Bills Seek to Cut Detention by Reducing Bail Usage in California

A man in a Bad Boys Bail Bonds jacket waits outside the Sheriff's Department Inmate Reception Center in Los Angeles on Jan. 30, 2015. Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Two bills in California’s state Senate and Assembly could dramatically alter the state’s bail system, and in many cases, eliminate bail completely.

Sen. Robert Hertzberg and Assemblyman Rob Bonta introduced identical bills to the Senate and Assembly called The California Money Bail Reform Act of 2017, which aims to reduce the number of people detained before trial. This month, the senate bill passed its first hurdle, the Senate Public Safety Committee.