1 — called "Jocelyn's Law" after 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, whose body was found last year in a Houston bayou after allegedly being bound, sexually assaulted and strangled to death by two men believed to be in the U.S. illegally — would have kept defendants charged with a felony who are in the U.S. without legal authorization in jail until trial. It died with an 87-39 third-reading vote Wednesday. SJR 87 would have required judges to automatically deny bail to suspects accused of nine specific serious crimes — including murder, capital murder, aggravated sexual assault and human trafficking — if the person had been previously convicted of, or is out on bond for, one of those offenses. The resolution died Tuesday with a 97-40 vote, just three supporters short of making it on this fall's statewide ballot. The measure was not reconsidered despite indications lawmakers hoped to bring it back for another vote. Supporters of the legislation, including House sponsor Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, framed the bills as a matter of life and death, citing homicides allegedly committed by defendants who were already out on bail for a different charge. "Had we passed this constitutional amendment six years ago, there would be little boys and girls still alive today who were tragically killed," Smithee said during debate on SJR 1 last week. "I can promise you this: If we adopt this amendment and the voters approve it, it will save innocent human life. Period." Democratic House members, however, have argued the measures are discriminatory and strip suspects of their constitutional right to due process. "A lot of folks are going to be tied up in this that are members of my community," said Rep. Ramon Romero, D-Fort Worth, during debate on SJR 1 on Wednesday. "Laws like this, and putting this before the public and asking them to go out and vote so you can throw away the key when some undocumented person ends up in jail, that hurts our communities." More: Texas House advances bail reform package while immigration-related proposal faces challenges Lawmakers have approved several other parts of Huffman's bail reform package, including a proposed constitutional amendment which, if adopted by voters, would give judges greater discretion to deny bail to defendants charged with certain violent offenses. Senate Democrats praised the passage of that amendment, SJR 5, in a statement late Thursday after the upper chamber voted to accept House changes to the legislation and send the measure to voters. "We faced two hard truths this session. One: Families have lost loved ones to violent crimes committed by people who never should have been released. Two: Our justice system holds too many people behind bars who don't belong there — people not yet convicted and who aren't dangerous but can't afford bail," the statement reads. "We supported SJR 5 because it acknowledges both realities." At least one Republican House member belives the failure of several pieces of bail reform legislation in the lower chamber will prompt Abbott to call lawmakers back for a special session. 'I have no doubt that we will be called into a special session if this is not passed,' Rep. J.M. Lozano, R-Kingsville, wrote in a post on X after a Tuesday vote. 'We will ask for it to be reconsidered and will not stop until it passes.' Only the governor can call a special session. Bail reform has been one of Abbott's key issues. The Republican designated the legislation an emergency item during his biennial State of the State address in February toward the beginning of the legislative session. The governor has consistently voiced support for the measures on social media, firing off a spate of tweets in recent weeks urging lawmakers to vote in favor of the legislation. He also made an impromptu visit to the House last week, ostensibly to shore up support for bail reform and other legislative priorities. Speaking briefly with reporters on the House floor last week, Abbott was clearly pleased with the passage of much of the bail reform package but urged lawmakers to push through the remaining items. "We've been working hard on this for a long time," the governor said after chatting informally with several House members. "Too many people have been murdered because of the broken bail system that we've had. "It needs to get done." This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Bail reform bills die in Texas House. Will Abbott call special session?
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Bail reform measure fails on House floor ahead of vote on Jocelyn's Law
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — A joint resolution that would require a magistrate or judge to deny bail to someone who is a repeat offender of a violent crime narrowly failed on the House floor Tuesday. Senate Joint Resolution 87 is a part of a bail reform package spearheaded by State Sen. Joan Huffman, R – Houston, and strongly supported by Gov. Greg Abbott. It would amend the constitution to require a judge to deny bail for anyone who is accused of certain violent crimes — like murder and aggravated assault — and is either out on bail for a similar crime or been convicted for a similar crime. Because it is a constitutional amendment, it needs two-thirds approval from the House, or 100 votes. The final tally on the third reading of the vote was 97 yeas, just three votes short of the needed amount. Supporters of the legislation argue innocent Texans are being injured and murdered by people who are out on bail for a serious crime they already committed. State Rep. Armando Martinez, a Democrat from Weslaco, spoke in favor of SJR 87 saying the resolution is 'protecting Texans by saying one murder is too many and two is absolutely unacceptable.' However, opponents of SJR 87 argue it takes away a person's due process and presumption of innocence. 'Why not lock up all people accused of crimes indefinitely for fear that they might do something. I guarantee that a handful of lives will be saved doing that too. But at what cost? The cost of our liberty,' State Rep. Joe Moody, D – El Paso, said in opposition to the joint resolution. Wednesday is the deadline for the House to pass all Senate bills and resolutions before midnight. On the calendar ahead of that deadline is SJR 1, also known as Jocelyn's Law. It's named after Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old Houston girl who was sexually assaulted and murdered near her home in June 2024. Houston police say they found her body in shallow water underneath a bridge within walking distance of her home. Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and Franklin Pena, two Venezuelan nationals, are charged with sexual assault and murder. Her death shocked the local community, but its impact was far-reaching. SJR 1 would require a judge to deny bail to a person in the country illegally who is accused of a violent crime. When it was read a second time on the House floor it only received 88 votes. That's enough to get to a third reading, but it too will need 100 votes to pass out of the House. It has been postponed seven times since then, and Wednesday is its last day to get passed. If it does get the required votes, it would need to be approved by Texas voters at the ballot in November. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas House fails to pass automatic bail denial for repeat offenders
The Brief A proposed Texas constitutional amendment to deny bail to certain repeat offenders failed in the House. The measure fell three votes short of the 100 needed to put it on the ballot for public vote. The rejection means a key part of Governor Abbott's bail reform agenda will not move forward as a constitutional amendment. AUSTIN, Texas - A proposed amendment to the Texas Constitution that would deny bail to repeat offenders of violent crimes failed in the House Tuesday afternoon. Senate Joint Resolution 87 fell three votes short of the 100 needed to put the constitutional amendment on the ballot. The measure had support from all Republicans in the chamber at the time of the vote and just nine Democrats. The resolution would have automatically denied bail to anyone accused of certain felonies that they had previously been convicted of a felony or were out on bond at the time of the alleged offense. The amendment would have required judges to find probable cause that the accused committed one of these offenses: murder, capital murder, aggravated assault involving serious bodily injury, aggravated robbery, aggravated sexual assault, indecency with a child, trafficking of persons, or continuous trafficking of persons. The proposal failed 93-32 in a floor vote Monday. What they're saying Those who supported the motion said it was to make sure high-risk offenders were not released before trial. They said it would take pressure off of judges who decide bail in high-pressure or violent cases. "Had this resolution passed two years ago or four years ago, we know for certain lives would've been saved because people would not have been killed by other people out on bond," Rep. Mitch Little said. The other side Those against the resolution argued that it violates a person's right to due process and undermines the presumption of innocence. They said the amendment would cause more financial trouble for those left in jail if they were later found to be innocent. "Why not lock up all people accused of crimes indefinitely for fear that they may do something?" Rep. Joe Moody said. "I guarantee a handful of lives will be saved by doing that, too. But at what cost? The cost of our liberty. The cost of the state inflicting immense, life-destroying punishment on people who haven't been convicted of anything." SJR 87 is just one piece of a larger push in the state legislature to reform the bail process in Texas. Bail reform has been a goal of Gov. Greg Abbott this session. Last week the House pushed through Senate Joint Resolution 5, Senate Bill 664, Senate Bill 40 and Senate Bill 9. SJR 5 would add a constitutional amendment requiring judges to automatically deny bail for violent crimes like murder, rape or human trafficking, "unless there is clear and convincing evidence that the defendant will appear in court and not endanger the community." Judges who release violent criminals under the new system would be required to explain the decision in writing. Prosecutors would be able to challenge the judges' bail decisions. The amendment will be put on ballots in November for a public vote. Passing on a 113-30 vote, Senate Bill 40 would prevent municipalities from using taxpayer dollars to bail defendants out of jail. The bill helps ensure that taxpayer funds are used for public safety expenses, like law enforcement, state prosecutors and jail operations. Senate Bill 9 would prevent a judge from granting a cashless personal bond for certain offenses. Under the bill, the state could appeal bail decisions if prosecutors felt the amount was insufficient. The rule would keep the defendant in jail for up to 20 days while the appeal is considered. Bond reform has been a priority for Abbott. Currently, only capital murder suspects are exempt from bonds. Why you should care Because bail is written into the Texas Constitution, it requires a constitutional amendment to alter. That requires a two-thirds vote in both the Texas House and Senate. Bail reform was one of seven emergency items laid out by the governor earlier this year. Under the Texas constitution, bail is a right for almost everyone arrested. The exceptions are people charged with capital murder, some people charged with certain repeat felonies or certain instances where bail has been violated in the past. Dig deeper Bail is the amount of money a defendant must pay to be released from jail. The system is used to incentivize the accused to appear for court hearings. The bond, if paid in full by the accused, is refundable if they attend all hearings. Those that can't afford to pay the full amount can go through a bail bond company that usually requires a nonrefundable payment of 10% of the total amount. In exchange, the bail bond company guarantees the rest of the amount if the defendant doesn't appear in court. Other times, a judge can release a defendant on a personal recognizance bond that does not require any money, on the promise the defendant will appear for hearings. The Source Information on the bail reform bills comes from the Texas Legislature and comments made on the House floor. Backstory on Gov. Abbott's bail reform push comes from previous FOX reporting. Backstory on Texas bail laws comes from the Texas Constitution. Bail definitions come from the American Bar Association.
