Sb 174: Revising Georgia's List of Bail Restricted Offenses
| Jurisdiction | Georgia,United States |
| Publication year | 2022 |
| Citation | Vol. 38 No. 1 |
SB 174: Revising Georgia's List of Bail Restricted Offenses
Natalie E. deLatour
ndelatour1@student.gsu.edu
Lauren Meeler
lmeeler1@student.gsu.edu
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Bonds and Recognizances: Amend Article 1 of Chapter 6 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Relating to General Provisions Regarding Bonds and Recognizances, so as to Revise Bail Restricted Offenses; Revise a Definition; Provide for and Authorize Appointed Judges Who Are Fulfilling a Vacancy of an Elected Judge to Issue Certain Bonds and an Unsecured Judicial Release under Certain Circumstances; Provide for Related Matters; Provide for an Effective Date; Repeal Conflicting Laws; and for Other Purposes
Code Sections: O.C.G.A. §§ 17-6-1 (amended); 17-6-12 (amended)
Bill Number: SB 174
Act Number: 216
Georgia Laws: 2021 Ga. Laws 461
Summary: The Act amends Georgia's law relating to the general provisions regarding bond and recognizances by revising the list of bail restricted offenses through the addition of both misdemeanor and felony crimes. The Act authorizes appointed judges who are fulfilling a vacancy of an elected judge to issue certain bonds and an unsecured judicial release in certain circumstances.
Effective Date: May 4, 2021
History
Many people in Atlanta, including former Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields, will tell you that Atlanta has long struggled with a "revolving door" of the same criminals repeatedly committing the same crimes.1 In 2019, residents of the affluent and politically
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powerful Buckhead area drew attention to the issue after an increase in car thefts, burglaries, and armed robberies.2 Items stolen from Buckhead vehicles proved particularly "lucrative" for thieves.3
Blame for this situation was passed around among the police, the district attorney, and the judiciary.4 Shields, in her position as Chief, acknowledged that the Atlanta Police Department (APD) could have been doing more to serve the Buckhead area but said that District Attorney Paul Howard's office was also to blame for not prosecuting cases quickly enough, presumably leaving the accused out on bail for longer periods in which they could commit more crimes.5
The APD also pushed for prosecutors to provide magistrate court judges with more information, like criminal history and reasons for arrest, so that they could make better bail decisions.6 But police also failed to appear for grand jury testimony 2,340 times in 2018, causing many cases to be dismissed.7 In response to the APD's accusations, District Attorney Howard blamed magistrate court judges for releasing violent offenders despite prosecutors' objections.8 He suggested that more bail decisions should be heard by Fulton County Superior Court judges, who are elected and thus held more accountable than unelected magistrate judges.9 Police have also complained that judges who set low bonds contribute to the revolving door of criminals but are not held accountable for their decisions.10
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Georgia law only permits superior court judges to preside over bail hearings for serious offenses, like murder, rape, and armed robbery; magistrate judges are not permitted to hear such bail hearings.11 But a superior court judge can issue a written order delegating authority in those same cases to a magistrate judge within the same circuit.12 Fulton Superior Court judges had been taking advantage of this rule to clear the backlog of cases in their courts.13 Meanwhile, Georgia legislators also took notice of bail decisions in Fulton County and made them an issue in the 2020-2021 General Session.14
Specifically, legislators took issue with two types of release but would refer to them by the same names. The first is a release on recognizance—a type of release where the accused simply promises to return to court and is not required to post any amount of money for bail.15 Under the second type of release—the judge sets a bail amount, but the accused is not required to post bail up front; they only face financial consequences if they fail to appear.16 Confusingly, the terms "OR bond" and "signature bond" are commonly used to refer to both types of release.17 The interchangeable use of these terms would create confusion and significant misunderstanding of the bill throughout the legislative process.18 For the sake of clarity and consistency, this Article will use the term "release on recognizance" to refer generally
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to the first type of release and "deferred bond" for the second type of release where the exchange of money is deferred.19
Before January 1, 2021, judges had broad authority and discretion to issue a release on recognizance.20 The only restriction on this authority applied to persons charged with one of the bail restricted offenses enumerated in O.C.G.A. § 17-6-12(a), which is comprised mostly of serious, violent crimes.21 Someone accused of a bail restricted offense could not be released on their own recognizance for the purpose of entering a pretrial program, unless an elected judge entered a written order specifying the reasons why the accused should be released on their own recognizance.22
But in the 2020-2021 Regular Session, Senator Randy Robertson (R-29th) introduced SB 402, which made significant changes to bail eligibility in Georgia.23 Then, in the 2021-2022 Regular Session, Senator Steve Gooch (R-51st) introduced SB 174, which he described as a "simple clean-up bill" of the previous session's SB 402.24 Both bills would lead to important debate and conversation about their future effects on bail reform in Georgia.
Bill Tracking of SB 402
Senate Consideration of SB 402
Senator Randy Robertson (R-29th) sponsored SB 402 in the Senate, along with Senator John Albers (R-56th), Senator Butch Miller
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(R-49th), Senator Renee Unterman (R-45th), Senator Chuck Payne (R-54th), Senator Steve Gooch (R-51st), and Senator Blake Tillery (R-19th).25 The Senate first read SB 402 on February 21, 2020, and referred the bill to the Senate Public Safety Committee that same day.26
The Senate Public Safety Committee favorably reported the bill on February 26, 2020.27 The Senate read the bill for the second time on February 27, 2020.28 The Senate made no changes to the bill.29 Then, on March 3, 2020, the Senate read the bill for the third time, and SB 402 passed the Senate that same day with a vote of 46 to 8.30
House Consideration of SB 402
Representative Todd Jones (R-25th) sponsored the bill in the House, and the House first read the bill on March 4, 2020.31 The House read the bill for the second time on March 5, 2020.32 On June 23, 2020, SB 402 was withdrawn from the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee and recommitted to the House Judiciary Committee.33 The House Judiciary Committee favorably reported on the bill on June 24, 2020.34
The House postponed its reading on June 25, 2020, and read the bill for the third time on June 26, 2020.35 That same day, the House passed and adopted the bill with a vote of 99 to 68.36 The Senate sent the bill to Governor Kemp (R) on June 29, 2020, and he signed it into law as Act 547 on August 3, 2020.37 The bill went into effect on January 1, 2021.38
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Bill Tracking of SB 174
Senate Consideration of SB 174
Senator Steve Gooch (R-51st) sponsored SB 174 in the Senate, along with Senator Jeff Mullis (R-53rd), Senator Larry Walker, III (R-20th), Senator Bill Cowsert (R-46th), and Senator Matt Brass (R-28th).39 The Senate first read SB 174 on February 16, 2021, and the Lieutenant Governor referred the bill to the Senate Public Safety Committee that same day.40
The Senate Public Safety Committee favorably reported the bill on February 24, 2021.41 The Senate read the bill for the second time on February 25, 2021.42 The Senate made no changes to the bill.43 On February 26, 2021, the Senate read the bill for the third time, and SB 174 passed the Senate that same day with a vote of 50 to 0.44
House Consideration of SB 174
Representative Steven Sainz (R-180th) sponsored the bill in the House, and the House first read the bill on March 1, 2021.45 The House read the bill for the second time on March 3, 2021.46 On March 24, 2021, the bill reached the House Judiciary Non-Civil Subcommittee, chaired by Representative Ed Setzler (R-35th), and a substitute bill had already been written and was considered in place of the version that passed the Senate.47 It is unclear when those changes were made or
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who made them. Then, on March 25, 2021, the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee received the substitute and favorably reported the bill by substitute.48
Compared to the version of the bill that passed the Senate, the House substitute included significant additions and modifications to the bill, which accounts for most of the bill's text.49 The substitute rearranged text and added new sections altogether, making the bill largely a continuation of SB 402 from the last legislative session.50
The House read the bill for the third time on March 31, 2021.51 That same day, the House passed and adopted the bill by substitute, with a vote of 99 to 71,52 The House sent the bill to the Senate, and on March 31, 2021, the Senate agreed to the House version of the bill, as amended, by a vote of 36 to 14.53 The Senate sent the bill to Governor Kemp (R) on April 7, 2021, and he signed it into law as Act 216 on May 4, 2021.54 The bill went into effect on May 4, 2021.55
The Act: SB 402
The Act amends the following portions of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated: Article 1 of Chapter 6 of Title 17, Part 3 of Article 6 of Chapter 11 of Title 15, Chapter 10 of Title 16, Article 4 of Chapter 3 of Title 42, and Article 1 of Chapter 7 of Title 52, relating to general provisions regarding bonds and recognizances, custody and release of child, offenses against public administration, pretrial release and diversion programs, and general provisions regarding registration, operation, and sale of watercraft.56
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Section 1-1
Section 1 of the...
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