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Senate passes bill to revise pretrial bond rules, adds inflation indexing
Summary
The Iowa Senate passed Senate File 2399 after adopting an amendment that clarifies public-danger as the primary factor for bond-setting, indexes bond amounts to inflation annually, and requires DOC verification of information supporting pretrial release.
Senator Buslow, the senator from Polk, urged passage of Senate File 2399 as a public-safety measure, saying the bill is intended "to protect Iowans from violent criminals" and to ensure judges consider the danger a defendant poses when setting bond. He cited a recent out-of-state murder as part of the bill's rationale.
Buslow said an adopted amendment, Senate Amendment 50 34, clarifies that the "overwhelming and prevailing rationale" for setting bond is whether a defendant will be a danger to the general public, indexes bond amounts to inflation on an annual basis, clarifies that bond payment is the full amount rather than a 10% partial payment, and requires that the Department of Corrections verify information submitted in support of pretrial release before it is presented to the court. "This amendment clarifies those portions," he said in opening remarks.
After the amendment was adopted, Buslow moved the bill for final reading and passage. The secretary read the bill title; a roll-call vote recorded 47 ayes and 0 nays. The chair declared the bill passed and granted unanimous consent to immediately message the bill.
