TJP Legislative History
SB : Senate Bill | HB : House Bill
2025 Texas Legislative Session
Senate Bill 9: Strips due process and worsens the money bail system
Texas Jail Project : Opposed
Status : Passed
SB 9 strips due process protections and exacerbates the money bail system. The bill allows prosecutors to hold people in pretrial detention for up to 20 days if they believe bond amounts are too low; mandates money bail for many additional charges—including some misdemeanors; prolongs unnecessary pretrial detention by preventing criminal law hearing officers from setting bail in some cases; and requires people be taken into custody while they await sentencing for certain offenses
Senate Bill 1199 89(R)
Texas Jail Project : Opposed
Status: Left in committee
Excludes in-custody deaths deemed “natural” from investigation, eliminating crucial accountability
Senate Bill 2096/ House Bill 305 89(R)
Texas Jail Project : Supported
Status: Passed, vetoed by Governor Abbott
This bill requires that once a person with mental illness or IDD is declared restored to competency, the court must hold the pretrial hearing within 30 days. This bill passed with an impressive and productive kind of bipartisan cooperation we rarely see in Texas. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, it was later vetoed by Governor Abbott.
Senate Bill 781/House Bill 2486 89(R): Police Secrecy Bill
Texas Jail Project : Opposed
Status : Postponed
Multiple variations of this bill (SB781/14/15/HB2486/14/15) were attempted by conservative Texas politicians in both the Texas Senate and Texas House of Representatives, and it will likely be brought back next session. This legislation mandates that every law enforcement agency maintain a confidential personnel file for each officer, effectively shielding these records from oversight by “any other agency or person.” The bill effectively eliminates existing independent oversight of jail deaths and police misconduct.
SB 2570 / HB 5139 89(R) : Legalizing Unnecessary Force
Texas Jail Project : Opposed
Status : Passed
SB 2570 reduces standards for jailers and guards to allow force when not immediately necessary, when reckless, and/or against vulnerable people
SB 2570 One-Pager (Drive link)Senate Bill 1775 89(R): Continuity of Care
Texas Jail Project : Supported; drafted bill with Senator Miles
Status : Did not receive hearing
Bill drafted by Texas Jail Project that ensures continuity of care for people leaving jail who have previously been under the care of a mental health or behavioral health local authority
Bill textHouse Bill 5108 89(R)
Texas Jail Project : Supported
Status : Left in sub-committee
Requires maintenance of records of independent investigations of deaths in custody in accordance with vital records requirements, including preservation of digital records for a minimum of 50 years
House Bill 3841 89(R): Transparency and Accountability Bill
Texas Jail Project : Supported
Status : Left pending in sub-committee
Transparency and accountability bill, tightens the current requirements of Sandra Bland Act, which mandates that TCJS appoint independent law enforcement agencies to investigate custody deaths. This bill mandates that TCJS publish information on every investigation into a custody death.
House Bill 5450 89(R)
House Bill 5450 89(R)
Texas Jail Project : Supported, drafted bill with Representative Lowe
Status : Left in committee
Mandates the creation of an independent committee to study custody deaths
Bill TextHouse Bill 4642 89(R): Protects “Outsourced” Prisoners
Texas Jail Project : Supported
Status : Passed House; Placed on General State Calendar
Enforces minimum standards for prisoners “outsourced” out of state by Texas county jails, and prohibits counties from “outsourcing” prisoners whose Continuity of Care Query (CCQ) check was returned as an exact or probable match (the individual touched the public mental health system in the three years prior to the date of jail booking through state psychiatric hospitalization, crisis care or enrollment in routine mental health services)
SJR 1 89(R)
Texas Jail Project : Opposed
Status : Passed in Senate; Failed of adoption
Enshrines in the Texas Constitution a requirement that judges order pretrial detention without due process of people merely accused of certain criminal offenses, simply because they fall under a dangerously broad definition of “illegal alien” that would include DACA recipients, certain vulnerable crime victims, and people who are seeking asylum.
SJR 1 One Pager (Drive link)SJR 5 89(R)
Texas Jail Project : Opposed
Status : Passed through Proposition 3
Requires judges to deny bail to defendants accused of certain crimes punishable as a felony – overloading an already overburdened pre-trial detention system.
SJR 5 One Pager (Drive link) TJP Media Spotlight on SJR 5SJR 87 89(R)
Texas Jail Project : Opposed
Status : Passed, 1 hr. notice-for reconsideration
Requires the denial of bail to persons accused of certain offenses punishable as a felony who have previously been convicted of or who were released on bail for certain offenses punishable as a felony at the time of the new offense
Maternal Health and Mortality Rider 89(R)
Texas Jail Project : Supported
Status : Passed
Drafted by Rep. González in collaboration with TJP, this rider mandates the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) to collect 12 months of data on pregnant and recently pregnant people in county jails and publish it by December 2026
Maternal Health Rider One Pager (Drive link) TJP Media Spotlight on Maternal Health RiderContinuity of Care Query Rider 89(R)
Texas Jail Project : Supported
Status : Passed
The rider mandates that Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) collect and summarize data about people in jail who have interacted with the state mental health services. This will generate more transparency about mental illness in county jail populations, and help address the revolving door between the public mental health and pretrial detention systems
CCQ Rider One Pager (Drive link) TJP Media Spotlight on CCQ Rider2023 Texas Legislative Session
Senate Bill 1667 88(R) – Forensic waitlist audit report
Texas Jail Project : Supported
Status : Passed
This bill mandates an audit of people in county jails who are waiting for a forensic hospital bed for the provision of competency restoration services. The bill also requires the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to establish or expand behavioral health centers or jail diversion centers to the extent money is appropriated to HHSC for that purpose.
SB 1667 88(R) One Pager (Drive link)SB 26 88(R) – Audit of local mental health authorities
Texas Jail Project : Supported
Status : Passed
Requires HHSC to establish and maintain a public reporting system of performance and outcome measures relating to mental health and substance use services provided by local mental health authorities (LMHAs), local behavioral health authorities (LBHAs), local intellectual and developmental disability authorities (LIDDAs) and Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs).
Public Reporting SystemSenate Bill 944 88(R): Alternate paths to SSLC
Texas Jail Project : Supported
Status : Passed
This bill allows new pathways for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to receive care through state supported living centers (SSLCs) without requiring an Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) report from Local Intellectual and Developmental Disability Authorities.
Senate Bill 1318 88(R) / SJR 44 88(R)
Texas Jail Project : Opposed
Status : Postponed
This bill would give judges the option to detain people without the possibility of release before their trial for certain offenses
2021 Texas Legislative Session
House Bill 1545 87(R)
Texas Jail Project : Supported
Status : Passed
The bill implemented recommendations from the Sunset Advisory Commission, aiming to increase oversight, transparency, and accountability in county jails. One key provision in the bill is a mandate for the Texas Commission on Jail Standards to adopt risk-based inspections of county jails.
House Bill 1307 87(R)
Texas Jail Project : Supported
Status : Passed
Requires mental health counseling and OB/GYN checks for pregnant people in county jails following a physical or a sexual assault. Texas Jail Project is currently part of the TCJS rule making committee to translate the bill into administrative code.
House Bill 3447 87(R): County Jail Medical Neglect and Abuse Prevention Legislation
Texas Jail Project : Supported
Status : Committee report sent to Calendars
The purpose of the legislation is to prevent medical neglect and abuse of people incarcerated in county jails, particularly those with disabilities and mental illness, by giving the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) more oversight authority on issues surrounding the health and safety of people in county jails.
HB 3447 87(R) One PagerSenate Bill 6: Damon Allen Act and related versions related to bail
Texas Jail Project : Opposed
Status : Passed
This bill adds to the list of offenses that disqualify someone from getting a PR Bond, which releases a person based on their promise to appear for court instead of money, and includes major new limitations on charitable bail funds and allow sheriffs in some counties to suspend operations entirely in some cases
SB 6 is Bad for Veterans: Robert’s Story SB 6 is Bad for Families: Glenn’s Story SB 6 Targets People with Disabilities: Michele’s Story SB 6 is Bad for Veterans: Goldie’s Testimony SB 6 Written TestimonySenate Bill 21 87(R)
Texas Jail Project : Opposed
Status : Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Worsens outcomes for individuals with mental illness and all people interacting with the criminal legal system by criminalizing community bail funds.