A new bill intended to allow more low-level offenders to be released from jail without paying bail has been proposed in the Texas Senate and House this legislative session. SB 1338, proposed by Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston) and Rep. Andrew Murr (R-Junction), would create an automated risk-assessment system that judges would be required to follow to determine whether the offender is either a significant flight risk or a danger to the community. It would also require the judges to release this decision within 48 hours of the arrest.

Never have I been more proud to be a Texan than when I heard about this, or had as high an opinion of a Houstonian as I now do of Sen. Whitmire.

This bill would simultaneously solve a lot of problems. Practically, this would reduce costs, which befall taxpayers. In Travis county, for example, it costs an average of $126.38 to lock up one person for one day, according to the Houston Chronicle. In other areas of the state, it’s an even larger cost. These things add up, and no one should want to continue to pay these costs if the end result – an offender showing up in court for the hearing – is exactly the same.

However, the real problems that would be solved by this bill, the ones that bring shame to our criminal justice system as a whole by their very existence, go much deeper than taxes and dollar amounts.

Low-income people are much less likely to be able to pay their bail, no matter how small the amounts placed upon them. Sen. Whitmire, in an interview with the Texas Tribune, said “You should not be held in jail ‘cause you can’t afford to get out.” He is exactly right. Our current jail system locks people up based more on their socioeconomic status than their danger to society.

It is imperative that Texas begin to tackle this issue. Low-level offenders, primarily the poor, often incur debt because of the excessive bail that judges place on them. Bail bondsmen make easy money preying on this kind of discriminatory practice – for example, the average premium rate on a bail bond is 10%, according to Texas Bail Bonds.

Often, a poor person who is jailed for a low-level offense cannot risk the loss of his or her job by missing work while in jail and are essentially forced to either take out these toxic bonds or plead guilty, regardless of whether or not they actually committed the crime.

This bill is not a panacea for Texas’ problems with equal treatment of its citizens under the law, but it is a step in the right direction.

This bill will not change the fact that, if you are a minority, you are more likely to be arrested and charged with a crime, nor will it change the fact that the rich are able to afford the best lawyers and go to jail much, much less.

But by refusing to allow low-risk, low-level offenders to suffer jail time solely because of their inability to post bail, Texans can rest easy knowing their criminal justice system is moving one step closer to being that which we all deserve: just.