Budgets and attempted coups highlighted this week in the Texas Legislature. Many dreams died on the House floor as underfunded and unwanted budget amendments were sent to Article XI heaven. The 13^th week proved unlucky for an army of one hoping to overthrow the Speaker of the House. The Legislative session waits for no one (or bill) and marches on to the bitter end!  

New committees added!

Budget day and night

The Texas House took its turn at shaping and approving the $337 billion budget, which is the only constitutional requirement of the Texas Legislature. Lawmakers filed over 300 amendments to Senate Bill 1, the General Appropriations Act, in hopes of funding their initiatives. Most of the amendments were sent to Article XI of the General Appropriations Act (titled the Savings Clause). It might as well be titled the Amendment Graveyard because any amendment sent there is dead on arrival. The event started at noon on Thursday and ended at 3:00 a.m. on Friday as lawmakers attempted to add their funding initiatives to the budget, which requires eliminating the same amount of funding from another part of the budget.  The large ticket items included $6 billion in new property tax relief, $4.3 billion for teacher pay raises, $6.5 billion for border security, and $1 billion for the education savings account program. The major fireworks came when Democrats attempted to expand Medicaid and when Republicans attempted to defund the University of Texas for offering courses regarding LGBTQ+ studies. Both attempts failed. Now SB 1 moves to a conference committee composed of members of both the House and the Senate to negotiate a final version. Those negotiations will be carried out mostly out of the view of the public. 

Judicial pay update

The House Judiciary Committee considered HB 1761 by Leach (R-Plano), the companion to SB 293 by Huffman (R-Houston). However, the substitute version of HB 1761 laid before the committee differs from SB 293. (We have seen the substitute version but it does not exist on the internet yet.) Judges might be most interested in the changes to the accountability provisions in these bills. For our purposes, though, the major differences between the two bills are that the new House version includes a proposed 30 percent raise (not 15 percent) and the addition of a provision that de-links legislators’ retirement benefits from the higher benchmark salary but keeps elected prosecutors’ retirement benefits linked. (That last bit is not in the initial committee substitute, but the author intends to add it.) Based on past history, both of those changes make the bill more likely to pass the House but less likely to pass the Senate. That means the bill will go to a conference committee to hash out the differences—or not. Last session, the Senate would not agree to House changes to a judicial pay raise bill, and hardball tactics on both sides resulted in nothing passing. It’s unclear to us why anyone watching this re-run of last session’s drama thinks it will end differently at this point.

If you are going to take a shot at the king

Representative Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) attempted a one-man coup of Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) on the House floor this week. Harrison filed a resolution that would remove Burrows based on allegations that Burrows unconstitutionally dismissed the House for more than three days, falsely declared a quorum, and handed control to the Democrats. Harrison was heckled by his fellow lawmakers during his speech laying out his reasons for the attempted ouster. After Harrison’s impassioned speech, Representative Cody Harris (R-Palestine) presented a motion to table Harrison’s resolution. In the end, 141 of the 150 representatives in the Texas House voted to end Harrison’s dream of a regime change. It demonstrated that the House was united against the continuous disruptions by Harrison.  It also showed that Speaker Burrows has gained control of the House since his election and can speak for the House during negotiations with Lt. Governor Patrick. 

Heath bill progress

Senator Huffman (R-Houston) passed SB 1124, the Heath fix bill, out of the Senate Criminal Justice committee, and it could be heard on the Senate floor as soon as Tuesday. SB 1124 has been labeled the Heath fix as the bill attempts to end the unfair gamesmanship occurring in the wake of the Heath opinion by clearing up some ambiguities in Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 39.14, encouraging pretrial resolution of discovery disputes before trial, and limiting a court’s ability to suppress “Heath evidence” absent bad faith by the disclosing party or incurable prejudice to the receiving party. We have discussed the importance of the bill here. Several elected district attorneys from across the state testified for the bill in front of the Criminal Justice Committee, including Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon, Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton, Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick, Wilbarger County Attorney Staley Heatly, and Brazos County District Attorney Jarvis Parsons. If you support the bill but were unable to appear in person, it’s not too late to reach out to your local senator(s) and let them know that before the bill gets debated on the Senate floor this week. (And look for more information from us on a hearing for SB 2797 by Creighton (R-Conroe) relating to the reciprocal discovery in criminal cases, coming soon.)

ABCD bills

What are “ABCD” bills? That’s our working term for bills that give the prosecution job to “anybody but current DAs.” (Catchy, no?) We started a list of them back in our Week 9 update and more have been added to that bill track, which now totals almost 30 bills. Most ABCD bills have not seen action yet, but here’s an update on the status of those that are on the move:

HB 45 by Hull (AG prosecution of human trafficking: set for a hearing in House State Affairs Committee Monday, April 14, at 8:00 a.m.
HB 933 by Spiller (appeal of certain CCA rulings to SCOTX): passed House JCJ Committee, referred to House Calendars Committee.
SB 16 by Hughes (election crimes, AG prosecutions): passed Senate, not referred to committee in House yet.
SB 1026 by Hughes (AG prosecution of election crimes): passed Senate State Affairs Committee, awaiting consideration by full Senate.
SB 1210 by Hughes (appeal of certain CCA rulings to SCOTX): passed the Senate yesterday.
SB 2743 by Hagenbuch (DA removal/AG prosecution of election crimes): pending before Senate State Affairs Committee.
SB 2880 by Hughes (AG prosecution of abortion crimes): pending before Senate State Affairs Committee.

For a full list of all the ABCD-related bills we are tracking for you this session, click here.

Calendars Committee bills

More than 180 of our tracked House bills have passed from their substantive committees to the Calendars Committee, which decides (behind closed doors) which bills get voted on by the full House. If you know any members of the Calendars Committee and want to help or hinder the passage of bills (below) that have been referred to them, now is the time to make those phone calls!

HB 116 by Dutton relating to grounds for the involuntary termination of the parent-child relationship
HB 155 by Raymond relating to the confidentiality of certain autopsy records
HB 166 by Capriglione relating to a presumption of child endangerment regarding fentanyl
HB 463 by J. Jones relating to pretrial hearings and automatic expunctions in certain drug prosecutions
HB 503 by Tepper relating to more counties qualifying for rural law enforcement (SB 22) grants
HB 917 by Spiller allowing certain prosecutors to be appointed as ad litems in CPS cases
HB 933 by Spiller granting the state Supreme Court authority over certain Court of Criminal Appeals decisions
HB 1552 by Paul changing “child pornography” to “child sexual abuse material” throughout state law
HB 1760 by Leach imposing mandatory minimums for certain intoxication offenses
HB 1762 by Leach barring all forms of community supervision for illegal aliens
HB 1953 by Thompson expanding the rights of victims of sexual assault, etc.
HB 2216 by Hull limiting the removal/placement/termination of the parent-child relationship
HB 2486 by Hefner limiting access to certain files maintained by a law enforcement agency
HB 2596 by Metcalf relating to the issuance of certain protective orders for certain burglary offenses
HB 3073 by Howard relating to the prosecution of sexual assault

More visitors in Austin

Hays County Criminal District Attorney Kelly Higgins testified this week in support of HB 4139, which prohibits the use of videography during voir dire examinations and in cases involving alleged child victims or adult victims where evidentiary content could be embarrassing. Kleberg & Kenedy County District Attorney John Hubert testified in support of HB 1221, which increases the maximum reimbursement fee that can be collected for expenses associated with a defendant’s participation in pretrial intervention programs. Both bills were left pending.

Upcoming Committee Hearings

(NOTE: For those concerned about changes to the current grand jury system, two “grand jury reform” bills are set for a committee hearing Tuesday; see below for details.)

Monday
House State Affairs: 8:00 a.m., JHR 120
HB 45 Hull: Relating to the duty of the attorney general to prosecute human trafficking criminal offenses.
HB 755 Spiller: Limiting lobbying by certain public entities
HB 2460 Leach: Relating to the attorney general’s defense of a district or county attorney against certain lawsuits in federal court.
HB 4565 Curry: Relating to access to certain law enforcement, corrections, prosecutorial, and civil enforcement records under the public information law.

House Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice: 8:00 a.m., E1.014
HB 4476 McLaughlin: Relating to the waiver of jurisdiction by a juvenile court for certain children who are accused the use or exhibition of a firearm, the mandatory transfer of jurisdiction for those children to a criminal court, and an order of expunction issued to those offenses.
HB 4628 Moody: Relating to enhancement of the penalty for a felony conviction based on a juvenile delinquent conduct adjudication.
HB 4923 Moody: Relating to status offenses committed by a child, including the repeal of the status offense of a child voluntarily running away from home.

House Homeland, Public Safety, Veterans: 10:45 a.m., E2.010
HB 2215 LaHood: Relating to the carrying or possession of a handgun by certain retired attorneys representing the state.
HB 2470 Virdell: Relating to the age at which a person may carry a handgun
HB 2771 Hayes: Relating to the possession of a firearm by persons convicted of certain felony offenses.
HB 3669 Guillen: Relating to the definition of firearm for purposes of certain criminal offenses

House Subcommittee on Family and Fiduciary: 2:00 p.m., E2.016
HB 3758 Schatzline: Relating to admissibility and disclosure of certain evidence in a suit concerning a child alleged to have been abused or neglected or to be at risk of abuse or neglect filed by a governmental entity.

Tuesday
Senate Criminal Justice: 8:00 a.m., E1.016
SB 330 Huffman: Relating to an election to approve a reduction or reallocation of funding or resources for certain county prosecutors’ offices.
SB 663 Huffman: Relating to the approval of a community supervision and corrections department’s budget and strategic plan.  
SB 1020 Huffman: Relating to personal bond offices, notification provided to a judge regarding tampering with an electronic monitoring device while on bond or community supervision, and the availability of information regarding a person required to submit to electronic monitoring.              
SB 1152 Huffman: Relating to creating the criminal offense of continuous manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance.             
SB 1164 Zaffirini: Relating to emergency detention of certain persons evidencing mental illness and to court-ordered inpatient and extended mental health services.        
SB 1896 Huffman: Relating to the provision of information regarding an arrested person to a magistrate for purposes of an order of emergency protection.               
SB 2111 Zaffirini: Relating to legal representation of indigent persons in this state and to proceedings before a magistrate including the appointment of counsel for an indigent defendant.          
SB 2196 Johnson: Relating to the period during which an order for emergency protection remains in effect.             
SB 2383 Bettencourt: Relating to the employment of certain peace officers of the Department of Public Safety.          
SB 2581Hancock: Relating to the repeal of a provision governing the operation of jail commissaries in certain counties.              
SB 2797 Creighton: Relating to discovery requirements in a criminal case.            
SB 2798 Creighton: Relating to certain statutes of limitations for criminal offenses, including the statute of limitations for certain fraud offenses.          

House Subcommittee on New Offenses and Changed Penalties: 8:00 a.m., E 2.014
HB 285 Ordaz: Relating to the prosecution of cruelty to non-livestock animals.
HB 795 Johnson: Relating to the punishment for the offense of aggravated assault.
HB 1795 Anchia: Relating to increasing the criminal penalty for certain conduct constituting the offense of dog fighting or the offense of cockfighting.
HB 1871 Dyson: Relating to the punishment for the criminal offense of attempted capital murder of a peace officer.
HB 2407 Capriglione: Relating to increasing the criminal penalty for the failure of certain sex offenders to comply with sex offender registration requirements.
HB 2461 Leach: Relating to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of criminal mischief involving impairment of or disruption to a retail motor fuel pump.
HB 2695 Anchia: Relating to the use of a social media platform in furtherance of an offense involving the delivery of a controlled substance.
HB 3507 Wharton: Relating to the punishment for the offense of theft.
HB 4911 Fairly: Relating to prosecution of sexually explicit visual material involving depictions of children, computer-generated children, or other persons.

House Criminal Jurisprudence: 10:30 a.m., E2.014
HB 200 Buckley: Relating to early release on parole of inmates convicted of an offense committed when younger than 18 years of age.
HB 413 Jones: Relating to the release of certain defendants detained in jail pending trial.
HB 525 Vasut: Relating to a subpoena to compel the attendance of certain peace officers who are witnesses in a misdemeanor case punishable by fine only.
HB 867 Jones: Relating to the dismissal of a criminal case by the attorney representing the state.
HB 1418 Schatzline: Relating to the use of in-custody informant testimony in a criminal trial.
HB 1604 Bucy: Relating to public access to criminal proceedings.
HB 1650 Canales: Relating to a special bill of review to reform a final judgment of forfeiture of a bail bond.
HB 2333 Hopper: Relating to the statutes of limitations for felony offenses relating to an election conducted in this state.
HB 2348 Capriglione: Relating to the video recording of a deposition taken of the testimony of certain elderly or disabled persons in a criminal case.
HB 2458 Virdell: Relating to a defense to prosecution for the offense of aggravated assault.
HB 2507 Leach: Relating to retroactive automatic orders of nondisclosure for misdemeanor defendants following successful completion of a period of deferred adjudication
HB 2594 Metcalf: Relating to the venue for the prosecution of certain criminal conduct involving theft.
HB 2698 Anchia: Relating to the representation of certain indigent applicants for a writ of habeas corpus.
HB 2761 Johnson: Relating to the prosecution of the offenses of trafficking of persons and continuous trafficking of persons.
HB 2895 Patterson: Relating to the legal justification for using force or deadly force in response to the commission or attempted commission of a violent felony.
HB 3111 Perez: Relating to the search of certain wireless communications devices by a peace officer.
HB 3358 Garcia Hernandez: Relating to the definition of an emergency service provider for purposes of critical incident stress management and crisis response.
HB 3362 Little: Relating to grand jury proceedings.
HB 3449 Canales: Relating to the reimbursement of expenses to certain counsel appointed to represent a defendant in a criminal proceeding.
HB 3477 Canales: Relating to the expunction of all records and files related to a finding of criminal contempt by a court.
HB 3463 Walle: Relating to the prosecution of the offense of theft of service.
HB 3664 Smithee: Relating to the training of prospective grand jurors and to grand jury proceedings.
HB 4075 Leach: Relating to change of venue in certain criminal cases involving a peace officer.
HB 4933 Curry: Relating to the disposition of a seized weapon belonging to a person who is not prosecuted or convicted for an offense involving the weapon.

Wednesday
House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence: 8:00 a.m., E2.030
HB 5621 Dutton: Relating to the jurisdiction of district and county attorneys to prosecute certain consumer protection violations.                                             
HB 5067 Leach: Relating to the jurisdiction of the Fifteenth Court of Appeals.                                               
HB 5081 Leach: Relating to the protection of personal identifying information of certain persons in the judicial system; creating a criminal offense.                                              
HB 5354 Leach: Relating to the information reported by prosecuting attorneys to the Texas Judicial Council.                                              
HB 4088 Bonnen: Relating to the qualifications for jury service and the establishment of a juror mental health services reimbursement program.                                               
HB 4803 Spiller: Relating to the creation of offices of District Attorney for the Northeast Texas, Central Texas, Southeast Texas, and South Texas Regions and the powers and duties of and related to such officers. 
HB 2287 Oliverson: Relating to liability of judges and magistrates for the improper release on personal bond of defendants accused of committing certain felony offenses.                                         

Quotes of the week

“Let them laugh. Let them scoff. Let them hiss. Let the voters of Texas hear the vulgarity and the lack of professionalism being demonstrated on the floor right now.”

—Representative Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) yelling at his colleagues for laughing at him during his speech that attempted to whip votes to remove Speaker Burrows.

“Senator Hancock, you were worrying me when you were asking him about what motions that I might not be happy with. Were there going to be two [motions to] vacate the chairs today? I just wasn’t sure. I always want to be sure.”

—Lt. Governor Patrick speaking during Senator Hancock’s freshman year hazing ritual referencing that Hancock could possibly be trying to remove him like the attempted coup of Burrows that day.

“My family always comes first, and so we’ll talk about it, I’m sure,”

—Representative Mitch Little (R-Lewisville) when asked if he was considering running for Attorney General.

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The Legislative Session is starting to heat up. Between committee meeting arguments, attempts to recall the Speaker of the House, bills being labeled as racist, and legislative subpoenas being issued, the gloves are starting to come off. Which bills will be left standing when the final round ends in June is still a mystery. Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s get ready to rumble!

Testifying in front of legislative committees

Expect the unexpected when testifying in front of committees. Gregg County Criminal DA John Moore; his assistant CDA, Stacey Brownlee; and Cass County Criminal DA Courtney Shelton testified in the House Human Services Committee this week in support of Representative Gary VanDeaver’s (R-New Boston) HB 2665. The bill would require CPS to turn over all investigative information regarding abuse or neglect to the county or district attorney upon request. Prosecutors have had to use subpoenas to obtain this information, which has caused issues complying with CCP Art. 39.14, the Michael Morton Act.
It seemed like a straightforward bill that would not stir controversy. However, that notion went out the door right after the layout (opening statement) of the bill. Representative Valerie Swanson (R-Spring) started explaining that “there are a lot of frivolous reports to CPS” and asked if CPS would still be required to turn over all that information. The prosecutors testified that they are required to turn over all evidence that is exculpatory, impeachment, or mitigating in the possession of the State. The committee started its line of questioning with, “Have you seen false reports being used by abusers in child custody issues?” The next question was about why all CPS case information would be given to the DA when the accused is innocent. Other comments from the committee included that they did not like the part of the bill that states CPS must turn over all reports of suspected abuse or neglect because “there are a lot of reports that are like, oh, gee, these kids were, you know, they were playing out in their front yard. Wow. Or gee, they had on some dirty playclothes.” The prosecutors explained that the reason the DA’s office would have a case is that an arrest has been made and a criminal case has been opened. The prosecutors also explained that it is crucial to know if any exculpatory evidence exists so that no one is falsely convicted. A CPS representative testified that CPS is already required to hand over those documents and speculated that it was due to lack of communication and training that CPS employees were not turning over the materials.
The prosecutors did an excellent job of explaining real-life examples of how the bill would help in administering justice. Representative VanDeaver defended the bill in his closing, and it was left pending in the committee. We don’t know the ultimate fate of the bill yet, but it was a good reminder to expect the unexpected when it comes to testifying in a legislative committee. 

The gang’s all here

We had quite a few other prosecutors in town to help bills move along in the process that had more “normal” hearings. Newly-appointed Austin County Criminal DA Brandy Robinson and Comal County Criminal DA Jennifer Tharp testified in support of Angelia Orr’s (R-Itasca) HB 1845, which would allow Senate Bill 22 grant funds to be used to give raises to paralegals. CDA Jennifer Tharp also testified in favor of Senator Flores’s (R-Pleasanton) SB 1809, which creates the offense of fraudulent use or possession of a gift card or gift card redemption information and also increases punishments based on the value of the gift card. Dallas County ACDA Jason Hermus testified in favor of Rafael Anchia’s (D-Dallas) HB 2697, which would require bondsmen to notify the district attorney if a client has forfeited bond. Chambers County ADA Eric Carcerano and Galveston County ADA Kayla Allen testified in favor of Representative David Cook’s (R-Mansfield) HB 1902, which creates the criminal offense of jugging.  106^th Judicial DA Philip Mack Roach and Galveston County Criminal DA Jack Roady joined forces with a representative of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (TCDLA) and testified against Representative David Spiller’s (R-Jacksboro) HB 933, which would give the Texas Supreme Court the final say in any conflict with the Court of Criminal Appeals on a matter of state constitutional interpretation. (The bill, which was also filed last session, is a response to the Stephens opinion.)

Judicial branch pay update

On the judicial branch pay raise front, the budget proposed by the House Appropriations Committee (HAC) earlier this week matches the Senate’s version of Senate Bill 1 by Huffman (R-Houston). Specifically, it funds a 15-percent pay raise but only if SB 293 by Huffman passes. And guess who is unhappy with SB 293? That’s right—some members of the judiciary who oppose the bill’s accountability provisions and/or object to the raise not being large enough. Senator Huffman has repeatedly emphasized that her version of a judicial pay raise is a package deal with the accountability provisions, so with the battle lines drawn, we get to watch the time-honored legislative game of “irresistible force versus immovable object.” (Please, no wagering.) The next installment of that game will be next Wednesday when the House Judiciary Committee takes up HB 1761 by Leach (R-Plano). That bill is currently an identical House companion for SB 293, but the House can do as it wishes on this topic, of course.

Returning to the budget: The version of SB 1 approved by HAC now goes to the full House for approval. That is tentatively scheduled to happen on Thursday, April 10. Assuming the House GOP anti-Speaker insurgency doesn’t burn the building to the ground before or during that night, the bill will then go to a conference committee for the two chambers to hammer out their differences behind closed doors. Very little reliable information will be available until the finished product emerges from that conference process sometime during the last week of session. Yet another fun waiting game, brought to you by the legislative process!

Bills that are moving

SB 1210 was voted out of committee and referred to Local/Uncontested Calendar in the Senate. The bill by Senator Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) grants SCOTX the power to overrule the CCA on certain constitutional matters, as in, deciding whether the OAG has the constitutional power to prosecute local crimes. The companion bill, HB 933, was heard in the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence and left pending. 

SB 16 passed through the Senate and was received by the House. This is another bill by Senator Hughes that creates several new voter registration procedures (and crimes!) relating to proof of citizenship and also allows the Attorney General to prosecute those election crimes if a district attorney fails to prosecute an election crime within 180 days. The bill has not yet been referred to a House committee.

Upcoming Committee meetings

Monday
Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice: 8:00 a.m., E2.010
HB 31 Thompson: Relating to juvenile justice proceedings and children in a juvenile facility.
HB 3360 Cook: Relating to a juvenile who engages in delinquent conduct or commits a felony offense while in TJJD.

House State Affairs: 8:00 a.m., JHR 120
HB 28 King: Relating to the regulation of consumable hemp products and providing for the transfer of regulatory functions.
SB 3 Perry: Relating to the regulation of consumable hemp products and the hemp-derived cannabinoids contained in those products.

Tuesday
Senate Criminal Justice: 8:00 a.m., E1.016
SB 552 Huffman: Relating to changing the eligibility of illegal aliens to receive community supervision, including deferred adjudication community supervision.
SB 1099 Flores: Relating to increasing the criminal penalty for certain offenses committed by an alien.
SB 1124 Huffman: Relating to discovery in a criminal case (Heath bill)
SB 1208 King: Relating to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of interference with public duties.
SB 1372 Hinojosa: Relating to access to the crime laboratory portal.
SB 1506 Parker: Relating to the frequency with which the Board of Pardons and Paroles reconsiders inmates for release on parole.
SB 1667 Zaffirini: Relating to the procedures for the expunction of arrest records and files; authorizing a fee.
SB 1804 Alvarado: Relating to restitution and compensation paid to victims of certain offenses for tattoo removal related to the offense.
SB 1806 Sparks: Relating to the inspection, purchase, sale, possession, storage, transportation, and disposal of petroleum products, oil and gas equipment, and oil and gas waste; creating criminal offenses and increasing the punishment for an existing criminal offense.
SB 1870 Perry: Relating to municipal and county enforcement of drug laws; providing civil penalties.
SB 1936 Hinojosa: Relating to the definition of an abuse unit for certain controlled substances under the Texas Controlled Substances Act.
SB 1937 Hinojosa: Relating to the testing of evidence containing biological materials in capital cases.
SB 2180 Hagenbuch: Relating to requiring a certification for peace officers to conduct certain polygraph examinations.
SB 2405 Parker: Relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, etc. (sunset bill).
SB 2569 Flores: Relating to the reporting requirement for certain law enforcement agencies regarding the agencies’ use or operation of an unmanned aircraft.
SB 2570 Flores: Relating to a defense to prosecution for certain offenses involving the use of a less-lethal projectile by a peace officer.
SB 1646 King: Relating to the theft or unauthorized possession of copper or brass.

House Criminal Jurisprudence: 10:30 a.m., E2.014
HB 1194 Manuel: Relating to the period during which an order for emergency protection remains in effect.                                  
HB 1221 Lozano: Relating to increasing the reimbursement fee for certain expenses related to pretrial intervention programs.                              
HB 1738 Jones: Relating to the repeal of the offense of homosexual conduct.       
HB 1913 Schatzline: Relating to prohibiting a registered sex offender from going within a certain distance of the residence of a victim.                           
HB 2177 Harless: Relating to authorizing the disclosure of certain electronic customer data by a provider of an electronic communications service or a remote computing service in certain immediate life-threatening situations.                                  
HB 2178 Harless: Relating to the emergency installation and use of a mobile tracking device on a vehicle by an authorized peace officer.                                  
HB 2180 Cunningham: Relating to a waiver of the preservation of evidence and the return of a seized weapon in a criminal case.
HB 2229 Hernandez: Relating to the expunction of arrest records and files by a statutory county court.                              
HB 2282 Lopez: Relating to the amount of the reimbursement fee paid by a defendant for a peace officer’s services in executing or processing an arrest warrant, capias, or capias pro fine.
HB 2448 Moody: Relating to the waiver of a defendant’s arraignment.                                
HB 2492 Bowers: Relating to the period for which a person arrested for certain crimes involving family violence may be held after bond is posted. 
HB 2777 Rose: Relating to the applicability of the death penalty to a capital offense committed by a person with severe mental illness.                                    
HB 2984 Curry: Relating to a rebuttable presumption that a person is intoxicated based on an alcohol concentration level analysis.                                    
HB 3357 Oliverson: Relating to cremation authorization procedures in counties with medical examiners.                                
HB 3553 Spiller: Relating to the use of deadly force in defense of property.                    
HB 3602 Louderback: Relating to the execution of a search warrant for taking a blood specimen from certain persons in certain intoxication offenses.  

Wednesday
House Corrections: 8:00 a.m., E1.014
HB 1515 Canales: Relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, etc. (sunset bill).
HB 2306 Villalobos: Relating to changing the eligibility for release on parole of certain inmates serving sentences for trafficking offenses involving child victims and disabled individuals.
HB 3636 Metcalf: Relating to the payment of restitution by a person released on parole or to mandatory supervision.
HB 4937 Harless: Relating to the frequency with which the Board of Pardons and Paroles reconsiders inmates for release on parole.

House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence
HB 1761 Leach: Relating to the discipline of judges and a 15 percent pay raise for district judges
HB 1707 Brooks: Relating to the duties of the district attorney for the 70th Judicial District.
HB 2322 Schofield: Relating to the annual base salary from the state of a district judge.
HB 3647 Oliverson: Relating to appeals from orders granting or denying a plea to the jurisdiction by a governmental unit in certain circumstances.
HB 4139 Zwiener: Relating to the use of videography in relation to certain court proceedings.

Scholarship Opportunity

TDCAA’s Advanced Writing & Appellate Advocacy Course is now eligible for the State Bar of Texas Criminal Justice Section’s scholarship. Application requirements:

• You must be a current member of the Criminal Justice Section to apply. Preference will be given to lawyers licensed for 5 years or less.
• Applications must be complete at the time of submission. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
• Scholarships can be used for course registration and travel expenses.

The scholarship application is due April 12, 2025, and can be found here: https://www.txbarcjs.org/?page_id=35

Quotes of the week

“We’ve seen some very strange changes in our culture, and people are getting reported, parents, because they don’t want their child to be transitioned to the opposite sex. And I can think of so many things that people call in about that are just wrong. And I don’t want a situation where here’s this innocent, really great family, great parents, and like I say, law enforcement shows up.”

—Representative Valerie Swanson discussing the dangers of CPS turning over its reports to district attorneys.

“Of the more than 8,000 peace officers in Texas, the governor chooses Officer [Justin] Berry not in spite of the fact that he shot into protesters but because he shot protesters.’”

—Senator Sarah Eckhardt discussing her opposition to Austin Police Officer Justin Berry’s nomination to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

“You know, I think the world of you and I know you’re not a racist. I think these bills, these types of bills are racist. I want you to understand that. I don’t think you’re a racist. I think you have your motivations, and I understand that.”

—Senator Roland Gutierrez debating with Senator Brian Hughes concerning Hughes’s SB 689, an anti-DEI bill.

“Mr. President, you may know that famous alum of Texas Southern University, Megan Thee Stallion. I think you know about Megan Thee Stallion, Mr. President. That’s a favorite of yours. [She] was a graduate Texas Southern University.”

 —Senator Royce West, referring to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (as the presiding officer of the Senate) while on the Senate floor discussing the impact of HBCUs.

“We live in the most beautiful city in the state of Texas, and I need to make it possible for them to make this their forever home.”

—Nueces County DA Jimmy Granberry discussing the shortage of prosecutors in his county.  

“District and county attorneys have a duty to protect the communities they serve by upholding the law and vigorously prosecuting dangerous criminals. In many major counties, the people responsible for safeguarding millions of Texans have instead endangered lives by refusing to prosecute criminals and allowing violent offenders to terrorize law-abiding Texans. This rule will enable citizens to hold rogue DA’s [sic] accountable.”

—Attorney General Ken Paxton discussing the new rule that creates reporting requirements for district attorneys and county attorneys.

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The 89^th Legislative Session passed its halfway point and just like a roller coaster ride, the way down is the scariest. Put your hands up in the air and scream as lawmakers attempt to pass a budget and all the new laws! Buckle up, it is going to get bumpy!

NEW COMMITTEE MEETINGS ALERT! See below!

The Calendar Committee

The Texas House of Representatives uses a system of calendars to organize bills that have passed the committee stage. The House Calendars Committee and Local & Consent Calendars Committee are responsible for determining which bills make it to the House floor and on which calendar they are placed. The placement and timing of a bill on a calendar is a strategic consideration that can mean the difference between a bill living or dying.

The Local & Consent Calendars Committee prepares the local, consent, and resolutions calendar, which consists of local and usually uncontested legislation such as funding local parks or water districts. The Calendars Committee prepares the daily calendar from bills that have passed their first committee hearing and been referred to the Calendars Committee for that purpose. It also oversees preparation of the daily supplemental calendar, which combines pending business from the previous day that did not make it to a final reading, and adds bills that are ready for a second reading. The Calendars Committee also determines the importance of a bill or resolution. For instance, bills on final reading and pending items get top priority. But what might be most important to know about the Calendars Committee is that it does not deliberate in public—everything happens behind closed doors, including the decisions on which bills will and will not reach the floor for a vote. That makes the members of this committee particularly important at this point in a session.

Bills are passing out of committee and headed to the Calendars Committee. It is time to contact the members you know if your bill has made it out of committee to help its chances of survival. (Or to slow down one you don’t want to survive!) The Calendars Committee consists of Chair Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi), Vice Chair Toni Rose (D-Dallas), Terry Canales (D-Edinburg), Stan Gerdes (R-Smithville), Cody Harris (R-Palestine), Ana Hernandez (D-Houston), Ann Johnson (D-Houston), Jeff Leach (R-Plano), Janie Lopez (R-San Benito), Ramon Romero (D-Fort Worth) and Carl Tepper (R-Lubbock).

The Calendar Committee had its first formal meeting yesterday and announced that the first bills to be heard on the House Floor will be on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. That is not an April Fool’s joke. 

Mid-Session Progress Report

We are tracking over 1,700 bills out of the over 9,000 that were filed. So many good ideas. Such little time. Due to the volume, here is the status report of a few of the bigger bills that have made it from the Senate to the House. No bills have made it from the House to the Senate yet, but the House is always less organized and efficient after a change in leadership.

Referred to the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee:
SJR 1 Huffman (R-Houston): The bill creates a constitutional amendment requiring the denial of bail for an illegal alien charged with an offense punishable as a felony.
SJR 5 Huffman (R-Houston) The bill creates a constitutional amendment authorizing the denial of bail (under limited circumstances) to a person accused of certain violent or sexual offenses or of continuous trafficking of people.

Referred to the House State Affairs Committee:
SB 3 Perry (R-Lubbock) The bill bans consumable hemp products.  
SB 19 Middleton (R-Galveston) The bill bans cities and other local governments from using public funds to hire lobbyists.

Received by the House but not referred to committee yet:
SB 987 Bettencourt (R-Houston) The bill allows criminal trial courts to have authority over criminal actions regardless of the exhaustion of civil and administrative remedies.
SB 990 Bettencourt (R-Houston) The bill increases the punishment for murder if the victim is under 15 years old, as opposed to the previous age of 10.
SB 761 Hinojosa (D-Edinburg) The bill relates to rights of crime victims, including the enforcement of certain rights of sexual assault victims, authorizing a civil penalty.
SB 293 Huffman (R-Houston) The bill relates to the discipline of judges by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct as well as a 15-percent pay raise.

Senate budget is done and dusted; House budget, not so much

The only thing a legislature must do every two years is pass a budget. That is proceeding on schedule, with one hiccup in the House that we will unpack below.

This week, Senate Finance Committee Chair Joan Huffman (R-Houston) passed Senate Bill 1. Highlights of the Senate’s 989-page bill that are relevant to your offices include:

• full funding of SB 22 grants and all other current prosecutor office appropriations for another two years;
• increased funding for DFPS (Child Protective Services) functions, some Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) and Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and Department of Public Safety (DPS) functions, and state employee salaries (a 6-percent raise for most, with larger increases for some specific positions at TDCJ and TJJD, among others);
• a new $2 million grant to help prosecutors and law enforcement agencies pay for certain forensic science testing costs;
• $1.7 million more for judicial branch training grants (including prosecutors); and
• a rider to fund 15-percent raises for elected judges and prosecutors contingent upon the passage of SB 293 by Huffman.

The House Appropriations Committee—aka HAC (pronounced “hack”)—will take up SB 1 on Monday, swap in its preferred language, and pass that on to the full House for consideration in a few weeks. Then the House version will go back to the Senate and both sides will agree to disagree, after which they form a conference committee of reps and senators to hammer out the differences behind closed doors.

And speaking of disagreements, we had some drama in HAC earlier this week involving State Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian), a member of that committee who revels in being the fly in the House leadership ointment. (Google his name and “Beyoncé” for just one of many examples of that.) When the full HAC reviewed subcommittee recommendations this week, Rep. Harrison kept trying to call points of order—aka POOs (pronounced … well, yeah, you can figure that one out), which are the legislative equivalent of a court objection—for not following House rules. The upshot of that kerfuffle was that some House committee chairs are now taking a more formal, rules-heavy approach to their hearings, which slows down the overall process and puts additional mileage on everyone’s odometer of patience!. Rep. Harrison then doubled-down on his rule scrupulosity earlier today by insisting on a roll call vote for some ceremonial functions, resulting in the House lacking a quorum to conduct business and causing an immediate adjournment. That means that House members must return to the floor Saturday morning and establish a quorum so they can officially adjourn until Monday. Consider all of this to be more tinder for the eventual spark that many observers think will burn down this session’s work at some point.

How the sausage gets made

There is still time to advocate for the bills that will help you see justice done. TDCAA serves as your eyes and ears at the Texas Capitol, but legislators need to hear your voice. We have a rotating schedule of volunteer slots for elected prosecutors or their designees to come to Austin to be a part of the legislative process. The last day of the session is June 2. Please contact Hector for more details.

Upcoming Committee Meetings

Monday, March 31, 2025
Senate State Affairs: 9:00 a.m., Senate Chamber
SB 517 Middleton: Relating to criminal offenses applicable to and authorized uses of gambling devices, including eight-liners.

House Subcommittee on County Government: 10:00 a.m., E2.028
HB 1845 Orr: Relating to the use of funds from the rural prosecutor’s office salary assistance grant program.
HB 2529 Dean: Relating to the annual state salary supplement for certain county judges.

House Pensions/Investments/Financial Services: 10:00 a.m., E2.012
HB 3014 Lambert: Relating to the creation of the offense of fraudulent use or possession of a gift card or gift card redemption information.
HB 3109 Perez: Relating to the operations of the Financial Crimes Intelligence Center.

Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Senate Criminal Justice: 8:00 a.m., E1.016
SB 476 Middleton: Relating to enhancing the criminal penalty for the offense of intoxication manslaughter in certain circumstances.
SB 664 Huffman: Relating to qualifications, training, removal, and supervision of certain masters, magistrates, referees, associate judges, and hearing officers.
SB 745 Kolkhorst: Relating to enhancing the criminal penalty for the offense of intoxication manslaughter in certain circumstances.         
SB 826 Parker: Relating to the operation of a motor vehicle in a school crossing zone while intoxicated; increasing a criminal penalty.                
SB 989 Bettencourt: Relating to criminal history record information for certain master, magistrate, referee, associate judge, or other court official applicants appointed or employed to serve in a state court.             
SB 1080 West: Relating to the issuance of a provisional occupational license to certain applicants with criminal convictions.
SB 1171 Perry: Relating to compensation, leave, and physical fitness programs and standards for certain employees of the office of inspector general of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.                 
SB 1320 Sparks: Relating to the establishment of the Organized Oilfield Theft Prevention Unit within the Texas Department of Public Safety.                
SB 1437 Bettencourt: Relating to the eligibility of certain individuals for certification as certain juvenile officers or employees of a juvenile facility.           
SB 1727 Perry: Relating to the protection and detention of a juvenile who engages in delinquent conduct or commits a felony offense while committed to the custody of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department; changing the eligibility for community supervision; redefining habitual felony conduct.          
SB 1809 Flores: Relating to the creation of the offense of fraudulent use or possession of a gift card or gift card redemption information.            
SB 2289 Miles: Relating to reports regarding county jail prisoners confined in out-of-state jails.                 
SB 2320 King: Relating to increasing the criminal punishment for certain driving while intoxicated offenses.                 

House Higher Education: 8:00 a.m., E2.036
HB 184 Guillen: Relating to student loan repayment assistance for certain prosecuting attorneys who are employed as part of the border prosecution unit.

House Human Services: 8:00 a.m., E2.030
HB 2665 VanDeaver: Relating to notification and disclosure of records and information concerning an investigation of a report of child abuse or neglect to county or district attorneys.

House Criminal Jurisprudence: 10:30 a.m., E2.014
HB 47 Howard: Relating to sexual assault and other sex offenses.
HB 1552 Paul: Relating to changing the name of the offense of child pornography to child sexual abuse material and to updating references to conform to that terminology.                             
HB 1686 Hull: Relating to victims of sex offenses, sex-based human trafficking offenses, or acts of a sexual nature and to the confidentiality of or restrictions on the availability of certain property, material, or information regarding those victims, offenses, or acts.                                   
HB 1953 Thompson: Relating to rights of crime victims and the enforcement of those rights; authorizing a civil penalty.                               
HB 2151 Capriglione: Relating to the applicability of sex offender registration requirements to the offense of indecent assault.
HB 2355 Fairly: Relating to requests for law enforcement agency reports from the Attorney General related to crime victims’ compensation applications.                                                          
HB 2582 Hull: Relating to the rights of a victim, guardian of a victim, or close relative of a deceased victim to information regarding a defendant’s parole.                                       
HB 2697Anchía: Relating to certain procedures in connection with a bond forfeiture.                                
HB 2895 Patterson: Relating to the legal justification for using force or deadly force in response to the commission or attempted commission of a violent felony.                             
HB 3073 Howard: Relating to the prosecution of the offense of sexual assault.                                     
HB 3418 Morales: Relating to prohibitions on certain employment for sex offenders.

Wednesday, April 2, 2025
House Corrections: 8:00 a.m., E1.014
HB 153 Raymond: Relating to the eligibility of service members and veterans to participate in a veteran’s treatment court program.                                                                                           
HB 1461 Frank: Relating to the confinement or detention of certain individuals in a county jail or other facility operated by or for the county and to the compensation to the county for the costs of that confinement or detention.                                               
HB 1760 Leach: Relating to increasing the minimum term of imprisonment and changing the eligibility for community supervision, mandatory supervision, and parole for persons convicted of intoxication manslaughter.
HB 1762 Leach: Relating to changing the eligibility of certain persons to receive community supervision, including deferred adjudication community supervision.                                                
HB 3261 Johnson: Relating to the eligibility of certain criminal defendants for an order of nondisclosure of criminal history record information.

House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence: 8:00 a.m., E2.030 NEW!
HB 1181 Raymond: Relating to the assignment of certain retired and former justices and judges.                                              
HB 3704 Anchía: Relating to notaries public; creating a criminal offense.                                              
HB 1363 Hernandez: Relating to implicit bias training for justices and judges of state courts, judicial officers, certain court personnel, and attorneys licensed to practice law in this state.                                            
HB 1610 Leach: Relating to the nonsubstantive revision of certain provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, including conforming amendments.                                                
HB 1317 Schoolcraft: Relating to authorizing the attorney general to petition the chief justice of the supreme court to convene a special three-judge district court in certain circumstances.                                        
HB 2176 Harless: Relating to the composition and duties of a court security committee.                                              
HB 4027 Zwiener: Relating to the taking of certain depositions and the dismissal of certain civil actions in connection with allegations of family violence and abusive conduct.                                              
HB 1664 Morales: Relating to the eligibility of certain retired or former district court judges for assignment as a visiting judge.                                        
HB 933 Spiller: Relating to the jurisdiction of the Texas Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals.                                                
HB 2086 Plesa: Relating to a motion for determining a plaintiff is a vexatious litigant.                                                  

Thursday, April 3, 2025
House Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice: 8:00a.m., E2.014 NEW!
HB 2947 McLaughlin: Relating to truancy; increasing a criminal penalty.                            
HB 3276 Noble: Relating to the eligibility of certain individuals for certification as certain juvenile officers or employees of a juvenile facility.                                       
                             
Senate Border Security: 9:00 a.m., E1.016
SB 36 Parker: Relating to homeland security activities of certain entities, including the establishment and operations of the Homeland Security Division in DPS.
SB 2202 Birdwell: Relating to the trafficking of a firearm to a foreign terrorist organization and to the unlawful transfer of firearms between this state and the United Mexican States.

House Subcommittee on New Offenses and Changed Penalties: 10:30a.m., E2.014 NEW!
HB 316 Perez: Relating to creating a criminal offense for interfering with a motor fuel metering device or motor fuel unattended payment terminal and the prosecution of certain organized criminal activity.                          
HB 353 Patterson: Relating to creating the criminal offense of trespass on or near school or day-care center property.                                  
HB 1160 Hull: Relating to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of assault committed against certain employees or agents of a utility and to the prosecution of the criminal offense of interference with public duties of those employees or agents.                                    
HB 1414 Allen: Relating to the punishment for the offense of driving while license invalid.                                      
HB 1422 Hull: Relating to the rights of victims of sexual assault and other sex offenses, the offense of continuous sexual abuse, and the prosecution and punishment of certain sex offenses; creating a criminal offense; increasing criminal penalties.                            
HB 1443 Schatzline: Relating to creating the criminal offense of promotion of a child-like sex doll.                              
HB 1713 Plesa: Relating to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of criminal mischief involving impairment of electric vehicle supply equipment.                                    
HB 1789 Gerdes: Relating to enhancing the criminal penalty for the offense of intoxication manslaughter in certain circumstances.                                  
HB 1902 Cook: Relating to creating the criminal offense of jugging.                            
HB 2073 Hull: Relating to increasing the criminal penalty for certain violations of certain court orders or conditions of bond in cases involving family violence, child abuse or neglect, sexual assault or abuse, indecent assault, stalking, or trafficking.
HB 2666 Virdell: Relating to the punishment for the offense of arson involving a government building.                        
HB 2695 Anchía: Relating to the use of a social media platform in furtherance of an offense involving the delivery of a controlled substance; increasing criminal penalties.                                   

All the bills listed above can be read by clicking on the committee hyperlink. More committee hearings will be announced later today. Please check back for updates. 

Quotes of the week

“It’s somewhat insulting that folks ask who wrote a bill I am carrying. Did it ever occur to you idiots that the bill was written by me.”

            —State Rep. Harold Dutton (R-Houston), giving everyone a classic example of a subtweet on X.

“I dare you to investigate me. Do it and then bring it. I dare you to do that to me. That’s disgusting that you would do an investigation and you would pay for investigators to look something up in someone’s background to try to leverage it. It’s actually very potentially, it could be illegal. I don’t know. I would ask the Attorney General to potentially investigate your actions on whether they were legal and whether you tried to use what you found out during those investigations against these people in order to gain billion-dollar contracts.”

            —Representative Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington) talking during a DOGE Committee hearing to insurance companies that admitted to hiring private investigators to investigate lawmakers.

“The allegations concerning Superior [Insurance]’s actions, such as actions that were characterized as potentially blackmailing lawmakers to secure state contracts and surveilling private citizens to avoid paying legitimate claims, are deeply troubling. I will get to the bottom of this, uncover any illegal activity, and hold bad actors responsible. Justice will be served.”

            —Attorney General Ken Paxton in response to insurance companies admitting they hired private investigators to spy on members of the Texas Legislature as well as and private citizens seeking payment of medical bills.

“There is a swing back toward pragmatism on how we approach the criminal justice problem. The politics have changed.”

            —Lee Kindlon, Albany County (NY) District Attorney and former defense lawyer, telling The New York Times why he and other Democratic DAs support changing that state’s draconian discovery laws that have resulted in dismissals of thousands of criminal cases.

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March Madness tips off at the Texas Legislature! Instead of 64 teams trying to get to the championship game in a few weeks, there are about 9,000 bills trying to become law in 72 days. Bill filing deadline has come and gone so the real madness can get going as the biggest enemy of a bill’s survival is time. Which bills will get to enjoy that one shining moment?

Legislative Session Stats

It is a record-breaking year for the members of the 89^th Texas Legislative Session. The total number including bills, concurrent resolutions, and joint resolutions maxes out at 9,062, 849 of which were filed on the very last day that a bill could be filed. The grand total is the most ever filed in the history of Texas. It seems that Texas needs quite a bit of maintenance from two years ago when that legislative session broke the record of most bills filed. The legislature is only under one obligation, and that is to pass the budget that allows the government to operate for the next two years.

The House must pass its bills out of committee by May 12. Committees are bill graveyards as this is the first stage a bill must pass, and most bills do not get out of committee. Any House bill that wants a chance of becoming law must pass through the entire House by May 15 and then get over to the Senate where they begin their journey through the Senate committee process. Senate bills that make it to the House must pass out of the House committee by May 24 and must pass the entire House by May 27. The Senate must pass all House legislation by May 28. 

The process is set up to kill bills. There are thousands of ways for bills to die through the legislative process and only one way to get to the Governor’s desk for signing. Interest groups that fail to pass their bills will have to wait two more years until the next session and hope that their champion lawmakers win their elections. The legislative session has passed the 60-day mark, which means all bills, not just the emergency items marked by the Governor, can now be debated on the House and Senate floors. This is where the legislature picks up the pace as lawmakers know that the final buzzer is set to go off on the last day of session, Sine Die, on June 2, 2025.

Bail Reform

The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee held an 11-hour marathon session to hear eight different bills. Representative John Smithee (R-Amarillo) laid out his bail reform bills that mirror the Senate’s bail reform bills that passed that upper chamber earlier this month. HB 75 is the clean-up bill that mandates written findings for “no probable cause” determinations by magistrates and shifts bond-setting authority from appointed magistrates to elected judges for certain types of charges. HB 76 prohibits political subdivisions from using public funds to pay bail bonds. HJR 15 would amend the Constitution to give judges and magistrates the discretion to deny bail to certain felony suspects. HJR 16 seeks to amend the Texas Constitution to require detention without bail for any illegal alien charged with a felony. All four bills were left pending in the committee. Comal County Criminal District Attorney Jennifer Tharp testified in favor of the constitutional amendments and sat through the entire 11-hour committee hearing.

THC ban

The Senate passed Senate Bill 3, which criminalizes consumable hemp products with any amount of THC including gummies, beverages, vapes, and other edible products. Lt. Governor Patrick ranked SB 3 as one of his top five bills and even went undercover to a hemp shop to expose the products in a video he posted on his X account. Lt. Governor Patrick and Senator Charles Perry (R-Lubbock), the bill’s author, held a press conference with different law enforcement agencies including Collin County Criminal District Attorney Greg Willis. Patrick touted that the hemp industry exploded with over 8,000 new stores and profits in the billions as it took advantage of a loophole in the law. Senator Perry accused the hemp industry of targeting children and warned lobbyists working on behalf of the hemp industry that he did not need to speak with them. Now the bill heads to the House, which has historically been more hemp-friendly.

Taxpayer-funded lobbying ban

The Texas Senate worked late into the night as Senator Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) attempted to pass Senate Bill 19, which bans what some call “taxpayer-funded lobbying.” The original bill prohibited nonprofit organizations that represent cities, counties, and school districts from hiring or employing lobbyists. The bill was aimed at the Texas Association of School Boards, but it would also have affected the sheriffs’ and police chiefs’ organizations, the Texas Municipal League, the Texas Association of Counties, and TDCAA.

The Senate normally operates like a well-oiled machine, moving legislation quickly. However, Senator Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville) interrupted the normally scripted proceedings by offering an amendment to the bill.  Nichols’s amendment removed that prohibition and allows those groups to employ full-time lobbyists (but not hire outside lobbyists). Nichols argued, “We’re not used to people visiting us very often, and so our representation is pretty slow down there. When the mayor of one of my towns pulls the city checkbook out without help in some fashion and having some type of association to go and talk to, he would have no idea what we’re doing down here or how to come down and even testify on a bill.”  Middleton urged his colleagues to vote against the amendment claiming that the amendment would “allow registered lobbyists to continue using taxpayer dollars to lobby against us.” However, seven other Republican senators joined with the Democrats to help Nichols add the amendment to the bill. The final bill passed 20–11 along party lines. If the bill passes into law without any changes from the House, then it will continue to be business-as-usual for TDCAA and our members in future sessions. However, the House has not been kind to bills that ban taxpayer lobbying. The Senate has passed similar bills in past legislative sessions where they meet their demise in the House. Now we will soon find out if that has changed for 2025.

Prosecutor reporting duties

Two items to bring to your attention here—one for the 13 largest counties, the other for everyone.

OAG reporting rules

First, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has adopted the reporting rules applicable only to prosecutors in the largest counties that we previously discussed here and here. Those rules will not be officially published in the Texas Register until Friday, March 28, but they will take effect the following Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Wait, what? Yes, that’s how this works.) We have a copy of them that we have shared with impacted offices. For the rest of you, here are some details:

• The reporting rules apply to prosecutors in the 13 counties with a population of 400,000 or more.
• The agency’s basis for the rules is a broad reading of Gov’t Code §41.006, a roughly 150-year-old law not read or used in the manner now being employed by OAG in the lifetime of anyone now breathing (if not longer).
• OAG is claiming for itself the power to demand those prosecutors produce for the agency’s review entire case files related to a laundry list of crimes that range from murder to simple theft (which the rules somehow deem a “violent crime”).
• Failure to comply with any of the voluminous immediate, quarterly, or annual reporting duties required by the new rules will serve as a basis for potentially removing the prosecutor from office.

The stated purpose of the rules is to “help ensure that county and district attorneys are consistently

complying with statutory duties, appropriately administering funds, appropriately prosecuting crimes,

and seeking justice for citizens who have been harmed by a criminal act.” However, the remedy of removal gives away the game, doesn’t it? We’ll give a prize to any of you who can find another rule in the entirety of state administrative law that un-elects an elected official for failure to turn in paperwork on time. But such are the times in which we live. And speaking of these times, the rules currently apply only to a hand-picked group of local prosecutors in urbanized areas, but there is nothing preventing OAG from applying it to all prosecutors at a future date.

Legislation on reporting

Independently of this administrative rule, legislation has also been filed to require prosecutors to report different data to a different agency and for a different reason. Specifically, SB 2146 by Huffman (R-Houston) and its identical companion, HB 5354 by Leach (R-Plano), would require all prosecutors to report basic performance data to the Texas Judicial Council, including:

• types and numbers of offenses prosecuted
• personnel employed, and whether that is sufficient for current caseloads
• number of times a defendant was released per CCP Art. 17.151 (90-day release law)
• number of electronic notices submitted per CCP Art. 17.027(a)(2) (notice to out-of-county court of a defendant on felony bond committing a new felony)

The bail-centric nature of this proposed reporting should perhaps be no surprise in light of the primary author’s interest in bail reform this session. We will report on this potential new mandate as it moves through the system, but you can also follow it on our “Bills to Watch” track on our Legislative webpage.

The old end-around

Yesterday the Senate State Affairs Committee took up several bills we mentioned in our “OAG-as-prosecutor bills” segment from last week’s update, including SB 16 by Hughes (prosecution of illegal voter registration crimes) and SB 1210 by Hughes (authorizing SCOTX to overrule certain CCA decisions). The latter bill is an interesting attempt to get around the separation of powers problem faced by anyone hoping to empower OAG to be a trial prosecutor. We did a deep dive on this idea for you last session, when it was filed as SB 1196 by Hughes and HB 2930 by Spiller. You can read that online here (scroll down to the segment called “Separation of Powers under attack”).

In 2023, the House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee considered HB 2930 but did not approve it after prosecutors and defense attorneys joined together to oppose the bill. This week, the band got back together for an encore, as Galveston Co. CDA Jack Roady and 106^th Judicial DA Philip Mack Furlow joined with TCDLA legislative counsel Allen Place to testify against new SB 1210. The only other testimony on the bill was from a former OAG attorney now in private practice who testified that the bill would help resolve confusion in cases such as the Robert Roberson death penalty saga, which arose after the idea for this bill was hatched back in 2023. Chalk that up as proof of the old capitol adage that “just because there may be a good reason for filing a bill doesn’t mean it’s the real reason for filing the bill.” After all that, SB 1210 was left pending. We will update you if it moves further.

In related news, Senate Bill 1026 by Hughes did move out of the State Affairs Committee and is headed to the full Senate for a vote. As we noted in last week’s update, SB 1026 authorizes the Attorney General to prosecute election crimes if the local district attorney has not brought charges within six months of law enforcement filing a case. 

Upcoming Committee Hearings

Monday, March 24

House Subcommittee on County Government: 10:00am, E2.028
HB 2115 Ashby: Requiring county auditors to report SB 22 grant disbursement and compliance to the comptroller.

House Subcommittee on Family Relationships: 2:00pm, E2.016 <added>
HB 2399 Leo Wilson: Relating to procedures and required findings in certain suits affecting the parent-child relationship.
HB 330 Meza: Relating to reporting and investigating certain cases of child abuse or neglect involving a pregnant person’s use of a controlled substance.
HB 2496 Dutton: Relating to required findings for the issuance of a protective order based on the commission of family violence.

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

House Human Services: 8:00am, E2.030
HB 2071 Hull: Relating to certain policies and procedures for health care specialty consultations in certain child abuse or neglect investigations and assessments.
HB 2216 Hull: Relating to procedures and grounds related to the removal and placement of children, including for terminating the parent-child relationship, for taking possession of a child, and for certain hearings.

Senate Criminal Justice: 8:00am, E1.016
SB 693 West: Relating to creating a criminal offense for the use of a notary seal or counterfeit seal on a fraudulent document or instrument.             
SB 781 King: Relating to certain files maintained by a law enforcement agency regarding certain employees of the agency.
SB 836 Paxton: Relating to victims of sex offenses, sex-based human trafficking offenses, or acts of a sexual nature and to the confidentiality of or restrictions on the availability of certain property, material, or information regarding those victims, offenses, or acts.            
SB 860 Flores: Relating to abolishing the Criminal Justice Legislative Oversight Committee.                
SB 906 Blanco: Relating to the authority of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo to commission peace officers.                
SB 993 Nichols: Relating to the authority of a peace officer commissioned by the comptroller to apply for an order authorizing the installation and use of a mobile tracking device.            
SB 1101Flores: Relating to the prosecution of the offense of smuggling of persons.              
SB 1321: Hagenbuch: Relating to compensation and leave for certain peace officers.
SB 1370 Parker: Relating to the establishment of the office of medical examiner in certain counties.
SB 1537 Zaffirini: Relating to the appointment of an interpreter in a criminal proceeding.             
SB 1563 Menéndez: Relating to county jailer training on interacting with veterans in the criminal justice system.              
SB 1610 Perry: Relating to sexually violent predators, to the Texas Civil Commitment Office, and to the prosecution of the offense of harassment by sexually violent predators and other persons confined in certain facilities, etc.
SB 1637 King: Relating to an exception to the application of the offense of deadly conduct for certain peace officers discharging official duties.

House Criminal Jurisprudence: 10:30am, E2.014
HB 207 Guillen: Relating to the prosecution of certain criminal offenses prohibiting sexually explicit visual material involving an anatomically correct doll, mannequin, or robot that has the features of a child.
HB 235 Guillen: Relating to civil and criminal liability for the unlawful disclosure or promotion of intimate visual material.
HB 324 Johnson: Relating to the prosecution of the offense of sexual assault.
HB 449 González: Relating to the unlawful production or distribution of sexually explicit images using deep fake technology.
HB 463 Jones: Relating to the automatic expunction of arrest records and files after certain controlled substance offense charges are dismissed.
HB 502 Flores: Relating to the confidentiality of identifying information of victims of certain offenses.                  
HB 1121Gámez: Relating to civil and criminal liability for the unlawful disclosure or promotion of intimate visual material.                                    
HB 1445 Hernandez: Relating to the compensation of counsel appointed to provide representation and services to indigent individuals in criminal and juvenile proceedings.                                  
HB 1465 Hickland: Relating to the prosecution of the criminal offense of invasive visual recording and the applicability of sex offender registration requirements to that offense.                                 
HB 1778 Thompson: Relating to human trafficking, prostitution, and child pornography and to the prosecution of sexual or assaultive offenses or the prosecution of a failure to stop or report those offenses; amending and harmonizing certain statute of limitations provisions; creating a criminal offense; increasing a criminal penalty.                                
HB 1977 Cook: Relating to the admissibility of evidence of certain extraneous offenses or acts in the prosecution of sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault or an attempt or conspiracy to commit sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault.                                    
HB 2000 Ashby: Relating to the applicability of sex offender registration requirements to the offense of child grooming.                    
HB 2066 Virdell: Relating to the expunction of arrest records and files for certain defendants placed on deferred adjudication community supervision for the unlawful carrying of a handgun.                   
HB 2596 Metcalf: Relating to the issuance of certain protective orders for certain burglary offenses.

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

House Corrections: 8:00am, E1.014
HB 1482 Wilson: Relating to changing the eligibility for community supervision and parole for certain repeat intoxication offenders.             
HB 2017 Gerdes: Relating to increasing the minimum term of imprisonment and changing the eligibility for community supervision, mandatory supervision, and parole for certain persons convicted of intoxication manslaughter.                                 
HB 2341 Allen: Relating to the award of diligent participation credit to defendants confined in a state jail felony facility.

House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence: 8:00am, E2.030
HB 113 Vasut: Relating to statutory construction.
HB 2637 DeAyala: Relating to the practice and procedures for summoning prospective grand jurors and petit jurors and the exemption of certain persons from grand jury and petit jury service; authorizing a fee.
HB 2733 Canales: Relating to the prosecution of the criminal offenses of prohibited barratry and solicitation of professional employment. 
HB 2986 Moody: Relating to the authority of an appellate court to lift a stay in connection with an interlocutory appeal.

House Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice: 8:00am, E1.026 <added>
HB 1511 Hickland: Relating to the authority of a political subdivision to adopt or enforce a juvenile curfew; creating criminal offenses.
HB 1831 Johnson: Relating to the eligibility to participate in certain drug court programs.
HB 1988 Lujan: Relating to the disclosure of certain information by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
HB 2147 VanDeaver: Relating to remotely conducting depositions, hearings, and other proceedings in juvenile cases.
HB 2234 Dutton: Relating to raising the age of criminal responsibility to 18.

House Homeland Security & Public Safety: 10:30am, E2.016 <added>
HB 1583 Hull: Relating to the peace officer’s notification of emergency detention form for persons evidencing mental illness and retention of that form.
HB 1775 Howard: Relating to reporting information regarding certain evidence collection kits.
HB 1832 Gerdes: Relating to the punishment for certain criminal offenses involving illegal entry into or illegal presence in this state by a person who is an alien; increasing criminal penalties.
HB 1836 Guillen: Relating to a study and report by the General Land Office on private landowner participation in border security.
HB 1837 Guillen: Relating to the enforcement and prevention of offenses involving the manufacture or delivery of controlled substances listed in Penalty Group 1-B, law enforcement officer safety in handling those substances, and the manufacture and proper use of opioid antagonists.
HB 1866 Lujan: Relating to the state law enforcement authority of federal National Park Service law enforcement officers.
HB 1983 Hickland: Relating to creating the criminal offense of child endangerment involving smuggling across an international border.
HB 2318 Thompson: Relating to the establishment of a statewide human trafficking data repository within the office of the attorney general and to reporting of human trafficking data to the office of the attorney general and by the attorney general.
HB 2363 Patterson: Relating to the authority of certain peace officers to arrest a person without a warrant while outside the officer’s jurisdiction.
HB 2486 Hefner: Relating to certain files maintained by a law enforcement agency regarding certain employees of the agency.

Round-Up rides on

If you aren’t a subscriber to our weekly “Round Up” of news articles we put out every Thursday, you should be! Articles about the legislature used to appear in these Friday updates but have been moved to that email-only resource. If you want to receive those emails starting next week, sign up here.

Quotes of the week

“You might want to voluntarily close your doors, because the investigations are going to continue, and I’m sure the lawsuits are about to come. You know what you’re doing.”

            —Lt. Governor Patrick at a press conference warning hemp stores selling products containing THC.

“To the lobbyists that are supporting this, I’ve told them they have every right to make a living, and I don’t care who they represent. I will tell you, legislators have all the prerogative on who they talk to every session when they come back. That’s not a warning. That’s not a threat. It’s a two-way street.  People that are advocating that this [is] okay are literally creating a situation where kids, families, and lives will be changed impermanently for generations. So let your conscience be your guide. But I, as a legislator, do not have to associate myself with anybody I choose not to, other than constituents always have an open door. But I’m serious about shutting this down.”

            —Senator Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) warning the hemp lobby against working against his Senate Bill 3 that bans all THC products.

“I’m going to start calling him ‘Senator Ukraine,’ because he’s funding Ukraine more than he’s funding our border, and that’s a problem in Texas. I think I can win if I have $20 million. I’ve run these primaries in Texas before. I honestly don’t see how [Cornyn] overcomes his numbers.”

—Attorney General Ken Paxton discussing his possible challenge to US Senator John Cornyn with Punchbowl News.

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Just like Hogwarts, the Sorting Ceremony happened in the Texas House this week with the Sorting Hat coming out in the form of committee assignments. The Speaker determined which committee was the best fit for each member. Instead of being sorted into the four houses—Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff—members were sorted into committees that range from administration to international affairs. Let the Quidditch Games begin!

House Committee Assignments

These are the committees we will watch closely this session as their work most affects prosecutors. The chairs are Republicans, and the vice-chairs are Democrats in accordance with the new House Rules.

Appropriations (14 Republicans / 13 Democrats)
Bonnen, chair; M. González, vice-chair; Collier, Gervin-Hawkins, Goodwin, Harrison, Howard, Lozano, A. Martinez, Oliverson, Rose, Slawson, Wu, Barry, DeAyala, Fairly, Garcia Hernandez, V. Jones, Kitzman, J. Lopez, Lujan, Manuel, Orr, Simmons, Tepper, Villalobos, Walle.

Calendars (6 Republicans / 5 Democrats)
Hunter, chair; Rose, vice-chair; Canales, Gerdes, Harris, Hernandez, A. Johnson, Leach, J. Lopez, Romero, Tepper.

Corrections (6 Republicans / 3 Democrats)
Harless, chair; V. Jones, vice-chair; Lowe, Wharton, Allen, Harrison, Lozano, Meza, Schatzline.

Criminal Jurisprudence (6 Republicans / 5 Democrats)
Smithee, chair; Wu, vice-chair; Little, Louderback, Money, Bowers, Cook, J. Jones, Moody, Rodríguez Ramos, Virdell.

Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice (3 Republicans / 2 Democrats)
Cook, chair; J. Jones, vice-chair; Louderback, Virdell, Wu.

Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans’ Affairs (8 Republicans / 3 Democrats)
Hefner, chair; R. Lopez, vice-chair; Dorazio, Hickland, Pierson, Canales, Cortez, Holt, Isaac, Louderback, McLaughlin.

Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee on County and Regional Government (3 Republicans / 2 Democrats)
Spiller, chair; Cole, vice-chair;Lowe, Tepper, Zwiener.

Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence (6 Republicans / 5 Democrats)
Leach, chair; A. Johnson, vice-chair;Dutton, J. González, Moody, Schofield, Dyson, Flores, Hayes, LaHood, Landgraf.

State Affairs (9 Republicans / 6 Democrats)
K. King, chair; Hernandez, vice-chair; Darby, Y. Davis, Geren, Guillen, Raymond, Smithee, Anchía, Hull, McQueeney, Metcalf, Phelan, S. Thompson, Turner.

For all the committee assignments, visit the front page of the House website, which has PDF files listing assignments by committee and by member.

Bail reform

Thanks to Governor Greg Abbott making bail reform an emergency item, Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston) laid out her package of bail reform bills in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee this week. Huffman has championed bail reform in the last three sessions and continues her mission to keep violent offenders in jail without bond, even though her bills suffer their demise in the House every session. The Governor and Lt. Governor continue to support her efforts, with Lt. Governor Dan Patrick attending the committee hearing in person this time around, which is out of the ordinary. Several crime victims’ family members testified in favor of the bills and gave their horror stories with the current bail system. Harris County was labeled as “the worst offender” when it came to giving violent offenders bail. Also appearing in person to testify in support of some or all of the bills were Montgomery County DA Brett Ligon, Comal County CDA Jennifer Tharpe, and representatives from the Dallas County CDA and Tarrant County CDA Offices.

Four of the five bills (SB 9, SB 40, SJR 1, and SJR 5) passed out of Committee with a 6–0 vote. SB 9 is the clean-up bill for the original bail reform legislation passed by Sen. Huffman in 2021; among other things, it mandates written findings for “no probable cause” determinations by magistrates and shifts bond-setting authority from appointed magistrates to elected judges for certain types of charges. SB 40 prohibits political subdivisions from using public funds to pay nonprofits that help defendants pay bail costs. SJR 1—now known as “Jocelyn’s Law” in memory of Jocelyn Nungaray, whose mother testified at the hearing—denies bail for illegal aliens accused of felony offenses. Lastly SJR 5 gives judges the discretion to deny bail to certain violent or sex crimes offenders. Both of the JRs would amend the constitution, so they require approval of two-thirds of each chamber, which has been the sticking point in the House for previous versions of SJR 5. (The fifth bill, SB 1047, was left pending in committee because most of its technical changes were included in a new version of SB 9 as approved by the committee.)

The Lt. Governor and Senator Huffman also joined the victims’ family members who testified in favor of the bills at a press conference. Lt. Governor Patrick told the media that he had taken the victims’ family members to meet with Speaker Burrows and he believed the Speaker would be able to convince 12 House Democrats to vote in favor of the bills (which would be the minimum needed to pass the JRs if all 88 Republicans voted for those measures). Senator Huffman and Lt. Governor Patrick also promised to play hardball this year to get the bail reform bills to the governor’s desk. The bills now go to the Senate floor next week (likely Wednesday), and if the Senate approves them all (as is expected), then it will be “batter up” time for the House.

Bill filing deadline

In addition to making the legislature wait 60 days before voting on any non-emergency legislation (such as bail reform this session), the state constitution also establishes the 60th day of a session as the deadline for filing general legislation. That puts this session’s Deadline Day on Friday, March 14, four weeks from today. But in reality, the effective deadline is even earlier than that because the Texas Legislative Council (which drafts bills for legislators) already has a huge backlog of work to complete before then. So, if you’ve been toying with a bill idea but haven’t pulled the trigger yet, you are now on notice—get it into a legislator’s hands next week or it may be too late. Fortunately, the naming of House committee members now gives you the final piece of information necessary to identify good (or not-so-good) potential authors for those ideas in the lower chamber. If you need help with any of that, feel free to contact Hector.

Bill filings to date

Currently, we are tracking more than 900 bills and resolutions that could impact your work out of the 4,100+ bills to have been filed so far. We regret to inform you that both of those numbers may double before the bill filing deadline closes this session. #shudder

Frankly, the idea that we might have to track almost 2,000 bills and resolutions for you this session is mind-boggling. We’ve never had to manage anything close to that volume of legislation in past sessions, but anything is possible with the right amount of coffee! The good news is that, historically speaking, half of all filed bills never get a committee hearing and are dead upon arrival. The bad news is that no one knows which ones those are just yet. Committee hearings will start in earnest in a few weeks and then the wheat will start to be separated from the chaff, but until then, everything is in play. (And if that scares you, that just proves that you have been reading some of our bill tracks online, so good for you.)

Next week

Monday is a holiday and TDCAA’s office will be closed. (Happy Presidents’ Day to all who celebrate). The House and Senate committee schedules will (let’s hope) come out, giving us some insight into where we will spend the next 12 or so weeks. It will be the last calm week before session work starts in earnest.

Quotes of the week

“You’re going to have some members of the Texas House [and] the Texas Senate who have no intention of being in that chamber in 2027. Do they care about policy? Do they really care about passing bills and making sure their 20,000 constituents are being served? They already have their nameplate on a different office, right? They’re just waiting for the primary.”

           —Former House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), predicting an increase in performative displays at the state capitol as members of both parties position themselves for runs for higher office in 2026, when one U.S. Senate seat and all statewide offices are on the ballot.

“Today’s committee assignments by Speaker Burrows demonstrate a commitment to bipartisanship and upholding the institutional norms of the Texas House of Representatives…These appointments position Democrats to effectively advocate for communities across our state”

—Representative Gene Wu (D-Houston), Texas House Democratic Leader, discussing the committee assignments          

“As far as I’m concerned, if these bills do not pass the House, I see no reason for us not to go to a special session…and another special session, and another special session.”

—Lt. Governor Patrick responding to questions about playing hard ball with the bail reform bills.

“You think that members of the Texas Legislature are afraid they’ll be indicted if they push back against the DAs?”
“I think there is a fear, and there is a lobby effort. … These DAs have so much power.”

           —Exchange between Tucker Carlson and Attorney General Ken Paxton in a recent YouTube interview. We don’t have the space to do justice to the entirety of General Paxton’s views on local Texas prosecutors as expressed in his interview, but you can click that link, rewind to the beginning, and watch the first 12 minutes to get the gist of it.

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Setting the tone for the legislative session, Governor Greg Abbott declared his emergency items. It is the Governor’s show for the first 60 days, as lawmakers can pass only bills pertaining to his emergency items. It is up to the legislature to produce results that will accomplish his goals. (Or else … what? Well, that used to be an open-ended question, but last year’s GOP primary elections finally put some meat on that bone, didn’t it? Republican legislators are now on notice.)

Governor’s Emergency Items

In his “State of the State” speech this past Sunday, Governor Abbott designated seven topics as legislative emergencies. They are school vouchers, property tax relief, water infrastructure, teacher pay raises, workforce training, creation of a state cyber command center, and bail reform. For specific details about each, you can read his prepared remarks here; the text of his remarks includes hyperlinks to more details about each of those topics. We will do a deeper dive into bail reform below, but first we will address other goals Governor Abbott announced that could impact prosecutors despite not being “emergency items”—his wish list, if you will.

The governor called on the legislature to protect private property rights and pass tougher laws to immediately remove and prosecute squatters. (What that looks like in bill form is not clear just yet.) In regard to human trafficking—always a popular topic inside the capitol dome—Abbott advocated for eliminating parole for child traffickers (without further detail). The governor also reiterated his directive to Texas state agencies to assist the Trump Administration with arresting, jailing, and deporting illegal immigrants, and he called on cities and counties across the state to fully cooperate with these efforts. Abbott declared the Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization and directed the Department of Public Safety to dispatch strike teams to round up the gang members. (It is unclear if those cases will be handled in state  or federal courts due to this designation, but don’t be surprised if you see those cases hit your desk.) Abbott also invoked the name of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray from Houston, who was (allegedly) raped and murdered by two Tren de Aragua gang members, and he called for “legislation imposing the death penalty on anyone convicted of murdering a child like Jocelyn.” (It is unclear what exactly he meant by that phrase, but we’ll all find out soon enough.)

Finally, the Governor announced his support for “Senator Hughes’s election integrity bill to restore power to the Attorney General to prosecute election violations.” This was likely a reference to Senate Bill 846 by Hughes (R-Mineola), which gives the AG jurisdiction to prosecute election crimes if local prosecutors do not act on a law enforcement referral within six months. That same idea was filed last time around as SB 1195, which passed the Senate on a party-line vote too late in the session to get through the House. (To see who showed up in Austin to support or oppose that legislation in 2023, read this committee witness list.) Of course, we all know such a bill violates our state’s separation of powers doctrine, as ably explained in the Court of Criminal Appeals’ various Stephens opinions, but … well, who’s to say how that might go next time the Court gets such a case? (Actually, we all know how some people think that will go—read to the end of this email for that quote.)

The wish list of subjects that did not make the governor’s emergency item declaration are similar to an AG opinion: persuasive, yes, but not binding on the legislature. How that co-equal branch of government will process them remains to be seen, but the key thing to note is that these wish list topics are not entitled to the same head start given to the governor’s emergency items.

Bail Reform

Governor Abbott did give that head start to bail reform. As you know, the Texas Constitution currently states that “all prisoners shall be bailable, unless for capital offenses when the proof is evident.” There are limited exceptions to that rule, but the narrative in many circles is that those exceptions are woefully inadequate to stop the hundreds of murders by such offenders that have occurred statewide. As a result, the governor’s emergency proclamation (which can be found in PDF form here) permits the legislature to immediately consider and vote upon “legislation reforming the bail system in Texas to end revolving door bail practices that put dangerous criminals back on the streets.”

So, what does that mean for this session? Well, we got a potential glimpse of the answer the day after the governor’s speech when Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston) filed four different bills to help accomplish the governor’s bail reform goals. Her press release announcing their filing can be viewed on X/Twitter, but we can give you a brief summary here <but note some numbering changes added at the end of this segment>:

• Senate Bill 9 will likely be this session’s omnibus bail reform legislation (as indicated by the lieutenant governor assigning it one of his prestigious single digit bill numbers). It requires elected judges (as opposed to their appointed magistrate helpers) to set bail on certain high-risk offenders, expands the list of crimes for which release on personal bond is unavailable, provides a mechanism for prosecutors to challenge insufficient bail, and more.
• Senate Bill 1047 enhances the Public Safety Report System created by prior bail reform legislation by providing new procedures for defendants with family violence or protective order issues and making other improvements.
• Senate Bill 1048 bans the use of taxpayer money by a political subdivision to fund charitable bail organizations.
• Senate Joint Resolution 17 proposes an amendment to the Texas Constitution to allow judges to deny bail to the most violent offenders who pose a threat to public safety, regardless of the defendant’s financial resources. This constitutional change allows judges to make decisions based on risk, not resources. Senator Huffman passed similar measures through the Senate in previous sessions, but they have never passed the House due to the requirement that joint resolutions receive approval from two-thirds of each chamber, giving House Democrats a veto over the legislation when they remain unified. This could be *the* bail reform battleground this session.
• Senate Joint Resolution 49 would mandate the denial of bail for an illegal immigrant accused of a felony. Intended to assist the Feds in implementing the recently enacted Laken Riley Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law last week, this is likely to be the most controversial of all the bail legislation.

Soon after being filed, the Senate Criminal Justice Committee posted notice for its first hearing of the session to consider these bills. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, February 12, at 8:00 a.m. in Capitol Extension Room E1.016.

<UPDATE: Right before this went to press, Sen. Huffman refiled several of these measures with new numbering: SJR 49 will now be new SJR 1 and be called the “Laken Riley Act,” SJR 17 will go forward as SJR 5, and SB 1048 will be SB 40. Those refiled bills have now replaced the original bills posted for Wednesday’s hearing; see that link above for more details.>

We have more background information about these bills and this hearing than we can share here, so if you want to get publicly involved at the committee hearing in a constructive way, you might want to reach out to us first. However, one thing you can do from the comfort of your office is provide us with examples of past cases that would have been positively or negatively impacted by these proposed bills. You can send those “horror stories” to Hector or Shannon and we will get them to the people who requested them before Wednesday’s hearing.

Discovery legislation

As if this weekly update wasn’t already chock full of hot potato issues, we have yet another one to toss your way!

Yesterday, Sen. Huffman filed Senate Bill 1124, a proposal to address the fallout from the Court of Criminal Appeals’s opinion in State v. Heath (from June 2024). If you aren’t familiar with Heath, here are some resources off our website for you:

• Original Heath opinion: TDCAA case summary
• July-August 2024 Texas Prosecutor: Diligently prepare and be vigilantly aware to avoid exclusion under Heath
• September-October 2024 Texas Prosecutor: Will the real State please stand up?
• Denial of Heath rehearing: TDCAA case summary

In a nutshell, the bill attempts to end the unfair gamesmanship occurring in the wake of the Heath opinion by clearing up some ambiguities in CCP Art. 39.14 identified by the CCA. The bill also creates procedures and safeguards to encourage resolution of discovery disputes before trial, and it specifically limits a court’s ability to suppress “Heath evidence” absent bad faith by the disclosing party or incurable prejudice to the receiving party. Importantly, the bill does not impact prosecutors’ duties in regard to exculpatory, impeaching, or mitigating evidence benefitting a defendant (the heart of the Michael Morton Act revisions in 2013). Read the text of the bill for yourself and see what you think.

If you are interested in learning more about this bill, the collaborative process within our service group that led to it, or how you can be constructively involved with the bill going forward, please email Dallas County Asst. CDA Paige Williams.

Next week

Looking ahead, we anticipate Speaker Dustin Burrow (R-Lubbock) will announce his House committee assignments, while in the Senate, those committees with jurisdiction over the governor’s emergency items will take up and consider bills on those topics. The Texas Constitution prohibits legislative committees from hearing non-emergency bills until the 30th day of a session (which is February 13 this year), so while many advocates have accused the House of dragging its heels to date, there hasn’t actually been much for committees to do until next week. That is a feature of our legislative system, not a bug, and there are good reasons for it.

Quotes of the week

“I, along with millions of Texans, am fed up with violent, repeat offenders being released into our communities by judges that are more concerned about their own political agenda than the safety and security of law-abiding Texans.”
           —State Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), author of SJR 17 (now refiled as SJR 5), in a press release announcing the filing of her measure to amend the state constitution to allow judges to deny bail in more circumstances. The legislation has been deemed an emergency item by the governor.

“People need to know who their neighbors are. It’s just a matter of putting it out there, making sure the messaging is appropriate, and letting people know that these registries do exist.”
            —Rep. Liz Campos (D-San Antonio) explaining the reasoning for filing House Bill 2325 that would establish a dangerous dog registry in Texas.

“There was a news report that we are going to target school buses and children. It is absurd. If you want to talk about abuelas, my abuela is a naturalized citizen from Mexico. We surely aren’t targeting abuelas. We are not targeting U.S. citizens.”
            —U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks responding to Alice ISD’s letter on its website warning that U.S. Border Patrol agents could board school buses carrying students to extracurricular activities near the Rio Grande Valley.

“The Legislature needs to immediately fix the voter fraud issue, reauthorize me to do it, and make the Court of Criminal Appeals strike it down again. Because right now … we’re not a majority, but the message has been sent.”
           —Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, expressing support for a bill that would authorize him to unilaterally prosecute certain types of crimes despite the Court of Criminal Appeals’s original 8–1 ruling in Stephens that such a law would violate the state’s constitution.

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The Lt. Governor renews breakfast meetings with the Speaker and wishes him well. Is it a turning of the page on the relationship between the Lt. Governor and Speaker? Will it be a more congenial legislative session than anyone predicted? Only one way to know—keep watching!

Senate hits the ground running

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, who sets the tone for the Senate and the pace of the legislation passing in the upper chamber, released 25 of his priorities for the legislative session and appointed Senators to their committees. The Finance Committee has already begun its hearings this week. The following priority bills (which have not yet been filed) are the ones that may affect prosecutors, so we will be monitoring them closely for you.

Senate Bill 3 – Banning THC in Texas
The Legislature will address the numerous cannabis dispensaries that popped up around Texas since the legalization of the sale of consumable hemp in 2019. The law was intended to help Texas farmers, but Lt. Governor Patrick feels the law has a loophole allowing retailers to sell products with unsafe levels of THC, especially to minors.

Senate Bill 8 – Requiring Local Law Enforcement to Assist the Federal Government’s Deportation Efforts
The Senate signals its commitment to securing the border and assisting President Donald Trump’s mass deportation mission. Also, Governor Abbott issued five executive orders directing state agencies to partner with the Trump Administration to assist in its border and homeland security operations.

Senate Bill 9 – Reforming Bail – Keeping Violent Criminals Off Our Streets
The Senate will assist the Governor with his priority of bail reform to increase or eliminate bail for certain offenders accused of violent crimes. Senator Bettencourt hopes to change the Texas Constitution to allow judges to look at the full picture when determining bail. The Senate passed a constitutional amendment on bail reform last session (and the session before that, and the session before that), but it never made it out of the House due to lack of support from the minority party. At least some Democratic support is needed to overcome the two-thirds majority required to put an amendment on the ballot in November. The Governor may have more influence with his priorities in the House this session. In the interim, Governor Abbott largely fulfilled his promise to successfully primary House members who did not pass his school choice bill. 

Senate Bill 19 – Stopping Taxpayer Dollars for Lobbyists
Senator Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) filed Senate Bill 239 along with five Republican House members who filed similar bills. Middleton believes that local governments use public funds to lobby against their citizens’ own interests. The Legislature and local government have had a contentious relationship the last few sessions with the Legislature passing laws to limit local government’s powers. For instance, last session’s House Bill 2127, known as the “Death Star” bill, created a cause of action for private entities to sue cities and counties over local regulations that have not been approved by the Legislature. A lobbying ban bill passed the Senate in 2019, 2021, and 2023 but never made it out of the House. Whether the Lite Guv’s SB 19 priority bill will be identical to Sen. Middleton’s SB 239 or approach the issue from another angle remains to be seen.

Senate Bill 20 – Stopping AI Child Pornography
Last session, the Legislature passed House Bill 2700, which expanded the definition of child pornography to include visual material that uses an actual child’s image to create pornography, including content created with artificial intelligence. However, the ever-changing landscape of AI and its capabilities requires updated laws. The Legislature will need to construct such a law without violating the First Amendment. 

Senate Finance Committee recap

The Senate Finance Committee held the Legislature’s first substantive hearing of the session on Monday by taking up Senate Bill 1, the state budget, and luckily enough it was focused on funding the judicial branch. That could have been because the committee chair, Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), is a former district court judge, but it’s more likely that the judicial branch accounts for only a minuscule 0.4 percent of state spending, making it a good way to ease into such a complex, multifaceted issue.

First up was the Texas Supreme Court’s new Chief Justice, Jimmy Blacklock, who advocated strongly for an increase in the current judicial benchmark salary of $140,000. Despite the offer of a 15-percent increase in Sen. Huffman’s SB 293, it appears that the judiciary would like to make that number the start of discussions, not necessarily the end. However, we’re not sure they got the positive feedback they were seeking. In fact, when committee member Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) remarked that he’d like to see the judges get an even larger raise, Senator Huffman told him point blank to go ahead and file that bill himself—but then also said she would not co-author it with Senator West when he asked her directly. This led to much laughter from the committee members and staffers on the dais because they all know such a bill is dead on arrival if the committee chairwoman doesn’t support it. What remains to be seen is whether the judges know that.

As we mentioned last week, SB 293 is not just a pay raise bill but also one addressing judicial accountability, transparency, and discipline, and the committee members peppered the chief justice with questions about those topics, which he answered more deftly than some of the compensation questions. Ditto for Presiding Judge David Schenck of the Court of Criminal Appeals, who got to follow Chief Justice Blacklock and add his own two cents on those topics (along with stressing his focus on shortening the CCA’s disposition times, something he campaigned on last year).

We left the hearing feeling like there isn’t much wiggle room in SB 293 for further negotiation on the size of the increase in the benchmark salary. Whether the Senate (or House) might be amenable to other ways to increase judicial compensation—such as another tier of service, an automatic cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), or an increase in visiting judge payment rates—remains to be seen.

Interestingly, the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee released its interim report this week in which it also addressed the topic of judicial compensation, but in much vaguer fashion. Namely, the report expressed support for an increase in the judicial benchmark salary (without putting a number on it) and for exploring the possibility of passing an automatic COLA for the benchmark, but it also raised a topic unmentioned in the Senate: de-linking legislators’ pension payments from that same benchmark salary. (For those who don’t know, legislators get paid only $7,200 per year, but their ERS Elected Class retirement payouts are determined as if they were paid the judicial benchmark salary of $140,000 per year, just like a district judge or district attorney.) That “linkage” has always been a bigger political issue in the House than the Senate, and it’s one that will bear watching when the lower chamber takes up this issue.

Other happenings at the Capitol

• House members were asked to rank the committees they would like to join and submit them via House committee cards. Those requests were due yesterday, which means that committee membership will likely be named next week. 
• The Governor will give his State of the State on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 5pm. The State of the State allows the Governor to outline his legislative priorities. It will be a made-for-TV event this year instead of a live appearance before the Senate and House. This is not the normal operating procedure for the State of the State, but what can we say, we live in interesting times.
• Continuing to race out of the gates, the Senate will re-convene Monday morning and begin its initial “first reading and referral of bills.” That is the formal process by which a filed bill is accepted by the upper chamber and referred to a committee for further consideration. Look for more details about Senate committee schedules in next week’s update.
  

Training for newly elected prosecutors

Attention all new elected prosecutors! Registration is now open for TDCAA’s Sequel to our Newly Elected Prosecutor Boot Camp. Set in Austin for the afternoon of February 27, the event features experienced faculty who will be on hand to discuss your most pressing concerns. This course is available by invitation only. If you have not yet received an agenda and link to register, please reach out to our registrar, Dayatra Rogers.

Quotes of the week

“Texas politics is now national politics. It’s really hard to divorce what’s going on at the federal level from what now happens at the state level. … [I]t’s becoming harder and harder for members to really kind of see across the aisle.”
           —Brandon Rottinghaus, political scientist at U of H, explaining to the Dallas Morning News some of the dynamics behind last week’s contentious rules debate in the Texas House.

“I want to thank Senator Huffman in particular for the bill that she filed and for her willingness to propose a 15-percent raise to the base salary for judges. … I’d like to start a conversation with you about whether we can do even more to make judicial salaries more competitive.”
           —New Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock, in his first appearance before the Senate Finance Committee this week.

“I’m saying it now and I’ll say it again: The pay raise comes with the approval of the transparency and the accountability [in SB 293]. It’s a package. So, I look forward to working with y’all, but … y’all figure it out because it’s got to go together, OK? … We want to give you a raise, but we also want certain things from the judiciary.”
           —Senator Huffman (R-Houston), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, closing the testimony of Chief Justice Blacklock on judicial branch pay raises.

“Depending on your algorithm #txlege Democratic Reps either just became the supreme rulers of the House or were totally screwed over”
           —Tweet on X by Cara Santucci, chief of staff for State Rep. Armando Walle (D-Houston), after the House adopted rules banning Democratic committee chairs but making other concessions to the minority party.

“I’m going to do everything I can to help him succeed. So we’ll see what happens.”
           —Lt. Governor Patrick talking about his relationship with Speaker Burrows.

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Budgets are out! After a combative primary and election cycle, Speaker Burrows (R-Lubbock) says the Senate and House budgets are “substantially identical.” Could this mean that the legislative session will be more of a group project than a group fight? We shall see!

House Rules pass

The Texas House passed its rules on how it will operate this legislative session in a 116–23 vote. The House did not allow debate on the rules or take up any amendments, which did not sit well with some of the most conservative members of the House. The new rules state that House committees will be led by majority party members (Republicans) and vice chairs will be from the minority party (Democrats), similar to the operating procedure in Washington D.C. In practical terms, that means six Democratic chairs from last session will not get that job this session.

In addition to the new rule about chairs and vice-chairs, six committees were eliminated (Business and Industry, County Affairs, Defense and Veterans Affairs, Juvenile Justice and Family Issues, Resolutions Calendars, and Urban Affairs) and their jurisdiction transferred to other committees, and two new ones were created. Texas now has its own Delivery of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Committee with general jurisdiction over government efficiency and waste. The Intergovernmental Affairs Committee is also new; it combines the jurisdictions of the former County Affairs and Urban Affairs Committees along with the former International Relations and Economic Development Committee over state-federal relations. Notably, a new permanent standing sub-committee for Juvenile Justice will report to the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee rather than be its own independent group. (Yes, yes, we all know juvenile law is civil, not criminal, but such niceties sometimes have to be overlooked in these political patronage game of musical (committee) chairs.)

Proposed Budget for Texas

Allow us to discuss some big-ticket items found in the two chambers’ budget bills (HB 1 and SB 1), then we will drill down into funding issues specific to your business and/or pocketbook.

Both chambers set aside $1 billion for education savings accounts that allows state funds to cover the cost of private school tuition and other education-related expenses. This was the most contentious issue last session—it prompted special sessions and primary opponents backed by Governor Abbott. Two years ago, Governor Abbott promised to make vouchers a priority and warned lawmakers to pass a bill last session or there would be election consequences in House races. It seems that with all the members who lost their primary elections, the rest of the House got the message. Both chambers also propose to increase public school funding by $5 billion, which includes teacher pay raises. Teacher salaries would increase $4,000 for all teachers, plus an additional $6,000 for rural teachers. Both chambers further allocate $400 million to fund the mandate of having an armed security guard at every school and providing mental health training to certain school employees.

Aside from these school funding issues that contributed to four special sessions last time around, the two chambers’ competing budgets also promise yet more property tax relief and make improvements to water and energy and broadband infrastructure. Lastly, healthcare spending continues to represent nearly half of the state budget—namely, Texas Medicaid takes up the largest portion of the state’s healthcare investment with an annual budget exceeding $40 billion.

Last on this overview list, the Legislature continues its commitment to border security with a proposed allocation of $6.5 billion. Of that, $1.2 billion would go to the Texas Department of Public Safety, with an additional $402 million dedicated to hiring more troopers, and over $46 million is being proposed to fund border prosecution.

Pay raises

For those of you who have been asking about an increase in the judicial benchmark salary, the amount in statute to which elected felony prosecutors’ state salaries are directly tied, as well as county attorney’s state supplements—we have some news for you, both in the proposed Senate budget and a stand-alone bill proposing a 15-percent raise for judicial branch officers.

Mark down Senate Bill 293 by Huffman (R-Houston) as a “bill to watch.” (It can also be found on the bill track of that exact same name on our website. But before you start to read it, a warning: The caption of the bill is “relating to the discipline of judges by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, notice of certain reprimands, judicial compensation and related retirement benefits, and the reporting of certain judicial transparency information; authorizing an administrative penalty” (emphasis added). So, as you might guess, there’s a lot in the bill not directly applicable to you. That’s because much of this bill is a sequel to one filed last session to crack down on “rogue judges” and change their disciplinary procedures, much like a judicial version of last session’s “rogue prosecutor” bill (HB 17). However, the judge version did not pass last session, so it is back in the form of SB 293.

For our purposes focusing on compensation, you can skip ahead to pp. 13–17 of the bill and see that it includes a 15-percent increase in the judiciary’s baseline pay (from $140,000 to $161,000). One could surmise that the raise is there to help the other “medicine” in the bill go down easier, but whatever the reason, the truth is that for the pay raise to pass, the judiciary will almost certainly have to accept some or all of the other disciplinary provisions in the bill.

The Senate’s budget bill, SB 1, also includes appropriations contingent on the passage of SB 293 (or a similar bill) that adds up to more than $130 million over the next biennium in additional judge and prosecutor salaries and retirement obligations incurred by the state if it adopts such a raise. That is not chump change, so any judges or prosecutors seeking more than this initial offer of a 15-percent raise starting in Fiscal Year 2026 should recognize the financial costs to the state of going beyond what is currently on the table.

This quick summary just scratches the surface of the many issues related to judicial branch pay increases, so feel free to call or email Shannon if you have questions about SB 293 or related issues.

Senate Bill 22 grants

Those of you who receive rural law enforcement grants pursuant to last session’s SB 22 should be pleased to learn that both the House and Senate budgets include continued full funding of those programs, to the tune of another $330,800,000 for the next two-year budget cycle. We know there was some angst two years ago about the continuing viability of this new grant program, but it appears that the budget-writing committees of both chambers intend to honor the commitment initially proposed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and passed into law by the full legislature. Appropriations can always change during a session, of course, so we will continue to watch that line-item like a hawk for you, but for now we’d just like to note: Isn’t it nice when promises made are promises kept?

New Senate Bill 22 rules

And while we’re on the topic of SB 22, let us deviate from our budget talk to notify everyone that this morning’s Texas Register includes official notice that the Comptroller has adopted new rules governing those grants. We first told you about the proposed changes in our November 2024 interim update, but in the absence of any public comment on their proposals, the Comptroller has adopted them effective January 30, 2025. The agency’s summary of the changes can be accessed online here. Most of the changes relate to law enforcement, but for your office’s purposes, the highlights include clarifications that:

• “investigator” is now defined to only include a person licensed under Occupations Code §1701.301 (License Required);
• a county with multiple prosecutors can receive multiple grants for those offices;
• there is now a list of unallowable indirect costs for which the grant cannot be used; and
• grants funds may be used for temporary employees but not contract labor.

The rules as amended can be viewed online here for those who did not read them previously.

VAC grants

While SB 22 grants can be used for certain victim assistance coordinator (VAC) positions, there are other (limited) state funding opportunities for those positions as well. One source is the Victim Assistance Coordinators and Victim Liaisons Grant (VCLG) administered by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). Unfortunately, that grant is woefully underfunded by the state—in fact, we have been told that only 21 grantees currently receive those funds, even though there are more than 1,300 prosecutor and law enforcement entities potentially eligible for them.

This session, some crime victims advocates are seeking an $8 million increase in the VCLG appropriation, and they need your help—as soon as TUESDAY, no less! The Senate Finance Committee begins its review of SB 1 next week and OAG programs like this are up for review Tuesday in a hearing that begins in the Capitol extension at 9:00 a.m. If that is something you would like to get involved in, reach out to Hector or Shannon ASAP for more details. And if you are not available next week but still want to help, contact us for more information in that regard.

Legislative rotation

As you can see, committee hearings on the budget are already beginning in the Senate, and slots in our legislative rotation are filling up to represent your concerns at the Texas Capitol! As you know, TDCAA can serve as your eyes and ears at the Big Pink Dome, but the voice legislators need to hear is yours. To help you do that, we organize a rotating schedule of volunteer slots for elected prosecutors or their designees who wish to come to Austin to be a part of the legislative process. If you would like to plan ahead and schedule a time to watch (or help) the sausage being made in Austin, contact Hector for more details. The squeaky wheel gets the grease! 

Quotes of the week

“… We make this commitment to Robert Roberson and his dauntless attorney, Gretchen Sween: We won’t quit until the legal roadblocks and blind spots you’ve experienced no longer stand in the way of justice for future Texans.”

—Foreword of the Interim Report of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence.

“It’s saying we are going to deny all members of this House the right to have any say other than a monkey pushing a button.”

—Representative Schofield posting on X on the House floor after the vote to shut down debate on the House Rules.

“WAR! #txlege”

—Representative Nate Schatzline posting on X after the House Rules vote.

New federal definitions:
Crime = when your enemy breaks the law.
Weaponization = when your friend gets prosecuted for breaking the law.

—Recent tweet on X by Sarah Isgur (@whignewtons), a national political commentator.

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Happy New Year! The 89^th Legislative Session kicked off this week in Austin. It is a time for hope and big dreams of a bill just sitting on Capitol Hill becoming an actual law in a short five months. The hero bill must surmount a process created solely to terminate that bill. It is also a time of friendship and camaraderie between the lawmakers. That period of harmony lasted for a few hours up until the outcome of the speaker’s race. Harmony will have to wait until the next session!

New House Speaker

The No. 1 question around the Texas capitol was answered this week with the election of Representative Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) as the new Speaker of the House and its 150 members. The winner needed 76 votes, and Burrows beat Representative David Cook (R-Mansfield) with a final vote of 85–55. It took only two rounds to decide who would control the gavel and the Texas House. The first round included Representative Ana-María Rodríguez-Ramos (D-Richardson) earning 23 votes from her Democratic colleagues, which kept the two Republicans from crossing the threshold of 76 votes. Cook and Burrows moved on to the runoff.

Burrows gained 12 Democrats who initially voted for Rodríguez-Ramos and two more Republican members who left Cook’s coalition. Ten Democrats did not vote in the runoff.  Ultimately, Burrows won his new position with the support of 36 Republicans and 49 Democrats, something that is already causing a lot of grief in some GOP circles.

Secretary of State Jane Nelson oversaw the election and swore Burrows into office. Burrows highlighted his priorities including property taxes, education, water infrastructure, and public safety. Representatives Greg Bonnen (R-Friendswood), Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi), Jeff Leach (R-Plano), Morgan Meyer (R-University Park), Will Metcalf (R-Conroe), and former speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) made up the inner circle of Burrow supporters throughout the contentious campaign and will likely be rewarded with important committee assignments.  Representatives Terry Canales (D-Edinburg), Harold Dutton (D-Houston), Bobby Guerra (D-Mission), Oscar Longoria (D-Mission) and Joe Moody (D-El Paso) all chaired committees last session and supported Burrows from the beginning. Cook’s main campaign promise was to eliminate Democrats chairing any committees. 

The Lt. Governor and Attorney General Ken Paxton expressed their disappointment that Cook did not win the Speaker’s race even though Cook was the House Republican Caucus nominee.  The House Speaker joins the Governor and Lt. Governor in helping shape the legislative process. Last session, those relationships were strained and the session extended into four special sessions. The relationship and ability to work together for the “Big Three” sets the tone for the legislative session. The relationship between the Lt. Governor and Speaker Burrows starts from a difficult place as Lt. Governor Patrick declared before the race that “any Republican who wins with a majority of Democrats will be a counterfeit Speaker who will be beholden to the Democrats.”

The first test for Speaker Burrows will happen next week when the House votes on its rules to operate during the legislative session. That vote will dictate whether Democrats can chair committees. Equally important, it is happening a week later than usual thanks to a combination of the Speaker election drama, the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C. on Monday (where much of the Republican legislative delegation will be), and some impending bad weather predicted to hit Austin early next week. The upshot is that the House will be behind schedule (based on past performance), giving the Lt. Governor the opportunity to take advantage of that gap to announce his Senate committee assignments (see below, hot off the presses!) and release a list of priority legislation soon, getting the jump on the House in the process.

Senate Committees Released

Lt. Governor released his committee assignments this morning demonstrating the Senate’s desire to move fast this session. The following five committees are the most relevant to prosecutor offices.

Senate Committee on Border Security: Brian Birdwell (Chair), Peter Flores (Vice Chair), Sarah Eckhardt, Adam Hinojosa, Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa

Senate Committee on Criminal Justice: Peter Flores (Chair), Tan Parker (Vice Chair), Brent Hagenbuch, Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, Joan Huffman, Phil King, Borris Miles

Senate Committee on Finance: Joan Huffman (Chair), Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (Vice Chair), Carol Alvarado, Paul Bettencourt, Donna Campbell, Brandon Creighton, Peter Flores, Bob Hall Lois Kolkhorst, Robert Nichols, Angela Paxton, Charles Perry, Charles Schwertner, Royce West, Judith Zaffirini

Senate Committee on Jurisprudence: Bryan Hughes (Chair), Nathan Johnson (Vice Chair), Brandon Creighton, Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, Mayes Middleton

Senate Committee on State Affairs: Bryan Hughes (Chair), Angela Paxton (Vice Chair), Paul Bettencourt, Brian Birdwell, Bob Hall, Adam Hinojosa, Mayes Middleton, Tan Parker, Charles Perry, Charles Schwertner, Judith Zaffirini

Here is the complete list of committee assignments.

Yet another nuisance (bill)

Last week, the Texas Civil Justice League issued its list of nine legislative priorities, one of which was to limit local governments’ ability to sue businesses under certain public nuisance theories. Not a week later, such a bill was filed: SB 779 by Sen. Middleton (R-Wallisville). The filing of this bill fulfilled a promise Sen. Middleton made over the summer in the virtual pages of the TLR Advocate, an online blog of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, so feel free to read that for an explanation of the bill’s goals. The bill is similar to last session’s HB 1372 by Vasut, which several local entities opposed (and which was itself a refile of another such effort back in 2021). If you had this issue on your radar last session, you’ll want to read this session’s SB 779 to see what you think.

Charette redux

In our interim update from September 2024 we alerted you to the Ex Parte Charette opinion in which the former Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) narrowly decided that trial courts—and thus, local prosecutors—lack jurisdiction over criminal violations of certain election and campaign laws unless the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) first exhausts all administrative remedies or officially refers the case to a prosecutor for criminal enforcement. A group of more than 30 prosecutors supported a subsequent motion from the State Prosecuting Attorney (SPA) for a rehearing, which was denied by the CCA. However, this week a newly reconstituted CCA (which includes three new judges who have not previously heard the Charette case) granted the SPA’s motion for rehearing. (For more on that, see today’s TDCAA Case Summaries.) Now the issue can be briefed and argued anew. Meanwhile, the Texas Ethics Commission posted notice in today’s Texas Register that the emergency rule on prosecutor referrals it temporarily adopted back in October is to be continued for another 60-day period. Whether that administrative process is still relevant in light of this rehearing is something that appellate people much smarter than us will have to hash out.

Legislative rotation

As you know, TDCAA can serve as your eyes and ears at the capitol, but the voice legislators need to hear is yours. To help you do that, we organize a rotating schedule of volunteer slots for elected prosecutors or their designees who wish to come to Austin to be a part of the legislative process. If you would like to plan ahead and schedule a time to watch (or help) the sausage being made in Austin, contact Hector for more details.

Remember: If you’re not at the table, you may end up on the menu!

Quotes of the week

“If they don’t listen, we are going to come back and primary them next time and beat them.”

           —Attorney General Ken Paxton, to a roomful of supporters in Fort Worth, where he was whipping up Republican grassroots opposition to a potential Dustin Burrows speakership.

“Today, the RINO (anti-MAGA) Establishment laughed in the faces of our Republican grassroots. They chose Democrat chairs and lobbyist buddies over their voters. I look forward to seeing if they’re still laughing after the next round of primaries. The fight starts today.”

            —Shelley Luther (R-Tom Bean) posted on her X account .

“As far as those who support Burrows, I’m glad they weren’t with Travis at the Alamo when he drew the line in the sand. They would have crossed the line and walked out of the gate, leaving their fellow fighters behind.”

                       —Lt. Governor Dan Patrick discussing the Republican House members who support Representative Burrows for Speaker.

“It’s going to be borderline chaotic. You’ll see a lot of conflict rubbing back and forth between the Senate and the House. I think you’ll see the conservative Republicans fighting tooth and nail to advance their priorities.”

            —Mitch Little (R-Lewisville) speaking to the Texas Tribune about the outcome of the Speaker’s election

“As they say in sports, ‘Let’s get ready to rumble!’ Many Republican members just partnered with Democrats to steal the speakership from Texas Republican voters! More to follow.”

            —Tony Tinderholt (R–Arlington) posted on his X account.

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89^th Legislative Session

Comptroller Glenn Hegar estimates that Texas will have a $21 billion budget surplus headed into the legislative session, which is $10 billion less than last session. Texas would be the eighth largest economy in the world if it were its own nation. The legislature is constitutionally required to pass a budget, which funds most of the state’s functions including state agencies, courts, and public and higher education. It is the legislature’s only must-pass item of the entire legislative session. Roads, water infrastructure, electric grid infrastructure, border security, and public education are competing interests that the legislature must address. Assuming school vouchers are enacted, they will likely reduce the surplus by $4 billion. The public-school funding proposal not enacted in 2023 will cost around $6 billion. Two infrastructure priorities for energy and water could cost between $6 and $8 billion, leaving only around $3–5 billion for another round of property tax cuts, probably narrowing the scope to business property taxes. President-Elect Donald Trump promised to make border security a priority, which could alleviate some of Governor Greg Abbott’s suggested nearly $3 billion in state border security spending. If the federal government increases its policing of the border, then that might free up more of the state budget for other priority items.

Representative Martinez-Fischer (D-San Antonio), a veteran member in the House, sent a letter to his fellow Democrats asking for unity in their decision on whom to support for Speaker to preserve their power. Representative David Cook (R-Mansfield), one of the two declared Republican candidates for House Speaker, responded with a letter to Martinez-Fischer in an attempt to win Democrat support for his campaign. Cook offered to re-evaluate how public schools are funded by changing to enrollment-based funding versus attendance-based funding. Cook also discussed pay raises for teachers and eliminating the STAAR test. Cook has the GOP caucus endorsement but is shy of the 76 votes needed to win the Speaker’s race, as is the other announced candidate, Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock). Currently, no Democrats have publicly supported Cook.

In 2020, the Texas AG’s Office filed a lawsuit challenging the 2020 Electoral College results in four states, including Pennsylvania. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case. However, the Texas State Bar attempted to sanction First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster for his role in the lawsuit. The Texas Supreme Court issued a 7-to-2 opinion finding no evidence that Webster engaged in unethical conduct during the Texas v. Pennsylvania case.  SCOTX Opinion The Court ruled that the State Bar’s actions violated the constitutional authority of the OAG and the separation of powers doctrine. The Court ruled that a court can sanction an executive-branch lawyer for conduct that occurs before the court and violates the disciplinary rules, but a collateral review of a public lawyer’s statements by the commission at the start of litigation is prohibited. Attorney General Ken Paxton declared victory and called the actions of the State Bar a politically motivated witch hunt.

Governor Abbott appointed Justice Jimmy Blacklock as the new chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas. Former Chief Justice Nathan Hecht departs after reaching the mandatory retirement age and serving 36 years, which made him the longest serving justice on the Court. Governor Abbott appointed his general counsel, James Sullivan, to fill Blacklock’s seat. Sullivan recently filed an amicus brief to SCOTX rebuking the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee’s efforts to stop the execution of Robert Roberson via a legislative hearing subpoena. Sullivan argued that only the governor has the constitutional power to grant clemency. Both Justices will have to run for reelection in 2026. 

Mandatory Brady training

It is important to keep up with the legislature each session because it sometimes imposes new duties on prosecutors. One example of that is Government Code §41.111 (“Training Related to Prosecuting Attorney’s Duty to Disclose Exculpatory and Mitigating Evidence”), which requires that every attorney prosecuting a jailable criminal offense in this state must complete one hour of instruction on the duty to disclose such evidence and information. This training must be completed by all elected, appointed, or hired prosecutors within 180 days of taking office or assuming those prosecutorial duties. Rules adopted by the Court of Criminal Appeals also require prosecutors to take a refresher course every fourth year after completing their initial course.

As the legislature returns to Austin for another round of policymaking, we thought now was a good time to remind everyone that TDCAA’s Brady training is available online through our website to satisfy this requirement. Our *FREE* one-hour course on a prosecutor’s duty to disclose exculpatory and mitigating evidence and information has been approved by the Court of Criminal Appeals for the purpose of complying with this statutory mandate. Successful completion of the course will be recorded by TDCAA and shared with the Court as proof of satisfying this state mandate. Those who complete the course will also receive one hour of MCLE ethics credit from the State Bar of Texas.

To access and complete this mandatory course, visit our Brady Resources webpage and click on the link for the 2022 online course. If you have questions about this course, please contact Shannon.

New HIPAA rules

On its way out the door, the Biden Administration directed the federal Health & Human Services Department (HHS) to adopt an administrative rule strengthening “reproductive health care privacy” in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade. As a result, law enforcement and prosecutors across the nation must now jump through a new federally mandated hoop before obtaining HIPAA information from health care providers. In a nutshell, hospitals and related providers are required to obtain a signed attestation from the requestor that the protected health information is not being sought to investigate, prosecute, or sue someone for acts relating to various types of legal reproductive health care services.

Like all federal policy changes, these new rules are longer than your arm when printed. Our one-sentence summary of this new mandate cannot begin to describe all the relevant details but is merely provided for informational purposes. If this change is news to you or your local law enforcement agencies and you want more details, you can start digging into the issue by reading this HHS Fact Sheet.

Forensic testing grants

The legislature dedicates state funds every session to a grant program for local prosecutors who need help covering the costs associated with the forensic analysis of physical evidence. For the next state fiscal year (which starts in September 2025), the Governor’s Public Safety Office (PSO) expects to make $2 million available for that purpose. However, certified applications for those funds are due Thursday, February 13, 2025. For more information about this PSO grant program and how to apply, see this eGrants link.

Quotes of the week

“I can tell you personally, since November 5^th, I have been praying and thanking God for the changes He’s made, and I pray He brings the wisdom, the courage, and the strength to this court to make right the wrongs of the past and clearly interpret the law as it was intended.”

           —State Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood), prior to leading the assembled crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance at the investiture of the three newest members of the Court of Criminal Appeals. (Video of the full investiture is available here.)

“The tradeoff presented to lawmakers is apparent: At what financial threshold does the risk posed by expanding casino gambling become acceptable? Using the numbers above, the result would be political subdivisions bringing in less than $184 per year for each Texas adult who develops some degree of gambling addiction. It is up to lawmakers to decide if this is a golden windfall or a mess of pottage …. What is the tolerable amount of human suffering to top off public coffers?”

          —Derek M. Cohen, Ph.D., writing  for the TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION’s The Costs of Chance: Evaluating the Economic and Social Implications of Casino Gambling Expansion in Texas.

“He said, … ‘The rules don’t apply to me.’ The arrogance of that and the hypocrisy of that are overwhelming to me.”

          —Attorney General Ken Paxton, at a recent speaker’s race event in Leander, referring to Representative Burrows helping to draft caucus rules that he is now ignoring.

“We are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America …. [It has a] beautiful ring to it.”

          —President-elect Donald Trump during a press conference discussing the Gulf of Mexico.

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