Bail Reform — Expanded Cash Bail Requirements

SB 63 expands cash bail requirements in Georgia, making it harder for defendants to secure release before trial without paying money. The bill adds new offenses to the list requiring cash bail and increases bail amounts for certain categories.

GPS opposes this bill because expanding cash bail deepens the divide between those who can buy their freedom and those who cannot. Pretrial detention — driven primarily by inability to pay bail — costs Georgia taxpayers millions annually, destroys families, and produces worse outcomes for defendants and communities alike. Every major study of bail reform shows that risk-based release systems are more effective and more just than wealth-based systems.