Hawai’i has a chance to fix its bail system

States face a recurring tension between two compelling interests when creating policies around pretrial release. One is the obligation to protect public safety. The other is the responsibility to uphold individual rights, such as the presumption of innocence and the guarantee of due process. In many places, a balance of the interests is struck through financial conditions, whereby money is used as a proxy for risk and the price for liberty.

Hawai’i’s House Bill 2413 offers an opportunity to better balance these priorities. This measure does not abolish cash bail, nor does it remove judicial discretion. Instead, it provides a new framework that focuses on fairness, evidence-based decision-making, and public safety.

How does the current system fall short?

Across Hawai’i, individuals are detained before trial not because they pose a serious threat but because they cannot afford to pay for their release. Many are charged with nonviolent or low-level offenses, yet they remain detained for days or even weeks. Even brief stays can destabilize lives, leading to missed work, lost housing, and disruptions of family responsibilities. For some, pretrial detention also severs treatment connections, worsens behavioral health issues, and increases the likelihood of repeat contact with police.

In practice, a lot of low-level cases effectively end in a short jail stay, such as one night and “time served.” The result is the worst of both worlds. People absorb the harms of incarceration—missed medications, lost housing, interrupted appointments, and broken communication—without any meaningful opportunity to connect to services.

Meanwhile, people facing similar charges but have access to money are often released within hours. In fact, even people accused of more serious charges can secure release just as quickly if they have the financial means. That contrast exposes the central problem: some high-risk individuals can buy their way out while others who pose little threat remain behind bars simply because they lack resources.

This approach undermines both fairness and public safety. This is compounded by the fact that unnecessary pretrial detention is linked to worse long-term outcomes, including higher rates of future arrests and increased pressure to accept plea deals regardless of the evidence. Jails are expensive and poorly designed for stabilization, treatment, or crisis response. When someone has not been convicted, pretrial detention should be reserved for clear, specific flight or public safety risks, not used as a default response to untreated addiction, psychiatric crises, or homelessness.

How does H.B. 2413 work?

H.B. 2413 adjusts the bail system to work as intended, by prioritizing risk while protecting individual rights.

For nonviolent, lower-level offenses involving low-risk defendants, the bill establishes a presumption of release, subject to any nonmonetary conditions necessary to ensure court appearance and protect public safety. If a defendant fails to appear as required, that conduct will remain an offense, and judges will retain discretion to impose appropriate sanctions.

Defendants charged with serious offenses—such as violent offenses or sexual assault—as well as those assessed as high risk, will remain subject to cash bail and existing preventive detention laws. Risk will then continue to be assessed to ensure that any detention decision or release conditions remain appropriate.

H.B. 2413 brings Hawai’i’s bail practices into alignment with long-standing constitutional protections and widely used judicial standards. A presumption of release for low-risk, nonviolent cases helps prevent unaffordable bail that can operate as detention, reducing the risk of excessive bail under the Eighth Amendment. Requiring individualized findings and clear procedures ensures detention and conditions are justified case by case, consistent with due process protections. And keeping detention focused on demonstrated risk, while using nonmonetary conditions when they are sufficient, also aligns with national guidance and research.

How will this affect flight or safety risk?

The longstanding belief that cash bail improves public safety or appearance rates is not supported by evidence. Moreover, many people do not post bail themselves. Instead, they pay a nonrefundable fee to a commercial bail bond agent. That agent posts the full amount and keeps the fee regardless of whether the person appears in court or commits a new crime. In this model, there is no meaningful financial consequence for violations on release. The fee is lost either way and makes any incentive largely symbolic. Meanwhile, research shows tools such as automated court date reminders, pretrial services, or community-based support provide more compliance and at a lower cost.

What will this cost?

The status quo of jailing individuals before trial is costly. In Hawai’i, housing a person in custody can cost the state over $300 a day. By comparison, pretrial supervision programs and other noncustodial measures are far more affordable. By comparison, pretrial supervision and other noncustodial options are typically far more affordable, which means reducing unnecessary detention can free up county and state resources for higher-priority public safety and community stability needs.

Hawai’i’s jails are increasingly asked to manage problems they were never designed to solve. Recent state reporting indicates that nearly 40 percent of people incarcerated in Hawai’i’s correctional facilities were homeless. Treating jail as a stand-in housing system or homeless shelter is one of the most expensive ways to respond to homelessness. H.B. 2413 helps reserve beds and staff attention for higher-risk cases, while allowing limited dollars to be redirected toward housing stability and behavioral health services in the community.

Does this take away judicial discretion?

The bill does not take decision-making power away from judges. It strengthens the framework so that discretion stays focused on public safety and flight risk. Judges will still be able to set conditions or deny release when warranted. They will also retain full authority to respond when someone violates release conditions. What changes is the default assumption that cash bail is always necessary. It also moves away from using pretrial detention to address broader social challenges. This approach brings more intentionality to pretrial decisions and tailors them to the individual for better outcomes. It gives courts the tools to make thoughtful, timely decisions without relying on outdated mechanisms.

The Bottom Line

H.B. 2413 is a measured update to Hawai’i’s pretrial system. This bill keeps strong tools in place for serious and high-risk cases, while creating a clearer, more consistent pathway to release for low-level, low-risk defendants based on individualized assessment and appropriate conditions. The result is a more targeted approach to public safety and accountability, as well as a better stewardship of limited public resources.