H.R. 5214
District of Columbia Cash Bail Reform Act of 2025
Sponsor: Elise M. Stefanik
3 cosponsors
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
District of Columbia Cash Bail Reform Act of 2025
This bill mandates, in the District of Columbia (DC), pretrial and post-conviction detention for crimes of violence and dangerous crimes and cash bail to obtain pretrial release for public safety or order crimes.
Under current DC law, a court may generally order a defendant released before trial based on the judge’s assessment of the risks posed by the defendant's release. If the defendant is charged with a crime of violence or a dangerous crime, the court must determine conditions for release; if the defendant has a prior history of such crimes, is charged with a crime that involves deadly weapons, or is charged with a crime of violence, there is a rebuttable presumption that the defendant must be detained.
The bill requires defendants charged with a crime of violence or a dangerous crime to be detained while awaiting trial. It also prohibits a court from releasing a defendant charged with a public safety or order crime without a secured appearance bond (i.e., money or property subject to forfeiture). Public safety or order crimes include fleeing from a law enforcement officer, rioting, and stalking.
Current DC law also allows individuals who are convicted of an offense to be released pending sentencing or an appeal if the court finds the individual is unlikely to flee or pose a danger to others. The bill requires individuals who are convicted of a crime of violence or a dangerous crime to be detained in these circumstances.
Text of the bill
Where this section came from
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Sep 8, 2025 · Introduced in House Referred to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Sep 8
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Sep 30, 2025 · Reported in House Marked up by House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Sep 10 Reported by House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Sep 30 Committee members' individual votes aren't in our records.
… 7 unchanged passages …
(1) in subsection (b), by striking unless and all that follows through section 23–1321; and
… 3 unchanged passages …
(
d
e
) This provisions of this section shall apply with respect to a person convicted of a crime of violence or a dangerous crime (as such terms are defined in section 1331 of this title).
… 5 unchanged passages …
(1) by striking burglary and inserting burglary in the first degree, attempted burglary in the first degree, or
burglar
burglary
with a dangerous weapon
;
’;
and
… 8 unchanged passages …
(2) violated section 3 of the Act of July 8, 1932 (sec. 22–4503, D.C. Official Code), section 4(a) of such Act (sec. 22–4504(a), D.C. Official Code), or section 4(a
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1) of such Act (sec. 22–4504(a)(1), D.C. Official Code); or
… 4 unchanged passages …
(2) Removal of murder offenses from pretrial release procedures. Section 23–1325, District of Columbia Official Code, as amended by subsection (b), is amended by striking subsection (a) and redesignating subsections (b) through (
d
e
) as
subsections
(a) through (
c
d
), respectively.
What is a markup?
A markup is a committee meeting where members go through a bill and vote on changes before sending it to the full chamber.
(a) Pretrial detention. Section 23–1322, District of Columbia Official Code, is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking with an offense and inserting with an offense, other than a crime of violence or dangerous crime (as such terms are defined in section 1331 of this title),; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
(j) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the judicial officer shall order each person charged with a crime of violence or a dangerous crime (as such terms are defined in section 1331 of this title) be detained for the period before trial.
(b) Post conviction detention. Section 23–1325, District of Columbia Official Code, is amended—
(1) in subsection (b), by striking unless and all that follows through section 23–1321; and
(2) in subsection (c), by striking unless and all that follows through section 23–1321; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
(e) This provisions of this section shall apply with respect to a person convicted of a crime of violence or a dangerous crime (as such terms are defined in section 1331 of this title).
(c) Changes to definition of dangerous crime. Section 23–1331(3), D.C. Official Code, is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (E), by striking Burglary or attempted burglary and inserting Burglary in the first degree, attempted burglary in the first degree, or burglary with a dangerous weapon; and
(2) in subparagraph (G), by striking Robbery or attempted robbery and inserting Robbery in the first degree, attempted robbery in the first degree, or robbery with a dangerous weapon.
(d) Changes to definition of crime of violence. Section 23–1331(4), D.C. Official Code, is amended—
(1) by striking burglary and inserting burglary in the first degree, attempted burglary in the first degree, or burglary with a dangerous weapon’; and
(2) by striking robbery and inserting robbery in the first degree, attempted robbery in the first degree, or robbery with a dangerous weapon.
(e) Conforming amendments
(1) Removal of crime of violence and dangerous crime from pretrial release procedures. Section 23–1322, District of Columbia Official Code, is further amended—
(A) in subsection (b)(1), by striking subparagraph (A) and redesignating subparagraphs (B) through (D) as subparagraphs (A) through (C), respectively;
(B) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) Subject to rebuttal by the person, it shall be presumed that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure the safety of any other person and the community if the judicial officer finds that there is probable cause to believe that the person—
(1) has threatened, injured, intimidated, or attempted to threaten, injure, or intimidate a law enforcement officer, an officer of the court, or a prospective witness or juror in any criminal investigation or judicial proceeding;
(2) violated section 3 of the Act of July 8, 1932 (sec. 22–4503, D.C. Official Code), section 4(a) of such Act (sec. 22–4504(a), D.C. Official Code), or section 4(a-1) of such Act (sec. 22–4504(a)(1), D.C. Official Code); or
(3) violated the Firearm Control Regulations Act of 1975 (sec. 7–2508.01 et seq., D.C. Official Code) while on probation, parole, or supervised release for committing a dangerous crime or a crime of violence (as such terms are defined in section 1331 of this title) and while armed with or having readily available a firearm, imitation firearm, or other deadly or dangerous weapon as described in section 2(a) of the Act of July 8, 1832 (sec. 22–4502(a), D.C. Official Code).
(C) in subsection (e)(1), by striking is a crime of and all that follows through , or; and
(D) by striking subsection (f)(3).
(2) Removal of murder offenses from pretrial release procedures. Section 23–1325, District of Columbia Official Code, as amended by subsection (b), is amended by striking subsection (a) and redesignating subsections (b) through (e) as subsections (a) through (d), respectively.