State Senators expressed bipartisan disapproval Wednesday of an unpopular program that levies large surcharges on drivers for traffic offenses, with several calling for broad changes or scrapping it entirely. 

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This month, Fort Hood – one of the largest military installations in the world – and federal prosecutors are piloting a veterans’ treatment court.

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Policy Background:

Probation is a critical alternative to incarceration, where people can access community-based services while being held accountable for meeting strict requirements. Rigorous supervision can ensure people are adhering to treatment regimens and housing and employment requirements, all of which help lower rates of reoffending.

Policy Background:

Texas’ state jail system, created in 1993, was originally intended to divert certain individuals from crowded prisons and provide them rehabilitative assistance. However, people sentenced to state jail facilities have extremely limited access to treatment and programming options, and typically have no post-release supervision. As a result, state jail releasees have the highest rates of re-arrest and re-incarceration among returning populations.

Texas' Driver Responsibility Program imposes surcharges on drivers for traffic violations from speeding and accidents to driving while intoxicated or without a license.

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Policy Background:

Law enforcement officers are permitted to arrest people for violations that do not have jail time as a punishment. Such offenses include minor traffic violations (e.g., speeding, registration issues, seatbelt violations, failure to signal a turn, etc.) and other nonviolent offenses (e.g., noise violations, littering, child support violations, etc.).

Texas Puts Money in Taxpayer Pockets, Needs to Spend Better

Texans will save an estimated $92 million when shopping for school supplies during this weekend’s “tax free” days. Everyone enjoys a good discount, and that money will help families buy their kids the learning tools they need. But Texas faces a big budget shortfall this year thanks to lower gas prices. State leaders will be looking for more efficient, less costly ways to fix roads, fund schools, and secure our communities while still giving money like this back to taxpayers.

More than 90,000 fathers will be living in a Texas prison on Father’s Day this year.  Some of them will soon be coming home.  The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition calls for changes that will give those families a fighting chance at success.

Each year, over 70,000 people are released from Texas’ prison system.  More than half have actually completed their sentence, are not under supervision, and get little or no help as they try to reestablish their lives.  

An underused 2007 state law offered police officers the option of writing citations for certain low-level offenses rather than hauling suspects to jail. The point was to keep cops on the street and avoid burning up valuable hours processing defendants for misdemeanors like marijuana possession or graffiti.

Read the rest of this editorial at The Dallas Morning News.

A Republican state lawmaker is hoping to decriminalize Texas students’ learning experience. Rep. James White’s bill, will decriminalize truancy laws and require schools to find a way to incentivize attendance and student learning.

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