TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Increasing jail populations in Florida could soon come with a higher price tag for taxpayers.
Lawmakers are considering changes to the state’s bail system that critics say would drastically increase the time people spend behind bars awaiting trial. Supporters argue the proposal clarifies how bail money is handled. Opponents say it targets charities and could force them to shut down.
Erin George with The Bail Project said the proposal is unlike anything her organization has seen.
“I have not heard of a provision like this anywhere else in the country.”
The Bail Project is a nonprofit organization that offers free bail assistance for people awaiting trial. They also provide notifications and free transportation to court.
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Since launching in Jacksonville, Orlando, and Pensacola in 2021, they claim to have helped 2,348 people secure pretrial release, with 91% of scheduled court appearances made.
George says HB1017 and its companion SB 600 would make it nearly impossible for charitable bail groups to continue operating in Florida.
“Because it would prevent us from recovering and then reusing that bail money, even when people return to court and meet all of their pretrial expectations,” George explained.
For decades, charities and churches have helped inmates post bond. Once a case is resolved, the bail money is typically returned to the nonprofit so it can be used to help someone else. Under the proposed change, bail money posted by a charity would be returned to the inmate instead of the organization.
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Rep. Traci Koster said she has concerns about where that money would go.
“My concern is we’re then putting the money in the hands of the alleged criminal, rather than potentially giving it back to the church, so that the church could then help another person.”
Sponsor of HB 1017, Rep. Jessica Baker, argues that the main purpose of a charity is donation.
“I’m not prohibiting any charities from posting a cash bond for a defendant. The main purpose of a charity is to donate items, to donate money, to donate time. So logically, what this is doing is it’s just saying if the charity wants the post to cash bail, then they’re donating the money to the defendant.”
George said that distinction could effectively end charitable bail operations.
“While the bill doesn’t explicitly prohibit nonprofits from paying the cash bail on the front end. By restricting our ability to get those bail refunds back like the system intended, the ultimate result is going to be that we and others like us would have to close our doors, and importantly, this provision directly and only targets charities separately from how everyone else operates in the bail system. ”
George believes commercial bail companies stand to benefit the most from the new legislation. News 6 checked and the Florida Bail Agents Association has indeed lobbied in favor of the bill. The bill also has the backing of the Florida Sheriffs Association and Florida’s Prosecuting Attorneys Association.
“On the whole, the rest of this bill actually eases regulations on the commercial bail companies, and hands them a lot of special privileges that average Floridians don’t get when posting bail with the courts.” George explained.
During a discussion of the bill in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice, Central Florida state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith questioned Sen. Keith Truenow, the sponsor of SB 600.
“How are those for-profit bail companies impacted by your bill? Will they continue to see a revenue stream while charitable bail organizations will see a decline in their revenue stream?”
Truenow responded, “Yeah. I mean, the charitable bail organization would make a conscious decision whether or not they want to engage in this activity, knowing that the money could go back to the defendant.”
Despite raising concerns, Smith ultimately voted yes, and the bill was adopted unanimously. SB 600 also passed unanimously in the Criminal Justice Committee.
The House version of the bill also passed both of its committees unanimously and has been placed on the House floor.
If approved by the full Legislature and signed into law, George believes the measure could “increase unnecessary pretrial incarceration, contribute to jail overcrowding, and dismantle a non-profit model that has maintained high court appearance rates and saved taxpayers millions.”
The Bail Project estimates it has prevented 98,616 days of incarceration, saving taxpayers over $11 million in Florida since 2021.
“It’s not just the front-end costs that are saved. What we know from research and data is that the longer that people stay in jail pretrial, the more likely they are to be arrested again in the future.” George added.
That possible increase in inmates could add to a growing problem here in Central Florida.
Last year, amid concerns about rising jail populations, Mayor Jerry Demings formed the Orange County Jail Oversight Commission, tasked with conducting “a comprehensive review regarding the increase in the inmate population in recent years.”
Among its recommendations were steps aimed at improving case processing, expanding diversion efforts and exploring cost-effective methods to relieve pressure on the jail system, including encouraging law enforcement to use notices to appear and civil citations when possible.
News 6 reached out to Orange County for comment on possible impacts of the new bail bonds bill, but the county says they do not comment on pending litigation.