NJ Bail Reform Put on Agenda

Gov. Chris Christie's decision to bring lawmakers back from summer break for a rare special session to pressure them to vote on a package of bail reforms appears to be a good call.
 
Assembly leaders announced late Thursday they have scheduled a vote Monday on two bills that would let judges keep suspects who are considered dangerous in jail as they await trial and release low-level suspects so they don't have to sit for months behind bars if they can't afford to pay bail. The chamber is expected to approve the bills.
 
The Senate passed both measures by supermajorities late Thursday afternoon.
 
Christie urged lawmakers to act immediately on the bills during a 20-minute speech in the Assembly chamber Thursday before he headed to New Hampshire for several campaign stops. The measures include an amendment to the state constitution that must pass both chambers by Monday to land on the ballot this year.
 
"It doesn't seem possible that today we actually have a system where those who are at the greatest risk for having their lives thrown off course because they do not have the means or the options to make bail sit behind bars and those who pose the greatest danger and the greatest threat to our communities walk free,'' Christie told lawmakers, describing the current situation as a "crisis.''
 
The bill had support from many Republicans and Democrats, as well as anti-crime groups and the New Jersey branches of the NAACP and American Civil Liberties Union. But some Assembly Democrats remained skeptical.
 
Minutes before the governor's remarks, Assembly leaders announced they would not be scheduling a vote for Thursday as the governor had urged, saying their members still had questions that had yet to be addressed. Among the issues cited as sticking points were concerns over funding, how risk assessments would be made and language assuring those being held the right to a speedy trial.
 
Still, Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto struck an optimistic tone that they would come to an agreement.
 
"Hopefully we'll get there,'' he told reporters. "I think at the end of the day we should be able to have it, but I want to make sure we move as a unit.''
 
Christie, who is considering a run for president in 2016, spoke before heading to the early voting state of New Hampshire on a campaign trip in his role as chair of the Republican Governors Association. He has often drawn attention to his ability to work with Democrats, despite frequent clashes.
 
During his remarks, Christie said the current law unfairly punishes low-income residents and allows dangerous criminals to walk the streets. He told the stories of individuals who'd committed violent crimes while out on bail and who'd lost months behind bars before charges against them were dismissed.
 
He said the measures were "long overdue'' and asked those gathered "to act and act today.''
 
"I urge all of you who have this responsibility to not let the moment pass. Act today. Move forward and get this done,'' he said.
 
Democratic Sen. Donald Norcross, who sponsored both measures, said after his chamber's vote that the changes were badly needed.
 
"The cost of doing nothing here is so much higher than what we're doing, which is fixing a broken system,'' he said.
 
The Assembly also plans to vote on an open-space bill Monday that would fund preservation in the state over the next 30 years. The bill calls for a constitutional amendment that would allocate a larger chunk of business tax revenue to improving and preserving open spaces, farmland and historic sites.
 
The Senate passed that measure in June.