Austin News

The Texas House of Representatives’ Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee received mostly favorable testimony on March 25 for legislation that bears the name of a 46-year-old black man who died in Minneapolis police custody last May.

There were 198 people who signed up or gave testimony in support of the George Floyd Act, while only 30 people signed up or gave testimony in opposition to the bill.

The George Floyd Act, or House Bill 88, is a comprehensive police reform measure related to interactions between law enforcement and individuals detained or arrested on suspicion of the commission of criminal offenses, witnesses to the commission of those offenses, and other members of the public, and to peace officer liability for those interactions, and to the confinement, conviction or release of detained or arrested individuals.

The bill was introduced on Nov. 9, authored by Democratic representatives Senfronia Thompson, Harold Dutton, Yvonne Davis, Garnet Coleman, and Nicole Collier. The bill has drawn 20 co-authors from the state House.

Thompson (D-Houston) insisted the legislation does not intend to “defund the police.”

“I don't think they make enough money for what we ask them to do," she said on the House floor. "But those who do it, they ought to be paid better but held accountable as well.”

The Houston Republic reported that a recent University of Houston poll found that the vast majority of Texans support criminal justice reform, including many of the provisions of the George Floyd Act. This includes a requirement for officers to intervene if they observe another using excessive force (91% support), limits on the immunity of police officers from civil lawsuits (72%), expanding law enforcement training related to conflict de-escalation and the use of force (90%) and ending arrests for fine-only offenses (74%).