Bail reform bill headed to Abbott's desk as he deems it necessary to 'keep dangerous criminals off our streets'

The Texas House of Representatives voted to pass the Republican-backed bail reform bill seeking to set new rules for the release of defendants on monetary bonds.

The bill, also known as the Damon Allen Act, allows a judge to view more details on a defendant's criminal background before setting the bail amount and prohibits those with violent offenses from being released on a personal bond. A defendant must be granted a bond or denied bail within 48 hours of their arrest under the new reform bill, according to a report by KVUE.

"The Damon Allen Act will reform our broken bail system and keep dangerous criminals off our streets," Gov. Greg Abbott said in a tweet.

In 2017, Trooper Damon Allen was murdered following the release of a violent offender on a $15,000 bond. In a release from the Office of the Texas Governor, Abbott said the new bill will help prevent senseless murders like this from occurring in the future.

"Public safety is at risk because of our current bail system that recklessly allows dangerous criminals back onto our streets, which is why I made bail reform an emergency item during the 87th Legislative Session," Abbott said in the release. 

State Sen. Joan Huffman told the Houston Chronicle the bill provides a new way for the public to stay informed on who is being released from jail. 

"I still think it's a critical, important, very strong piece of legislation that will start the process toward bail reform in this state and let us have some transparency, some accountability from judges," Huffman told the Houston Chronicle. 

The legislation passed in the Senate 25-9 last month, following an amended version which removed a provision indicating nonprofits would not be allowed to post bail for certain defendants, stating it could skew support toward for-profit bail bonds.

Huffman told the Houston Chronicle that while she disagreed with the change, a limited amount of time left in the second special session made a compromise necessary in order to ensure its passage. 

The lower chamber of the Texas Legislature passed the bill 85-40 this week.