The Professional Bondsmen of Texas- Blog

  Ohio voters will decide in November on a bail reform measure that could move the state toward cash bail and requires judges to consider public safety when setting bail provisions. Attorney General Dave Yost praised the passage of House Joint Resolution 2 and Senate Joint Resolution 5 as issues that came in response to an Ohio Supreme Court decision upholding an appeals court ruling that public safety cannot be considered when determining bail. “Today’s vote by the General Assembly returns the power back to all Ohioans who will now decide if the safety of the public should be considered by judges when determining the monetary amount of bail,” Yost said. “I expect many Ohioans will be shocked to learn that judges are not currently permitted to consider the threat an offender poses to a community when setting financial conditions of bail.” Opponents say the proposed amendment calls for the state’s increased reliance on cash bail, which would negatively impact low-income people in ja...

  A controversial measure to rewrite the Ohio Constitution’s standards for setting bail was put on hold in the state House on Wednesday. Substitute House Joint Resolution 2 and matching House Bill 607 came up for votes by the full chamber, but on a motion by state Rep. Timothy Ginter, R-Columbiana County, both were “informally passed” — not receiving a vote, but kept on the legislature’s calendar for further work. That delays any potential vote with less than a month left in the legislative session. Both measures would still need committee and floor votes to be sent on for Senate consideration. The resolution and bill are sponsored by state Reps. Jeff LaRe, R-Violet Twp., and D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron. Both were introduced in March and hurried through four committee hearings, and they passed the House Criminal Justice Committee last week. The resolution seeks to place an initiative on the November 8 ballot that would write new requirements for setting bail into the Ohio Constitution...

  There is a battle between bail legislation happening at the Ohio Statehouse: a bipartisan effort that lawmakers say would fix a broken system versus the Republican-proposed resolution that they say would promote public safety. House Bill 315 and Senate Bill 182 are companion bills; House Joint Resolution 2 and Senate Joint Resolution 5 are, as well. There is a battle between bail legislation happening at the Ohio Statehouse: a bipartisan effort that lawmakers say would fix a broken system versus the Republican-proposed resolution that they say would promote public safety. House Bill 315 and Senate Bill 182 are companion bills; House Joint Resolution 2 and Senate Joint Resolution 5 are, as well. H.B. 315 (and its substitute) was introduced by state Reps. David Leland, a Democrat from Columbus, and Brett Hillyer, a Republican from Uhrichsville. S.B. 182 by Republican state Sens. Rob McColley, from Napoleon, and Stephen Huffman, from Tipp City. H.J.R. 2 was introduced by state House...