Senate Bill 6 (Damon Allen Act)

During the Second Special Session in the 2021 Legislative Session, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 6 (known as the Damon Allen Act, after a trooper killed in the line of duty in 2017), which was then signed into law by Gov. Abbott on September 13, 2021. 

The bill significantly changed the process for setting bail by giving magistrates better information about a defendant, including their criminal history and any required bond conditions, prohibiting release of a defendant on a personal bond in certain situations, and increasing educational requirements for magistrates.

Training Requirements

Article 17.024 of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires all magistrates, as defined by Article 2.09 of the Code of Criminal Procedure , who set bail for any offense punishable as a Class B misdemeanor or higher-level offense to complete an eight-hour course on magistration and related duties within 90 days after taking office. Thereafter, judges must complete a two-hour continuing education course during each subsequent state biennium. These requirements are also incorporated into Rule 14 of the Rules of Judicial Education.

TCJ is making the training available to all judges, however, it is up to each individual judge to determine if these requirements apply to them.

TCJ 8 Hour Course

TCJ has developed an 8 hour course called Bail and Magistration Education which satisfies the education requirements of Article 17.024. After completing the course, judges must sign and return the MCLE credit form to [email protected]. TCJ reports the names of judges who have turned in the MCLE form to the Office of Court Administration on a quarterly basis.

Register for Bail Course

OCA Online Resources

The Office of Court Administration has additional resources available to assist you in navigating the requirements of Automon and the Public Safety Report System (PSRS).  If you have further questions about SB6 implementation, you can contact OCA at [email protected]

OCA Bail Homepage

PSRS Online Help


Contact David Ocean at [email protected]