Texas’ Larger Cities Would Face Financial Penalties For Cutting Police Budgets Under Bill Approved By House Patch 2 hrs ago
The Texas House on Friday passed a bill to financially penalize the state s largest cities if they cut their police budgets. The measure was sent to the Senate after two days of heated debate and emotional speeches, with the bill authors calling to back the blue and the opposition decrying the bill as political propaganda.
House Bill 1900 comes after a year of civil rights advocates calling on cities to reduce what they spend on policing and to reform police behavior. Those calls were spurred by high-profile deaths at the hands of police like George Floyd’s in Minneapolis and Mike Ramos’ in Austin.
Bail in Texas could see key changes under House bill
Jolie McCullough
The Texas House on Monday moved to alter the way criminal defendants can be released from jail before trial. The priority legislation would, in part, require judicial officers to use a risk assessment tool when making bail decisions and ban cashless release for those accused of some violent or sexual crimes.
House members initially approved House Bill 20 after significant changes largely by the bill’s author were made on the floor.
“The goal today is to strike a balance in which we provide … credible information to our trained magistrates so that they can determine that those that are low risk have a chance to get out while those who are higher risk, with a violent offense or a violent criminal history, they don’t easily pay and immediately walk on the street the next day and do something else that harms us,” said state Rep. Andrew Murr, the Junction Republican who authored the bill.
Bail In Texas Could See Key Changes Under House Bill, But Some Lawmakers Still See An Unequal System Patch 5/5/2021
By Jolie McCullough, The Texas Tribune, May 3, 2021
The Texas House on Tuesday passed a bill to alter the way criminal defendants can be released from jail before trial. The priority legislation would, in part, require judicial officers to use a risk assessment tool when making bail decisions and ban cashless release for those accused of some violent or sexual crimes.
House members approved House Bill 20 after significant changes largely by the bill’s author were made on the floor Monday.
“The goal today is to strike a balance in which we provide … credible information to our trained magistrates so that they can determine that those that are low risk have a chance to get out while those who are higher risk, with a violent offense or a violent criminal history, they don’t easily pay and immediately walk on the street the next day and do something else
Bail in Texas could see key changes under House bill amarillo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from amarillo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Relatives of Texans killed by police hope Derek Chauvinâs conviction will advance the stateâs George Floyd Act
âIf this doesnât push it, we donât know what will,â says Debbie Bush. She has been fighting for greater accountability for police violence since her nephew was shot in the back by a San Antonio officer seven years ago. Debbie Bush speaks at a rally to support the Texas George Floyd Act outside of the Texas Capitol in March. Her nephew, Marquise Jones, was killed by a San Antonio police officer seven years earlier. (Source: Charlie L. Harper III for The Texas Tribune)