TITLE: Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the denial of bail to a person accused of certain violent offenses or of continuous trafficking of persons.

SUMMARY: Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the denial of bail to a person accused of certain violent offenses or of continuous trafficking of persons.

FULL TEXT:
89(R) HJR 166-Introduced version-Bill Text By: Johnson H.J.R. No. 166 A JOINT RESOLUTION proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the denial of bail to a person accused of certain violent offenses or of continuous trafficking of persons. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Article I, Texas Constitution, is amended by adding Section 11d to read as follows: Sec. 11d. (a) In this section, "violent offense" means: (1) murder; (2) aggravated assault, if the victim of the assault was a peace officer; (3) aggravated robbery, if the accused used or exhibited a firearm during the commission of the robbery; or (4) aggravated sexual assault, if the accused: (A) causes, attempts to cause, or threatens to cause serious bodily injury or death to the victim or another person in the course of the same criminal episode; or (B) uses or exhibits a deadly weapon in the course of the same criminal episode. (b) A person accused of committing a violent offense or of committing continuous trafficking of persons may be denied bail pending trial, by a district judge in this state, if the order denying bail is issued not later than the seventh day after the date of incarceration of the accused. (c) If the trial for an offense for which the accused is denied bail under Subsection (b) does not begin on or before the 60th day after the date of the accused's incarceration, the judge that issued the order denying bail shall set aside the order unless the trial delay is due to a continuance obtained on the motion of the accused. (d) A person denied bail under Subsection (b) may appeal the order denying bail to the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Court of Criminal Appeals shall give preference in its docket to an appeal filed under this subsection. SECTION 2. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 4, 2025. The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition: "The constitutional amendment authorizing the denial of bail to a person accused of certain violent offenses or of continuous trafficking of persons."