Section 15-13-160 Qualifications - Professional Bail Companies. (Amended by Act 2026-542)

AMENDED BY ACT 2026-542, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. (a) No professional bail company shall execute or become surety on any appearance bond in this state, unless the company has an order granting authorization to become professional surety on any bail. The order granting authorization shall be reissued annually prior to January 1 of each year by the presiding circuit judge of the county in which the company desires to execute bail or appearance bonds. Prior to the judge’s issuance of the original order and no later than December 1 of each year, thereafter, professional bail companies shall submit annually to the presiding circuit judge the following: (1)a. An original corporate surety bond or escrow agreement, filed and approved by the presiding circuit judge of the county in which the professional bail company executes or becomes surety on appearance bonds, in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), guaranteeing the payment of all sums of money that may become due by virtue of any judgment absolute that may be rendered against the professional bail company on a forfeiture entered by any court in the county. Corporate surety bonds shall be executed only by a surety company authorized to do business in this state and qualified to write bonds by the Department of Insurance. The corporate surety bond shall provide that it may be cancelled as to any future liability by the corporate surety company or the professional bail company giving 30 days prior written notice of the cancellation to the clerk of the circuit court in which the bond or instrument was filed. A bank in this state shall be a party to all escrow agreements, and those agreements shall provide that the agreement may be cancelled as to any future liability only by the professional bail company and bank giving 30 days prior written notice of the cancellation to the clerk of the circuit court in which the escrow agreement or instrument is filed. Once a professional bail company has filed an original continuous corporate surety bond or escrow agreement with the circuit clerk and it has been approved by the presiding circuit judge, then the professional bail company does not have to file any other original continuous corporate surety bond or escrow agreement upon annual recertification. The professional bail company shall submit an original certificate from the insurance company that executed the corporate surety bond reflecting that it is still in force or an original letter from the bank stating the escrow agreement is still effective and the monies are still held in trust. When any professional bail company is annually recertifying, the circuit clerk shall send the original corporate surety bond or original escrow agreement with any cancellations received by the circuit clerk to the presiding circuit judge for review and approval. b. Any new original corporate surety bond or escrow agreement made on or after September 1, 2023, in a county with a population of 200,000 or more, shall require a surety bond or escrow agreement in the amount of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000). This paragraph does not affect any corporate surety bond or escrow agreement made before September 1, 2023. Current escrow agreements and corporate surety bonds shall remain at twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for any renewal thereafter. (2) An original qualifying power of attorney, letter, or other document issued by the professional bail company specifying any applicable limitations and specifying the agents who are authorized to execute and bind the professional bail company to a bail undertaking or to appearance bonds. The qualifying power of attorney, letter, or other document may only name persons as agents. (3) An original affidavit or certificate in writing, under oath, executed by an owner or officer of a professional bail company, to the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the professional bail company shall execute or become surety on appearance bonds which contains all of the following: a. That all appearance bonds shall be executed in the name of the professional bail company as surety by the agents listed or appointed in the qualifying power of attorney, letter, or other document presented to the court or any other person so named in any future qualifying powers of attorney, letters, or documents filed with the circuit clerk of the county. b. That the professional bail company is qualified to do business in this state and its resident address. c. That the professional bail company has sufficient financial net worth to satisfy its obligations as a surety. d. That no person having a direct or indirect financial interest in the professional bail company has been convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any person having a direct or indirect financial interest in the bonding business has been convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude, then the person making the certification shall certify that there has been a conviction, provide the name of the person convicted, and certify that the person convicted has been pardoned or has had a restoration of civil rights. e. That the professional bail company has no knowledge of any forfeiture that has been made final for more than 30 days that has not been paid arising out of surety undertakings and as to which the professional bail company has no petitions, motions, or other litigation matters pending. f. That there are no persons, including employees, agents, or persons with a financial interest in the professional bail company, who, within a period of two years, violated this chapter, or any rules adopted by the Supreme Court governing the qualifications of professional surety or bail companies. g. That no employee, agent, or any other person having a direct or indirect financial interest in the professional bail company is an attorney, a judicial official, a person authorized to accept an appearance bond, or an agent of an attorney, judicial official, or person authorized to accept an appearance bond. h. The names and addresses of all officers, employees, and agents of the professional bail company who have a direct or indirect financial interest in the professional bail company and the nature and extent of each interest. (b) A professional bondsman may not own a professional bail company until he or she has been licensed as a professional bondsman for at least three years. If the owner of a professional bail company dies or becomes completely incapacitated, as determined by the board, his or her professional bail bond company may be sold to an unlicensed individual. The unlicensed individual shall have 90 calendar days, from date of purchase, to obtain a license and shall employ a minimum of one employee who has been licensed for at least three consecutive years.