Panel backs bill to require courts to consider ability to pay when setting bail
The committee passed SB2732 with amendments requiring courts to consider a defendant’s ability to afford bail (excluding public-benefit income) and to use a 150% federal poverty-level benchmark at first appearance rather than arrest.
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The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance SB2732, a pretrial reform bill that would require courts to consider several factors, including a defendant’s financial ability to pay bail. Testimony from the Office of the Public Defender and oversight bodies emphasized that cash bail without consideration of ability to pay creates wealth-based disparities and increases jail populations.
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