Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) signs a hardline bail reform bill into law.
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02:00All right, here's the guys.
02:10Hi.
02:11Hi.
02:38I will.
02:39I got his back.
02:40Don't worry.
02:41I got his left blank.
02:43I think he's got a team behind him.
02:47I'll be fine.
02:48Yeah, we'll be fine.
02:49Oh my gosh.
02:50Apparently, Leach is tweeting something this morning where his wife was to send me to the
02:54governor office.
02:55Hello.
02:56Tweeting something this morning where his wife was and said he was going to shut her off.
03:04Hello.
03:05Hello.
03:05Hello.
03:05Good to be home.
03:24It is good to be home, isn't it?
03:25Yeah.
03:29If I put you in the office spot, I hate that one.
03:33It's extra.
03:35I have long legs, wide knees.
03:36You can try it with a nice hurt on, it's not fun.
03:44Well, aren't they?
03:45No, aren't they?
03:46Yeah.
03:47Oh, that's cool.
03:49Some of them are from this very city.
03:51Oh, there's not all of them, though.
03:53A little bit.
03:54A little bit.
03:54Well, I don't know.
03:55Even the one that didn't.
03:56Oh, I don't know.
03:57I don't know.
03:58I don't know.
03:59I like that one.
04:00Okay.
04:01Okay.
04:02Okay.
04:03Yeah.
04:04Okay.
04:05Yeah.
04:06I mean, what about this one, the one inside?
04:11Well, I'm going to...
04:12Oh, yeah, this is what...
04:13I'm going to talk about the ones that didn't.
04:14Yeah.
04:15Yeah.
04:16Yeah.
04:17It's still the same one.
04:18It's still the same thing.
04:20But I might have to fill in along the way.
04:23The 87 is a lot of people.
04:24Yeah.
04:25Yeah.
04:26And the SGR one is the next one.
04:27That's not legal.
04:28The answer is in Mexico.
04:31It's illegal.
04:58All right.
04:59Just an effort to see you guys.
05:01No, it's worth making.
05:04Oh, I'm sorry.
05:06You got a long time ago to see you?
05:11We'll see you, ma'am.
05:13I think there he is.
05:15Are you a sheriff today or a council member?
05:18A sheriff today.
05:30Great to see you, ma'am.
05:32Congratulations.
05:33Congratulations, sir.
05:34Yes, sir.
05:35That's a small one.
05:37There's two.
05:38There's two.
05:39Don't worry.
05:41You got it.
05:45Hey.
05:46How are you?
05:48Good afternoon, everyone.
06:13Good afternoon, everyone.
06:14Good afternoon.
06:15Renia Mankerios, CEO of Crime Stoppers of Houston.
06:18What a very special day today is.
06:20I want to thank Governor Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Senator Joan Huffman, Chairman
06:26John Smithy, law enforcement partners, district attorneys, so many other distinguished guests,
06:32elected officials, board members, Andy Kahn, Amy Castillo, the victims, the survivors, and
06:37everyone gathered here today.
06:39This is more than a bill signing.
06:41This is a day of reckoning.
06:43Today marks a historic moment in a fight for change that we began in 2018.
06:48A fight to stop a broken bail system from endangering the very people it's supposed to protect.
06:55To the many families, too many families have paid the ultimate price for a system that has failed them.
07:01Too many officers have risked their lives re-arresting violent offenders.
07:05Too many communities have been shattered by repeat criminals who should not have been released.
07:11We know this because we've lived it.
07:14We've sat across from grieving parents and surviving family members.
07:18We've combed through court documents that read like warnings that no one heeded.
07:24And through our Glenda Gordy Research Center, the number confirmed our worst fears.
07:30In Harris County alone, hundreds of defendants have been charged with secondary homicides
07:36while out on a felony bond.
07:39If you've been arguing to keep that practice going, something is wrong.
07:43This isn't just bad policy.
07:45It's the intentional destruction of communities, and it must stop.
07:49So for us, doing nothing was never an option.
07:55We took hits, as the Governor knows, we took punches, but we never stopped advocating.
08:01While cities across the country struggle with the fallout of failed bail reform,
08:05we at Crime Stoppers of Houston rolled up our sleeves, worked with our board, our executive team,
08:10and lawmakers across multiple sessions, never losing sight of one thing.
08:14Public safety must come first.
08:16We shared critical data and firsthand accounts with Governor Abbott and Senator Huffman,
08:20and we all understand that that critical data that we were discussing
08:23was more than names and numbers on a spreadsheet.
08:26These were the lives of dearly beloved individuals, fellow citizens,
08:29who were needlessly and recklessly killed.
08:31For all of us, this was a resounding call to action.
08:34And now today, we stand on the verge of real, lasting change.
08:37Senate Bill 9, Senate Bill 40, House Bill 75, especially SJR 5,
08:42the proposed constitutional amendment represents more than a policy shift.
08:47They are promises kept.
08:49Promises to victims that their voices mattered.
08:52Promises to families that we heard their pain.
08:55Promises to Texans that we will not let violent offenders turn our communities into revolving doors of danger.
09:02But while we are extremely thankful to all who got us here today, we know it's not the end.
09:07It's the beginning of the next challenge to pass this constitutional amendment in November.
09:12So we urge every Texan to vote.
09:14Vote to keep your communities safe.
09:16So I'd like to further take a moment to thank those who helped us today.
09:20Governor Abbott, thank you for being a constant advocate for safer communities
09:24and for signing these historic bills here today in Houston where this fight began.
09:28Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, your personal time with victim families spoke volumes.
09:33Your empathy turned into action.
09:35Senator Joan Huffman, your leadership and relentless resolve delivered this amendment through the legislature.
09:41We thank you for standing firm when it mattered most.
09:44Chairman John Smithy, thank you for building bipartisan support and amplifying a call for change in the House.
09:50To the victims, many of you are here today.
09:52To those who testified, who stood up, who relived their tragedies over and over again.
09:58You shared your pain so that others would not go through the same.
10:01We thank you.
10:02You are the heroes of this moment.
10:03To the entire team at Crime Stoppers of Houston, I am so proud.
10:06So deeply proud of this moment.
10:08As I said from the beginning, it's a legislative process, but it should have never been political.
10:13So with that, Governor Abbott, thank you so much for being with us.
10:20Well, a very big thank you to Rania.
10:28Thank you for your kind words.
10:29But more importantly, thank you for the tireless work that you and Crime Stoppers have put into this cause for a long, long time now.
10:36I think it's probably fair to say, for anybody who knows anything that goes on with Crime Stoppers, we probably would not be at this bill signing today.
10:43It had not been for the tireless day after day, week after week, year after year effort by Crime Stoppers.
10:49You have changed the state's perspective.
10:50I want to put Crime Stoppers under the broader umbrella of advocate groups, and I know there are many other advocate groups, both here in Houston as well as across the state of Texas, who stood up and fought for this.
11:07One thing that our legislators need during a time of battle to get things passed, they need those advocates to come testify to demonstrate the necessity of this legislation.
11:18Your testimony, your advocacy made a difference and ensured that I would be able to sign these laws today to the victims and their family members.
11:41They go through so much challenge.
11:45They feel the weight of the world on their lives.
11:52They step up and talk and hope and pray and talk to politicians and hear words, and I think after a few years they think, all of this is for nothing.
12:04For nothing.
12:06We're not getting anything to address the pain and suffering that not only did we suffer, but that was caused by sheer tragedy.
12:17Today, that pain is answered.
12:21Because of what you and your families have been to, not only are we signing laws that correct the wrongs that caused you to suffer,
12:34but your efforts have led to a rewriting of the Constitution of the state of Texas to ensure criminals like those who harm your families will never be out on the loose again.
12:49I cannot thank Lieutenant Governor and Speaker Burroughs enough for prioritizing this.
13:05I know you've prioritized this a long time, and you're from Harris County area.
13:10You know this issue like the back of your hand.
13:14So thank you for your leadership.
13:17Thank you for helping to make sure that it swiftly passed the Senate.
13:22Thank you for the stewardship of Senator Huffman, who knows more about this.
13:27In fact, going to your judicial days in Harris County, to your time in the Senate, as well as Chair Smithy.
13:35And what Rania said about you, we all knew going into this, the tallest hill to climb was going to be in the Texas House.
13:45And when it got down to it, on SJR 5, how many total votes did we have?
13:51It was well over 100.
13:53It was a lot.
13:55There was bipartisan support.
13:57And as I look around, we have with us today members of the Texas legislature, both Republican and Democrat, who saw the urgency to get this passed.
14:10Another group of people with us today who fight for us every day, quite literally with their lives, and that is law enforcement officials.
14:26We cannot be a safe city, county, or state, or nation without these law enforcement officials putting their lives on the line.
14:33And those lives were under assault by these judges who were letting these criminals loose, criminals that they arrested to put behind bars only to see back out on the streets just a few hours later, threatening the lives of the very law enforcement officers who arrested them in the first place.
14:48This group of laws is as much for those law enforcement officers and their protection and their safety as much as anything else.
15:00So please give it up to every man and woman who wears the uniform of our law enforcement officers.
15:13This session, we confronted a crisis, a revolving door bail system that repeatedly released dangerous criminals back out onto the streets.
15:23Hundreds of Texans have been murdered by violent criminals who had previously been arrested and released on easy bail.
15:32That's why I made bail reform an emergency item this session.
15:37Judges have had far too much discretion to set easy bail policies for violent criminals.
15:45One of the many horror stories from Harris County involves Austin Collette.
15:51Austin Collette was charged with murder, and then he pled guilty for that murder charge.
15:58And while this man who was a confessed killer was waiting to be sentenced, Harris County District Judge Hillary Unger let this confessed killer out of jail back onto the streets on bail.
16:15Three months after the judge let him out to roam the streets again, he killed again.
16:23He killed this time a 21-year-old young woman.
16:28That woman would be alive today if the laws that I am about to sign were in effect at that time.
16:36With these laws, judges will no longer be able to grant bail for violent crimes like murder and rape if the prosecutor shows that the defendant is a flight risk and a danger.
16:48Judges who do release violent defendants on bail must explain their decision to the public in writing.
16:57Prosecutors will now have a new tool.
17:00Prosecutors will have the right to appeal a judge's questionable bond decision.
17:06Also, unaccountable magistrates will now be barred from setting bail in the most dangerous and high risk cases.
17:14Instead, it's going to be elected judges who must make those decisions.
17:19And now, we are preventing non-profits from using your tax dollars to bail criminals out of jail.
17:29As one victim's father told me, our criminal justice system gives offenders the opportunity to go back to their lives.
17:46Meanwhile, the victims can never go back to their lives, and neither can their grieving families.
17:52That travesty ends today.
17:55Thanks to the hard work of the Texas House and Senate, lives are going to be saved because of the action they took this session.
18:06Now, let's make this law.
18:11aconteceu, everyone.
18:14Every time...
18:15Every time I look for a date, my watch covers it up, today's...
18:19the 3rd.
18:203rd...
18:21The 3rd.
18:221 day of the sun.
18:23The 3rd.
18:24The..
18:25The 3rd.
18:26The 3rd.
18:27The 3rd.
18:28The 3rd.
18:29The 3rd.
18:30The 3rd.
18:31The 3rd.
18:32The 3rd.
18:33The 3rd.
18:34The 3rd..
18:35The 3rd.
18:36The 3rd.
18:37The 3rd.
18:38The 3rd.
18:39The 3rd.
18:40Someone's mic just got cut off.
18:44You know how to do that?
18:45You saw it.
18:46Yeah, I do this a little bit.
19:10You know how to do that?
20:10Why don't you hold that one up?
20:15I want to turn it over to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick.
20:45Thank you, Governor.
20:48I've known Andy Kahn a long time.
20:51We started the Crime Commission about 35 years ago, I think, long before I was in office, to look at this issue.
20:57I've been involved with Crime Stoppers.
21:00And, Ronnie, thank you for the incredible job you do and all the board members and all the volunteers.
21:05Incredible speeches a few years ago from crime victims, not from elected officials, but from crime victims who told their stories.
21:13I want to thank Senator Huffman.
21:17She's been on this for three or four sessions now.
21:21And we passed bills out of the Senate time and time again.
21:24They didn't pass in the House.
21:24And that's why I thank Justin Burroughs, the new speaker, who finally had the courage to say, we're going to pass these bills.
21:31You know, we all love Jocelyn and we'll never forget her.
21:46And her family has been with us all this time.
21:52And I brought Mom and other victims' families into Dustin's office in the beginning of session.
21:59And I said, we have judges in this town who are letting murderers out, rapists out, child sex offenders out, that we have hundreds and hundreds out on the street now that have committed violent crimes that should not be out.
22:15And he was amazed.
22:18He's from Lubbock.
22:19He said, we don't allow that in Lubbock.
22:22That doesn't happen.
22:24I think he said they had 12 murders in the last year in its entirety.
22:29So the fact that we were able to tell the story of Harris County and Houston to a rural speaker and with our friend John from the Panhandle who said, it doesn't impact me, but it impacts Harris County and Houston.
22:45And when it impacts the largest city in the state and the largest county in the state, and those criminals can go to other counties and travel across Texas and commit crimes, they stood up.
22:55At the same time, on this glorious day that we're standing up, there were two bills, Senate Bill S.J.R. 87 and S.J.R. 1 that did not pass.
23:08We were within what, two or three votes, Governor?
23:11Three votes.
23:12And he called out a name of a DA who let a murderer out.
23:18We've called out names of judges who don't even work and let murderers out.
23:24Now, I want the voters in these districts to call their Democrat members and say, Alma Allen, Enner Hernandez, Ann Johnson, Morales, Rosenthal, Simmons, Thompson, Wally, Ward, Hubert Vole, Gene Wu.
23:45Two, where are those Democrats to not stand for the crime victims in this county and in this city?
23:54Their voters, I challenge any of those who blocked S.J.R. 87 and S.J.R. 1, bring me five residents who think murders should be out on the street.
24:05Bring me five voters who say that illegal immigrants should be out on the street to kill little girls.
24:10You find me, those people, in those Democrat districts.
24:15Democrats stood in the Senate and the House to pass these bills.
24:18But these two important bills did not pass because we were three votes short.
24:25So the voters in Harris County and Houston and Fort Bend County, Ron Reynolds is another voters,
24:32they are the ones still letting illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes out,
24:38and they are still the ones letting people who are citizens of this country out on the streets to kill again.
24:45And we will not stop in the Senate.
24:47I know the governor will not stop until we pass S.J.R. 1 and S.J.R. 87.
24:52Whether it's in a special session or the next session,
24:55we will not stop until these criminals and these illegal immigrants who are here committing crimes
25:00and killing little girls under a bridge are put in jail forever and never let out and never let out on bail or bond.
25:06And we need their help, the Democrats in Harris County and Houston, to get those bills across the line.
25:21Now, Senator Huffman.
25:23Well, good afternoon.
25:25It's great to be here.
25:26And, you know, it's hard for me to talk about this.
25:30I usually get emotional because I guess from my days as a prosecutor and a judge,
25:34you know, when you work with victims and you sit in a courtroom and, you know,
25:40you have such courageous families who have to live and hear about what's happened to their precious children
25:48or their parents or their sisters or their mothers.
25:51And what strikes me about victims is there's this quiet courage and this belief in the system.
25:59And that's what always floored me is that how could they be so brave and so strong and sit there
26:06and listen to the worst details that you could ever imagine about someone they love so much.
26:11But they do it because they show up.
26:13And that's what the victims who fought for this reform did.
26:17They were quiet, courageous, and patient.
26:21I remember several times as this failed over the years and I kept passing it, I would make the plea,
26:27we are failing these folks.
26:30We are failing these victims' families.
26:32But I feel today that we have a measure of success.
26:36So my prayer is that what we've managed to accomplish does give these victims and their families at least some measure of peace
26:49and belief that the system is working for them and listening to them.
26:54I will say that it is really the honor of my life and so humbling to be in a position where I could be a voice for you.
27:07I tried to be a strong voice.
27:09We have had success.
27:10And in my heart, I believe that this will make a difference to the safety of people in Texas, to the victims.
27:17What started out as just a public kind of a change in policy as we started to see, you know, the crime numbers growing.
27:26Andy Kahn, you were so great about keeping the data and Crime Stoppers.
27:30But it kept growing and growing and then it became a quest to save lives, literally to save lives.
27:37And I do believe that what the governor has signed today will save lives.
27:43And so I'm going to say that that's a success.
27:47And I hope that the victims feel that way because I – but I will keep fighting for you and we'll keep fighting until we have a system that works for everyone, including the victims.
27:58So thank you very much.
27:59Thank you, governor.
27:59Representative Smithy.
28:09Well, thank you, governor.
28:10And I will say I've known Governor Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Patrick for a number of years and been involved in a number of issues and legislation with them.
28:18But I've never known either one of them to be as passionate about legislation as they were about this.
28:25And it was their hard work and determination to get this across the finish line that made it happen.
28:30So thank you all for what you did.
28:33And as Lieutenant Governor Patrick said, for the first time really in a while, we had a speaker in Speaker Burroughs who was determined to get this passed and worked hard to get it done.
28:45And I'll say this about Governor Abbott.
28:47But when we would get in negotiations, and we seemed to be at loggerheads, he would actually show up and try to get it resolved.
28:57I've never seen a governor do that, want to pass a bill so bad to get that done.
29:03And we appreciate you all staying with us.
29:06And Senator Huffman, when we first talked about this, she said, this is my baby.
29:10This is my – this is like a child to me.
29:13She said, please don't hurt my child.
29:15And when she said that, I knew that it had a special meaning to Senator Huffman, and it did.
29:23And so I told our colleague – and also I need to say one word about our colleagues in the House who are here today.
29:30We have several colleagues, but particularly Representative Louderback, Representative Cook, and Representative Little.
29:38We were all on the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee together.
29:41They – we would have never gotten this bill passed, I can tell you, in the Texas House without their just tireless work on getting this done.
29:50We had to get a lot of votes to get this passed, and we didn't have them, and then we were able to get them.
29:55And so their work was extremely important.
29:58I told – you know, I always said this bill was not about me or it was not about Senator Huffman or even the governor or lieutenant governor.
30:05It was always about the victims and their families, and it's their bill.
30:11And, you know, I told our colleagues it's not every day you get to work on a bill that will save lives.
30:16But I've also said that if we – if this legislation changes one – or it saves one little girl's life or one mother or one grandmother or one son or one father,
30:31every trip that these victims and their families made to Austin, every hour that they sat there patiently waiting to testify,
30:40every minute that they sat watching House proceedings and Senate proceedings, every one of those minutes will be worth it to save one more life, and it will do that.
30:51And so I would just say now, get to work.
30:54We've got to get this passed in November.
30:56It's got – SJR 5 has to pass the voters.
31:01But, you know, the voters on these types of things seem to have clearer eyes sometimes than the legislature does.
31:07And I predict this is going to pass overwhelmingly, and our goal, I think, should be around 90%.
31:14If we can get 90%, we're doing good.
31:21So, back in the 1990s, I was a state district judge in Harris County.
31:34And in about 1994, I was fed up with what were easy parole policies.
31:43And I got to know a man named Andy Kahn.
31:47Was that three decades ago?
31:49Who was still in kindergarten at the time, I think.
31:54He never changed it.
31:56And we worked with a woman and some others to form an organization called Justice for All in an early effort to combat the types of challenges that we're combating today.
32:08So, I know firsthand, what, 90, oh, is that three or four decades, whatever it is.
32:15Yes, three decades.
32:16Three decades.
32:17Going on to work.
32:18So, Andy has been in this fight for three decades.
32:24No one knows as much about it, is involved or cares as much, or has as much institutional knowledge about waging this fight.
32:32And I'm proud to be able to call him a friend and introduce him at this time.
32:38Thank you, guys.
32:49Tough to follow that intro.
32:50My name is Andy Kahn.
32:54I'm the Director of Victim Services for Crime Stoppers of Houston.
32:58Let me say, a lot of people in this room said, you know, we've never seen you smile.
33:05Guess what?
33:07Today's the day.
33:09I'm smiling.
33:09I first met Amy Castillo, and she sent me a Facebook message after her brother was murdered.
33:26And as Amy tells it, I was shocked you responded.
33:31I respond.
33:33I told Amy I was going to take a deep dive into the suspect that was charged with her brother's murder.
33:39And what I uncovered was shocking and disturbing.
33:45I had to tell Amy her brother was murdered by the defendant the very same day he failed to appear in court to have a GPS put on his ankle.
34:00Keep that in mind.
34:01He failed to appear in court and murdered Amy's brother that very same day.
34:07I had to tell Amy the defendant was also out on bond for aggravated robbery in Fort Bend County.
34:17And despite being on bond for aggravated robbery in Fort Bend County, he was allowed to post two more felony bonds in Harris County.
34:25I had to tell her that after the defendant was charged with capital murder on her brother that, you know, most capital murder defendants don't get out.
34:36It rarely happens.
34:38I was wrong.
34:39The last several years, I have had the privilege of watching Amy Castillo grow into her role as a voice for victims.
34:53This year, for the first time, she testified in support of the very bills that Governor Abbott signed today.
35:03Chairman Smithy, when you stated on the floor that even though these bills have our names on it, the bills belong to victims and surviving families.
35:18And on behalf of my constituents, we deeply appreciated your statement.
35:27I promised, I made a promise to Amy that her brother, Joshua Sandoval, would be a catalyst for change.
35:37Promise kept.
35:51Hello.
35:52My name is Amy Castillo.
35:55I come here today because my brother's life matters.
35:58His name is Joshua Sandoval.
36:01As we became adults, life pulled us in different directions.
36:04But when he met the one whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, we were happy.
36:10Then came May 27, 2021.
36:13The day that happiness was stolen from us.
36:17On that day, a man already out on two felony bonds decided my brother would not get to live out his life when he shot Josh in the heart.
36:27On that day, the offender was supposed to appear in court for violating his bond conditions.
36:32He failed to appear in court the very same day he killed my brother.
36:38And as if losing Josh wasn't enough, we were forced to endure even more injustice when we encountered the revolving door at the Harris County Courthouse.
36:49This man, charged with a capital murder while out on multiple felony bonds, was offered another bond.
36:56How is this possible?
36:59How is this justice?
37:01There is something deeply, tragically wrong with this system that gives repeat violent felony offenders chance after chance,
37:09while families like mine are given a life sentence of grief.
37:13Our family was shocked when the defendant posted a bond for capital murder, despite already being on bond for two felonies.
37:22To add further insert to injury, Andy Kahn told us he was also out on bond in Fort Bend County for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.
37:32This is the legal definition of insanity.
37:35To add more insult to injury, this offender was charged with another capital murder in Galveston County.
37:42Once again, he was given a bond for capital murder, and once again, he posted bond.
37:49I ask myself, why, in our great state, are we allowing victim families to suffer again and again?
37:58Why do more people have to die before bail reform legislation is passed?
38:02I cannot bring my brother back.
38:06As much as I want to, I cannot.
38:09But what I can do is use every ounce of what is left in my heart to fight.
38:14To fight for Josh.
38:16To fight for other families walking in our shoes.
38:20I am proud to have played a small role in getting these bills passed.
38:25I am proud to tell my brother he became a catalyst for change.
38:30We have formed Texas Crime Victims United, an organization to speak on behalf of families like mine and so many others.
38:40I encourage everyone here to join our movement.
38:44Last, I would like to thank the governor, the lieutenant governor, Senator Huffman, and Chairman Smithy for their leadership on getting these bills passed.
39:00Amy, your story puts a punctuation point on why these reforms, this legislation, this constitutional amendment were needed.
39:19You also made another point that's very important.
39:22You talk about the organization that you have organized, that you are advancing, and that you're urging others to support.
39:28That's in recognition of the reality.
39:31This fight is not over.
39:32We have to continue this fight.
39:35And the last thing I'll say is this.
39:38And that is, there was a litmus test for every elected member in the Texas Capitol this session.
39:46Do they stand for and fight for the citizens in their district or the criminals who kill them?
39:59Many pass that test.
40:01Some fail that test.
40:03Those who fail that test will face their own reckoning.
40:07Amen.
40:08But that, we'll be happy to take a few questions.
40:10Governor Abbott, we heard the Lieutenant Governor talk a little bit about those two constitutional amendments that didn't get passed.
40:17When looking through the totality of Delaware foreign section, what are your thoughts?
40:20Do you see a potential where you were special to try to take the stat at some of those constitutional amendments?
40:25Yeah.
40:26First, I'll tell you this.
40:27And that is, if you go back to my state of the state address, if you go back to what I talked about.
40:35When I was here with Rania a few months ago, talking about the constitutional amendment that we wanted to get passed,
40:44what I was talking about in both of those episodes and many others was what was contained in Senate Joint Resolution 5 that I signed today.
40:52So the bail reform that I campaigned on and got passed is exactly what I wanted to turn into law.
40:59As others here, whether it be Senator Huffman, Representative Smithy, some of the state reps behind me,
41:07they know that around the same time we reached agreement on this, we realized, you know what, there are some other ideas we would like to also get passed.
41:18They had a late start.
41:20They didn't begin as early as my state of the state address or even before that.
41:23So perhaps they need a little bit more time to come to fruition.
41:28But to specifically answer your question, you can be assured that those other proposals, as Schwarzenegger would say, they're going to be back.
41:41And we are not done yet.
41:43Governor, can I add something?
41:49None of this would happen today without the victims' families.
41:53But none of this would happen today without the governor taking the lead.
41:59And I know his heart on this issue.
42:03I know his mind on this issue.
42:06And whenever it happens, these members, many of them representatives from the Houston and Harris County area,
42:17they will be held accountable for their votes for criminals instead of victims.
42:23So whenever it happens, he will lead, we will lead, and trust me, it will happen.
42:29Governor, last time you read this book, you said that S.J.R. 5 should require defendants to prove they're not a danger to the community.
42:42Earlier, the way it ended up is prosecutors have to prove they're not, that these people are a danger to the community.
42:50To be quite specific about what happened, I sat in a conference room with some of the people at this table and some of the people standing behind me.
43:11And we debated that issue for hours.
43:15And my recollection of that discussion is never before had they seen a burden put on a defendant to be able to prove that,
43:25especially in a situation where they may be unrepresented and be required to compromise their Fifth Amendment rights.
43:32And so what we decided to do instead was to adopt a standard that was derived from what is used in federal law that prosecutors deal with all the time.
43:46I mean, what they've got to show is pretty easy, to be honest, and that is a person accused of murder is a danger to the community.
43:55Not hard.
43:56But here's the important part that I knew was coming, and that is even with that burden,
44:02there's going to be some leftist judge, progressive judge in Harris County who still may grant bail.
44:08The prosecutor, unlike before, now has the right to immediately appeal that disgusting decision.
44:16And while that appeal is undertaken, that criminal is going to remain behind bars.
44:20And we are going to be assured we're going to get a good appellate judge or even court of criminal appeals judge
44:27who's going to take the action needed to make sure that these dangerous criminals remain off our streets.
44:34Thank you, sir.
44:41We're here today talking about accountability.
44:43There are thousands of stores across the state of Texas that sell THC's and small products.
44:48What do you think of that is, and what do you think is a good thing that Texas can go in and buy these products today?
44:54So you're talking about SB3, and it is one of literally more than 1,000 bills on my desk,
45:00all of which need my careful consideration and evaluation,
45:05and I will give all of those pieces of legislation the consideration and time that they deserve.
45:11As a dad, how do you feel about the fact that you're going to introduce?
45:14Yeah, very nice twist to the question.
45:16You're still not going to get an answer.
45:19Last question.
45:20Quite talented.
45:21What's the points that opponents have brought up?
45:23Sherman, I'll come back to you.
45:24Okay, please.
45:26One of the points that opponents have brought up about this is that many facilities are already overriding.
45:31There's too many people that are inside the facility right now.
45:35So what will people expect to see with the assumption that there may be more people now that are going to be the facilities?
45:40So we had the good fortune of having in our meeting room, in our debate room, a sheriff, A.G. Lauderback,
45:50who weighed in on that, went through the calculation of what this would mean to jails across the state of Texas,
45:56was in contact with the Sheriff's Association and other officials around the state of Texas,
46:01to do the calculation, and we feel that the jails will be capable of doing that to the extent they're not.
46:13We as a state will be capable to respond to that and make sure they do have the resources they need.
46:18We as a state understand it's a priority to keep dangerous, murderous criminals off the streets.
46:24We're willing to pay the governmental price to make sure we keep those people behind bars
46:28because it means that much to the safety of our citizens.
46:31Sure, ma'am.
46:32Thank you, Governor.
46:34You, Senator Huff and others, referenced the ongoing efforts to finally get bail reform across the ministry,
46:41as you said.
46:42Only a few years ago, I mean, there was real movement to defund police departments, Austin and elsewhere.
46:48What do you think was the rich didn't change to get this bail reform to where it is today?
46:55People are getting tired of being killed.
46:58It's simply that.
47:00People are being slaughtered in Harris County
47:03and by people that government already has confined and then released.
47:10I'll use a line that I told these members as I was fighting for this.
47:15If a crime occurs for the first time, we might be able to consider that to be a societal problem.
47:24If a criminal gets arrested, a dangerous criminal, and gets confined and then is released back on the streets
47:32and then another vicious crime occurs, that goes beyond a societal problem.
47:37That's a governance problem.
47:39And what was needed here was a correction of governance to make sure our system was no longer broken
47:47and we would keep these people behind bars.
47:55Thank you all very much.
47:56But the biggest thanks goes to, for one, the victims, the families who stood up,
48:03and most of all, to God Almighty for serving us all.
48:33Thank you very much.