The Texas Legislature passed a bill on May 28 that could pave the way for locally elected prosecutors to be removed from office for misconduct if they fail to enforce certain laws.
House Bill 17 (pdf) was introduced by Republican state Sen. Joan Huffman earlier this year and it passed the Senate Sunday in a 20–11 vote after passing both legislative houses in April.
It now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk to be signed into law.
Under the legislation, Texas residents who have lived in a county for at least six months may file a petition against a prosecuting attorney accusing them of misconduct if the top local prosecutor fails to “prosecute a class or type of criminal offense under state law,” or if they instruct law enforcement to “refuse to arrest individuals suspected of committing a class or type of offense under state law.”…