A bill for an act relating to bail and bond amounts and conditions. (Formerly SSB 3162 .) Effective date: 07/01/2026

Senate

File

2399

-

Enrolled

Senate

File

2399

AN

ACT

RELATING

TO

BAIL

AND

BOND

AMOUNTS

AND

CONDITIONS.

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

Section

1.

Section

804.21,

subsections

2

and

4,

Code

2026,

are

amended

to

read

as

follows:

2.

a.

Where

When

the

offense

is

bailable,

the

magistrate

shall

fix

bail

giving

due

consideration

to

the

bail

at

the

amount

endorsed

on

the

warrant

or

unless

the

bail

set

on

the

warrant

is

less

than

that

specified

on

the

bond

schedule,

and

shall

give

due

consideration

to

other

conditions

stipulated

on

the

warrant

for

the

defendant’s

appearance

in

the

court

which

that

issued

the

warrant;

if

such

person

is

not

released

on

bail,

the

magistrate

must

redeliver

the

warrant

to

the

officer,

and

the

officer

shall

retain

custody

of

the

arrested

person

until

the

person’s

removal

to

appear

before

the

magistrate

who

issued

the

warrant.

b.

In

fixing

bail,

the

magistrate

shall

not

set

bail

at

an

amount

that

is

less

than,

or

a

percentage

of,

that

on

the

uniform

bond

schedule,

unless

the

magistrate

provides

justification,

pursuant

to

section

811.2,

subsection

2,

for

the

deviation

in

writing.

4.

When

the

court

is

not

in

session,

a

person

arrested

and

placed

in

jail

may

be

released

on

the

person’s

own

recognizance

with

or

without

other

conditions,

by

the

verbal

or

written

order

of

a

judge

or

magistrate.

The

verbal

order

Senate

File

2399,

p.

2

may

be

communicated

by

telephone.

The

judge

or

magistrate

may

issue

such

order

of

release

only

upon

the

request

of

an

attorney

or

person

believed

by

the

judge

or

magistrate

to

be

reliable

A

defendant

is

only

eligible

to

be

released

on

the

defendant’s

own

recognizance

if

the

defendant

has

been

charged

with

a

nonviolent,

nondrug

simple

or

serious

misdemeanor

or

to

receive

necessary

medical

attention.

A

defendant

released

for

necessary

medical

attention

shall

be

returned

to

the

custody

of

a

law

enforcement

agency

once

the

defendant

is

medically

cleared

and

fit

for

confinement

.

Sec.

2.

Section

804.21,

subsection

5,

paragraph

b,

Code

2026,

is

amended

to

read

as

follows:

b.

The

bond

schedule

shall

not

be

used

unless

both

the

following

conditions

are

met:

(1)

The

if

the

person

was

arrested

for

a

crime

other

than

a

violation

of

section

708.6

,

section

724.26,

subsection

1

,

or

a

forcible

felony

,

and

(2)

The

courts

are

not

in

session

.

In

determining

any

conditions

of

release,

a

magistrate

shall

provide

justification

pursuant

to

section

811.2,

subsection

2,

in

writing.

Sec.

3.

Section

804.22,

subsection

2,

Code

2026,

is

amended

to

read

as

follows:

2.

a.

In

determining

conditions

of

release,

a

magistrate

shall

not

set

bail

at

an

amount

that

is

less

than,

or

a

percentage

of,

that

on

the

uniform

bond

schedule,

or

otherwise

release

a

defendant,

unless

the

magistrate

provides

justification

pursuant

to

section

811.2,

subsection

2,

in

writing.

b.

This

section

and

the

rules

of

criminal

procedure

do

not

affect

the

provisions

of

chapter

805

authorizing

the

release

of

a

person

on

citation

or

bail

prior

to

initial

appearance,

unless

the

person

is

charged

with

manufacture,

delivery,

possession

with

intent

to

manufacture

or

deliver,

or

distribution

of

methamphetamine.

The

initial

appearance

of

a

person

so

released

shall

be

scheduled

for

a

time

not

more

than

thirty

days

after

the

date

of

release.

Sec.

4.

Section

811.1,

subsection

2,

unnumbered

paragraph

1,

Code

2026,

is

amended

to

read

as

follows:

All

Except

as

provided

in

subsection

3,

all

defendants

Senate

File

2399,

p.

3

are

bailable

both

before

and

after

conviction,

by

sufficient

surety,

or

subject

to

release

upon

condition

or

on

their

own

recognizance,

except

that

the

following

defendants

shall

not

be

admitted

to

bail:

Sec.

5.

Section

811.1,

Code

2026,

is

amended

by

adding

the

following

new

subsection:

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

3.

A

defendant

is

only

eligible

to

be

released

on

the

defendant’s

own

recognizance

if

the

defendant

has

been

charged

with

a

nonviolent,

nondrug

simple

or

serious

misdemeanor.

Sec.

6.

Section

811.2,

subsection

1,

paragraph

a,

unnumbered

paragraph

1,

Code

2026,

is

amended

to

read

as

follows:

All

bailable

defendants

shall

be

ordered

released

from

custody

pending

judgment

or

entry

of

deferred

judgment

on

their

personal

recognizance

,

except

as

limited

by

section

811.1,

subsection

3

,

or

upon

the

execution

of

an

unsecured

appearance

bond

in

an

amount

specified

by

the

magistrate

unless

the

magistrate

determines

in

the

exercise

of

the

magistrate’s

discretion,

that

such

a

release

will

not

reasonably

assure

the

appearance

of

the

defendant

as

required

or

that

release

will

jeopardize

the

personal

safety

of

another

person

or

persons.

When

such

determination

is

made,

the

magistrate

shall,

either

in

lieu

of

or

in

addition

to

the

above

methods

of

release,

impose

the

first

of

the

following

conditions

of

release

which

that

will

reasonably

assure

the

appearance

of

the

person

for

trial

or

deferral

of

judgment

and

the

safety

of

other

persons,

or,

if

no

single

condition

gives

that

assurance,

any

combination

of

the

following

conditions:

Sec.

7.

Section

811.2,

subsection

1,

paragraph

a,

subparagraph

(3),

Code

2026,

is

amended

to

read

as

follows:

(3)

Require

the

execution

of

an

appearance

bond

in

a

specified

amount

and

the

deposit

with

the

clerk

of

the

district

court

or

a

public

officer

designated

under

section

602.1211,

subsection

4

,

in

cash

or

other

qualified

security,

of

a

sum

not

to

exceed

ten

percent

of

the

amount

of

the

bond,

the

deposit

to

be

returned

to

the

person

who

deposited

the

specified

amount

with

the

clerk

upon

the

performance

of

the

appearances

as

required

in

section

811.6

.

Senate

File

2399,

p.

4

Sec.

8.

Section

811.2,

subsection

1,

Code

2026,

is

amended

by

adding

the

following

new

paragraph:

NEW

PARAGRAPH

.

c.

If

a

pretrial

release

evaluation

is

completed

by

the

department

of

corrections

for

a

magistrate

to

consider

prior

to

the

release

of

a

defendant,

the

evaluator

for

the

department

of

corrections

must

verify

all

of

the

information

contained

in

the

pretrial

release

evaluation

prior

to

providing

it

to

the

magistrate.

Sec.

9.

JUDICIAL

COUNCIL

——

UNIFORM

BOND

SCHEDULE.

The

judicial

council

shall

revise

and

update

the

bond

schedule

to

adjust

for

inflation

since

the

previous

update

that

became

effective

on

July

1,

2017.

The

revised

bond

schedule

shall

be

submitted

to

the

supreme

court

no

later

than

July

1,

2027.

______________________________

AMY

SINCLAIR

President

of

the

Senate

______________________________

PAT

GRASSLEY

Speaker

of

the

House

I

hereby

certify

that

this

bill

originated

in

the

Senate

and

is

known

as

Senate

File

2399,

Ninety-first

General

Assembly.

______________________________

W.

CHARLES

SMITHSON

Secretary

of

the

Senate

Approved

_______________,

2026

______________________________

KIM

REYNOLDS

Governor