Pretrial Release Reporting Act
This bill requires the Bureau of Justice Statistics to submit a report to Congress on individuals who are granted bail or pretrial release from state courts and are charged with violent felony offenses (e.g., murder or rape).
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7244 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
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 Committee 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 Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Pretrial Release Reporting Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(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 Bureau of Justice
Statistics relating to the pretrial release 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 release 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 to individuals charged with felony
offenses and released 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 information relating to the
pretrial release of felony defendants 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 information 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 manslaughter.
(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, attempted sexual
abuse, or abusive sexual conduct.
(7) Battery or aggravated battery.
(8) Kidnapping.
(9) Robbery.
(10) Resisting or obstructing an officer.
(11) Carjacking.
(12) Recklessly endangering safety.
(13) Illegal possession of a firearm in the commission 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 subsection (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 offense; and
(B) have a prior arrest or conviction for a violent
felony offense;
(4) with respect to the pretrial releases described in
paragraph (2) for which the pretrial release condition was
bail, the amount of bail granted for each individual;
(5) the number of missed mandatory court appearances by
individuals charged with a violent felony offense;
(6) the factors used by State courts for assessing whether
to grant bail or pretrial release to individuals who have prior
arrests or prior felony convictions for a violent felony
offense;
(7) with respect to individuals who have committed a
violent felony offense after being granted bail or pretrial
release, the classification of the violent 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 expended, or transferred to
components of the Department 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.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
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