I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1249 

To discourage the use of payment of money as a condition of pretrial release 

in criminal cases, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 23, 2021 

Mr. LIEU (for himself, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. MENG, Mr. GALLEGO, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, and Mrs. 

LAWRENCE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To discourage the use of payment of money as a condition 

of pretrial release in criminal cases, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Money Bail Act 

5 of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Nearly 60 percent of the inmates in jails in 

9 the United States are pretrial detainees who have 


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1 not been convicted of a crime, an estimated 75 per2 cent of whom have been charged with nonviolent 

3 crimes. 

4 (2) Under current bail systems that use pay5 ment of money as a condition of pretrial release, 

6 nearly 50 percent of the most dangerous pretrial de7 tainees are released without supervision, according 

8 to a study by the Arnold Foundation. 

9 (3) Throughout the Nation, those with money 

10 can buy their freedom while poor defendants remain 

11 incarcerated awaiting trial. 

12 (4) Pretrial detention costs State and local gov13 ernments an estimated $14,000,000,000 each year. 

14 (5) Pretrial detention should be based on 

15 whether the accused is likely to fail to appear in 

16 court or is a threat to public safety, not the ability 

17 to pay money as a condition of pretrial release. 

18 (6) The States, the United States Department 

19 of Justice, law enforcement agencies, public officials, 

20 and community groups should collaborate to develop 

21 pretrial detention systems that improve public safe22 ty, reduce costs, and discourage criminal behavior. 


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1 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS UNDER THE BYRNE JAG 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 Section 505 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

4 Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)— 

6 (A) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.—Beginning with the third 

8 fiscal year beginning after the enactment of the ‘No 

9 Money Bail Act of 2021’, the Attorney General shall 

10 not allocate any amounts appropriated to carry out 

11 this part to any State that uses payment of money 

12 as a condition of pretrial release with respect to 

13 criminal cases.’’; and 

14 (B) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘in para15 graph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘in paragraphs (2) 

16 and (3)’’; and 

17 (2) in subsection (f)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘If the Attorney General’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Attor20 ney General’’; and 

21 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(2) STATE INELIGIBLE DUE TO SYSTEM OF

23 BAIL.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if the Attor24 ney General determines with respect to any grant 

25 period that a State is made ineligible by subsection 

26 (a)(3), the Attorney General shall reallocate any 


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1 amounts allocated to or that would have been allo2 cated to such State for such period— 

3 ‘‘(A) among the other eligible States; and 

4 ‘‘(B) in proportion to allocations among el5 igible States under subsection (a).’’. 

6 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION OF MONEY BAIL IN FEDERAL CRIMI7 NAL CASES. 

8 Notwithstanding any provision of Federal law, no jus9 tice, judge, or other judicial official in any court created 

10 by or under article III of the Constitution of the United 

11 States may use payment of money as a condition of pre12 trial release in any criminal case. 

Æ 


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