[House Report 119-602]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
119th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 119-602
======================================================================
CASHLESS BAIL REPORTING ACT
_______
April 9, 2026.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Jordan, from the Committee on the Judiciary,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 5625]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 5625) to direct the Attorney General to make
publicly available a list of each State and unit of local
government that permits cashless bail, and for other purposes,
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 2
Hearings......................................................... 4
Committee Consideration.......................................... 5
Committee Votes.................................................. 5
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 5
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 5
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 5
Committee Estimate of Budgetary Effects.......................... 6
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 6
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 6
Advisory on Earmarks............................................. 7
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 7
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 7
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 7
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 7
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Cashless Bail Reporting Act''.
SEC. 2. PUBLICATION OF CASHLESS BAIL JURISDICTIONS.
(a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of enactment
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall make
publicly available a list of each State and unit of local government
that permits the release pending trial of a person charged with a
covered offense on personal recognizance or upon execution of an
unsecured appearance bond.
(b) Covered Offense Defined.--In this section, the term ``covered
offense'' means a criminal offense that the Attorney General determines
poses a clear threat to public safety and order, including--
(1) an offense involving a violent or sexual act, such as
murder, rape, sexual assault, carjacking, robbery, burglary,
and assault; and
(2) an offense that promotes public disorder, such as
looting, vandalism, destruction of property, rioting or
inciting to riot, or fleeing from a law enforcement officer.
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 5625, the Cashless Bail Reporting Act, introduced by
Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC), requires the Attorney General to make
publicly available a list of each state and unit of local
government that permits the release pending trial on personal
recognizance or upon execution of an unsecured appearance bond
of a person charged with certain offenses.\1\ Those offenses
include those involving a violent or sexual act, such as
murder, rape, sexual assault, carjacking, robbery, burglary,
and assault.\2\ The bill would also require the list to include
offenses that promote public disorder, such as looting,
vandalism, destruction of property, rioting or inciting to
riot, or fleeing from a law enforcement officer.\3\
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\1\H.R. 5625, 119th Cong. (2025).
\2\Id.
\3\Id.
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Background and Need for the Legislation
Bail is the amount of money that a criminal defendant must
post in order to be released from custody prior to his or her
trial. It is not a criminal fine and bail is not used as a
punishment. It exists to ensure that the defendant will appear
at all required appearances, including all pretrial hearings
and the trial. If a defendant makes all required appearances,
the bail is returned to them, even if he or she found guilty by
the court, at the conclusion of the trial. The Supreme Court
has long held that bail is constitutional. In 1979, the Court
explained that ``presumption of innocence has no application to
a determination of the rights of a pre-trial detainee during
confinement before his trial has begun.''\4\
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\4\Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 533 (1979).
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In addition to requiring bail, judges have the authority to
release defendants on personal recognizance without requiring a
payment of money. Defendants must promise that they will appear
for all hearings and for trial. Usually, defendants are
released on recognizance (ROR) if they have a steady job,
family or close ties to the local community, and little or no
criminal history. Pre-trial release may also be conditioned on
certain behavior and activities of the defendant. The
defendant, for instance, may be prohibited from contacting or
associating with certain individuals or from visiting certain
locations. Sometimes, defendants are required to submit to
random drug testing. Defendants may also be restricted from
leaving their home at certain hours.
In most states, defendants who are unable to come up with
the total amount of their bail may arrange for their release
through a bail bondsman. Typically, the defendant puts up a
percentage of the total bond, usually 10 percent, and the
bondsman will guarantee the remaining amount to the court
should the defendant not appear for any court hearing or
trial.\5\
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\5\The American Bar Association, ``How Courts Work,'' (Jul. 16,
2020), https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/
law_related_education_network/how_courts_work/bail.
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Bail ``Reform'' at the State Level
Most recently, Illinois, California, Maryland, New Jersey,
and New York have modified their bail practices to eliminate or
de-emphasize the use of monetary bail systems. Many of these
``reforms'' have resulted in increases in property and violent
crimes. For example, after New York's bail law passed,
recidivism rates increased for individuals who had previous
violent felony offenses. A March 2023 study by researchers at
John Jay College of Criminal Justice found that approximately
72 percent of violent felony offenders who were released
without bail were re-arrested.\6\ Before the bail reform law
was passed, the recidivism rate for previous violent felony
offenders was 62 percent.\7\ The study also found that
``mandatory release significantly increased re-arrest across
multiple outcomes for people with a recent violent arrest and
with a pending case at the time of the current
arraignment.''\8\
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\6\John Binder, Study: Over 72% of NYC Violent Crime Suspects Freed
Without Bail Go On To Commit More Crimes, Breitbart (Apr. 5, 2023),
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/04/05/of-nyc-violent-crime-
suspects-freed-without-bail-go-on-to-commit-more-crimes/; See also Rene
Ropac and Michael Rempel, Does New York's Bail Reform Law Impact
Recidivism? A Quasi-Experimental Test in New York City, John Jay
College of Criminal Justice 16 (Mar. 2023).
\7\Id.
\8\Id. at 19.
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In New Jersey, one Assemblyman regretted his decision to
support bail reform so much that he took it upon himself to
warn the Democrat Speaker of the California State Assembly
against a similar reform. The Assemblyman wrote in 2017 that
bail reform in New Jersey had been an ``absolute disaster'' and
that ``the public safety needs of citizens in New Jersey has
suffered far greater than could have been imagined.''\9\ The
New Jersey Assemblyman asserted that ``dangerous and career
criminals are released daily and within hours of arrest'' and
that these criminals ``are simply not afraid of committing
crimes against citizens and as a result our [New Jersey] crime
rate has increased at least 13% since January [2017]. This law
is victimizing law-abiding citizens every day.''\10\ He further
stated that ``the cost of incarcerating those held awaiting
trial were greatly exaggerated'' and that the bail reform
``transferred the cost of `free' bail to the taxpayer rather
than the offender.''\11\
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\9\Letter from Bob Andrzejczak, Assemblyman, First Legislative
District, to Anthony Rendon, Speaker, California State Assembly (Jul.
3, 2017).
\10\Id.
\11\Id.
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There are numerous examples of violent criminals who post
no or artificially low bonds due to state or local policies and
subsequently reoffend. Most notably, in Waukesha, Wisconsin,
Darrell Brooks was released on a $1,000 bond after running over
a woman with a vehicle.\12\ He was released on bail despite
having a lengthy criminal history, including a charge for
aggravated battery and an outstanding warrant in Nevada after
skipping bail for a sex-related crime.\13\ On November 21,
2021, Brooks drove his car through a Christmas parade injuring
over fifty individuals and killing six, one of whom was an
eight-year-old child.\14\ Brooks faced eight counts of
intentional homicide, six counts of hit-and-run involving
death, two felonies for skipping bail, two counts of domestic
abuse charges, and sixty-one counts of recklessly endangering
safety for each injured person at the Christmas parade.\15\ He
pled guilty and is currently serving six consecutive life
sentences plus more than 700 additional years in prison.\16\
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\12\Jorge Velasco, Waukesha Suspect Charged With Homicide After 8-
Year-Old Boy Dies From Injuries, Daily Caller (Nov. 29, 2021).
\13\Id.
\14\Id.
\15\Adam Sabes, Darrell Brooks slapped with 71 new charges, Fox
News (Jan. 12, 2022).
\16\Eliott C. McLaughlin, et al., Darrell Brooks receives 6
consecutive life sentences plus more than 700 additional years in
prison for Waukesha Christmas parade attack, CNN (Nov. 17, 2022).
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The Cashless Bail Reporting Act
The Cashless Bail Reporting Act requires the Attorney
General to make publicly available a list of each state and
unit of local government that permits the release pending trial
on personal recognizance or upon execution of an unsecured
appearance bond of a person charged with certain offenses.\17\
Those offenses include those involving a violent or sexual act,
such as murder, rape, sexual assault, carjacking, robbery,
burglary, and assault.\18\ They also include offenses that
promote public disorder, such as looting, vandalism,
destruction of property, rioting or inciting to riot, or
fleeing from a law enforcement officer.\19\ Americans should be
able to see what jurisdiction have enacted dangerous and
irresponsible policies related to bail when making decisions
about where to live, work, or travel.
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\17\H.R. 5625, 119th Cong. (2025).
\18\Id.
\19\Id.
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Hearings
For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6)(A) of House rule XIII,
the following hearings were used to develop H.R. 5625:
``Victims of Violent Crime'' a hearing held on September 29,
2025, before Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on the
Judiciary. The Subcommittee heard testimony from the following
witnesses:
Mia Alderman, Grandmother of murder victim
Mary Santina Collins;
Steve Federico, Father of murder victim
Logan Federico and Charlotte suburbs resident;
Officer Justin Campbell, Police officer with
the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department;
Michael Woody, Owner and CEO of 828 Bail
Bonds, and NC Representative for the National
Association of Bail Agents;
Dena King, Former United States Attorney for
the Western District of North Carolina; and
Jeff Asher, Co-founder, AH Datalytics.
The hearing examined violent crime in Charlotte, North
Carolina and the surrounding areas looking at repeat offenders
and lenient pretrial release policies and decisions among
others.
Committee Consideration
On December 18, 2025, the Committee met in open session and
ordered the bill, H.R. 5625, favorably reported with an
amendment in the nature of a substitute by voice vote.
Committee Votes
In compliance with clause 3(b) of House rule XIII, the
Committee states that no roll call votes were taken during
consideration of H.R. 5625.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of House rule XIII, the
Committee advises that the findings and recommendations of the
Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1)
of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, are
incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974 has been timely submitted prior to filing of the report
and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is included
in this report.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has
received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5625 from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 5625 would require the Attorney General to publish
annually a list of state and local governments that permit
people who have been accused of certain violent crimes to be
released pending trial on personal recognizance or upon
execution of an unsecured appearance bond. Under Executive
Order 14342, which was issued on August 25, 2025, the President
directed the Attorney General to submit to the President a list
of states and local jurisdictions that have eliminated cash
bail as a potential condition of pretrial release from custody.
On that basis, CBO estimates that the cost of implementing the
bill would be less than $500,000 over the 2026-2030 period. Any
related spending would be subject to the availability of
appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is David Rafferty.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Director of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
Committee Estimate of Budgetary Effects
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(d)(1) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
Duplication of Federal Programs
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of House rule XIII, no provision
of H.R. 5625 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the
federal government known to be duplicative of another federal
program.
Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
House rule XIII, H.R. 5625 would require the Attorney General
to make publicly available a list of each state and unit of
local government that permits the release pending trial on
personal recognizance or upon execution of an unsecured
appearance bond of a person charged with certain offenses.
Advisory on Earmarks
In accordance with clause 9 of House rule XXI, H.R. 5625
does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited tax
benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clauses
9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of House rule XXI.
Federal Mandates Statement
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act.
Advisory Committee Statement
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
Applicability to Legislative Branch
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Pub. L. 104-
1).
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title. The ``Cashless Bail Reporting
Act.''
Section 2. Publication of Cashless Bail Jurisdictions. This
section requires the Attorney General to make publicly
available a list of each State and unit of local government
that permits the release pending trial on personal recognizance
or upon execution of an unsecured appearance bond of a person
charged with a covered offense. This section defines a covered
offense as ``(1) an offense involving a violent or sexual act,
such as murder, rape, sexual assault, carjacking, robbery,
burglary, and assault; and (2) an offense that promote public
disorder, such as looting, vandalism, destruction of property,
rioting or inciting to riot, or fleeing from a law enforcement
officer.''
[all]