1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Bail Fairness Act of 2019”.
Bail Fairness Act of 2019
A BILL
To require that States release persons charged with a misdemeanor on non-monetary conditions only prior to court adjudication.
2. No monetary conditions of release to be applied to persons charged with misdemeanors
Section 501 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10152) is amended—
in subsection (a)(1), by adding at the end the following:
“(I) Bail fairness programs.”
by adding at the end the following:
“(h) Definition—For purposes of this section, the term “bail fairness program” means a program under the law of a State that complies with the following:
“(1) Bail for misdemeanors—Monetary conditions of release from custody of a person may not be imposed if that person is held in custody by reason of having been arrested for the commission of a misdemeanor.
“(2) Pre-trial diversion—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.”
3. Department of Justice review of research related to bail reform and pretrial release programs
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.
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.