Dems Signal Support for Bail Changes Ahead of Floor Debate

Democrats in the Texas House over the weekend signaled support for changes to bail in the state constitution that would give judges more discretion to deny bail to defendants, according to the Quorum Report.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has been leading the campaign on that issue this session, after failing to muster enough support to pass the changes last session. He has locked in on that priority after House Republicans pushed his top priority, private school vouchers, through the more moderate lower chamber and into law.

Over the weekend, the House Democratic Caucus posted on social media that its top priority this session is to “reform bail” to “keep our communities safe,” according to the Quorum Report.

Critics of the measures, which include some progressive Democrats and civil liberties groups, argue that the changes could exacerbate the state’s existing backlog of defendants being held in prison and penalize poor individuals who can’t afford to remain jailed before trial if accused of a crime.

In order to amend the constitution, the changes up for debate on Monday would need support from two-thirds of the 150-member House, meaning at least a dozen Democrats would need to join Republicans to support the measure.

If both the House and the Senate approve those changes, the proposal would be put to a vote of the public in November and win support from a majority of voters to become law.

The full meeting of the House can be streamed live on the chamber website here.

This is a developing story. It will be updated with more information.