| 1 | | - | By: Huffman, et al. S.B. No. 40 |
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| 3 | | - | |
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| 1 | + | By: Huffman, Bettencourt, Kolkhorst S.B. No. 40 |
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| 2 | + | (In the Senate - Filed February 7, 2025; February 7, 2025, |
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| 3 | + | read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice; |
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| 4 | + | February 13, 2025, reported favorably by the following vote: |
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| 5 | + | Yeas 6, Nays 0; February 13, 2025, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | + | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 4 | 7 | | |
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| 5 | 8 | | |
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| 6 | 9 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 7 | 10 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 11 | | relating to the use by a political subdivision of public funds to |
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| 9 | 12 | | pay bail bonds. |
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| 10 | 13 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 14 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 140, Local Government Code, is amended |
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| 12 | 15 | | by adding Section 140.014 to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 16 | | Sec. 140.014. RESTRICTION ON USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS BY |
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| 14 | 17 | | POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS TO PAY BAIL BONDS. (a) A political |
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| 15 | 18 | | subdivision may not spend public funds to pay a nonprofit |
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| 16 | 19 | | organization that accepts and uses donations from the public to |
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| 17 | 20 | | deposit money with a court in the amount of a defendant's bail bond. |
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| 18 | 21 | | (b) If a political subdivision engages in an activity |
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| 19 | 22 | | prohibited by Subsection (a), a taxpayer or resident of the |
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| 20 | 23 | | political subdivision is entitled to appropriate injunctive relief |
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| 21 | 24 | | to prevent further activity prohibited by that subsection and |
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| 22 | 25 | | further payment of public funds related to that activity. |
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| 23 | 26 | | (c) A taxpayer or resident who prevails in an action under |
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| 24 | 27 | | Subsection (b) is entitled to recover from the political |
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| 25 | 28 | | subdivision the taxpayer's or resident's reasonable attorney's fees |
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| 26 | 29 | | and costs incurred in bringing the action. |
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| 27 | 30 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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