I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1437 
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 
MARCH 8, 2017 
Mr. TED LIEU of California (for himself, Mr. GALLEGO, Mrs. WATSON COLE-
MAN, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. BEYER, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. CARSON of Indi-
ana, Mr. CLAY, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. FOSTER, 
Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MOORE, Mr. NAD-
LER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. RUSH, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. 
SERRANO, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, and 
Mr. YARMUTH) 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Money Bail Act 
of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Nearly 60 percent of the inmates in jails in 
the United States are pretrial detainees who have 
not been convicted of a crime, an estimated 75 per-
cent of whom have been charged with nonviolent 
crimes. 
(2) Under current bail systems that use pay-
ment of money as a condition of pretrial release, 
nearly 50 percent of the most dangerous pretrial de-
tainees are released without supervision, according 
to a study by the Arnold Foundation. 
(3) Throughout the Nation, those with money 
can buy their freedom while poor defendants remain 
incarcerated awaiting trial. 
(4) Pretrial detention costs State and local gov-
ernments an estimated $14,000,000,000 each year. 
(5) Pretrial detention should be based on 
whether the accused is likely to fail to appear in 
court or is a threat to public safety, not the ability 
to pay money as a condition of pretrial release. 
(6) The States, the United States Department 
of Justice, law enforcement agencies, public officials, 
and community groups should collaborate to develop 
pretrial detention systems that improve public safe-
ty, reduce costs, and discourage criminal behavior. 
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SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS UNDER THE BYRNE JAG 
PROGRAM. 
Section 505 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.—Beginning with the third 
fiscal year beginning after the enactment of the ‘No 
Money Bail Act of 2017’, the Attorney General shall 
not allocate any amounts appropriated to carry out 
this part to any State that uses payment of money 
as a condition of pretrial release with respect to 
criminal cases.’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘in para-
graph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘in paragraphs (2) 
and (3)’’; and 
(2) in subsection (f)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘If the Attorney General’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Attor-
ney General’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) STATE INELIGIBLE DUE TO SYSTEM OF 
BAIL.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if the Attor-
ney General determines with respect to any grant 
period that a State is made ineligible by subsection 
(a)(3), the Attorney General shall reallocate any 
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amounts allocated to or that would have been allo-
cated to such State for such period— 
‘‘(A) among the other eligible States; and 
‘‘(B) in proportion to allocations among el-
igible States under subsection (a).’’. 
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION OF MONEY BAIL IN FEDERAL CRIMI-
NAL CASES. 
Notwithstanding any provision of Federal law, no jus-
tice, judge, or other judicial official in any court created 
by or under article III of the Constitution of the United 
States may use payment of money as a condition of pre-
trial release in any criminal case. 
Æ 
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