Letter to Ohio Legislature Affirming Support for HB 315, Make Bail Changes
November 10, 2022
| The Honorable Robert R. Cupp Speaker of the House 77 South High Street 14th Floor Columbus, OH 43215 _ |
The Honorable Jeff LaRe Criminal Justice Committee, Chair 77 South High Street 13th Floor Columbus, OH 43215 _ |
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| The Honorable David Leland Ranking Member Criminal Justice Committee 77 South High Street 10th Floor Columbus, OH 43215 _ |
The Honorable Andrea White Vice Chair Criminal Justice Committee 77 South High Street 11th Floor Columbus, OH 43215 _ |
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| The Honorable Willis E. Blackshear, Jr. Criminal Justice Committee, Member 77 South High Street 11th Floor Columbus, OH 43215 _ |
The Honorable Sedrick Denson Criminal Justice Committee, Member 77 South High Street 10th Floor Columbus, OH 43215 _ |
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| The Honorable Adam Miller Criminal Justice Committee, Member 77 South High Street 10th Floor Columbus, OH 43215 _ |
The Honorable Phil Plummer Criminal Justice Committee, Member 77 South High Street 13th Floor Columbus, OH 43215 _ |
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| The Honorable Sharon A. Ray Criminal Justice Committee, Member 77 South High Street 13th Floor Columbus, OH 43215 _ |
The Honorable Jean Schmidt Criminal Justice Committee, Member 77 South High Street 12th Floor Columbus, OH 43215 _ |
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| The Honorable Bill Seitz Criminal Justice Committee, Member 77 South High Street 14th Floor Columbus, OH 43215 _ |
The Honorable D.J. Swearingen Criminal Justice Committee, Member 77 South High Street 13th Floor Columbus, OH 43215 _ |
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| The Honorable Tavia Galonski Criminal Justice Committee, Member 77 South High Street 10th Floor Columbus, OH 43215 _ |
The Honorable Cindy Abrams Criminal Justice Committee, Member 77 South High Street 10th Floor Columbus, OH 43215 _ |
Dear Speaker Cupp, Chairman LaRe, and members of the House Criminal Justice Committee,
We are writing to request that House Bill 315, Make Bail Changes, be included as a priority item on the legislative agenda before the conclusion of the 134th General Assembly.
CEO Action for Racial Equity is a Fellowship of over 100 signatory organizations from across the US, many of which have a significant presence in Ohio. Ranging from manufacturers to accountants, retailers, and other suppliers, we mobilize business leaders with diverse expertise to advance public policy. One of our key priorities is decriminalizing poverty. Simply, this means confronting the aspects of our justice system that hurt low-income and working-class communities because they may lack the means to afford judicial costs.
There is an adverse impact for society, including businesses, when individuals who are not a risk to public safety are held pretrial. Specifically, Ohio is suffering from a labor shortage, and current policies on pretrial detention can exacerbate this shortage by preventing thousands of Ohioans from fully participating in the economy. Current policies keep Ohioans in jail before their trial unnecessarily and harm people with limited means (including many workers).1 Furthermore, detaining workers who are not a risk to public safety can disrupt business operations with “no-call, no shows” that can lead to an increase in terminations, turnover, and recruiting costs.
We encourage passage of House Bill 315, Make Bail Changes, because we believe it can improve the lives of many Ohioans, keep our communities safe, strengthen our workforce, bring equity and fairness to our justice system, and save millions of taxpayer dollars currently spent on detaining people who are likely not a risk to public safety.
Thank you for your leadership in advancing House Bill 315. We hope we can count on you to make this a priority agenda item for the 134th General Assembly. Let’s not lose momentum!
Sincerely,
CEO Action for Racial Equity
CC: The Honorable Brett Hillyer
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[1] ACLU of Ohio, “Ohio Could Save Big by Implementing Bail Reform: A Fiscal Impact Study,” 2, Sept 2020, ACLU of Ohio. https://www.acluohio.org/sites/default/files/ACLUofOhio_OhioCouldSaveBigByImplementingBailReform- AFiscalImpactAnalysis_2020-0913.pdf.
