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SB 40 would bar political subdivisions from using public funds to pay nonprofits that post defendants' bail; witnesses dispute auditing interpretation
Summary
Senate Bill 40 would prohibit a political subdivision from using public funds to pay a nonprofit to post a defendant’s bail and create a taxpayer injunctive remedy; sponsor cited Harris County auditor data showing payments to a bail‑assistance nonprofit, while the nonprofit said those entries are reimbursements, not public grants.
Senators heard Senate Bill 40, a proposal to forbid political subdivisions from using public funds to pay a nonprofit that posts defendants' bail and to allow a taxpayer or resident to seek injunctive relief and attorney's fees if a local government violates the restriction.
Sponsor Senator Joan Huffman said her office reviewed Harris County auditor records and concluded that since February 2022 the county issued at least 311 payments totaling nearly $2.1 million to a nonprofit called the Bail Project. She said the use of taxpayer dollars to secure release for defendants "raises serious public safety concern" and that the bill would create a private right of action and fee recovery for taxpayers who successfully sue to stop the practice.
Witness testimony was sharply divided. April Aguirre and Nancy Buller, family members of homicide victims, told senators they had been unable to pay funeral and family expenses while, they said, taxpayer money funded bail assistance that let defendants remain free. "For our government, our local government to be funding these types of projects that are completely against incarceration is absurd," Aguirre said.
Nate Walker, executive director of the Bail Project, testified the organization does not accept public funds in Texas and said audit entries the sponsor cited reflect reimbursements to the nonprofit when client cases resolve, not grants. Walker said he would provide documentation to committee staff to clarify the accounting entries.
Supporters, including several law‑enforcement groups and the Dallas County DA’s office, urged the committee to restrict public dollars being used to post bail for defendants. Some witnesses urged the bill be broadened to explicitly include certain misdemeanor categories such as family violence and DWI; others urged clear statutory definitions and an explicit definition of "public funds." Opponents and some county representatives urged caution and asked for precise statutory language and evidence before drafting a broad prohibition.
Ending: The committee took testimony that included audit data cited by the sponsor and a direct denial by the nonprofit named in those audit entries. The bill seeks to ban use of public funds for that purpose and to create a private enforcement mechanism; the committee did not record a final vote in the transcript.
