Existing law provides for the procedure of approving and accepting bail, and issuing an order for the appearance and release of an arrested person. Existing law requires the superior court judges in each county to prepare, adopt, and annually revise a uniform countywide schedule of bail, as specified, and requires the superior court judges, when adopting that schedule, to consider the seriousness of the offense charged and assign an additional amount of required bail for each aggravating or enhancing factor chargeable in the complaint, as specified.
This bill would require the court to order a return of money or property paid to a bail bond licensee by or on behalf of the arrestee to obtain bail if the court's disposition of the arrest results in no charges being filed. The bill would require the order to entitle the bail bond licensee to retain a surcharge not to exceed 10% of what the bail bond licensee billed the arrestee or a person paying on behalf of the arrestee plus an amount equal to any court fees paid by the bail bond licensee on behalf of the arrestee. The bill would require the court to order this return of money or property only for a bail contract entered into on or after January 1, 2026.