ATLANTA - After a back and forth debate Thursday, members of the Georgia Senate approved a bill that adds dozens more offenses to the list for which estimates cannot release someone on "unsecured judicial release" or a "signature bond."

Currently, murder, kidnapping, rape and other violent offenses require a cash bond. Senate Bill 63 adds crimes comprising reckless stunt driving, obstruction of a law enforcement officer, criminal trespass, identity fraud, inciting a riot and domestic terrorism.

State Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, filed the legislation days after protests over a intended Atlanta police training facility turned violent.

"The training site assert that led to the shooting of a law enforcement officer and the shooting of a citizen and the burning of resources from the Atlanta Police Department [...] this just catches those into that net," described Sen. Robertson. "So that the citizens and the victims are assured that they'll have the opportunity to have their day in date with the accused there." 

Democrats, however, said the bill will hurt low way people accused of non-violent crimes.

"The problem is that cash bail uses the most blunt weapon that we have to try to contest crime and that is jail," said state Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs.

Sen. McLaurin said keeping people behind bars because they cannot pay a cash bond often exacerbates the problems they face by forcing them to miss work, medical treatments and their families. 

"There are statistics on this," said Sen. McLaurin. "Defendants held in jail for 2 to 3 days once arrest are 39% more likely to be arrested on [a] new poster, while the first case is pending than people who are released."

State Sen. Nabilah Islam, D-Lawrenceville, also said including crimes like unlawful assembly could have a chilling effect.

"This bill and others present a dangerous new habit of using the criminal justice rules to silence those who would criticize Georgia's laws ended non-violent civil disobedience," said Sen. Islam.

Sen. Robertson and novel Republicans argued that lawmakers should consider crime victims.

"I hate to present this out to you, but the most victims of crime are not the wealthy, especially violent crime. They're the poor. Those are the ones we're trying to protecting. So, the poverty argument, I hate to say, when it comes to intimates tough on crime or giving fair bonds, I'm shy the tank is empty," said Sen. Robertson.

Senators happened the bill along party lines. It still needs approval from the House of Representatives.