HB 38 (2023)

Makes changes to the process to release a defendant before trial. Generally speaking, this bill shifts the balance back towards keeping a person in jail. For example, this bill repeals language that forbid keeping someone in jail only because they cannot afford any bail. If a person is arrested for a new offense while already out on bail, this bill also requires them to be held in jail, up to 72 hours, until they can be arraigned by a judge.

The House rewrote the bill; bail reform was addressed in other legislation. This bill now removes the authority to suspend the sentence of a habitual offender in cases in which operation of the motor vehicle was required due to an extreme emergency. According to the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, this is a technical change to the law.