Title: Bail Fairness Act of 2018
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Bail Fairness Act of 2018
This bill requires a state that receives funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program to restrict the use of money bail for individuals arrested for misdemeanors. The Department of Justice may reduce by up to 20% the JAG allocation of a state that fails to comply with the restrictions.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4833 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4833

 To require that States release persons charged with a misdemeanor on 
       non-monetary conditions only prior to court adjudication.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 18, 2018

   Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois (for himself, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. 
  Evans, Mr. Rush, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Ms. 
 Moore, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, and Ms. Sewell of Alabama) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require that States release persons charged with a misdemeanor on 
       non-monetary conditions only prior to court adjudication.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bail Fairness Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. NO MONETARY CONDITIONS OF RELEASE TO BE APPLIED TO PERSONS 
              CHARGED WITH MISDEMEANORS.

    (a) Requirement Regarding State Law.--For each fiscal year after 
the expiration of the period specified in subsection (b)(1) in which a 
State receives funds for a program referred to in subsection (b)(2), 
the law of that State shall conform to the following:
            (1) Bail for misdemeanors.--The law of that State may not 
        provide for monetary conditions of release from custody of a 
        person if that person has not previously been convicted for a 
        criminal offense and is held in custody by reason of having 
        been arrested for the commission of a misdemeanor that is not a 
        crime of violence (as such term is defined in section 16 of 
        title 18, United States Code).
            (2) Pre-trial diversion.--The law of that State shall 
        provide for a program under which any criminal charges filed 
        against an offender described in paragraph (1) may be dismissed 
        if--
                    (A) the offender qualifies for and satisfactorily 
                completes a State-authorized mental health diversion 
                program;
                    (B) the offender qualifies for and satisfactorily 
                completes a State-authorized drug/alcohol abuse 
                diversion program;
                    (C) the offender qualifies for and satisfactorily 
                completes a State-authorized community service 
                diversion program; or
                    (D) the offender qualifies for and satisfactorily 
                completes any other State-authorized diversion program 
                that is appropriate to the age of the offender and the 
                offense charged.
    (b) Compliance and Ineligibility.--
            (1) Compliance date.--Each State shall have not more than 
        120 days, beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, to 
        comply with subsection (a), except that--
                    (A) the Attorney General may grant an additional 
                120 days to a State that is making good faith efforts 
                to comply with such subsection; and
                    (B) the Attorney General shall waive the 
                requirements of subsection (a) if compliance with such 
                subsection by a State would be unconstitutional under 
                the constitution of such State.
            (2) Ineligibility for funds.--For any fiscal year after the 
        expiration of the period specified in paragraph (1), a State 
        that fails to comply with subsection (a), shall be subject to 
        not more than a 20-percent reduction of the funds that would 
        otherwise be allocated for that fiscal year to the State under 
        subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
        Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), whether 
        characterized as the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law 
        Enforcement Assistance Programs, the Local Government Law 
        Enforcement Block Grants Program, the Edward Byrne Memorial 
        Justice Assistance Grant Program, or otherwise.
    (c) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated under a program referred 
to in subsection (b)(2) to a State for failure to fully comply with 
subsection (a) shall be reallocated under that program to States that 
have not failed to comply with such subsection.

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REVIEW OF RESEARCH RELATED TO BAIL REFORM 
              AND PRETRIAL RELEASE PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall review research and the 
results of studies which have been completed as of the date of the 
enactment of this Act related to bail reform and pretrial release 
programs in order to determine best practices, and shall make such best 
practices publicly available.
    (b) Preventing Waste.--Not later than 180 days after completing the 
review under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall publish 
guidelines for States related to reducing and preventing the waste of 
Federal resources in connection with bail reform and pretrial release 
programs.
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