HB 20 and SB 21 are bad bail bills in the Texas House of Representatives and Senate that would:

• Increase pretrial detention by eliminating moneyless bonds for several categories of alleged crimes. Being ineligible for a personal bond means that an individual will be required to pay a cash bond in order to be released from jail.
• Invert the presumption of innocence. Disqualifying someone from pretrial release forces people to prove their innocence BEFORE a trial. They are presumed guilty.
• Increase poverty-driven jailing, especially of Black and Brown Texans. 68% of Texas' jail population is presumed innocent, awaiting trial behind bars. They can't reunite with their family because they can't afford the price tag on their freedom, their cash bail.
• Eliminates the ability of most charitable bail funds to bail out vulnerable Texans while protecting the bail industry
• Require biased risk assessment tools that discriminate against poor people and conflate disabilities with risk.
• Increase recidivism. Studies show that detaining people before trial increases recidivism rates even after controlling for factors such as demographics and criminal history.

We're asking you to do two things to stop these bills:

1. Add your name to this petition. To tell them to vote against HB 20 and SB 21.
2. Call your representative and tell them to oppose HB 20 and SB 21!

Don’t know who your representative is?

Find your Rep. here: https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home

Find their # here: https://txdirectory.com/online/txhouse/ #txlege

We must stop the expansion of for-profit bail in Texas and preserve our right to presumptive innocence. Help us by signing the petition.

Click here to join our movement for liberation, not mass incarceration.