New GOP bill targets funding to states with lenient bail policies

FIRST ON FOX: A House Republican is moving to crack down on states where he says judges are able to release repeat, violent offenders with little transparency or explanation.

Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., who introduced the No Free Pass for Felons Act on Friday, outlined the federal incentives the bill would impose.

“Before a violent defendant is released, a judge must hold a real dangerousness hearing and go on the record about why that decision keeps the community safe,” Harrigan said. 

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States have a range of different requirements governing pretrial releases, leading to an uneven patchwork across the country. In North Carolina, for instance, judges must explain in writing why they would release a dependent charged with a felony offense — but only when the dependent is on probation for a prior offense. That’s different from Virginia, where the law requires a magistrate to communicate the release of someone charged with an act of violence to an attorney of the commonwealth but doesn’t call for a written explanation. 

The Republican bill would cut assistance to several federal grants unless states pass requirements to publish data on judges’ pretrial decisions, prohibit cashless bail without a threat assessment hearing and publish data on repeat offenders.

States would have 18 months to implement the text’s requirement after the bill’s enactment.

The bill was unveiled after several acts of violence committed by repeat offenders — like Decarlos Brown’s alleged murder of Iryna Zarutska aboard a light rail in Charlotte, N.C. Brown had been arrested 14 times in the lead-up to the August attack. 

More recently, a repeat offender by the name of Lawrence Reed allegedly set a woman on fire on Monday in Chicago after more than 70 prior arrests. 

As an example of a grant targeted by the bill, the act would cut funding provided by the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program by 15% for states that don’t meet the bill’s requirements. The JAG funding supplements existing law enforcement activity. 

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Among other developments, the Bureau of Justice Assistance Program has highlighted the development of a police hub in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as one example of the JAG program’s successes. The node helps police communicate across different departments in real time.

Harrigan said the bill would prevent rewarding states that facilitate the release of offenders with long track records of violence.

“If a state won’t adopt basic public safety requirements or report how often violent offenders are released and re-arrested, taxpayers shouldn’t be expected to keep funding the consequences,” Harrigan said.

“Most families just want safer streets and a justice system that puts their security first. This legislation meets that expectation with common sense, transparency and a commitment to protecting the people who rely on us to get this right.”

In the past, the government has similarly threatened to withhold funding from states to incentivize them to pass state-level requirements. In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. Instead of setting a national requirement, the law conditioned certain federal funds on state-level adoption of a 21-year minimum age for purchasing alcoholic beverages.

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In similar fashion, the bill’s supporters hope to create a nationwide standard for pretrial releases.

“North Carolina has seen too many cases where violent repeat offenders walk out of court on unsecured bonds and end up hurting more people. The murder of Iryna Zarutska was one of the clearest reminders that the system isn’t protecting the public the way it should,” Harrigan said.

“This bill brings accountability to the states that receive federal crime-fighting dollars.”