I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2669 
To establish a new Justice Department grant program to reduce the number 
of individuals incarcerated in local jails, reduce the number of days 
individuals are incarcerated in local jails, and support community-led 
local justice reinvestment. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 7, 2025 
Mr. BELL (for himself, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. FIG-
URES, Mrs. MCIVER, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. THOMP-
SON of Mississippi, Mr. THANEDAR, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. IVEY, 
Ms. NORTON, Ms. ANSARI, Ms. CROCKETT, and Ms. WILSON of Florida) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary 
A BILL 
To establish a new Justice Department grant program to 
reduce the number of individuals incarcerated in local 
jails, reduce the number of days individuals are incarcer-
ated in local jails, and support community-led local jus-
tice reinvestment. 
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 ‘‘Community First Pre-
trial Reform Act’’ or the ‘‘Community First Act’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:38 Apr 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2669.IH
H2669
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Attorney General, 
acting through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, shall 
make grants to eligible partnerships for purposes of reduc-
ing the number of individuals in jails operated by units 
of local government and the number of days such individ-
uals spend in jail as follows: 
(1) Grants for analysis and planning, which 
shall be used to— 
(A) collect and analyze local criminal jus-
tice and incarceration data, including data on 
equity disparities; and 
(B) develop a strategic, collaborative plan 
to decrease local jail incarceration that shall be 
public facing. 
(2) Grants for implementation of the plan de-
scribed in paragraph (1)(B) and which may be used 
for activities to reduce the number of individuals in-
carcerated in local jails and to reduce the number of 
days that individuals are so incarcerated including— 
(A) reducing the use of cash bail; 
(B) reducing revocations of conditional re-
lease; 
(C) creating or increasing the availability 
of pretrial services, including efforts undertaken 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:38 Apr 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2669.IH
H2669
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
in collaboration with community-based organi-
zations and nonprofits; 
(D) investing in case processing and proc-
esses to reduce overall time to disposition and 
time between court events; 
(E) ensuring early assignment of counsel 
and presence of counsel at individuals’ first 
court appearance or bail hearing; 
(F) providing training to various actors 
within the criminal justice system on indigent 
defense that is aligned with best practices in 
the field; 
(G) creating or expanding diversion pro-
grams that do not require an individual to enter 
into a guilty plea and do not use incarceration 
as a sanction for noncompliance— 
(i) at the pre-arrest phase; 
(ii) at the pre-booking phase; and 
(iii) at the post-booking phase; or 
(H) any other emerging, promising, or evi-
dence-based practices that an eligible partner-
ship proposes and the Attorney General deems 
likely to reduce local jail incarceration. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:38 Apr 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2669.IH
H2669
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
(b) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—An eligible partner-
ship is a partnership between not less than two of the fol-
lowing: 
(1) A unit of local government. 
(2) A territory. 
(3) An Indian tribe. 
(4) A nonprofit organization. 
(c) APPLICATION.—An application for a grant shall 
include the following: 
(1) Details of the range of pretrial services 
available within the jurisdiction where the jail being 
targeted for incarceration rate reduction under this 
Act is located. 
(2) A plan to ensure that individuals in pretrial 
contact with the justice system will be subject to the 
least restrictive conditions or combination of condi-
tions necessary to reasonably address the imminent 
risk of willful flight or the risk of imminent threat 
of serious physical harm to a reasonably identifiable 
person. 
(3) A plan for ongoing process evaluation and 
outcome evaluation. 
(4) Either— 
(A) data— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:38 Apr 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2669.IH
H2669
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS