The Texas Legislature Failed on Criminal Justice Reform. It’s Time to Take the Fight Local.
- digital7077
- Jun 8, 2021
- 3 min read
Just last week, Texas wrapped up its 87th legislative session. The 2021 legislative session began in January — the same month that I transitioned at TCRP into an inaugural role as the organization’s Outreach Coordinator for the Criminal Injustice Program. Back in January, we were hopeful that there would be some room for progress on the criminal justice front, particularly in limiting criminal financial penalties that punish people simply for being poor. But we also expected that after generations of endorsing locally tailored solutions to local matters like public safety, prominent leaders of the Texas Republican Party would seek to punish cities, and other localities, for reducing their police presence. Unfortunately, we were wrong about the former, and correct about the latter.
As reported throughout the legislative session by the Texas Tribune there has been an attempt to detain more people by restricting the access to personal bonds, adding risk assessments as a determining factor on bond eligibility, and penalizing organizations that bail regular people – members of our own communities – out of jail. This is what House Bill (HB) 20 would have done in addition to mandatory consideration of immigration status during bail setting. Thankfully, HB 20 died during the regular session, but it could still be resurrected during a Special Legislative Session called by the Governor later this summer.
This session, Texas lawmakers not only sought to restrict personal bail access through bills like HB 20, but also targeted cities who choose, or would choose, to divest money from their own police departments. These bills, like HB 1900 and SB 23, aimed to punish cities for ANY REDUCTION in police budgets, or any reallocation of funds from law enforcement to other community programs and budget areas by labeling them as “defunding local governments”. This designation automatically freezes the city’s budget and prohibits local leaders from increasing budget amounts for city programs and services. The effect is instantaneous regardless of the reason, such as if the city’s population increases or undergoes a natural disaster like a hurricane, winter freeze, or pandemic. These bills penalize cities by prohibiting them from increasing property taxes, increasing utilities rates and fees, and adopting a tax rate for the year that is greater than either the no-new-revenue tax rate or voter approved tax rate. Essentially, it leaves cities scrambling to properly fund community services if they attempt to divest from policing to reinvest in the common good.
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HB 1900 and SB 23 were just two of four bills that weaponize taxes and city revenue in ways that are obscure to the general public, which were signed by Governor Abbott almost immediately after the conclusion of the regular legislative session on May 31st . This is particularly alarming because in Houston, the city I live in, there is growing public sentiment that the city should divest from the police and reinvest in other city community programs and services. In my inaugural role, I have been able to work with grassroots organizers to promote the budding demand of divestment from policing. Together we submitted a letter recommending reallocation of general budget funds from the police department into the city’s housing, health department, and non-police mental health response teams.
Alongside the Houston Abolitionist Collective we participated in the budgeting session by delivering our letter and informing council members on the need for divestment. During the public comment session we gathered a large audience to pressure council members into addressing our homelessness and mental health crisis. Finally, through all the struggle, Mayor Sylvester Turner recognized that “defunding the police” means funding housing, health, and infrastructure. We still have a long way to go to improve our community, but this was a promising start
In these efforts I am guided by TCRP’s Criminal Injustice program goals and values. It is these principles that I carry in my work and hope to bring into our communities. State lawmakers have failed us on meaningful criminal justice reform this session, but the fight for real criminal justice at the local level has already begun. Together we struggle; United we win.
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It’s frustrating to see meaningful criminal justice reform stall at the state level, especially when the impact is felt most by local communities. Shifting the focus to local action makes a lot of sense; real change often starts where people are closest to the issues and can directly influence policy and accountability. Grassroots efforts can sometimes move faster and more effectively than large legislative systems tied up in politics.
This piece is a strong reminder that waiting on top-down reform isn’t always enough, and community-driven solutions may be the most practical path forward right now. Building awareness, organizing locally, and keeping pressure on decision-makers can help turn stalled conversations into real progress. In many ways, it reflects how localized systems…
The push to take criminal justice reform efforts to the local level has broader implications than it may seem, especially for real estate and community development. Local policies directly shape neighborhood stability, investment confidence, and long-term property values. When reform efforts stall at the state level, it often creates uneven outcomes across cities and counties, which can impact everything from housing demand to commercial development planning.
For real estate stakeholders, consistency and transparency in local governance are critical. While localized reform can allow communities to address their unique challenges, it also introduces variability that investors, developers, and residents must carefully navigate. Ultimately, aligning justice reform with community development goals will be key to building safer, more sustainable neighborhoods that support…
This really highlights how frustrating it is when meaningful criminal justice reform stalls at the state level, especially when issues like bail and over-incarceration continue to impact vulnerable communities the most. The push to focus on local action makes a lot of sense, since change often starts closer to the community where needs are more visible and urgent . It’s interesting how similar localized approaches are also important in other sectors whether it’s governance or housing, having effective systems in place, like rental management, can make a real difference in how communities function day to day.