Download Zipped Introduced WordPerfect HB0370.ZIP
[Status][Bill Documents][Fiscal Note][Bills Directory]

H.B. 370

             1     

BAIL BOND AMENDMENTS

             2     
2011 GENERAL SESSION

             3     
STATE OF UTAH

             4     
Chief Sponsor: Gregory H. Hughes

             5     
Senate Sponsor: Curtis S. Bramble

             6     
             7      LONG TITLE
             8      General Description:
             9          This bill modifies the Insurance Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure regarding
             10      bail surety and bail bond companies.
             11      Highlighted Provisions:
             12          This bill:
             13          .    amends the procedure for the court providing notice to the surety when a defendant
             14      who has posted bail fails to appear;
             15          .    requires that the clerk of the court notify the prosecutor and the surety when bail has
             16      been exonerated;
             17          .    provides that bail will be exonerated in cases where the court has not scheduled any
             18      action in the case within 365 days after the most recent docket activity; and
             19          .    provides licensure qualifications, including training and hours of experience, for
             20      bail bond sureties.
             21      Money Appropriated in this Bill:
             22          None
             23      Other Special Clauses:
             24          None
             25      Utah Code Sections Affected:
             26      AMENDS:
             27          77-20-7, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2006, Chapter 332


             28          77-20b-101, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2006, Chapter 332
             29      ENACTS:
             30          31A-35-401.5, Utah Code Annotated 1953
             31     
             32      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             33          Section 1. Section 31A-35-401.5 is enacted to read:
             34          31A-35-401.5. Additional licensure requirements for a bail bond surety company.
             35          (1) A person applying for licensure as a bail bond surety or agency for the first time
             36      shall, in addition to the requirements of Section 31A-35-401 , provide proof that at least one
             37      principal of the bail bond surety or agency will have a minimum of 2,000 hours of experience
             38      working as an employee of a bail bond surety company as a licensed bail bond agent.
             39          (2) The applicant shall provide proof of the experience claimed under Subsection (1),
             40      including providing:
             41          (a) the exact details of the character and nature of the experience on a form provided by
             42      the department;
             43          (b) a statement by each employer verifying the number of hours the applicant worked
             44      for the employer; and
             45          (c) (i) federal income reporting forms that account for the wages for hours claimed or
             46      documented approval of the claimed hours by the insurance commissioner; and
             47          (ii) the total of 2,000 hours may be proved in part by federal income reporting forms
             48      and in part by approval by the insurance commissioner.
             49          (3) The burden of proving the hours of experience as required in this section is upon
             50      the applicant.
             51          (4) A person who is applying for licensure under this chapter for the first time shall
             52      have completed a training program of not less than four hours that is approved by the board and
             53      includes:
             54          (a) definition of a bail bond, jail procedures regarding bail bonds, court procedures
             55      regarding bail bonds, liability of a bail bond, the taking of collateral, returning collateral, trust
             56      account separation of funds, fee structure, the 10 percent rule, agent liability, the prohibition on
             57      soliciting on county or state property, and the delivery of a bail bond;
             58          (b) state laws and administrative rules regarding the operation of a bail bond business;


             59          (c) the rights of an accused person; and
             60          (d) the ethical requirements of a bail bond business.
             61          (5) (a) On and after January 1, 2012, an applicant for renewal of a license under this
             62      chapter shall have completed during the prior year two hours of continuing education.
             63          (b) The insurance commissioner shall implement the continuing education requirement
             64      under this Subsection (5) pursuant to Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking
             65      Act.
             66          Section 2. Section 77-20-7 is amended to read:
             67           77-20-7. Duration of liability on undertaking -- Notices to sureties -- Exoneration
             68      if charges not filed.
             69          (1) (a) The principal and the sureties on the written undertaking are liable on the
             70      undertaking during all proceedings and for all court appearances required of the defendant up
             71      to and including the surrender of the defendant in execution of any sentence imposed
             72      irrespective of any contrary provision in the undertaking. Any failure of the defendant to
             73      appear up to and including execution of sentence when required is a breach of the conditions of
             74      the undertaking or bail and subjects it to forfeiture irrespective of whether or not notice of
             75      appearance was given to the sureties.
             76          (b) For purposes of this section, an order of the court accepting a plea in abeyance
             77      agreement and holding that plea in abeyance pursuant to Title 77, Chapter 2a, Pleas in
             78      Abeyance, is considered to be the same as a sentencing upon a guilty plea.
             79          (c) Any suspended or deferred sentencing is not the responsibility of the surety and the
             80      bond is exonerated without any motion, upon acceptance of the court and the defendant of a
             81      plea in abeyance, probation, fine payments, post sentencing reviews, or any other deferred
             82      sentencing reviews or any other deferred sentencing agreement.
             83          (d) If a surety issues a bond after the execution of sentence, the surety is liable on the
             84      undertaking during all proceedings and for all court appearances required of the defendant up
             85      to and including the next execution of sentence imposed under Subsection [ 77-20-7 ](1).
             86          (2) If no information or indictment charging a person with an offense is filed in court
             87      within 120 days after the date of the bail undertaking or cash receipt, the court may relieve a
             88      person from conditions of release at the person's request, and the bond or undertaking is
             89      exonerated without further order of the court unless the prosecutor requests an extension of


             90      time before the end of the 120-day period by:
             91          (a) filing a notice for extension with the court; and
             92          (b) serving the notice for extension upon the sureties and the person or his attorney.
             93          (3) A court may extend bail and conditions of release for good cause.
             94          (4) Subsection (2) does not prohibit the filing of charges against a person at any time.
             95          (5) If the court does not set on a calendar any hearings on a case within 365 days of the
             96      last court docket activity on a case, the undertaking of bail is exonerated without motion.
             97          Section 3. Section 77-20b-101 is amended to read:
             98           77-20b-101. Entry of nonappearance -- Notice to surety -- Release of surety on
             99      failure of timely notice.
             100          (1) If a defendant who has posted bail fails to appear before the appropriate court when
             101      required [and the court chooses to order forfeiture of the bail], the court shall issue a bench
             102      warrant that includes the original case number. The court shall also direct that the surety be
             103      given notice of the nonappearance. The clerk of the court shall:
             104          (a) mail notice of nonappearance by certified mail, return receipt requested, within 30
             105      days to the address of the surety [or its agent as listed on the bond];
             106          (b) notify the surety [or its agent] as listed on the bond of the name, address, and
             107      telephone number[, and fax number] of the prosecutor;
             108          (c) deliver a copy of the notice sent under Subsection (1)(a) to the prosecutor's office at
             109      the same time notice is sent under Subsection (1)(a); and
             110          [(d) ensure that the name, address, and telephone number of the surety or its agent as
             111      listed on the bond is stated on the bench warrant.]
             112          (d) mail notice of the failure to appear to the bail producer's agent if the surety is
             113      different than the producer's agent.
             114          (2) The prosecutor may mail notice of nonappearance by certified mail, return receipt
             115      requested, to the address of the surety [or its agent] as listed on the bond within 37 days after
             116      the date of the defendant's failure to appear.
             117          (3) If notice of nonappearance is not mailed to a surety [or its agent] as listed on the
             118      bond, other than the defendant, in accordance with Subsection (1) or (2), the surety [is] and its
             119      agent are relieved of further obligation under the bond [if the surety's current name and address
             120      or the current name and address of the surety's agent are on the bail bond in the court's file].


             121          (4) (a) (i) If a defendant appears in court within seven days after a missed, scheduled
             122      court appearance, the court may reinstate the bond without further notice to the bond company.
             123          (ii) If the defendant, while in custody, appears on the case for which the bond was
             124      posted, the court may not reinstate the bond without the consent of the bond company.
             125          (b) If a defendant fails to appear within seven days after a scheduled court appearance,
             126      the court may not reinstate the bond without the consent of the surety.
             127          (c) If the defendant is arrested and booked into a county jail booking facility pursuant
             128      to a warrant for failure to appear on the original charges[, the surety may file a motion with the
             129      court to] and the court is notified of the arrest, or the court recalls the warrant for any reason
             130      prior to entry of judgment of forfeiture, the court shall exonerate the bond. [The surety shall
             131      deliver a copy of the motion to the prosecutor.] The clerk of the court shall notify the
             132      prosecutor and the surety that the bond has been exonerated.
             133          (d) Unless the court makes a finding of good cause why the bond should not be
             134      exonerated, it shall exonerate the bond if:
             135          (i) the surety has delivered the defendant to the county jail booking facility in the
             136      county where the original charge is pending;
             137          (ii) the defendant has been released on a bond secured from a subsequent surety for the
             138      original charge and the failure to appear;
             139          (iii) after an arrest, the defendant has escaped from jail or has been released on the
             140      defendant's own recognizance, pursuant to a pretrial release, under a court order regulating jail
             141      capacity, or by a sheriff's release under Section 17-22-5.5 ;
             142          (iv) the surety has transported or agreed to pay for the transportation of the defendant
             143      from a location outside of the county back to the county where the original charge is pending,
             144      and the payment is in an amount equal to government transportation expenses listed in Section
             145      76-3-201 ; [or]
             146          (v) or the warrant is recalled for any reason; or
             147          [(v)] (vi) the surety demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that:
             148          (A) at the time the surety issued the bond, it had made reasonable efforts to determine
             149      that the defendant was legally present in the United States;
             150          (B) a reasonable person would have concluded, based on the surety's determination,
             151      that the defendant was legally present in the United States; and


             152          (C) the surety has failed to bring the defendant before the court because the defendant
             153      is in federal custody or has been deported.
             154          (e) Under circumstances not otherwise provided for in this section, the court may
             155      exonerate the bond if it finds that the prosecutor has been given reasonable notice of a surety's
             156      motion and there is good cause for the bond to be exonerated.
             157          (f) If a surety's bond has been exonerated under this section and the surety remains
             158      liable for the cost of transportation of the defendant, the surety may take custody of the
             159      defendant for the purpose of transporting the defendant to the jurisdiction where the charge is
             160      pending.




Legislative Review Note
    as of 2-28-11 4:02 PM


Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel


[Bill Documents][Bills Directory]