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State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) is calling for bail reform in Texas following cases of individuals committing crimes while on bail release.
Authored by Texas State Sen. Joan Huffman and and co-sponsored by Bettencourt, House Bill 20 (HB 20) relates "to rules for fixing the amount of bail, to the release of certain defendants on a bail 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."
"Sad story (http://bit.ly/34Km4Xq) by @KPRC2Mario showing need for bond reform in Texas! With over 100+ cases like this one in Harris County alone, House Dems should be ashamed not to pass #HB20 by Murr @joanhuffman me as cosponsor. Expect to be on call by @GregAbbott_TX in special #txlege," Bettencourt said in a June 3 Twitter post.
The senator refers to the recent Houston murder case of five-year-old Samuel Olson in which the boy's father's girlfriend, 29-year-old Theresa Balboa, is a suspect in the murder, according to Click 2 Houston. Balboa was purportedly out on bail for assault when Olson was murdered. Andy Kahan, a Houston crime victims advocate, said Balboa's ability to bail out of jail signaled a failure in the system.
The Texas legislature did not take further action on HB 20 because the 87th legislative session adjourned after Democratic lawmakers staged a walkout to block voting on Senate Bill 7, the election security bill, according to the New York Post.
"I am extremely disappointed that we were unable to pass meaningful bail reform," Huffman wrote in a June 2 Twitter post. "Though HB 20 died in the final hours of session, I remain committed to passing similar legislation in the upcoming special session."
Critics of HB 20 claim that the bill is discriminatory and promotes keeping minorities in jail because they can't afford to bail out.
"When #txlege Dems walked out to protect our right to vote, they also stopped #HB20, a bill that would roll back progress on bail reform and limit community bail funds," Rodney Ellis, Harris County commissioner, Precinct One wrote in a June 2 Twitter post. "We cannot continue to promote a discriminatory practice that incarcerates people because they don't have money."
Abbott has pledged to call a special session to work more on HB 20 and SB 7.
Furious with the Democrat's walkout, Abbott has threatened to halt all legislative pay, which would affect all state legislature workers, not just lawmakers.