All good things must come to an end and thankfully all bad things as well. The last days of the school year before summer break mean it is time to sell back your books, say goodbye to friends, move out of your rental, and get ready to head back home. So it is with the legislature too. It is a time of mixed emotions as lawmakers try to assess their successes and failures during the session. They are still holding their breath these last few days to make sure their bills go through to the governor and avoid a veto. Sine die or bust!
Judicial branch pay update
Some great news to share on the judicial branch pay raise bill: It is one step shy of being on the governor’s desk! Earlier this week Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano), the House sponsor of SB 293 by Huffman (R-Houston), amended that bill with compromise language worked out between the two chambers. We’ll spare you the “judicial accountability” details that were the primary hold-up; the big news for elected prosecutors is that SB 293 increases the judicial benchmark salary from $140,000 to $175,000. That’s a $35,000 raise (25 percent). If that significant increase avoids a gubernatorial veto, it will take effect on September 1, 2025. Once everything is done and dusted in a few weeks, we will provide more specific details so you can plan accordingly. Until then—nobody move, nobody breathe!
Grand jury update
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee convened an impromptu meeting late Wednesday night to vote out HB 3664, the grand jury reform bill. These pop-up committee meetings happen frequently at the end of the session to push out last-minute bills. The new HB 3664 would prohibit re-presentation of a no-billed case absent new, material evidence unknown to the State at the time of the previous presentation; require prosecutors to sign an affidavit that all known Brady evidence was presented to the grand jury; and require all grand jurors to go through training before hearing cases. However, the bill left the committee after the deadline to make the final Senate floor calendar. The only way the Senate could hear the bill would be for four-fifths of the Senate to vote to suspend the rules. Prosecutors from across the state as well as victims’ associations blew up senators’ phones to not suspend the rules. The message was clear to the Senate, and HB 3664 died in the on-deck circle. However, nothing is ever completely dead until the legislature adjourns sine die on Monday, so we will remain vigilant.
THC is illegal in Texas … maybe
Lt. Governor Patrick held a press conference to celebrate the passing of Senate Bill 3. Patrick was flanked by law enforcement officials, 106th Judicial DA Philip Mack Furlow, and Collin County Criminal DA Greg Willis. Patrick was hoping to show Governor Abbott how important the bill is to the law enforcement community. The hemp industry has been advocating for a veto from the governor in a last-ditch effort to keep the industry alive in Texas. The only other avenue short of a veto is a lawsuit to challenge the validity of Senate Bill 3.
The bill establishes:
1. New third-degree felonies for the manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to deliver consumable hemp products containing cannabinoids other than cannabidiol (CBD) or cannabigerol (CBG).
2. A Class B misdemeanor for selling consumable hemp products to individuals under 21, with provisions requiring proof of age.
3. A Class A misdemeanor for possession of certain consumable hemp products.
4. A Class B misdemeanor for the manufacture, distribution, or sale of consumable hemp products for smoking.
5. A Class B misdemeanor for selling consumable hemp products near schools.
6. A Class A misdemeanor for providing consumable hemp products via courier, delivery, or mail.
Bail
The Texas Legislature, especially Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston) and Governor Abbott, were able to pass bail reform this legislative session after failing the last three sessions. Some Democratic House members joined their Republican colleagues to even pass a constitutional amendment.
The bills that passed:
SJR 5 by Huffman proposes a constitutional amendment that would allow judges to deny bail to people accused of certain violent crimes. The House added amendments to include the right to an attorney at bail hearings and that the State offers proof that a defendant is a public safety or flight risk. The amendment helped gain the elusive Democratic votes needed to pass a constitutional amendment (which requires 100 votes in the 150-member House). The Governor praised the work of the legislature in passing SJR 5 and will likely have a signing ceremony. The amendment would then go to the public for a vote in November.
SB 9 by Huffman is the omnibus bail reform-enabling legislation for that joint resolution that also serves as a “clean-up” bill for the major bail reform legislation that passed in 2021 as SB 6, aka the Damon Allen Act. This new legislation revises the public safety report (PSR) system, limits appointed magistrates’ authority to set bail or reduce bail, limits personal bond for more types of crimes, clarifies the process for prosecutors to appeal allegedly insufficient bail, and makes lots of other changes.
SB 40 by Huffman prohibits the use of public funds by political subdivisions to pay a nonprofit organization for depositing bail money on behalf of defendants. It also allows residents the right to seek injunctive relief if these restrictions are violated.
The bills that did not pass:
SJR 1 by Huffmanwould have denied bail upon a finding of probable cause that an illegal alien committed one of 20 types of felonies. SJR 1 could not get the 100 House votes even after floor amendments that would carve out DACA recipients.
SJR 87 by Little required bail denial for certain repeat offenders but also fell short of getting 100 votes in the House. House sponsor Rep. Mitch Little (R-Lewisville) vowed to bring SJR 87 back stating, “I’ll lay this resolution out again tomorrow, or this summer, or this fall, or this winter if I have to.”
ABCD bills
The latest status of bills to make Anyone But Current DAs a front-line prosecutor in your jurisdictions:
HB 45 by Hull (OAG prosecution of human trafficking) has been sent to the governor.
HB 3711 by Capriglione (investigation and prosecution of open meetings offenses) is a new addition here. It was changed last week to insert new provisions requiring local prosecutors to cooperate with demands from OAG’s open government lawyers and post online the reasons for a refusal or dismissal of a prosecution referred to the prosecutor. That bill has likewise been sent to the governor.
HB 5138 by Shaheen (OAG prosecution of election crimes) was changed last week from an HB 45-style grant of jurisdiction after six months to immediate concurrent jurisdiction, Stephens opinions notwithstanding. That new language was not approved by the House, so now the bill will go to a conference committee to hash out the differences.
All the dozens of other “ABCD” bills we discussed in this space this session fell short of the finish line, barring some miraculous resurrection in a conference committee in these next few days. What is a conference committee? Glad you asked.
Conference committees
The last steps for several bills during the legislative session will include being negotiated in a conference committee. A conference committee is made up of five members from each chamber, and it is formed to work out the differences in the language of a bill between the House and the Senate. A conference committee’s role is limited and can address only parts of the bill with which they disagree. They cannot change other sections or add new content unless both chambers approve an “out of bounds” resolution. Once an agreement is reached, the committee submits a conference committee report. This includes the new language, a side-by-side comparison with the original House and Senate versions, and signatures from at least three conference committee members from each chamber. The full House or Senate cannot amend this version of the bill but must vote to accept or reject the final language as-is. If no agreement is reached, the bill dies. If both chambers approve the compromise, then the bill is sent to the governor, who can sign it, veto it, or let it become law without a signature.
Final Days
Sine Die, the fancy way of saying the last day of session, is on Monday, June 2, 2025. The rest of this weekend leading up to sine die, lawmakers will concur on bills and work through their conference committees. We will publish an 89th Legislative session wrap up newsletter next week and then we will watch to see what the governor vetoes or signs into law. Sunday, June 22, is the last day for him to do that. The Governor does not need to sign bills into law; bills can become law without his signature. We will also put out a post-veto wrap up newsletter, and then we will go back to our regular programming of a monthly newsletter.
Quotes of the week
“Members, this is a big bill, and it’s one that your judges deserved and worked hard for and waited too long for.”
—Representative Jeff Leach (R-Plano) while laying out SB 293 which gives judges and elected district and county attorneys a 25-percent raise.
“If one person is killed by someone out on bail during this interim, there will be blood on the hands of those who opposed this measure. I pray that the bail reforms we have already passed will be enough to protect our communities.”
—Representative Jay Lozano (R-Kingsville) admonishing his colleagues who voted against SJR 87 on X.
“Whether it’s in my area, in Fort Worth, or in Dallas, or here where we are in Austin, everybody knows that these homeless camping restrictions have not been enforced.”
—Representative Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake) in The Texas Tribune explaining the need for Senate Bill 241, which would have forced Texas cities and counties to intensify the enforcement of the statewide ban on homeless encampments. Capriglione withdrew the bill to avoid a long debate but vowed to bring it back next session.
###