As an example, LaGrand said that a judge might think someone’s a flight risk because they have a driver’s license from a different state. “So if the judge says, ‘I think that you are a flight risk because you have an Indiana driver's license,’ then the person can maybe say, ‘Well, judge, I have an Indiana driver's license because I was in Indiana for six months working construction. But I was born here and my wife's here, all of my family is here, and I've been living in Michigan for the last year and a half. I just haven't changed my driver's license over.’”

In addition, the reform package will require a presumption that people who have been arrested should go home on a non-cash bond “unless there’s a reason for a cash bond. And the reason can’t be, well, we’d like some of your money to pay fines and costs with,” LaGrand said.

Data collection is the last major reform called for in the package. According to LaGrand, his bills will mandate that every county keep track of the number of people who are released on cash bonds; the number released without having to pay bail; and both the number of people who are held in jail before trial and the reasons they were held. Having such data on hand, LaGrand explained, will allow lawmakers to see “how much [the bills] improve things, and whether there’s room for further improvement.”

LaGrand may be one of the major forces championing bail reform in Michigan, but his voice is far from alone on the matter. In addition to the bipartisan group of legislators who co-sponsored the bill package in the state House and Senate, the right-leaning think tank Mackinac Center and the ACLU of Michigan are also on board.

“The bail reform package is promising,” said Kahryn Riley, the Mackinac Center’s director of criminal justice policy, in an email to Daily Kos. “Jailing people is financially expensive—up to $110 per person per day in some counties—and socially costly, because it disrupts family life, employment, housing, and may contribute to future risky behavior.” Riley added that her organization isn’t in favor of eliminating cash bail completely, “but we must reform the aspects that make it counterproductive.”

ACLU of Michigan policy counsel Kim Buddin said that her organization has been working with the state legislature to create “more comprehensive” bail reform and called the bills “a good first step.” However, Buddin added, her organization sees “significant concerns” that have yet to be addressed. “Any criminal justice reform needs to tackle racism, not simply keep people out of jails and prisons,” she said. “The reform we want must include ensuring that people of color are not disproportionately impacted.”