Creating a Special Legislative Commission to Study the Impact and Potential Economic Benefits of Bail Reforms on Black Rhode Islanders and the State

WHEREAS, Pre-trial detention is one of the earliest points in the criminal justice system and typically represents an individual’s first prospect of being incarcerated. The individual is simply jailed while awaiting trial and not yet convicted of a crime, and still legally innocent; and

WHEREAS, The main purposes of pretrial detention are to secure the appearance at trial of defendants who are flight risks and to protect the community from further criminal activity of the person charged; and

WHEREAS, Defendants detained before trial represent over 75 percent of all jail inmates in some parts of the country, with significantly higher rates of pretrial detention among black and Hispanic individuals; and

WHEREAS, First‐time offenders accused of low‐level crimes, often spend months in pretrial detention and face subsequent long‐term damage in the form of family separation and adverse impacts on young children, work interruption, and loss of housing; and

WHEREAS, Many individuals are jailed pretrial because they can't afford money bail, and others because prior probation or parole has resulted in the court placing a "hold" on their release. The number of people in jail pretrial has nearly quadrupled since the 1980s; and

WHEREAS, There are a number of different types of pre-trial supervised release including social workers and case managers from local organizations working with people to address barriers to court attendance and connect them to social services, employment and location monitoring, mental health treatment, and substance abuse treatment; and

WHEREAS, Balancing the greatest social benefit and/or risks to public safety, and return on investment and use of taxpayer resources is necessary in order to provide the best data-driven policy solutions; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, That a special legislative commission be and the same is hereby created consisting of eleven (11) members; three (3) of whom shall be members of the Rhode Island Senate, to be appointed by the President of the Senate; one of whom shall be the RI Attorney General, or designee; one of whom shall be a representative of the Judicial Branch, to be appointed by the Chief Justice; one of whom shall be the Chair of the Rhode Island Parole Board, or designee; one of whom shall be a warden of a Rhode Island prison, to be appointed by the President of the Senate; one of whom shall be a representative from the Center for Health and Justice Transformation, to be appointed by the President of the Senate; one of whom shall be the Director of the RI Department of Children, Youth & Families, or designee; and two (2) of whom shall be persons formerly incarcerated pre-trial in the State of Rhode Island, to be appointed by the President of the Senate. In lieu of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a legislative study commission or task force, created by a General Assembly resolution, the appointing authority may appoint a member of the general public to serve in lieu of a legislator. The purpose of said commission shall be to analyze the economic and societal benefits and risks of pre-trial supervised release as an alternative to pre-trial detention, determine the impact of reforms on Black Rhode Islanders, and provide recommendations to reduce the population and all fees, costs and expenses incurred by pre-trial persons and the State. Forthwith upon passage of this resolution, the members of the commission shall meet at the call of the President of the Senate and organize, and shall select a Chairperson from among the legislative members. Vacancies in said task force shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment. The membership of said task force shall receive no compensation for their services. All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information, documentary and otherwise, to said task force and its agents as is deemed necessary or desirable by the task force to facilitate the purposes of this resolution. The Joint Committee on Legislative Services is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable quarters for said commission; and be it further

RESOLVED, That said commission shall report its findings to the President of the Senate no later than February 5, 2027, and said task force shall expire on April 5, 2027. EXPLANATION BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF SENATERESOLUTION CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY THE IMPACT AND POTENTIAL ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF BAIL REFORMS ON BLACK RHODE ISLANDERS AND THE STATE *** This resolution would create an eleven (11) member special legislative study commission whose purpose it would be to analyze the impact and potential economic benefits of bail reforms on Black Rhode Islanders, and who would report back to the Senate no later than February 5, 2027, and whose life would expire on April 5, 2027.