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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky House Bill 327 Restructures Pretrial Release, Risk Assessments, and Charitable Bail Organization Limits
Last action · January 20, 2026: to Judiciary (H)Sponsors: George Brown and 2 others
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 327 establishes new comprehensive guidelines for pretrial release, requiring pretrial services to use validated risk assessment tools to determine defendants' release conditions and mandating that low or moderate-risk defendants charged with lesser offenses be released on their . The legislation restricts money bail to specific high-risk or violent categories, sets a strict $5,000 cap on bail posted by s, bans charitable bail payments entirely for individuals accused of domestic violence, dating violence, or violent offenses, and mandates annual public reporting for these organizations.
The measure alters how arrested individuals await trial across Kentucky by shifting standard pretrial release toward nonfinancial conditions and recognizance based on risk scores, while placing strict financial and operational caps on charitable bail groups and commercial bonds.
- House Bill 327 was introduced in the Kentucky General Assembly for the 2026 regular session by Representative G. Brown Jr. and referred to the House Judiciary Committee. context
- Kentucky's pretrial release framework governs how individuals are processed, assessed for risk, and released or detained between arrest and trial. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Arrested defendants
Defendants face new standardized risk assessment procedures, mandatory recognizance release rules for certain low-level charges, and strict limitations on when money bail can be imposed.
Charitable bail organizations
Organizations are prohibited from posting bail amounts of $5,000 or more, barred from posting bail for domestic violence or violent offenses, and subjected to mandatory annual reporting requirements.
Pretrial services officers
Officers are required to use validated risk assessment tools, interview and assess defendants, conduct substance abuse screenings, and make release determinations based on statutory risk categories.
Courts and judges
Judges must adhere to new statutory guidelines governing pretrial detention hearings, nonfinancial release conditions, and restrictions on imposing money bail.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What triggers a mandatory release on recognizance for a defendant?
Are charitable bail organizations allowed to post bail for any defendant?
When must a detention hearing take place after a defendant is detained?
What information must charitable bail organizations report annually?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Jan 20, 2026HouseCommitteeto Judiciary (H)
- Jan 12, 2026HouseIntroducedintroduced in House to Committee on Committees (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Comprehensive Restructuring of Pretrial Release and Bail Limits
The bill systematically ties pretrial release conditions directly to validated risk assessment tools while simultaneously imposing strict financial caps and offense-based prohibitions on charitable bail organizations.
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy75Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz50Current news / social attention level
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