HR 165 — A Resolution directing the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a study and issue a report on the status of the pretrial detention practices and pretrial detainee populations in this Commonwealth.

PRINTER'S NO.   1221

                  THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



           HOUSE RESOLUTION
              No. 165
                                              Session of
                                                2025

     INTRODUCED BY DALEY, MADDEN, FREEMAN, KHAN, HILL-EVANS, PIELLI,
        HOHENSTEIN, SANCHEZ, STEELE AND GREEN, APRIL 1, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, APRIL 1, 2025


                               A RESOLUTION
 1   Directing the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a
 2      study and issue a report on the status of the pretrial
 3      detention practices and pretrial detainee populations in this
 4      Commonwealth.
 5      WHEREAS, Pretrial detainees comprise approximately one-third
 6   of the total incarcerated population of this Commonwealth; and
 7      WHEREAS, Pennsylvania's county jails house approximately
 8   20,000 pretrial detainees; and
 9      WHEREAS, Pretrial detainees comprise approximately 80% of
10   county jail populations; and
11      WHEREAS, County jail records, requested through the right-to-
12   know legal mechanism, suggest that the average pretrial
13   detention duration is at least 50 days and likely close to 150
14   days; and
15      WHEREAS, Pretrial detention can lead to the loss of an
16   individual's job or home; and
17      WHEREAS, Pretrial detainees often suffer from strained or
18   lost relationships with loved ones because of their
19   incarceration; and
 1         WHEREAS, Commonwealth or county government action that leads
 2   directly to the suffering of an individual, particularly an
 3   individual not yet tried, sentenced or found guilty, should be
 4   minimized, undertaken with diligence and cited, recorded and
 5   made available to the public in the form of accessible records;
 6   and
 7         WHEREAS, Pretrial detention is enormously expensive to
 8   taxpayers, with the cost of jailing a single pretrial detainee
 9   for one year surpassing the State's per capita income and the
10   total annual pretrial detention cost approaching $1 billion; and
11         WHEREAS, Aside from the Department of Corrections' County
12   Statistics and General Information reports, which provide only
13   an estimate of the total pretrial detainee population in this
14   Commonwealth, Statewide records that inform the public of the
15   nature of the pretrial detainee population do not currently
16   exist; and
17         WHEREAS, Many State agencies, county governments, nonprofit
18   organizations, coalitions and public-private partnerships
19   interested in criminal justice could benefit from an improved
20   understanding of the pretrial detention practices in this
21   Commonwealth; therefore be it
22         RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives direct the Joint
23   State Government Commission to conduct a study and issue a
24   report on the status of the pretrial detention practices and
25   pretrial detainee populations in this Commonwealth; and be it
26   further
27         RESOLVED, That the study:
28             (1)   describe county-level pretrial practices, including
29         the presence or absence of pretrial population records,
30         dedicated pretrial offices, judicial review mechanisms for

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 1      detention decisions and formal arrestee interviews prior to
 2      preliminary arraignments;
 3           (2)   describe the pretrial populations of county jails,
 4      including the average and total sizes of pretrial
 5      populations, the probation detainee populations, the
 6      populations held on unmet cash bail, the populations held on
 7      remand, the populations held on a misdemeanor offense and the
 8      basic demographics of these populations, including sex, age
 9      and race; and
10           (3)   identify gaps in the ability of publicly available
11      records to describe the pretrial populations of county jails
12      and the pretrial population of this Commonwealth as a whole;
13   and be it further
14      RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission consult
15   with:
16           (1)   relevant State agencies;
17           (2)   county governments of this Commonwealth; and
18           (3)   nongovernmental organizations with justice system
19      expertise, including academic centers and nonprofit
20      organizations;
21   and be it further
22      RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission make
23   recommendations on steps to be taken to make improvements to
24   pretrial detention practices, information on pretrial detainee
25   populations and accessibility to records regarding pretrial
26   detainee populations; and be it further
27      RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission issue a
28   report of its findings and recommendations no later than 12
29   months after the adoption of this resolution and submit the
30   report to:

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1         (1)   the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the
2     Senate;
3         (2)   the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the House
4     of Representatives;
5         (3)   the chairperson and minority chairperson of the
6     Judiciary Committee of the Senate; and
7         (4)   the chairperson and minority chairperson of the
8     Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives.




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