H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 804.21, subsections 2 and 4, Code 2026, 1 are amended to read as follows: 2 2. a. Where When the offense is bailable, the magistrate 3 shall fix bail giving due consideration to the bail at the 4 amount endorsed on the warrant or unless the bail set on the 5 warrant is less than that specified on the bond schedule, and 6 shall give due consideration to other conditions stipulated on 7 the warrant for the defendant’s appearance in the court which 8 that issued the warrant; if such person is not released on 9 bail, the magistrate must redeliver the warrant to the officer, 10 and the officer shall retain custody of the arrested person 11 until the person’s removal to appear before the magistrate who 12 issued the warrant. 13 b. In fixing bail, the magistrate shall not set bail at 14 an amount that is less than, or a percentage of, that on 15 the uniform bond schedule, unless the magistrate provides 16 justification for the deviation in writing. 17 4. a. When the court is not in session, a person arrested 18 and placed in jail may be released on the person’s own 19 recognizance with or without other conditions, by the verbal 20 or written order of a judge or magistrate. The verbal order 21 may be communicated by telephone. The judge or magistrate 22 may issue such order of release only upon the request of an 23 attorney or person believed by the judge or magistrate to be 24 reliable. 25 b. A defendant is only eligible to be released on the 26 defendant’s own recognizance if the defendant has been charged 27 with a nonviolent, nondrug simple or serious misdemeanor. 28 Sec. 2. Section 804.21, subsection 5, paragraph b, Code 29 2026, is amended to read as follows: 30 b. The bond schedule shall not be used unless both the 31 following conditions are met: 32 (1) The if the person was arrested for a crime other than a 33 violation of section 708.6 , section 724.26, subsection 1 , or 34 a forcible felony , and 35 -1- LSB 6846YC (1) 91 as/js 1/ 4

H.F. _____ (2) The courts are not in session . 1 Sec. 3. Section 811.1, subsection 2, unnumbered paragraph 2 1, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows: 3 All Except as provided in subsection 3, all defendants 4 are bailable both before and after conviction, by sufficient 5 surety, or subject to release upon condition or on their own 6 recognizance, except that the following defendants shall not be 7 admitted to bail: 8 Sec. 4. Section 811.1, Code 2026, is amended by adding the 9 following new subsection: 10 NEW SUBSECTION . 3. A defendant is only eligible to be 11 released on the defendant’s own recognizance if the defendant 12 has been charged with a nonviolent, nondrug simple or serious 13 misdemeanor. 14 Sec. 5. Section 811.2, subsection 1, paragraph a, 15 unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2026, is amended to read as 16 follows: 17 All bailable defendants shall be ordered released from 18 custody pending judgment or entry of deferred judgment on 19 their personal recognizance , except as limited by section 20 811.1, subsection 3 , or upon the execution of an unsecured 21 appearance bond in an amount specified by the magistrate unless 22 the magistrate determines in the exercise of the magistrate’s 23 discretion, that such a release will not reasonably assure the 24 appearance of the defendant as required or that release will 25 jeopardize the personal safety of another person or persons. 26 When such determination is made, the magistrate shall, either 27 in lieu of or in addition to the above methods of release, 28 impose the first of the following conditions of release which 29 that will reasonably assure the appearance of the person 30 for trial or deferral of judgment and the safety of other 31 persons, or, if no single condition gives that assurance, any 32 combination of the following conditions: 33 Sec. 6. Section 811.2, subsection 1, paragraph a, 34 subparagraph (3), Code 2026, is amended to read as follows: 35 -2- LSB 6846YC (1) 91 as/js 2/ 4

H.F. _____ (3) Require the execution of an appearance bond in a 1 specified amount and the deposit with the clerk of the district 2 court or a public officer designated under section 602.1211, 3 subsection 4 , in cash or other qualified security, of a sum not 4 to exceed ten percent of the amount of the bond, the deposit to 5 be returned to the person who deposited the specified amount 6 with the clerk upon the performance of the appearances as 7 required in section 811.6 . 8 Sec. 7. Section 811.2, subsection 1, Code 2026, is amended 9 by adding the following new paragraph: 10 NEW PARAGRAPH . c. If a pretrial release evaluation is 11 completed by the department of corrections for a magistrate to 12 consider prior to the release of a defendant, the evaluator 13 for the department of corrections must verify all of the 14 information contained in the pretrial release evaluation prior 15 to providing it to the magistrate. 16 Sec. 8. JUDICIAL COUNCIL —— UNIFORM BOND SCHEDULE. The 17 judicial council shall revise and update the bond schedule to 18 adjust for inflation since the previous update that became 19 effective on July 1, 2017. The revised bond schedule shall be 20 submitted to the supreme court no later than July 1, 2027. 21 EXPLANATION 22 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 23 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 24 This bill relates to bail and bond amounts and conditions. 25 The bill provides that when the offense is bailable, the 26 magistrate shall fix bail at the amount endorsed on the warrant 27 unless the bail set on the warrant is less than that specified 28 on the bond schedule. In fixing bail, the magistrate shall 29 not set bail at an amount that is less than, or a percentage 30 of, that on the uniform bond schedule, unless the magistrate 31 provides justification for the deviation in writing. 32 The bill provides that a defendant is only eligible to be 33 released on the defendant’s own recognizance if the defendant 34 has been charged with a nonviolent, nondrug simple or serious 35 -3- LSB 6846YC (1) 91 as/js 3/ 4

H.F. _____ misdemeanor. 1 The bill provides that the bond schedule promulgated by 2 the judicial council shall not be used if the person was 3 arrested for a violation of Code section 708.6 (intimidation 4 with a dangerous weapon), Code section 724.26, subsection 1 5 (possession, receipt, transportation, or dominion and control 6 of firearms, offensive weapons, and ammunition by felons and 7 others), or a forcible felony (Code section 702.11). Current 8 law provides that the bond schedule for release of an arrested 9 person is only used when court is not is session. 10 The bill removes the restriction that the amount of an 11 appearance bond to be deposited with the clerk may not exceed 12 10 percent of the amount of the bond. 13 The bill provides that if a pretrial release evaluation is 14 completed by the department of corrections for a magistrate to 15 consider prior to the release of a defendant, the evaluator 16 for the department of corrections must verify all of the 17 information contained in the pretrial release evaluation prior 18 to providing it to the magistrate. 19 The bill requires the judicial council to revise and update 20 the bond schedule to adjust for inflation since the previous 21 update that became effective on July 1, 2017. The revised bond 22 schedule shall be submitted to the supreme court no later than 23 July 1, 2027. 24 -4- LSB 6846YC (1) 91 as/js 4/ 4