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Senate committee hears opposition to bill that would extend pretrial detention timelines
Summary
Senate Judiciary held a public hearing on HB228, a proposal to revise "Anaya’s law" to require pretrial detention hearings within 10 days, allow continuances and permit up to 21 days on "good cause." Defense advocates warned the changes risk detaining people without meaningful opportunity to confront evidence.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on an unspecified date held a public hearing on HB228, a bill described by Senator Weaver as a set of revisions to “Anaya’s law” that would set pretrial detention hearings within 10 days of arrest, allow continuances, require a record of those hearings and create an appeal path for pretrial detention orders. The committee did not vote on the bill and asked stakeholders to continue work on a substitute.
Aliyah McKee, chief public defender for Montgomery County, testified in opposition, saying the proposal ‘‘creates a perfect storm for due process violations’’ by expanding the period someone can be detained without evidence and by providing no explicit remedy if the 10‑day or 21‑day timelines are missed. ‘‘In those 10 days, in those 21 days, an individual is without income,’’ McKee said, adding the change could capture people who lawfully used force or business owners defending themselves.
Senator Smitherman told the committee he could not support the bill as drafted, arguing preliminary hearings are a discovery forum where defendants confront investigators and evidence, and that eliminating or compressing those hearings undermines defendants’ rights. ‘‘To eliminate a preliminary hearing because you’re having a bail hearing…you’re telling a defendant that you don’t face and deal with what you gotta deal with until you get up here at circuit court,’’ he said.
Supporters and the bill’s sponsor said the proposed change arose from a committee of judges and district attorneys who sought to avoid duplication of hearings and improve judicial economy by consolidating pretrial detention and preliminary hearings. Senator Weaver and other supporters acknowledged, however, that defense counsel were not part of the drafting meetings and agreed further work is needed to address concerns about defense access and forensic delays.
Senator Veil noted forensic results can take months and warned that removing or limiting preliminary hearings could harm fact‑finding for both sides. The committee chose not to vote and asked parties to continue negotiations and return with a refined proposal.
The next step is additional stakeholder meetings and draft revisions; the committee plans to revisit the bill on a future date.
