Happy Cinco de Mayo. With only veinticuatro dias to go before the legislature adjourns sine die, things are about to get loco. Prepare yourselves.
Preview
As this update goes out, the House is doing its best not to melt down over a transgender-related bill (don’t ask us the details, we stay in our lane). Assuming the building is still standing after that debate, the House will also meet Saturday, and then both chambers crank up again on Monday. The public will get only 24–36 hours of notice of floor debates going forward, and perhaps even less notice of committee hearings, so forgive us in advance if we miss something that is important to you.
Deadlines
Next week is Deadline Week in the House. The final House floor calendar for House bills (other than local bills) must be printed by 10 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9, and House bills on that final calendar must be approved on second reading by midnight on Thursday, May 11. Any general House bill that doesn’t cross that bridge before then is cast into the pit of despair.
For those still hoping for their House bills to beat the clock … may the odds be ever in your favor.
AG bills on the move
Now is the point in a session when things can change quickly. Case in point: SB 1195 by Hughes (R-Mineola), which would mandate that the AG take over prosecution of election, abortion, human trafficking, and various public integrity-related crimes if a local prosecutor has not “initiated proceedings to prosecute” within six months of getting a probable cause report from a law enforcement agency. (No, we don’t know what a “PC report” is either, but the people drafting these AG-fan-fiction bills aren’t criminal practitioners, so just ignore that for now.) Senate Bill 1195 had been sitting the Senate State Affairs Committee for weeks without a hearing when it was suddenly re-referred from that committee to the Senate Jurisprudence Committee on Tuesday afternoon, and then a few hours later all applicable rules were suspended so that the bill could be heard on Wednesday morning without the usual required notice. So, why the rush?
For starters, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram just coincidentally ran an opinion piece by the attorney general on Wednesday encouraging the legislature to pass such laws. But also, the clock is ticking on the plan to wire around the Stephens opinion without amending the state constitution. (We laid this out for you more than two months ago HERE; see “Separations of powers under attack.”) This two-step approach needs both SB 1995 and SB 1092 by Parker (R-Flower Mound) to pass. The latter has been eligible for Senate floor consideration for some time without being called up for a vote, indicating that it may lack the necessary support on the Senate floor. (Perhaps that explains the AG’s exhortation in the FWST opinion piece for his supporters to call on their Republican state senators to move the bills?)
As for the short notice hearing on SB 1195, several prosecutors made it to the capitol in time to register opposition to the patently unconstitutional proposal, as did the criminal defense bar. An employee of the AG’s office testified to the alleged need for the legislation to combat election fraud, but he also had to address recent human trafficking prosecution failures by that office in Bexar County and Coryell County. But election and trafficking cases aside, the majority of the testimony in the committee was from witnesses concerned about the enforcement of abortion-related crimes, which was a good reminder of what else is providing the partisan winds under these sails. (Kudos to a witness on election fraud who steered the committee into a Tammany Hall discussion, though—that was fun for all us history majors in the audience.) For those interested in watching the discussion on SB 1195, you can access the archived video HERE (starting at the 05:20 mark and continuing for about 75 minutes).
The bill was eventually voted out of the committee on a 3R–2D partisan vote (to the surprise of no one). Senate Bill 1195 will be eligible for Senate floor debate early next week, so if that concerns you, consider following General Paxton’s suggestion and let your Senate delegation know your thoughts.
Funding update
Tomorrow the full House will consider HB 2779 by Leach, which in its current form would increase the judicial benchmark salary by 23 percent. However, if you recall the discussion of retirement benefits in our last update, you know that ERS believes DA retirement benefits must be locked in at current rates to maintain actuarial soundness. The language to do that was added to SB 1509 (as we told you last week), but this week it was removed from SB 1509 before that bill finally passed, and the language has now been substituted into HB 2779. It is also possible that more changes could be made to HB 2779 before it passes from the House over to the Senate. Stay tuned.
In other funding/salary news:
HB 2734 by Murr (cross-credit for prosecutors and judges) was never reported from its committee after being approved, but the same language is in HB 3474 by Leach/Hughes, the omnibus court administration bill that has passed the House and will soon be referred to the Senate Jurisprudence Committee.
HB 4487 by Smith (rural prosecutor and public defender student loan repayment) was never voted from the House Higher Education Committee and is likely dead.
A substitute version of SB 22 by Springer/Guillen (rural sheriff and prosecutor grant funding) was approved by its House committee more than a week ago but still has not been “reported” (which means the paperwork isn’t completed). That kind of delay is not unusual at this point in a session.
SB 740 by Huffman (limiting urban prosecutor budget cuts) passed the Senate and was referred to the House State Affairs Committee almost four weeks ago but hasn’t received a hearing.
SB 2310 by Hinojosa/Smith (pay parity with judges) was heard in the House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee and left pending. (You can thank 21st Judicial DA Julie Renken for coming to Austin to testify in support of the bill.)
TAC notes
Speaking of the state budget, our friends at the Texas Association of Counties (TAC) are following an issue that might interest some of you. Specifically, the Senate version of the budget (HB 1) reduces funding for the Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TIDC) to the tune of a $11.4 million budget shortfall. This gap could have a disproportionate effect on rural communities, where indigent defendants are four times more likely to go without an attorney than in urban areas. Restoring TIDC funding helps ensure counties can meet their constitutional obligation to provide counsel, so if this concerns you as well, consider letting your Senate delegation know your thoughts so they can help their colleagues on the HB 1 conference committee make well-informed decisions.
Bills still on the move
Several House bills we’ve been following for you this session just emerged from their committees in the last tidal wave of committee reports issued before next week’s House deadlines. Those bills, which are now in the Calendars Committee, include:
HB 200 by Leach (creating a prosecutor disciplinary council)
HB 1874 by Noble (recovery of defendant’s attorney’s fees in civil asset forfeiture proceedings)
HB 2992 by Harrison (data collection in civil asset forfeiture cases)
HB 3675 by Ortega (mandatory prosecutor management training)
HB 3786 by S. Thompson (victim mandamus/injunction to enforce rights)
HB 3882 by Wilson (veterans court admission over prosecutor’s objection)
HB 4518 & HJR 172 by Cook (prosecutor-initiated commutation of non-3g felons in prison)
If any of these bills concern you, contact members of that House committee, stat. Note also that this wave of controversial bills coming out of House committees will not crest until this weekend, so if there is a specific bill that you are following and want to be notified about ASAP, contact Shannon.
Elsewhere:
HB 17 by Cook (prosecutor removal) has been referred to the Senate State Affairs Committee.
HB 2127 by Burrows (preemption of local civil enforcement) was approved by a Senate committee and will soon be eligible for consideration on the Senate floor.
HB 2139 by Burrows (code construction and writ-of-error fallacy bill) was postponed indefinitely by its author, so those of you concerned about that bill can move on to other projects.
HB 3659 by Hefner (civil asset forfeiture reforms) passed the House 139–5 and is now in the Senate.
Sent to the governor
Bills on their way to the governor’s desk include:
HB 842 by Patterson/Whitmire relating to DL suspensions
SB 49 by Zaffirini/M. Gonzalez relating to crime victims’ compensation
SB 1004 by Huffman/Herrero criminalizing tampering with an electronic monitor device
SB 1325 by Alvarado/Goodwin expanding notice given to certain crime victims
One chamber down, one to go
The bills on this next list are halfway home. Speak soon or forever hold your peace.
The following House bills have passed the House:
HB 30 by Moody (closing “dead suspect” loophole in open records laws)
HB 247 by S. Thompson (prosecutor authorization of subsequent writ)
HB 270 by S. Thompson (expanded post-conviction DNA testing)
HB 410 by S. Thompson (no arrest for Class C or fine-only offenses)
HB 438 by Schofield (tying judicial branch salaries to consumer price index)
HB 469 by Smith (judicial discretion to grant jury sequestration)
HB 1163 by Smith (boating while intoxicated with child passenger)
HB 1927 by Hull (parental intervention and diversion of child in lieu of emergency detention)
HB 2345 by Guillen (legalizing poker rooms)
HB 3474 by Leach (128-page omnibus court creation and court administration bill)
HB 3659 by Hefner (civil asset forfeiture reforms)
HB 4622 by Leach (remote proceedings in criminal and juvenile cases)
HB 4635 by Guillen (creating a civil and criminal RICO law)
HB 4966 by King (peace officer separation from law enforcement agency)
HJR 11 by S. Thompson (authorizing courts to commute certain prison sentences)
The following Senate bills have passed the Senate:
SB 1166 by Birdwell increasing penalties for theft of firearm from a vehicle
Future committee hearings
Some of the bills scheduled to be heard in committees next week are listed below. For the full agenda of each committee, click on the link to the committee itself.
Monday, May 8
(None posted yet)
Tuesday, May 9
House Criminal Jurisprudence – 8:00 a.m., Room E2.016
- SB 129 by Springer relating to how child pornography cases are punished
- SB 386 by Hall creating a presumption in certain capital murder prosecutions
- SB 467 by Bettencourt increasing penalties for tampering with motor fuel pumps
- SB 1346 by Miles relating to certain littering offenses
- SB 1361 by Huffman criminalizing certain sexually explicit deep fake videos
House Human Services – 8:00 a.m., E2.030
- SB 187 by Miles criminalizing the failure to report certain crimes in group homes
- SB 189 by Miles criminalizing the failure to report certain crimes in boarding homes
- SB 515 by Hall relating to the child abuse and neglect registry
Senate Criminal Justice – 8:30 a.m., E1.016
- HB 28 by Slawson/Birdwell increasing punishments for certain aggravated assaults
- HB 165 by A. Johnson/Whitmire increasing punishments for other types of aggravated assaults
- HB 393 by Goldman/Paxton requiring child support restitution payments by certain intoxication manslaughter defendants
- HB 517 by Ju. Johnson/Parker relating to parole panel considerations
- HB 541 by Longoria/Hinojosa relating to charitable donations by probationers
- HB 568 by Bowers/Menendez relating to peace officer training regarding dementia
- HB 1221 by Metcalf/Zaffirini relating to unclaimed property and crime victims
- HB 1442 by A. Johnson/Bettencourt relating to street takeovers and forfeitures
- HB 1826 by Turner/Whitmire creating an organized retail theft task force
- HB 2251 by Raymond/Zaffirini relating to computerized criminal fee records
- HB 2306 by Hefner/Middleton relating to the offense of voyeurism
- HB 2454 by Guillen/Huffman criminalizing the unlawful acquisition of firearms
- HB 2708 by Swanson/Flores relating to TDCJ visitation policies
- HB 3075 by Kacal/Flores criminalizing drones flown over correctional facilities
<< Please visit our Legislative webpage for the latest committee postings.>>
Scattershooting
Here are some recent stories you might’ve missed:
- “How George Floyd-inspired activism backfired in Texas, fueling a crackdown on protesters” (Houston Chronicle)
- “Scooby doobie don’t: Discarded joints pose hazards for dogs” (AP News)
- “Heavy Marijuana Use Increases Schizophrenia in Men, Study Finds” (Bloomberg)
- “Most Texans look to Republican leaders to resolve differences, deliver on major priorities” (Texas Politics Project [poll results])
- “Texas AG Ken Paxton falsely blames Travis County DA for dropping charges against Capitol protesters” (Houston Chronicle)
Quotes of the Week
“We regret if the information was incorrect and detracted from the important goal of finding and arresting the criminal.”
—Response from the office of Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Houston) after his controversial press release that highlighted the immigration status of the shooting victims (but not the suspect) in Cleveland, Texas, last week.
“A DA is an elected official, meaning political considerations could affect the decision to prosecute local election crime if doing so would damage his or her electoral ambitions or political allies.”
—Texas AG Ken Paxton (R-McKinney), in an opinion piece in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram this week explaining why he thinks the legislature should give him—an elected official—prosecutorial powers over election-related crimes that he believes cannot be entrusted to other elected officials.
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