After nearly six hours of testimony, the Senate Criminal Justice Committee earlier tonight voted the Committee Substitute for SB 5 and HB 8 favorably out of the Committee. Chairman John Whitmire noted that he had significant reservations about the proposal, but allowed the bill to proceed on the basis of assurances from Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, who testified for the bill at today's hearing, and the bill's sponsor, Robert Deuell, a member of the committee, that CSSB 5 is a work in process and that all senators and stakeholders will continue discussions on further altering the bill.
CSSB 5 and HB 8 are Jessica's Law proposals with a death penalty component.
The text of CSSB 5 was made available during the hearing,and there was considerable confusion during the hearing as to the exact details in the revised proposal.
Senator Rodney Ellis voted no on the motion to approve the proposal, and Senator Juan Hinojosa voted present and not voting. The other five members of the Committee voted for the motion to approve the bill. It's expected that significant changes may be drafted before senators agree to bring the measure to the Senate floor.
I expect that we will see a good deal of press coverage of the hearing tomorrow, and I will link to the that as quickly as possible in the morning. You can view the hearing at this LINK.
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