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I
116TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 2233
To require that States release persons charged with a misdemeanor on non-
monetary conditions only prior to court adjudication.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 10, 2019
Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois (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 mis-
demeanor on non-monetary conditions only prior to court
adjudication.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bail Fairness Act of
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2019’’.
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SEC. 2. NO MONETARY CONDITIONS OF RELEASE TO BE AP-
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PLIED TO PERSONS CHARGED WITH MIS-
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DEMEANORS.
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Section 501 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control
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and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10152) is amend-
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ed—
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(1) in subsection (a)(1), by adding at the end
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the following:
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‘‘(I) Bail fairness programs.’’; and
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(2) by adding at the end the following:
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‘‘(h) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the
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term ‘bail fairness program’ means a program under the
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law of a State that complies with the following:
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‘‘(1) BAIL
FOR
MISDEMEANORS.—Monetary
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conditions of release from custody of a person may
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not be imposed if that person is held in custody by
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reason of having been arrested for the commission of
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a misdemeanor.
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‘‘(2) PRE-TRIAL
DIVERSION.—Any criminal
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charges filed against an offender described in para-
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graph (1) may be dismissed if—
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‘‘(A) the offender qualifies for and satis-
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factorily completes a State-authorized mental
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health diversion program;
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•HR 2233 IH
‘‘(B) the offender qualifies for and satis-
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factorily completes a State-authorized drug/al-
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cohol abuse diversion program;
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‘‘(C) the offender qualifies for and satis-
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factorily completes a State-authorized commu-
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nity service diversion program; or
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‘‘(D) the offender qualifies for and satis-
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factorily completes any other State-authorized
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diversion program that is appropriate to the age
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of the offender and the offense charged.’’.
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SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REVIEW OF RESEARCH
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RELATED TO BAIL REFORM AND PRETRIAL
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RELEASE PROGRAMS.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall review
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research and the results of studies which have been com-
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pleted as of the date of the enactment of this Act related
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to bail reform and pretrial release programs in order to
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determine best practices, and shall make such best prac-
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tices publicly available.
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(b) PREVENTING WASTE.—Not later than 180 days
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after completing the review under subsection (a), the At-
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torney General shall publish guidelines for States related
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to reducing and preventing the waste of Federal resources
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in connection with bail reform and pretrial release pro-
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grams.
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Æ
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