MN HF2201

Court administrators must collect detailed bail data on defendants in misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor, and felony cases beginning January 1, 2025, including defendant demographics, bail amounts, release conditions, case outcomes, and pretrial risk assessment scores.

The Sentencing Guidelines Commission will receive annual bail data submissions and analyze the impact of bail posting practices on racial and socioeconomic inequities and costs to taxpayers and communities.

An unspecified amount of general fund money is appropriated in fiscal year 2024 to the Sentencing Guidelines Commission for a competitive grant to a nonprofit research organization to study bail practices from 2017 through 2023.

Grant recipients must collect historical bail data broken down by specific bail amount ranges, defendant demographics, judge identity, prosecuting agency, risk assessment scores, and case outcomes including guilty pleas, trials, and dismissals.

The Sentencing Guidelines Commission must submit a report to legislative judiciary and finance committee leadership by March 15, 2025, summarizing findings on bail posting practice impacts.