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Criminal Justice Committee advances multiple bills on DWI, corrections, licensing and fraud; votes at a glance
Summary
The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice reported several bills to the full Senate on topics including expanded penalties for intoxicated driving, occupational licensing for people leaving prison, a gift-card fraud statute, county reporting of out-of-state inmates, and magistrate standards. One juvenile sentencing bill was left pending.
The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice heard a broad agenda and voted to advance a package of bills covering driving-while-intoxicated penalties, occupational licensing for people leaving prison, gift-card fraud, county reporting of inmates housed out of state, magistrate qualifications and other criminal justice measures.
Why it matters: The measures range from criminal-penalty changes intended to deter repeat DWI offenders to administrative reforms meant to increase transparency (jail reporting) and improve reentry outcomes (occupational licenses for incarcerated people). Several items attracted testimony from victims' families, law enforcement and reentry advocates.
Key bills and committee action (votes at a glance):
- Senate Bill 826 (SB 8 26 in transcript) — Enhance DWI in school zones to a state jail felony: Reported favorably (7 ayes, 0 nays). Sponsor: Senator Parker. Public testimony: none registered. (Clerk recorded 7 ayes.)
- Senate Bill 2320 — Broad DWI penalty enhancements (increase misdemeanor classes and escalate some to state jail felonies for repeat or aggravated offenses): Reported favorably (5 ayes, 0 nays). Sponsor: Senator Brian King. Witnesses included Lauren McElroy, who lost family members in a 2023 DWI crash, and local law enforcement supporting tougher penalties.
- Senate Bill 476 (SB 4 76 in transcript) — Enhance penalty for intoxication manslaughter when court-ordered ignition interlock is bypassed: Left pending after committee discussion. Sponsor: Senator Mays Middleton. Supporters described tragic fatal crashes where interlock restrictions were bypassed; some senators expressed concern about scope and urged amendments.
- Senate Bill 1080 — Occupational licensing for people while incarcerated (committee substitute adopted): Committee substitute reported favorably (6 ayes, 0 nays). Sponsor: Senator West. Supporters included formerly incarcerated people and organizations advocating improved reentry outcomes; witnesses described long waits between release and licensing that delay employment.
- Senate Bill 1809 — Gift-card fraud statute (committee substitute): Committee substitute reported favorably (5 ayes, 0 nays). Sponsor: Senator Flores. The substitute defines new conduct (tampering with gift-card packaging, counterfeit gift card, digital imprint), includes a rebuttable presumption for possession patterns, and ties penalties to the number of unlawfully possessed items.
- Senate Bill 2289 — County reporting of out-of-state inmates to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards: Reported favorably (5 ayes, 0 nays). Sponsor: Senator Miles. Resource testimony confirmed counties currently collect some data, but the bill would require a running tally to improve transparency about outsourced custody.
- Senate Bill 745 — New first-degree felony option for intoxication manslaughter in multi-victim cases: Reported favorably (5 ayes, 0 nays). Sponsor: Senator Kolkhorst. Supporters argued current sentencing can leave families of multiple victims without compounded accountability.
- Senate Bill 989 — Criminal-background checks for special masters, magistrates and other court officials who set bail: Reported favorably (4 ayes, 0 nays). Sponsor: Senator Bettencourt. The bill requires background checks for any court official assessing bail and limits disclosure of criminal-history results; it also requires destruction of the records after probationary terms.
- Senate Bill 1437 — Expand TJJD do-not-hire registry to close gaps for noncertified juvenile probation staff and volunteers: Reported favorably (5 ayes, 0 nays). Sponsor: Senator Bettencourt. Supporters included the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops and private schools that use the registry via the interagency search engine.
- Senate Bill 664 — Statewide qualifications and oversight standards for magistrates and associate judges (committee substitute): Committee substitute reported favorably (5 ayes, 0 nays). Sponsor: Senator Huffman. The substitute sets baseline qualifications (state residency, licensed to practice law, good standing) and directs administrative-judge oversight.
What supporters and opponents said: Victims’ family members and local law enforcement strongly backed tougher DWI penalties; reentry organizations and formerly incarcerated witnesses supported licensing changes that would speed employment after release. Civil-rights groups opposed earlier transfer of juveniles to adult custody and warned that adult prisons are not appropriate placements for youth, citing constitutional precedents and local facility staffing and use-of-force concerns.
Committee procedure and next steps: Most bills were reported favorably and sent to the full Senate, several with recommendations for the local and uncontested calendar. Some bills, including the juvenile transfer proposal and the ignition-interlock enhancement, were left pending for further stakeholder work and possible amendments.
Ending: The committee advanced a broad slate of measures that mix criminal penalties, administrative reforms and fraud-targeting provisions. Several contentious items will return for additional negotiation before final votes.
