ON APRIL 21, 2025, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENTS #1 AND #2 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 576, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, make the following revisions to present law: BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL BONDSMEN  Prohibits, on or after March 1, 2026, a person from operating as a professional bondsman in this state unless the person is licensed by the board of professional bondsmen ("board"), created by this amendment. The board consists of seven members who must possess good moral character, must be residents of this state, and are appointed as follows:  Two members to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, who meet the following qualifications: (i) one member who is licensed as a professional bondsman; and (ii) one member who is a chief of police.  Three members to be appointed by the governor, who meet the following qualifications: (i) one member who is licensed as a professional bondsman; (ii) one member who is a district attorney general; and (iii) one member who is a judge with jurisdiction to issue bond.  Two members to be appointed by the speaker of the senate, who meet the following qualifications: (i) one member who is licensed as a professional bondsman; and (ii) one member who is a sheriff.  Attaches the board to the division of regulatory boards.  Provides that the members' terms must be staggered in accordance with this amendment.  Requires the appointing authorities to appoint a new member to the board upon the expiration of the initial terms and upon the expiration of all subsequent terms. All subsequent terms must be for six years. A member must not be reappointed for one year after the completion of a term on the board. Vacancies occurring on the board must be filled in accordance with this amendment for the balance of the unexpired term.  Requires the administrative office of the courts to provide a list of all licensed bondsmen in this state upon the request of the board. The request must be made prior to March 1, 2026.  Requires the board, in consultation and cooperation with members of the judiciary in this state, to promulgate rules for the regulation of professional bondsmen that are reasonably necessary to carry out this amendment.  Authorizes a person 18 or older to apply for a license to operate as a professional bondsman. An application for licensure as a professional bondsman must be submitted on a form prescribed by the board.  Provides that a certificate of licensure expires two years from the date of the licensure or renewal.  Requires a licensed professional bondsman to list each place of business within this state with reference to its specific location, upon licensure and upon subsequent renewals of the licensure.  Requires to be included on each license and renewal form a section in which the licensee declares, under penalty of perjury, whether the licensee has previously been revoked or convicted of a violation. In addition, the applicant must submit to a criminal history background check by the TBI, and is responsible for any fees associated with the criminal history background check. The TBI must submit the results of the criminal background check to the board. A licensee who has been convicted of a violation, which resulted in a revocation of their license is prohibited from licensure for five years from the date of conviction.  Requires the board to create and keep up to date a registry that includes, but is not limited to, the approved list of professional bondsmen licensed by the board, the names of all persons licensed as professional bondsmen, and a list of names of persons who have been disciplined by the board in the previous five years. The board must post and maintain the registry on the department of commerce and insurance's website.  Provides that a license becomes inactive upon notification to the department that the licensee is no longer in business at the licensed location.  Requires the board to serve as the centralized entity for filing and evaluating complaints against professional bondsmen.  Authorizes until March 1, 2026, for the purpose of establishing the board, the appointing entities to initially appoint a bondsman who is approved to make bonds by a court within this state to the positions that must be filled by a licensed professional bondman. However, after March 1, 2026, the licensing requirements of this amendment apply for any newly appointed member of the board. LIST OF PROFESSIONAL BONDSMEN  Requires a professional bondsman licensed by the board to provide proof of such licensure to all courts of this state having jurisdiction and authorized to admit to bail when appearing before such courts.  Requires the department of commerce and insurance to provide the clerk, sheriff, municipal courts, and other inferior courts with a current approved list of professional bondsmen licensed by the board of professional bondsmen.  Provides that the clerk, sheriff, municipal courts, and other inferior courts have available a list of licensed professional bondsmen or other sureties approved and qualified as solvent by the courts of record with criminal jurisdiction within the county. The approved lists must be provided by the judges of those courts. MANDATORY REPORTING TO BOARD AND COURTS  Requires each licensed professional bondsman to inform the board in writing of each county in which the licensed professional bondsman has been approved by a judge to admit persons to bail.  Requires every professional bondsman licensed to do business in this state to, not later than January 31 and July 31 of each year, file with the board, as well as the clerk of the circuit or criminal court of each county in which the bondsman is furnishing bail or bonds securing costs and fines, a report of the bondsman's assets and liabilities as of the preceding December 31 and June 30, respectively.  Requires a court to report any prohibited action taken by a professional bondsman to the board for review to determine if additional disciplinary action is to be taken against the professional bondsman.  Requires upon the arrest of a professional bondsman in this state for a felony, or in another state or by the federal government for the equivalent of a felony in this state, the board, instead of the courts, to be notified in writing within 72 hours of the arrest. The board may then take such actions as are permitted in present law and this amendment. AUTHORIZED CHARGES  Removes present law provisions limiting the charges that may be assessed by a bondsmen to defendants.  Requires, in addition to filing an application for licensure with the board and submitting to a criminal history background check by the TBI, the payment of any fees associated with the criminal history background check. The TBI must submit the results of the criminal background check to the clerks of all courts in which the professional bondsman is qualified and to the board. PROHIBITED CONDUCT  Provides that it is unlawful for a person to act as a professional bondsman, directly or indirectly, while owning, operating, or being an employee of a qualified electronic monitoring provider. However this prohibition does not apply to a person who was a professional bondsman and owned a qualified electronic monitoring provider prior to January 1, 2025.  Removes as "good cause" for the surrender of a defendant by a bail bondsman or surety when the defendant has violated the contractual provisions between the defendant and the bondsman. REMEDIES FOR CONDUCT BY PROFESSIONAL BONDSMEN  Authorizes the board to withhold, withdraw, suspend, revoke, or deny licensure of a professional bondsman, instead of a court, if the bondsman engages in certain conduct described in present law. After investigation and appropriate hearing, the board must remove the offending professional bondsman's name from the approved list as maintained on the board's registry and notify all courts in which the professional bondsman is approved to practice.  Authorizes a court to still deny, withhold, suspend, or revoke an approved professional bondsman's bonding privileges in such court upon the court's determination that the professional bondsman's conduct is detrimental to the bondsman's client or is disruptive to the court or court proceedings. The court must notify the board of its action, and the board may strike the offending bondsman from the approved list as maintained on the board's registry, following review by the board. Any bondsman whose bonding privileges have been so denied, withheld, suspended, or revoked has the right of appeal to the next highest court having criminal jurisdiction, and the appeal must be heard de novo.  Provides that a judge is not required to allow a licensed professional bondsman to admit persons to bail in the judge's court. A judge may deny a professional bondsman the privilege of admitting persons to bail in the judge's court regardless of the professional bondsman's licensure status. If a judge denies a licensed professional bondsman's request to admit persons to bail in the judge's court, then the judge must provide the bondsman with written notice of the denial and the reasons for such denial.  Provides that if a court finds that a bondsman has individually or as a corporation owner been discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding leaving unsatisfied outstanding forfeitures with any court, then the court may order that the bondsman be prohibited from executing bonds, bail, or other undertakings as surety in the court, and must notify the board of the finding. If the board is notified that a bondsman has individually or as a corporation owner been discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding leaving unsatisfied outstanding forfeitures with any court, then the board may suspend or revoke the bondsman's license to practice bail bonding in this state.  Authorizes a district attorney general, upon a finding by such district attorney general that a professional bondsman has conducted in certain prohibited conduct as described in present law, to file a complaint with the board of professional bondsmen that details all violations alleged to have been committed by the professional bondsman for further action, if necessary, by the department. AMENDMENT #2 changes the chief of police member appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives to the board to, instead, a circuit court clerk member.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 40-11-151