HB 260-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2007 SESSION
04/05
HOUSE BILL 260-FN
AN ACT relative to bail agents and recovery agents.
SPONSORS: Rep. Ulery, Hills 27; Rep. Dumaine, Rock 3
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill revises the requirements for the registration of bail recovery agents.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07-0046
04/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT relative to bail agents and recovery agents.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Bail Agents and Recovery Agents. Amend RSA 597:7-b to read as follows:
597:7-b Bail Agents and Recovery Agents; Certification and Registration; Notification to Local Law Enforcement Required.
I. In this section:
(a) “Bail agent” means any person appointed by an insurer by power of attorney to execute or countersign bail bonds for the insurer in connection with judicial proceedings and who receives a premium.
(b) “Bail recovery agent” means a person who meets the requirements of paragraph II of this section and who is offered or given any compensation by a bail agent or surety in exchange for assisting the bail agent or surety in apprehending or surrendering any defendant, or keeping the defendant under necessary surveillance.
II.(a) Any person who operates as a bail recovery agent in this state, excluding licensed private detectives, shall be trained and certified through a program approved by the Professional Bail Agents of the United States and shall register annually with the secretary of state. Annually, each applicant shall, at the applicant’s expense, furnish the secretary of state with a copy of the applicant’s criminal background report completed within 90 days of the date of application. The secretary of state shall reject the application of any applicant with an outstanding felony or misdemeanor conviction in New Hampshire, or other state or federal jurisdiction.
(b) The secretary of state shall issue to each registered bail recovery agent proof of such registration in the form of a card bearing the agent’s name, date of card issuance, date of registration expiration, and the state seal. Such cards may be prepared by the division of state police and may include a photograph of the bail recovery agent if one is provided. The registrant shall bear the expense for such card.
(c) The secretary of state may impose an annual fee not to exceed $50 on each registrant to offset the costs of registration.
(d) The secretary of state shall annually forward to the director of state police a list of all registered bail recovery agents.
[Effective July 1, 2000, each bail agency operating in this state shall annually provide to the secretary of state proof of liability insurance coverage in the amount of $300,000 for bail recovery activities of the agency’s bail agents and bail recovery agents. This proof of insurance coverage shall be provided before the agency’s bail agents are licensed or relicensed, and before the agency’s bail recovery agents are registered or reregistered.]
(e) Bail recovery agents acting as independent contractors shall provide proof of [liability insurance coverage in the amount of $300,000] a surety bond in the amount of $50,000 to the secretary of state [before] annually as a requirement for registration [or reregistration]. The surety bond required by this section shall be so conditioned that the person bonded shall conduct his or her business in a lawful and honest manner without committing, compounding, aiding, or abetting the commission of any criminal offense. Said bond shall be filed with and kept by the secretary of state and shall be subject to being sued upon by the attorney general of the state in the name of the state or sued upon by any person injured by a breach of any condition of such bond designed to protect such person. Any person who operates as a recovery agent in this state without meeting such certification[, insurance,] and registration requirements shall be guilty of a class [A misdemeanor] B felony.
III. A bail agent or bail recovery agent searching for a person who has violated conditions of release shall notify a municipality’s chief law enforcement officer if the search or apprehension is to be conducted in the municipality’s jurisdiction. This notification shall be confidential and shall not be released to the public or any other unauthorized party. A bail agent, [or] bail recovery agent, or other person who violates the provisions of this paragraph shall be guilty of a class [A misdemeanor] B felony.
IV.(a) No bail agent or bail recovery agent shall use any trade name or designation which may imply, or can be construed to imply, an association with local, county, state, or federal government, or any agency or instrumentality of local, county, state, or federal government.
(b) No bail recovery agent shall possess or use a badge of any kind. No bail recovery agent shall use the word “police”, or any police or police-like insignia, or any military or military-like insignia on any official form of identification, advertisement, or informational materials.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2008.
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1/12/07
HB 260-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to bail agents and recovery agents.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of State, Judicial Council, and Department of Corrections state this bill may increase state revenue and expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2008 and each year thereafter. This bill will have no fiscal impact on county and local revenue or expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of State states currently there are four bail agents registered in New Hampshire. This bill would increase revenues by $200 annually, and any required expenditures could be absorbed by the Department.
The Judicial Council assumes that any cases arising from the enactment of this bill for which the Indigent Defense Fund may be liable will, in the first instance, be handled by the public defender or contract attorney who accepts these cases on a fixed fee basis of $756.25 per felony charged. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used, the hourly rate of $60 with a fee cap of $3,000 will apply. If a motion to exceed the fee cap is approved and/or “services other than counsel” are approved, these will also be chargeable to the Indigent Defense Fund. Any charge within the criminal justice system, committed by a juvenile, will be compensated within the flat fee contract system of $275 per case through disposition, plus $206.25 for each and every review hearing following disposition. Assigned counsel will be at the $60 per hour rate with a fee cap of $1,200. The fee cap may be waived upon motion filed with the court and approved in advance. Any case where a defendant has been found guilty may also result in appeals to either the Superior Court or to the Supreme Court which would have a cost implication for Indigent Defense expenditures made by the State. The Council is unable to predict the number of cases which may result from the passage of this bill, and are unable to determine the exact fiscal impact at this time.
The Department of Corrections states they are unable to determine the fiscal impact at this time since the number of individuals violating the provisions of this bill cannot be predicted. The average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general prison population was
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1/12/07
$31,140 for FY 2006. The cost to supervise an offender by the Department’s Division of Field Services was $1,174 for FY 2006.
The Department of Justice states any fiscal impact could be absorbed by the agency.
The Judicial Branch states this bill is likely to have no fiscal impact on the Branch.