Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday signed legislation that adds dozens of new offenses, such as a second trespassing offense or failure to appear in court for a traffic citation, that would require cash bail to be released from jail.
The law takes effect July 1.
Republican lawmakers who supported the legislation, Senate Bill 63, say it aims to ensure that people who have been arrested and released on bond return for their trial, but some criminal justice advocates say it is unfair to keep people in jail for long periods only because they are unable to pay a cash bond.
“This bill carries out important bail reforms that will ensure dangerous individuals cannot walk our streets and commit further crimes,” Kemp said during a bill signing ceremony at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth.
The legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Randy Robertson — a former Muscogee County sheriff’s deputy — was a priority of the Senate during this year’s session. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones said the law was needed to stop the “revolving door” of people being arrested and released without having to pay cash bail.
“Too many times we see some of our cities, not many, but some of our cities or counties where it’s been a revolving door with criminals (when) they have no cash bail,” Jones said. “It just seems like there was a correlation between how lenient some municipalities or counties treated things and the criminal activity that went on in their communities.”
The new law also restricts charitable funds or individuals from bailing out anyone anywhere in the state more than three times per year. That provision was inspired by frustration with bail funds that helped spring Atlanta Public Safety Training Center protesters from jail.
For years, Georgia led the country in rolling back “tough on crime” policies and steering offenders toward rehabilitation.
In 2018, lawmakers passed legislation that requires judges to consider a defendant’s financial status when setting bail and allows law enforcement officers to issue citations instead of filing criminal charges for low-level offenses. It passed both chambers unanimously, with many of the senators who voted for that measure also supporting the changes to cash bail.
SB 63, opponents say, is a step in the other direction. The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia plans to challenge the law in court, saying it “unconstitutionally criminalizes poverty.”
“(The law) is cruel, costly, and counterproductive,” the ACLU said in a statement. “Research shows that sweeping people into incarceration only increases crime and taxpayer costs, and yet Georgia locks up a higher percentage of its people than any other state in the country. (The law) doubles down on that position, forcing even more people to languish in jail because they are poor or mentally ill.”
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