Texas constitutional amendment on bail reform

How do we change the Texas Constitution (Links to an external site.?) As you’ve read in your text, changes to the Texas Constitution are proposed by the state legislature but can only be approved by a majority vote in a statewide election. To place a proposal before voters requires a 2/3 supermajority in the Texas House and the same in the state senate. In 2021, legislators proposed ten changes to the state constitution for consideration, all of which were approved by voters. In 2023, legislators approved 13 proposed amendments. Voters approved all but one – rejecting a proposal to increase the mandatory retirement age for judges. Earlier this year, legislators voted to place 17 proposed amendments before voters this fall, one of which would change a provision in the Texas Constitution about bail. Article I of the Texas Constitution is a Bill of Rights – a more sweeping and specific list of rights than in the U.S. Constitution. As approved by voters in 1876, the Texas Bill of Rights says “All prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital offences, when the proof is evident; but this provision shall not be so construed as to prevent bail after indictment found upon examination of the evidence, in such manner as may be prescribed by law.” This required judges to allow bail for persons accused of anything less than a death penalty crime. Provisions approved by voters in the 1950s and 1990s added some exceptions, allowing judges to deny bail after multiple convictions for violent and/or sexual felonies under certain circumstances. Voters approved additional exceptions in the 2000s for those accused of domestic violence who assault or threaten their victims while out on bail for the original offense. Last year, legislators approved S.J.R. 5 (Links to an external site.,) which would add a much more sweeping exception. With voter approval, judges would be required to deny bail to those accused of any of a long list of serious crimes if the prosecutor is able to show “…by clear and convincing evidence after a hearing that the granting of bail is insufficient to reasonably ensure the safety of the community, law enforcement, and the victim of the alleged offense.” On the one hand, many law-abiding Texans are increasingly, and understandably, alarmed about crimes committed by those out on bail for previous crimes. Houston Fox 26’s Breaking Bond (seriesLinks) to an external site. features examples of this regularly, and victims’ rights advocate Andy Kahan (Links to an external site.) has repeatedly warned Houstonians of the dangers associated with violent criminals out on bail. On the other hand, those accused of crimes are just that – accused. They haven’t been convicted of anything yet. Bail, in theory, is only supposed to guarantee that the accused person shows up for trial – that person being presumed innocent in our system until proven guilty. Write our usual 2 – 5 page essay (double-spaced, normal margins, font no bigger than 12, etc.) about this amendment. Make sure your essay tells your reader: 1. How did this get to be Proposition 3 on our November ballot? (Here’s where you take your reader through the process for amending the state constitution) 2. What is this proposal designed to do? 3. Who do you think might be for and against this? 4. How would you have voted on this if you were a state legislator, and why? 5. What did voters decide last November? Submit in Word (.docx). Cite your sources. Additional Resources Here’s S.J.R.. 5: &Bill=SJR5Links to an external site. By looking at the witness list for the Senate hearing, you can get an idea what groups were for and against this: to an external site. Texas Policy ResearchLinks to an external site., a pretty conservative group, is opposed: to an external site. The Texas Tribune talks about the issue: to an external site. Fox 26 covered the governor signing related legislation in Houston: to an external site. Houston Public Media has a good article: to an external site. Here’s a good overview of all 17 amendments proposed for this November’s ballot from the House Research Organization: to an external site. Also just for reference, Texas’ Legislative Reference Library has information on all 714 amendments that have been proposed since the Constitution was adopted in 1876 (530 have been adopted): to an external site. LINKS To correlate with the ones that are seen throughout the text in order. &Bill=SJR5