House Bill 1017 amends various sections of Florida Statutes concerning bail bonds and pretrial release conditions, introducing significant changes to enhance regulatory clarity and accountability. The bill defines "virtual office" and prohibits its use by bail bond agents, while also changing the terminology from "classroom instruction" to "in-person classroom instruction" and reducing the required duration of basic certification courses for bail bond agents from 120 hours to 80 hours. It establishes stricter solicitation rules for bail, allowing it only under specific conditions, and mandates that any monetary component of pretrial release must be met through specified means, such as cash or checks. Additionally, the bill modifies the process for sureties, requiring them to justify their suretyship by attaching cash or equivalent to the bond rather than executing an affidavit.

Further amendments streamline the bail bond process by clarifying conditions under which a bail bond may not be forfeited and establishing a presumption in favor of nonmonetary release conditions for defendants. The bill reduces the notice period for the clerk of the circuit court and state attorney from 20 days to 10 days before a hearing on an application for remission of forfeiture and requires the clerk to issue a remission within 10 days of a court order. It also changes the time frame for a surety to arrest a principal after bond forfeiture from 2 years to 3 years and expands the definition of dangerous crimes, setting a minimum bond amount of $10,000 for those charged with such offenses. Overall, the bill aims to streamline bail processes while enhancing public safety measures and ensuring more structured approaches to bond forfeiture and remission.

Statutes affected:
H 1017 Filed: 903.011, 903.046, 903.0471, 903.05, 903.08, 903.09, 903.101, 903.16, 903.17, 903.21, 903.26, 903.27, 903.28, 903.29, 903.36, 648.45