Young County law enforcement backs bail reform bills

Local law enforcement officials backed legislation sponsored by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, that aims to keep certain offenders in jail without bond as they await adjudication of their cases.

Sen. Huffman introduced the package of bills in previous sessions only to see it stall in the House. This session, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick vowed that the Senate would pass it “over and over” until the House passes it. The Senate approved all four measures last month and sent them to the House.

The measures are: Senate Joint Resolution 5, amending the Texas Constitution to allow judges to deny bail to defendants accused of certain violent crimes; Senate Bill 9, narrowing who is eligible for low-cost or cashless bond while their cases are adjudicated; Senate Joint Resolution 1, amending the state Constitution to bar judge from allowing bail for undocumented immigrants charged with felonies; and Senate Bill 40, preventing nonprofit organizations from using public funds to help defendants with bail costs.

Immigration attorneys say the SJR 1 may be unconstitutional, and civil rights groups say the measures are “a misleading, redundant, and dangerous attempt to strip people of their rights and freedom.”

“The Texas Constitution already allows for the pretrial detention of many people who have been repeatedly arrested or charged with the most serious crimes,” The Bail Project, a national nonprofit that provides free bail assistance, said in a statement. “Texans need a system where safety, not wealth, determines who is incarcerated pretrial.”

City and Young County law enforcement officials approved of the legislation and urged its passage, citing the strain on small-town resources when people they arrest return to the community and continue reoffending.

“The safety of our communities depends on a criminal justice system that holds violent offenders accountable while upholding constitutional rights,” Olney Police Chief Dan Birbeck said. “Senate Bill 9 ensures that high-risk offenders remain in custody while awaiting trial, protecting both the public and law enforcement from unnecessary danger. Time and again, we’ve seen repeat offenders exploit low or personal bonds, only to reoffend and victimize innocent people. This legislation is a necessary step toward balancing justice with public safety.”

In 2022, Olney police struggled to shut down a drug house, arresting the probationer who lived there three times in one month for drug possession and manufacturing charges, and a weapon charge.

Recently, a man arrested on four child pornography charges paid a $600,000 bond and was released back into the community. Olney officers faced potential danger when they had to rearrest William Michael Bahl again six weeks later -- nabbing him at a check-in with his bondsman in Graham -- after a grand jury indicted him on 12 additional counts of child pornography and set his bail at $2.7 million, Chief Birbeck said.

Young County District Attorney Dee Peavy said that while she believes in “upholding everyone’s constitutional rights, I do not think that justice demands that we endanger the lives of our citizens and members of law enforcement.”

“I resolutely advocate for bail reform measures which ensure that highrisk and/or violent offenders remain incarcerated while awaiting trial,” she said. “It is incomprehensible to me that anyone would consider it okay to do otherwise. We have witnessed far too many incidents where innocent lives have been harmed or lost in the name of ‘social justice’ reforms such as ‘no bail,’ etcetera. It is alarming, almost absurd, to consider that anyone would advocate for imperiling the safety of our community.”

Senate Bill 9 shifts the authority from hearing officers to a presiding judge to set initial bonds for specific high-risk defendants, including those on parole, repeat felony offenders, and those charged with violent crimes or detained under immigration holds.

The bill also expands the list of offenses ineligible for personal bond to include unlawful firearm possession, violation of family violence protective orders, terroristic threats, and murder related to fentanyl distribution. It also increases charitable bail organizations’ reporting requirements, prevents magistrates from altering bonds set by a district court, mandates a judicial appearance before setting felony bonds, and provides a new appeal process for prosecutors to challenge insufficient bail.