FEDERALcongressional record

Cashless Bail Reporting Act (H.R. 5625)

Original title: CASHLESS BAIL REPORTING ACT

May 14, 2026

criminal justice bail reform public safety transparency law enforcement

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The Frame

What this does

The bill mandates federal tracking of local bail policies, which may influence public perception and policy debates regarding criminal justice reform in specific states and cities.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

State and local governments

These jurisdictions will be subject to federal reporting and public listing regarding their bail policies.

Attorney General

The office is tasked with the administrative duty of defining covered offenses and maintaining the public list.

What changed

Last recorded activity May 14, 2026.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

This bill requires the U.S. Attorney General to create and annually update a public list of all state and local governments that allow individuals charged with certain serious crimes to be released before trial without paying cash bail. The goal is to provide transparency regarding jurisdictions that use or unsecured bonds for defendants accused of violent or public-disorder offenses.

Key Facts

The Attorney General must publish a list of states and local governments that permit cashless bail for 'covered offenses'.
The list must be published within one year of enactment and updated annually.
A 'covered offense' is defined as a crime posing a clear threat to public safety, including violent acts (murder, rape, assault, robbery) and public disorder (rioting, looting, vandalism).
The bill applies to release on personal recognizance or unsecured appearance bonds.
The bill was debated under House Resolution 1275.
The bill includes an amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on the Judiciary.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this bill actually change?

It requires the federal government to officially track and publish a list of jurisdictions that allow defendants to be released before trial without paying cash bail for specific serious crimes.

Does this bill ban cashless bail?

No, the bill only requires the Attorney General to report on which jurisdictions use these policies; it does not prohibit or mandate specific bail practices.

Why It Matters

The bill mandates federal tracking of local bail policies, which may influence public perception and policy debates regarding criminal justice reform in specific states and cities.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Federal oversight of local judicial policy

The bill represents a move toward federal monitoring of local criminal justice practices, even though bail policy is traditionally a state and local matter.

Attorney General State and local governments

Connected Entities

personMr. Raskin“Representative from Maryland who spoke on the bill”Map →

personDecarlos Brown, Jr.“Individual accused of murder who was released on a promise to appear”Map →

personMr. Harris“Representative from North Carolina who introduced the bill”Map →

organizationAttorney General“Responsible for compiling and publishing the list of jurisdictions”Map →

personIryna Zarutska“Victim of a crime cited by the sponsor as motivation for the bill”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance40
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy50
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment20
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz30
Current news / social attention level

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