AUSTIN — Rachel McGruder, a Waco mother of two children, ages 15 and 12, had just started a new job when she was arrested and sentenced to 30 days in county jail in 2016 for unpaid tickets she’s racked up behind the wheel. 

“I was never offered community service,” McGruder said. “I lost my job while I was in there.”

Like thousands of other Texans who can’t afford to pay traffic fines or other citations, she kept driving to keep her job, resulting in more tickets and fines. 

“What we’re seeing across the state is, when low-income people are unable to pay fines and costs, consequences quickly escalate,” said Mary Mergler, criminal justice project director for Texas Appleseed, an Austin-based public-interest justice center. “Low-income people are being punished more severely because of their poverty.”

Two bills that are working their way through committees in the Capitol in Austin would make changes in courts’ handling of defendants in such cases, something one lawmaker said will help break the cycle of non-payment and debt.

“Courts cannot collect fines from people who don’t have any money,” said state Rep. James White, R-Hillister, author of House Bill 3729. “Something’s got to give.”

His proposal is designed to hold defendants accountable while avoiding the cycle of debt, job loss and jail time. 

In 2015, courts issued over 2.9 million warrants for failing to appear or failing to pay fine-only tickets.

Charles Cannon, an executive at OmniBase Services of Texas, was the only flat-out opponent to White’s proposal at a Monday House hearing.

“I’m against the bill as written,” Cannon said.

Cannon is an executive at OmniBase Services of Texas, which is contracts to maintain and administer the database for cities and counties that use the Department of Public Safety’s failure to appear program. 

Cannon did not return a call on Tuesday requesting elaboration.

More than 230,000 people are unable to get or renew their licenses until they pay off their tickets, and more than 370,000 vehicles cannot be registered until the owners’ tickets are paid, according to Appleseed data.

Texas courts routinely jail those who can’t pay their tickets, sometimes for months. 

Emily Gerrick, an attorney for the Texas Fair Defense Project, was able to get McGruder out of jail after a week, and clear her outstanding tickets, getting her credit for time served.

McGruder estimated that her tickets, fees and interest totaled about $14,000.

“It’s expensive to be poor,” Gerrick said. “It’s easy to keep adding fees.”

White’s bill also proposes releasing people from jail after being held for tickets over three days, then giving full jail credit for the amount owed.

The bill would also allow qualified low-income people to register their vehicles and get their licenses, even if they are unable to pay their fines.

It would also help rectify another common problem: drivers’ reluctance to  go to court and take of care of tickets for fear of getting arrested. 

That leads to tickets for failing to appear and more warrants. 

“It’s a fantastic piece of legislation,” said Ted Wood, an assistant public defender with the Harris County Public Defender’s Office. “It’s just a bad idea to prosecute people of limited means.”

Bill Gravell, a Williamson County justice of the peace, testified in favor of the measure. 

Gravell chairs the Justice of the Peace and Constables Association legislative council, which supports the bill. 

There would “not be much of a fiscal impact to the state of Texas,” to  implement the proposed changes, Gravell said. 

Gerrick said that’s because if drivers have a way to do something within their means, they will pay.

Other key provisions: requiring courts to notify people about their options for alternatives to full payment if they are unable to pay their tickets in full. 

The bill would also expand community service options, waive non-punitive court costs and reduce fines for qualified low-income people. 

A similar Senate bill was set for a Tuesday committee hearing.

Marc Levin, director of the Center for Effective Justice & Right on Crime at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an Austin think tank, testified in support of the bill during a Monday committee hearing, saying “clearly, it’s the right thing” to do.

“We’re talking about Class C, not more-serious offenses,” Levin said. “This bill’s going to have a positive impact.” 

Mcgruder, who now has her children back and is working at a call center, agreed. 

Without legal intervention, “It probably would have took me 20 years,” to pay off the tickets, McGruder said.

John Austin covers the Texas Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach him at jaustin@cnhi.com