The Professional Bondsmen of Texas- Blog

 HB 20 will be voted on the floor of the House today.  Please go to our call to action page to send an email to every House member asking them to vote no on HB 20. To learn more CLICK HERE. To go to the call to action page directly CLICK HERE .

  THIS IS A CALL TO ACTION FOR THE TEXASL LEGISLATIVE SESSION.  The Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Commitee will meet today to consider voting HB 20 out of committee.  You can access the call to action page by CLICKING HERE . Anyone can participate in this call to action.  Please join us.  Time of of the essence.

PBT has several call to action campaigns taking place currently.  If you would like to participate and help us in educating the members of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, you can visit our current call to actions: Call to Action No. 2-  Opposing Risk Assessments in General  CLICK HERE Call to Action No. 3- Opposing PRAISTX  CLICK HERE  

  Please Join Us April 6, 2021 at the Texas Capitol to Oppose HB 20 Dear PBT Members and Supporters, HB 20 by Murr and several other bills, have been set for a hearing on April 6, 2021 at 1:00 pm. We are calling for all avaialbe PBT Members and supporters to join us in Austin, Texas that day. We will be limited on the number of people who can testify regarding the bill because of the pandemic. But you can still help us with your pen. This is what we need: PBT Members and Supporters of PBT should travel to Austin to sign cards in opposition to HB 20 on April 6, 2021. You should plan to arrive at 10:00 am at the Crowne Plaza located at  6121 N Interstate Hwy 35, Austin, TX 78752. We will have people in the lobby to direct groups to travel to the Capitol to get you through security. Once in the Capital you will be directed to the cafeteria where other PBT members will assit you in signing cards in opposition to the bills we oppose. We cannot stress to you the power of our membership appea

 The April 2021 Newsletter has been released.  In this newsletter, the Professional Bondsmen of Texas discuss plans for an upcoming "Digital" day at the Texas Capitol.  There also is a summary of several bills pending before the Texas Legislature, an article entitled "The Illusion of Risk Assessments" and a summary of states who passed bail reform and are not repealing it. You can see the newsletter by CLICKING HERE .

  This is a summary of Senate Bill 21 filed by Joan Huffman.  lt has been designated a priority bill by the Lt. Governor. Section 1 of the bill amends article 17.03 of the Texas Code of Criminal Proceduren to state that only the trial court with jurisdiction over the case can release a defendant on a PR bond for certain significant felony offenses.  The existing list set out in the current statute is amended to delete one offense.  The bill also adds a new list of offenses which are not eligible to be released on a PR bond.  Section 2 of the bill amends article 17.15 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is amended to add a requirement that a judge or magistrate must review the defendant's criminal history before setting bail. Section 3 of the bill allows judges, in their discretion, to use bail schedules.  The bill codifies the requirements of the O'Donnell case to ensure that there are procedures in place to protect the poor.  The bill also sets out a requirement of re-magistrati

  House Bill 20 by Murr is the Governor's bill for proposed bail reform.  It also relies upon a constitutional amendment set out in HJR 4 by Kacal to expand the list of offenses upon which bail may be held without bail.   The constitutional amendment  states that a person accused of a violent or sexual offense or "other offenses added by the legislature" may be denied bail pending trial under the existing requirments set out in the constitution regarding capital and other serious offenses.  In additional, the constitutional amendment adds several offenses where bail must be denied unless there is "clear and convincing" evidence that bail will ensure that the defendant will appear for court or ensure the safety of the community.  The crimes covered by this provision include a capital murder or sexual offense where the victim is younger than 17.  There is no "Romeo and Juliet" exception which is an affirmative offense under current law.  HB 20 is to be r

The Illusion of Risk Assessments:  The False Promises of the National Criminal Justice Reform Movement by Ken W. Good Much like a magic trick, over the past decade, the criminal justice reform movement has presented a great illusion to the public.  Magic is based upon misdirection, in which the audience is set-up to anticipate what will happen next.  So it is with reformers who have hoped to fool the public through sleight of hand.  Only in this case, it's not a rabbit they are pulling out of a hat, it is a risk assessment tool they have sold as the answer to bail reform.  Through its adoption and implementation, risk assessment has been presented as the one-size-fits-all solution.  But time and evidence has revealed that these tools are made up of many false promises. The purpose of bail is to ensure that a defendant will make all court appearances in a pending criminal case.  Generally, the bail amount is set high enough to ensure appearance, taking into consideration factors inc

  The Chair of the the Professional Bondsmen of Texas Legislative Committee has announced that his committee is planning its first ever Digital Day at the Capital.  The Committee has concluded because of the pandemic and the rules of certain offices, PBT wants to ensure the protection of our elected officials and our members.  Therefore, in addition to our members of the legislative committee who will be traveling to Austin each week, the committee will be holding its "Day at the Capital" digitally.   What is a "Day at the Capital?"   This is one or more days designated by the Legislative Committee where we ask our members to travel to Austin to meet with our elected officials to discuss bills that affect the industry.  We normally concentrate on the members of committees who will here our bills. How Does Your Participation Help? If you have a personal relationship with your elected officials you can help.  You know them and can schedule meetings with the representa