CLEAT Delivers Big Wins in the 89th Session

The 89th Legislative Session is officially in the books—and it was a BIG win for Texas law enforcement. CLEAT took the fight to the Capitol and delivered, achieving nearly all of our legislative goals and shutting down harmful policies that would have threatened the profession and quality of life of law enforcement officers across the state. From defending rights and pensions to safeguarding privacy, reputation, working conditions, and officer safety—CLEAT always fights hard for law enforcement across Texas. Here’s a look at what we accomplished this session.

Another priority for CLEAT was to address the misuse of the deadly conduct statute by rogue District Attorneys across the State. The current deadly conduct statute is overly broad, and DAs were able to secure indictments against officers in cases they were unable to indict on other charges simply due to its broad scope. Representative Cole Hefner and Senator Phil King passed SB 1637, which removes the reckless presumption for law enforcement acting in the course and scope of their duties. We believe this is a solid step in the right direction with regard to preventing DAs from being able to secure indictments and convictions against officers who were simply doing their job. It’s an absolute disgrace that we have officers who are facing prison time for acting exactly as they were trained. We are grateful for the passage of SB 1637 and the legislators who carried it to a successful conclusion.

We were also able to get SB 2570 to the finish line thanks to the hard work and dedication of Representative Guillen and his staff, as well as Senator Flores. This piece of legislation provides a defense to prosecution for the deployment of less-than-lethal weapons in the course and scope of an officer’s duties. Like SB 1637, this was much-needed legislation that provides an officer with the ability to legally defend themselves when acting in their official capacity. As you recall, many CLEAT members were indicted after the 2020 riots for using less-than-lethal force. While those charges were later dropped, it was not lost on the legislature that these officers suffered tremendously because of the indictments, and they fixed the issue. Another win for Texas law enforcement!

CLEAT was also front and center in the fight for real bail reform this session, which resulted in the passage of several bills that will crack down on the release of repeat offenders and reduce the number of low/no bonds issued by magistrates. We collaborated with Houston Crime Stoppers and the Governor’s Office to assist in the push to pass this critical piece of legislation.

Victims from across the State testified on how the justice/judicial system let them down and resulted in the preventable deaths of their family members. CLEAT testified on the bill as well, supported the families’ testimony, and reiterated how these violent repeat offenders place law enforcement officers in grave danger each day. We would like to thank Senator Huffman for her leadership and dedication to this issue, as well as many other criminal justice issues.

CLEAT Pres Scott Leeton with Governor Greg Abbott at bail reform bill signing.

The CLEAT legislative team, led by Deputy Executive Director Jennifer Szimanski, was also successful in passing legislation related to workers’ compensation, LECOS retirement benefits, copper theft, jugging, and other officer safety related items. 

Lastly, our team was able to kill a few detrimental pieces of legislation that would have had a lasting negative impact on our members. Almost every session, your ability to participate in dues deduction comes under attack. Although this had not been filed in the last two sessions, it resurfaced, and we were ready! While the bill did not ultimately pass, we were able to work with Senator Parker and stakeholders on the opposite side of the issue to ensure our members would not have been impacted by the bill and that they were explicitly carved out. We also fought off a TMRS bill that had the potential to negatively impact law enforcement retirees. This was a long, drawn-out battle, but again we would like to mention and thank Senator Parker for working with us on the issue and for his continued support for law enforcement. Our team fought off several anti-labor bills as well as attacks on Class C arrest and oversight issues.

All in all, this was a great legislative session for CLEAT and our members, and we would like to acknowledge and thank those of you who participated.

“This was one of the strongest, most successful legislative sessions CLEAT has had in years,” said CLEAT Executive Director Robert Leonard. “Our Legislative team worked tirelessly at the Capitol and alongside lawmakers on behalf of Texas law enforcement, while our locals made sure their voices rang loud and clear. Together, as a united front, we secured new victories that protect the rights, safety, and future of those who wear the badge.”

We look forward to sharing more on the session later this month and will present at the Annual Convention in McAllen!