Our new report details how The Bail Project secured historic Texas constitutional protections in Texas despite an aggressive legislative push to expand pretrial incarceration
Texas is known for doing everything big, but when it comes to the state’s pretrial system, bigger hasn’t meant better. Texas’s outsized pretrial system has led to overcrowded jails and enormous costs for taxpayers. On any given day, nearly 70% of people in the Texas jails are legally innocent and awaiting trial, at a cost of more than $1.1 billion annually.
Our latest report, “Behind the Bill: The Fight for Pretrial Reform in Texas,” takes an inside look at the strategic advocacy campaign that rose to meet this challenge. The report documents the coordinated tactics – ranging from grassroots mobilization to media engagement – used by The Bail Project and the Texas Pretrial Justice Coalition to shift the narrative and secure historic due process protections for Texans.
A Battlefield for Due Process
In 2025, Texas lawmakers advanced a slate of constitutional amendments and bills that threatened to expand pretrial detention, entrench cash bail, and limit judicial discretion.
In response, The Bail Project along with the Texas Pretrial Justice Coalition educated lawmakers, mobilized constituents, and engaged the media to counter misinformation and underscore the real-world consequences of these proposals: more legally innocent people jailed, increased reliance on unfair cash bail, higher costs for taxpayers, and communities that are ultimately less safe.
These advocacy efforts helped secure historic constitutional protections that appropriately limit the use of pretrial detention – balancing community safety with fairness and accountability, and safeguarding the rights of legally innocent Texans.
What’s Next?
The conclusion of the 2025 session marks a watershed moment for Texas – but the work is far from over. The Bail Project remains committed to monitoring implementation of the new laws to ensure they are enforced as intended.
This campaign forged a new path forward, laying a strong foundation for future pretrial progress in Texas and offering a blueprint for justice that can inspire change far beyond the state’s borders.
Thank you for reading and your willingness to engage in a complicated and urgent issue. In addition to providing immediate relief by offering bail assistance, we at The Bail Project are working to advance systemic change. Policy change doesn’t happen without the support of people like you. If you found value in this article, please consider taking action today by donating.
