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Bill Summary · HB 741

Overview

HB 741, known as the Ohio Holly Act, would overhaul Ohio’s bail and pretrial practices, establish new risk-assessment considerations, tighten rules governing sureties and charitable bail organizations, and create new reporting and sanction provisions. The bill affects judges, prosecutors, defense counsel, private sureties, charitable bail organizations, and the Ohio Legislative Service Commission for data reporting.

Purpose and intent

  • Strengthen and standardize pretrial release decisions by requiring explicit consideration of risk assessments in certain cases.
  • Increase accountability and transparency around bail sureties, including the information they must disclose.
  • Regulate charitable bail organizations to prevent potential misuse and protect victims.
  • Clarify procedures for bail forfeiture, remission, and related enforcement.
  • Create a unified framework for bail-related obligations that balance public safety with defendants’ rights.

Key provisions and changes

Surety information and risk assessment

  • Courts must consider a defendant’s risk assessment results when setting bail for:
    • Persons charged with sexually oriented offenses or public indecency, if there is a history of qualifying offenses.
    • Persons charged with domestic violence under specified circumstances.
  • Courts must also consider risk-assessment results if a defendant has prior felony convictions.
  • Courts or clerks must require sureties to include detailed descriptions of security, including property encumbrances, other bonds and liabilities, and other evidence of financial responsibility. Courts may require additional financial information from the surety.

Denying or granting bail; finality of orders

  • A judge must consider risk assessment results when deciding bail and a common-pleas order denying bail becomes a final appealable order.
  • The Court of Appeals may stay a denial order during appeal if it finds clear and convincing evidence that the offender poses a substantial risk and no release conditions will protect the public.
  • If a judge does not deny bail, they must issue a written order with findings of fact and justification.
  • The Attorney General may intervene in a bail-denial appeal if warranted.

Bail quantities and conditions

  • If a defendant has missed appearances or multiple summons in the prior five years, courts may not release on a bond with less than 25% cash or a personal recognizance bond.
  • The risk assessment must be considered when setting bail if the defendant has prior felony convictions.
  • Financial conditions should be the least restrictive necessary to protect appearance and public safety.

Forfeiture, remission, and timelines

  • Bail cannot be forfeited solely for breaching a condition of bail.
  • If bond is forfeited, the court cannot reinstate the original surety; a new bond must be set when the defendant returns.
  • Forfeiture proceedings must begin within one year of failure to appear.
  • After forfeiture, the court must remit all or part of the penalty, with rules for remission timing and amounts (e.g., up to 100% if the defendant returns within one year; 80% if within two years; factors from Delgado if longer).
  • Good cause to avoid forfeiture can include the accused being held on process in another court.

Charitable bail organizations

  • Prohibits charitable bail organizations from posting bail or acting as a surety for:
    • Any amount of $5,000 or more, and
    • Individuals alleged to have committed domestic violence, dating violence, or general violence, or those who have previously received bail from such an organization (with some amount thresholds specified).
  • Requires annual reporting by charitable bail organizations to the Legislative Service Commission (LSC) on expenditures and offender classifications; information must also be publicly posted by the organization.
  • If a charitable organization violates prohibitions, it faces a first-degree misdemeanor for the first offense and a fifth-degree felony for subsequent offenses.
  • Any bond forfeited due to a new offense must be paid to the victim if identified.

Definitions

  • The act defines “charitable bail organization,” “insurer,” “surety,” and related terms for clarity and enforcement.

Who and what is affected

  • Courts (municipal, county, and court of common pleas) and judges, in bail setting and release conditions.
  • Prosecutors and the Attorney General (in bail appeals).
  • Private sureties and bail bond agents.
  • Charitable bail organizations (new regulatory regime and reporting requirements).
  • The Ohio Legislative Service Commission (data reporting from charities).

Timelines and procedural notes

  • Charitable bail organizations must file annual reports with LSC by October 31 each year and publish data publicly.
  • Forfeiture timelines: forfeiture proceedings must commence within one year; remission windows and procedures govern post-forfeiture adjustments.
  • Initial bail hearings and potential second bail hearings exist for arrestees not yet released, with indigent defense rights preserved.

Note: This is the introduced version (as of March 2026) and reflects proposed amendments to multiple Revised Code sections to implement the Ohio Holly Act.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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