Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that makes changes to the money bail system.

Highlights:

• Requires all defendants to be taken before a magistrate without unnecessary delay (Sec. 4).

• Authorizes the individual or entity in charge of a jail to approve and sign a pretrial release order without the collection of money bail (Sec. 8).

• Requires the Department of Corrections to conduct a risk assessment of individuals before they are released without bail (Sec. 8).

• Prohibits defendants in violent felony cases from being released from jail before seeing a judge or magistrate (Sec. 8).

• Establishes that if no pretrial report is available for an individual, they are to be released without bail under the terms of a pretrial agreement (Sec. 8).

• Authorizes judges and magistrates to set money bail for individuals who they reasonably believe will not likely appear in court as required (Sec. 8).

• Prohibits judges from setting bail that results in detention due to an individual’s inability to pay bail (Sec. 14).

• Authorizes prosecuting attorneys to file a motion for pretrial detention if (Sec. 16):

• The defendant is charged with a capital crime;

• The defendant is charged with a violent felony;

• Any relevant history corresponds to a likely result of bodily harm to others; or

• There is no set of conditions that would reasonably assure the safety of the threatened individual.

• Requires each county to establish a pretrial services agency (Sec. 27).

• Prohibits pretrial risk assessments from factoring into their reports a defendant’s race, national origin, immigration status, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or prior criminal history (Sec. 29).

Full Bill Text