Relating to the use by a political subdivision of public funds to pay bail bonds; authorizing injunctive relief.

Contracts

• Grant Amendments: All existing multi-year agreements with social service nonprofits extending past Sept 1, 2025, must be amended immediately. There are no grandfather clauses for existing contracts.
• Restrictive Covenants: Insert mandatory language in all future MSAs and grant awards: *"Funds provided under this agreement are strictly prohibited from being used, directly or indirectly, for the payment of bail bonds pursuant to Texas Local Government Code Sec. 140.014."*
• Indemnification: Update indemnity clauses to require the nonprofit vendor to cover the political subdivision's legal defense costs if a taxpayer suit arises from the vendor's misuse of funds.

Hiring/Training

• Accounts Payable Controls: Finance staff must be trained to flag invoices from nonprofits known to operate bail funds. Implement a "hard stop" in AP software for these vendors requiring secondary legal review before payment release.
• Budget Officers: Staff preparing the FY 2025-2026 budget must scrub "indigent defense" and "pretrial services" line items to ensure no allocations violate this statute.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Fund Segregation: Nonprofits receiving public funds for administrative services (e.g., counseling, housing) while separately operating a bail fund must maintain rigid, auditable segregation of accounts. Commingling public funds with bail capital is now a liability trigger.
• Invoice Itemization: Invoices submitted to political subdivisions must move away from "General Support" descriptions. Require detailed itemization proving funds were applied to allowable operational costs only.

Fees & Costs

• Litigation Risk: While there are no new state fees, the statute mandates the award of reasonable attorney's fees and court costs to any resident who successfully sues for an injunction. This creates a high financial incentive for plaintiff's attorneys to police your expenditures.