Debtors’ prisons aren’t legal. Authorities are not supposed to be able to lock up individuals who can’t afford to pay their fines—unless they “willfully refuse.” This is where the gray area forms, where poor people go to jail when they can’t afford the fines for minor offenses. Thousands of people are being jailed for fines they can’t afford to pay—and at least one nonprofit organization in Texas hopes to end that.

The Texas Organizing Project (TOP) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, which means it’s allowed to advocate and lobby as its main activity, unlike the more familiar 501(c)(3) charities. The organization has proposed a bill for the City of Houston that would improve how poor people are treated in municipal court. These offenses are particularly aimed at Class C misdemeanor cases, such as traffic violations.

Various bills regarding debtors’ prisons are being tackled in the Texas legislature. In the meantime, TOP is leading the way in Texas’ largest city. If successful in this part of criminal justice reform, they just may be a model for other advocacy organizations to follow.

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