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H.R. 2233: Bail Fairness Act of 2019

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The text of the bill below is as of Apr 10, 2019 (Introduced).

I

116th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 2233

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 10, 2019

(for himself and Mr. Evans) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To require that States release persons charged with a misdemeanor on non-monetary conditions only prior to court adjudication.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Bail Fairness Act of 2019.

2.

No monetary conditions of release to be applied to persons charged with misdemeanors

Section 501 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10152) is amended—

(1)

in subsection (a)(1), by adding at the end the following:

(I)

Bail fairness programs.

; and

(2)

by adding at the end the following:

(h)

Definition

For purposes of this section, the term bail fairness program means a program under the law of a State that complies with the following:

(1)

Bail for misdemeanors

Monetary conditions of release from custody of a person may not be imposed if that person is held in custody by reason of having been arrested for the commission of a misdemeanor.

(2)

Pre-trial diversion

Any criminal charges filed against an offender described in paragraph (1) may be dismissed if—

(A)

the offender qualifies for and satisfactorily completes a State-authorized mental health diversion program;

(B)

the offender qualifies for and satisfactorily completes a State-authorized drug/alcohol abuse diversion program;

(C)

the offender qualifies for and satisfactorily completes a State-authorized community service diversion program; or

(D)

the offender qualifies for and satisfactorily completes any other State-authorized diversion program that is appropriate to the age of the offender and the offense charged.

.

3.

Department of Justice review of research related to bail reform and pretrial release programs

(a)

In general

The Attorney General shall review research and the results of studies which have been completed as of the date of the enactment of this Act related to bail reform and pretrial release programs in order to determine best practices, and shall make such best practices publicly available.

(b)

Preventing waste

Not later than 180 days after completing the review under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall publish guidelines for States related to reducing and preventing the waste of Federal resources in connection with bail reform and pretrial release programs.