In nearly unanimous votes, members of the Texas Senate advanced legislation that would deny bail to illegal aliens charged with felonies and certain violent offenders.
On Wednesday, senators passed Senate Joint Resolution 1 by State Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), also known as “Jocelyn’s Law,” in a 29-2 vote.
The proposed constitutional amendment would require judges to deny bail to illegal aliens charged with felony offenses, an effort that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has rigorously pursued for some time.
The effort received renewed interest after the tragic June 2024 death of Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl from Houston who was sexually assaulted and killed. Two illegal aliens from Venezuela are accused of committing the crimes.
Jocelyn Nungaray’s mother, Alexis Nungaray, stood alongside Patrick last week when he announced a deal had been struck with House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) to finally pass bail reform measures like SJR 1 in the lower chamber.
“Recently, President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act, directing the United States attorney general to take custody of any illegal alien charged, arrested, convicted, or who admits to committing certain criminal offenses,” said Huffman.
“To support the federal government in implementing this law, Texas needs to establish comparable detention measures for illegal aliens accused of felony offenses,” she continued.
In addition to SJR 1, senators voted 28-2 to pass Senate Bill 9, also authored by Huffman, which both Gov. Greg Abbott and Patrick listed as top priorities for this session.
SB 9 would prevent the release on bail of individuals charged with certain violent offenses, including murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, and sexual offenses.
It would also prohibit the release on bail of individuals with prior felony convictions or parole violations, tighten oversight of charitable bail organizations, and streamline the process for law enforcement officials.
State Sen. Juan Hinojosa (D-McAllen) said that for “many years,” judges across the state have been setting bonds “without having the proper information on the defendant.”
“As a consequence of that, many times we’re letting people out on … bonds that … [had] already [been] convicted for another felony, or [were] even out on parole or another bond for committing another felony,” said Hinojosa.
“Senate Bill 9 … actually provides the judge a lot more information to be able to make an informed decision as to who the person is, their criminal background, and whether they’re on parole, whether they are now on probation, or they [have] actually been convicted of another felony,” he added.
Amendment 1, proposed by Huffman, aims to assist law enforcement by improving the transmission of information between local sheriffs’ departments and the Texas Department of Public Safety. It passed 31-0.
Huffman acknowledged that it would be a “project” to establish a repository of information on defendants seeking bail for use by all local and state law enforcement officials.
However, Huffman told State Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) that she believes she can get the necessary funding in the budget to accomplish the amendment’s aims with the support of Patrick and the Senate.
Amendment 2 by Huffman clarified the ability of judges to reassess a defendant’s bond if new indictments were to occur after the bond was set. The amendment passed 31-0.
SB 40, another bail reform measure by Huffman, also passed on Wednesday in a 27-3 vote.
The measure would prohibit political subdivisions like municipalities and school districts from using public funds to pay nonprofit organizations to subsidize defendants’ bail bonds.
The debate between senators on SB 40 primarily focused on the validity of Huffman’s accusation that Harris County has spent $2.1 million since February 2022 to fund the Bail Project.
The Bail Project is a group that pays defendants’ bail and is linked to billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundation through the intermediary Borealis Philanthropy.
“When you co-mingle these types of accounts, and you’ve got accounts, and they’re swept with interest—money can be diverted. And with a clear lack of transparency, you have to set a higher bar for these types of issues and have a specific reporting requirement,” said State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston).
“And unfortunately, the largest county in the state has a repetitive issue with a lack of transparency and clear reporting, especially out of the auditor’s office, when it comes to these types of transactions and the courts,” he added.
SJR 5, a joint resolution to authorize the denial of bail under certain circumstances to an individual accused of particular violent or sexual offenses or continuous human trafficking, was not voted on Wednesday but will likely be voted on Thursday.
Previous attempts to pass a resolution similar to SJR 5 succeeded in the Senate but failed in the House in 2021 and 2023.
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee heard and passed SJR 1, SJR 5, SB 9, and SB 40 last week.
