State Republicans want answers.
Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, sent a letter Tuesday on behalf of 20 Republican senators in the chamberâs minority to request the state Office of Court Administration and state Division of Criminal Justice Services conduct a thorough study and analysis of the stateâs bail reform laws and potential links to the violent crime surge across the state since January 2020 and publicize the conclusions.
Republican leaders across the state continue to tie the stateâs controversial cashless bail changes included in the 2019-20 budget, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2020, to the spike in shootings, homicides and other violent crimes seen across the state and nation since early last year.