No. CS/CS/CS/SB 600
Filed under Criminal Justice.
Bail Bonds; Decreasing the duration of in-person classroom-instruction basic certification courses required to be considered for approval and certification as an approved limited surety agent and professional bail bond agent prelicensing school; requiring, rather than authorizing, that any monetary or cash component of any form of pretrial release be met by specified means; requiring the clerk of the court, upon the court’s entry of an order to revoke pretrial release and order pretrial detention in certain circumstances, to discharge any bond previously posted as a condition of pretrial release without further order of the court; requiring that a signed certification containing certain information accompany or be included on a specified notice, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDCourts must accept only U.S. currency, postal money orders, or cashier's checks for cash bail, removing discretion to accept other forms. This standardizes how defendants pay for pretrial release across the state.
Clerks must automatically discharge posted bonds when a court revokes release for new crimes, eliminating the need for a separate court order to release the surety's funds.
Bail bond agencies are explicitly prohibited from operating virtual offices, restricting business models to physical locations only. This limits how sureties can conduct their operations.
Non-bail-bond-agent sureties must post cash or checks equal to the full bond amount, replacing the previous requirement to file net worth affidavits to justify their suretyship.
AICourts must accept only specific payment methods for cash bail, removing discretion to accept other forms.
AIClerks must automatically discharge posted bonds when a court revokes release for new crimes, without a separate court order.
AIBail bond agencies are explicitly barred from operating virtual offices, restricting business models.
AINon-bail-bond-agent sureties must post cash or checks equal to the bond amount instead of filing net worth affidavits.
AIExtends the deadline to apply for remission from 2 years to 37 months and replaces discretionary remission amounts with a fixed, mandatory schedule based on the time the defendant is returned to the court.
AIMandates specific remission percentages (ranging from 100% down to 45%) based on the number of days after forfeiture that the defendant is surrendered or apprehended, provided the delay did not thwart prosecution.
AIRequires the clerk of the court to discharge the bond if 36 months have passed since it was posted, or upon an adjudication of guilt or innocence, and defines when a bond is considered revoked.
AIAdds driving under the influence, felony battery, and battery by strangulation to the list of dangerous crimes that can trigger mandatory pretrial detention motions.