I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7244 
To require the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics to submit to 
Congress a report relating to individuals granted bail and pretrial release 
in State courts, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 28, 2022 
Mr. FITZGERALD (for himself, Mr. BUCK, Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina, Mr. 
FITZPATRICK, Mr. GALLAGHER, Mr. GROTHMAN, Ms. HERRELL, Mr. 
BUDD, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. CAREY, Mr. STEIL, Mr. TIFFANY, and Mr. 
ELLZEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To require the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics 
to submit to Congress a report relating to individuals 
granted bail and pretrial release in State courts, 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 ‘‘Pretrial Release Re-
porting Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Multiple jurisdictions across the United 
States— 
(A) broke annual homicide records in 
2021; and 
(B) have reported individuals committing 
violent felony offenses after being granted bail 
or pretrial release. 
(2) The failure of felony defendants to appear 
for mandatory court appearances and felony bail 
jumping has increased in multiple jurisdictions 
across the United States. 
(3) The most recent report issued by the Bu-
reau of Justice Statistics relating to the pretrial re-
lease of felony defendants in State courts is from 
2007. 
(4) The National Pretrial Reporting Program 
of the Bureau of Justice Statistics was created to 
collect information on criminal justice processing of 
individuals charged with felony offenses in State 
courts, with particular attention given to pretrial re-
lease and detention. 
(5) In 2020, the National Pretrial Reporting 
Program of the Bureau of Justice Statistics awarded 
a grant of $2,000,000 to collect information relating 
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to individuals charged with felony offenses and re-
leased from criminal pretrial detention. 
(6) Neither the National Pretrial Reporting 
Program of the Bureau of Justice Statistics nor the 
Bureau of Justice Statistics has published any infor-
mation relating to the pretrial release of felony de-
fendants in State courts since the 2020 grant award. 
SEC. 3. REPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Director of Bureau of 
Justice Statistics shall submit to Congress a report on in-
formation relating to individuals granted bail and pretrial 
release from State courts that are charged with 1 or more 
of the following violent felony offenses: 
(1) Murder or attempted murder. 
(2) Manslaughter, other than involuntary man-
slaughter. 
(3) Rape or attempted rape. 
(4) Assault with the intent to commit murder. 
(5) Assault with the intent to commit rape. 
(6) Aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, at-
tempted sexual abuse, or abusive sexual conduct. 
(7) Battery or aggravated battery. 
(8) Kidnapping. 
(9) Robbery. 
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(10) Resisting or obstructing an officer. 
(11) Carjacking. 
(12) Recklessly endangering safety. 
(13) Illegal possession of a firearm in the com-
mission of a felony. 
(14) Any other violent felony offense tracked by 
the jurisdiction in which the offense is committed. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub-
section (a) shall include— 
(1) the number of individuals granted bail or 
pretrial release from State courts that are charged 
with an offense described in subsection (a); 
(2) the number of individuals who, after being 
granted bail or pretrial release, are rearrested or 
charged with an additional violent felony offense; 
(3) the percentage of individuals granted bail or 
pretrial release from State courts who— 
(A) are charged with a violent felony of-
fense; and 
(B) have a prior arrest or conviction for a 
violent felony offense; 
(4) with respect to the pretrial releases de-
scribed in paragraph (2) for which the pretrial re-
lease condition was bail, the amount of bail granted 
for each individual; 
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(5) the number of missed mandatory court ap-
pearances by individuals charged with a violent fel-
ony offense; 
(6) the factors used by State courts for assess-
ing whether to grant bail or pretrial release to indi-
viduals who have prior arrests or prior felony convic-
tions for a violent felony offense; 
(7) with respect to individuals who have com-
mitted a violent felony offense after being granted 
bail or pretrial release, the classification of the vio-
lent felony offenses; 
(8) the status, as of the date of enactment of 
this Act, of the National Pretrial Reporting Program 
of the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the activities 
of that Program; and 
(9) an accounting for each fiscal year of the 
amounts that the Department of Justice has ex-
pended, or transferred to components of the Depart-
ment of Justice, in order to collect information on 
bail and pretrial release in State courts including, 
with respect to any grants or contracts awarded for 
that purpose, the amount and the purpose of the 
grant or contract. 
Æ 
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