The overview
Senate Joint Resolution 1, which House lawmakers rejected May 28, proposed amending the state constitution to automatically deny bail to unauthorized immigrants charged with certain felonies. A final House vote on SJR 1 was repeatedly postponed as bill sponsor Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, worked behind the scenes with Democrats who opposed the measure, but Republicans ultimately did not garner enough support for the proposal.
SJR 1 failed with an 87-39 vote, falling short of the 100 votes needed to put a constitutional amendment on Texas voters’ ballots. All House Republicans and two Democrats voted for the proposal.
SJR 87, an eleventh-hour proposal that would have required judges to deny bail for certain repeat offenders, was voted down May 27. House members rejected the measure with a 97-40 vote. SJR 87 sought to deny bail to people accused of certain violent felonies if they were previously convicted of a felony or were out on bail when the alleged offense occurred.
Supporters of SJR 87 from both parties said the proposal would make Texas safer by keeping the most violent offenders behind bars, while some Democrats argued that people’s constitutional right to due process would not be protected if it became law.
May 28 was the deadline for state lawmakers to pass all legislation, with negotiations on the state’s $338 billion 2026-27 budget and other previously passed bills continuing through June 2, the final day of the regular session.
Tightening restrictions on bail has been a top priority of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for three straight legislative sessions. Abbott has repeatedly called for lawmakers to deny bail to violent repeat offenders, although he has not publicly commented on the demise of the two proposals.
Texas’ regular legislative session runs for 140 days every two years; however, the governor can call lawmakers back to Austin at any time to work on policies he selects. It was not clear as of press time if Abbott would call a special session related to bail.
On May 19, the third-term governor celebrated lawmakers’ approval of SJR 5, which proposes amending the Texas Constitution to deny bail to defendants accused of certain violent offenses, including murder, human trafficking and aggravated sexual assault. That measure, which was negotiated for months, passed both legislative chambers with bipartisan support and is set to appear on Texas voters’ ballots in November.
Zooming in
Under the Texas Constitution, almost everyone has the right to be released on bail, except for those charged with capital murder and people accused and convicted of multiple violent felonies. The state constitution also prohibits “excessive bail or fines” and guarantees defendants’ rights to a speedy jury trial.
SJR 87, the proposal to deny bail to alleged repeat offenders, was unveiled less than three weeks before the end of the legislative session. Some House Democrats accused Republicans of “moving the goalposts” on bail.
“SJR 87 was filed just days ago at the end of session and rocketed over to the House,” Rep. Joe Moody, an El Paso Democrat who led the minority party’s bail negotiations, said May 26. “I think it is a terrible and dangerous policy. ... You have a prior conviction and someone accuses you of something new: straight to jail. We don't do that anywhere, ever, for any other kind of bail setting. We never have, and we shouldn't do it now.”
SJR 87 would have required judges to deny bail to people accused of repeatedly committing nine felonies: murder, capital murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, aggravated sexual assault, indecency with a child, human trafficking or continuous trafficking.
Bill sponsor Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, said the proposal had “the ability to save lives.”
“[If] we do not pass it, we will not be able to properly constrain judges who would release certain very dangerous people onto the streets of our cities, our towns, our counties,” Little said May 26. “That is the moral conundrum we are in: are we willing to let the law remain unchanged and put more people at risk?”
Rep. Ramon Romero, D-Fort Worth, asked Little if SJR 87 would for the first time “require taking away someone's liberty without [requiring] a judge to consider the individual facts and circumstances.” Little noted that judges currently have the limited ability to automatically deny bail under the Texas Constitution.
Rep. Armando Martinez, D-Weslaco, urged House members to vote for the measure May 27.
“This isn't about Democrats or Republicans. ... This is about protecting Texans by saying one murder is too many, and two is absolutely unacceptable. We are entrusted to protect the innocent and help prevent tragedy,” Martinez said on the House floor.
More details
The House version of SJR 1, which would have required judges to deny bail to certain unauthorized migrants, was narrower than what state senators originally approved. In an attempt to get more House Democrats on board, Smithee proposed an amendment May 28 that he said would prevent lawful permanent residents and people with other protected statuses from being swept up under the bill. The amendment was adopted 93-30, although fewer members voted for the full proposal.
“We've got some people that are in this country illegally who have come over here not to get a job, [but] specifically harming us, harming our families, our children,” Smithee said May 28. [There are] very few of them, but they're here. ... If we can save one little girl from the horrors of human trafficking, this bill’s worth it; this whole session is worth it.”
SJR 1 was deemed Jocelyn’s Law, in memory of Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl killed last year in Houston.
“I can tell you [Jocelyn’s family is] determined to do something to prevent what they've gone through from happening to any other family ever in the state of Texas, and that's why I'm here today,” Smithee said on the House floor. “It would have been easier just to cancel this or put it off, but I'm here for the family of Jocelyn and all the other families who've gone through this.”
On May 19, as House members initially debated SJR 1, Rep. Erin Gámez, D-Brownsville, said local judges and magistrates who set bail do not have the resources or training to handle immigration decisions.
“There are immigration judges who spend hours making this careful determination—entire courts that have been carved out alone to make these very carefully planned-out, judicious determinations, and it's your opinion that a magistrate can simply do it,” Gámez said.
Moody said May 19 that he voted for SJR 1 because it would limit the bill to about 20 felonies related to elections, drug and violent crimes. Under the Senate’s version of the legislation, Moody said, unauthorized migrants would be denied bail for any felony offense.
“If a felony sounds serious, you should know that there are about 2,500 felonies to be charged with in Texas,” Moody said on the House floor.
