Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
SECTION 1. PURPOSE
The purpose of this Rule and Regulation is to set specific
requirements that should be followed hy companies engaged in the bail bond
business in this State, pursuant to Act 417 of 1989.
SECTION 2. AUTHORITY
This Rule is issued pursuant to the authority vested in the
Commissioner under Ark. Code Ann. §§
25-15-201, et
seq.. and all other applicable provisions of Arkansas law.
SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY
This Rule and Regulation shall be effective September 1, 1990 and
shall be applicable to all qualified professional bail bond companies and their
licensees and all applicants for a professional bail bond company or individual
bail bondsman license.
SECTION
4. DEFINITIONS
The following definitions are issued in this Rule and Regulation
and shall have the following meaning:
A. "Department" shall mean the Arkansas
Insurance Department;
B.
"Commissioner" shall mean the Commissioner of Insurance;
C. "Company" shall mean a professional bail
bond company as defined by Ark. Code Ann. §
17-17-101(7);
D. "Bail bondsman" shall mean a professional
bail bondsman as defined by Ark. Code Ann. §
17-17-101(6);
E. "Premium" shall mean the money paid to a
bail bondsman or professional bail bond company for release of an
arrestee;
F. "Arrestee" shall mean
any person actually detained or subject to detention in custody whose release
may lawfully be effected by bail;
G. "Licensee" shall mean a professional bail
bond company or a professional bail bondsman;
H. "Bail bond" shall mean a bond for a
specified monetary amount executed by the defendant or principal and a
qualified licensee which is issued to a court, magistrate, or authorized
officer as security for the subsequent court appearance of the defendant upon
his release from actual custody pending the appearance;
I. "Jail" shall mean any police station,
sheriff s office or other place where persons in the custody of the law are
detained;
J. "Principal" shall mean
the person(s) paying the bail bond premium and/or giving the
collateral.
SECTION 5.
BAIL BOND FORM
Every bail bond issued by a professional bail bond company or its
licensee(s) shall be substantially in the form prescribed in Appendix "A" of
this Rule.
SECTION 6.
QUALIFYING POWER OF ATTORNEY FORM
A. Each
company, upon either an initial or renewal application for a company license,
must submit to this Department a Qualifying Power of Attorney from the company,
specifying the authority limits of each of its licensees.
B. The Qualifying Power of Attorney shall be
executed in the form prescribed in Appendix "B" of this Rule.
C. Those companies operating as sole
proprietorships shall not be required to execute and file a Qualifying Power of
Attorney form unless such a company has licensees other than the sole
proprietor.
SECTION 7.
REGULAR PO?ER OF ATTORNEY FORM
Every bond executed by a bail bondsman shall have attached to it
a numbered power of attorney indicating a valid appointment from a professional
bail bond company and referring to that company. The power of attorney shall be
in the form prescribed in Appendix "C" of this Rule. A sole proprietor of a
company shall attach to bonds he executes an affidavit of sole proprietorship
in the form prescribed by Appendix "D" of this Rule.
SECTION 8. COMPANY CODES
A. Upon issuance of a license to a
professional bail bond company, the Department shall assign an alpha code which
will be particular to that company. For each individual licensee of that
company, the Department will assign a consecutive numerical code.
B. All codes assigned by the Department shall
appear in the upper right hand comer of any bail bonds, powers of attorney,
collateral receipts, quarterly reports or premium receipts executed by the
licensee, and may be printed or written in ink.
SECTION 9. QUARTERLY REPORTS
A. Every company shall file with the
Department a quarterly report as required by Ark. Code Ann. §
17-17-303(c).
The report shall be made in the form as prescribed in Appendix "E" of this
Rule. The form may be either printed or computer generated. Bonds required to
be listed should be listed in sequential number order.
B. The first quarterly report will be for the
period ending June 30, 1989. Subsequent due dates are as follows:
|
Period Covered
|
Due Date
|
|
July 1 - September 30
|
October 15
|
|
October 1 - December 31
|
January 15
|
|
January 1 - March 31
|
April 15
|
|
April 1 - June 30
|
July 15
|
C.
Companies may request an extension of time for filing a Quarterly Report from
the Finance Division. Such request must be written, received, and approved in
advance of the due date, and must be for good cause shown.
SECTION 10. SECURED BAIL BONDS
A "secured" bail bond is one which is secured by a grant of an
interest in identifiable tangible property. A promissory note, whether or not
co-signed, will not be considered security. A bail bond is only secured up to
an amount equal to the fair market value of the interest granted in tangible
property. If the amount of the bond exceeds the value of the security, that
amount so exceeding the value of the security shall be considered
unsecured.
SECTION 11.
UNSECURED BOND COMMITMENT; PENALTIES
A. If a
professional bail bond company exceeds the unsecured bond commitment amount
prescribed by Ark. Code Ann. §
17-17-304,
such company will have twenty (20) days from receipt of written notice from the
Commissioner to bring its unsecured bond commitment into compliance with Code
requirements, provided however no unsecured bonds shall be written by any
company while such company is out of compliance.
B. Any company on notice that it is out of
compliance shall submit proof within twenty (20) days that it has rectified the
violation by the posting of an additional certificate of deposit or clean
irrevocable letter of credit for an additional amount.
C. The license of any company which fails to
cure its violations of Ark. Code Ann. §
17-17-304
may be automatically suspended by order of the Commissioner and a hearing to
show cause why the license should not be revoked shall be held within ten (10)
days of the suspension. If after hearing, the Commissioner finds that an
unrectified violation exists, he may revoke the license of the offending
company.
SECTION 12.
CLEAN IRREVOCABLE LETTER OF CREDIT
Every company posting a clean irrevocable letter of credit with
the Department pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
17-17-205(a) (2)
(A) shall post such letter using the form
approved by the Commissioner and contained in Appendix "F" of this Rule. Copies
of the clean irrevocable letter of credit may be obtained from the License
Division of the Department. Substituted forms from financial institutions are
not acceptable.
SECTION 13.
CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT
Any certificate of deposit filed with the Commissioner pursuant
to Ark. Code Ann, §
17-17-205(3)(1)
shall be a certificate of deposit issued by an Arkansas or federally chartered
bank located in Arkansas.
SECTION
14. LICENSE REQUIRED
A. Any
licensed bail bondsman or company who permits any person not so licensed to
solicit or engage in the bail bond business in his behalf shall be deemed in
violation of Ark. Code Ann. §
17-17-201.
B. The definition of bail bond business shall
not include those individuals employed solely for the performance of clerical,
stenographic, investigative or other administrative duties if the employee' s
compensation is not related to the number of bail bonds written.
SECTION 15. LICENSE RENEWAL,
HEARINGS, REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF LICENSE
By reference the provisions contained in Ark. Code Ann.
§§
23-61-301
through
23-61-306 and
§
25-15-211
shall be applicable to the licenses issued by the Commissioner under Ark. Code
Ann. §§
17-17-201, et
seq. and the proceedings authorized thereunder,
SECTION 16. LICENSE DENIAL
A bail bondsman's license shall not be issued or renewed to any
individual if that individual is:
A.
Regularly or frequently employed by:
(1) A
court of law; or
(2) A public law
enforcement agency.
B.
An attorney licensed by the State of Arkansas or an employee of any such
attorney.
C. A person or entity
whose license has been previously revoked.
SECTION 17. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS; GUIDELINES
A. Any assets listed on the financial
statement of a corporation seeking to be licensed or relicensed shall be assets
directly owned by the corporation and held in the name of such corporation.
Assets listed on the financial statement of a partnership seeking licensure or
relicensure as a professional bail bond company shall be those assets owned by
the partnership; assets owned individually by one partner may also be listed as
long as such assets are identified separately on the financial statement.
Assets of the sole proprietor shall be those personally owned and held by such
proprietor.
B. Certificates of
Deposit which are filed with the Commissioner pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
17-17-205(a)
(1) must be identified on financial
statements.
C. Any real or personal
property listed as an asset must be property not subject to the exemption laws
of this state, unless a waiver to said exemption has been properly executed and
filed with the financial statement. Notes receivable from arrestees and
principals shall not be considered an asset. Property held as collateral on a
bond shall not be considered an asset.
D. The Commissioner may request any
documentation to verify the worth of any asset listed or to show the extent of
any encumbrance or the lack of any encumbrance. Any real or personal property
valued at over $10,000 shall be shown at its current appraised valuation unless
such asset is in the form of cash or bank deposits; then the value shall be
their actual value, or in the case of bonds or publicly traded stock, the
actual market value. Licensees listing stocks issued by closely held
corporations and/or which are not publicly traded must include a written
statement of the stock valuation from a corporate officer and a current audited
financial statement. Any appraisal or financial statement submitted shall be
from a qualified, independent and objective source.
SECTION 18. CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT AND CLEAN
IRREVOCABLE LETTER OF CREDIT; RELEASE
Any company desiring the release of a certificate of deposit or
clean irrevocable letter of credit which has been filed with the Commissioner
shall comply with either of the following requirements:
A. A company seeking release of a certificate
of deposit or a clean irrevocable letter of credit may file with the
Commissioner a replacement security in equal or greater amount to the security
for which release is sought, which is specifically retroactive to the date the
original security was issued.
B. If
a company wishes to procure the release of a clean irrevocable letter of credit
or of a certificate of deposit, it must present a statement in writing from
each court of each county in which the company was engaged in business to write
bail bonds, that the company has satisfied all its outstanding liabilities,
both actual and potential; that no outstanding forfeitures against the company
remain; and that all bail bonds which were issued by the company have been
discharged; and that all civil judgments as to forfeitures on bonds issued by
the licensee have been paid in full.
SECTION 19. COLLATERAL; FIDUCIARY
RELATIONSHIP
Any licensee who receives collateral in connection with a bail
transaction shall receive such collateral in a fiduciary capacity, and prior to
any forfeiture of bail shall keep it separate and apart from any other funds or
assets of such bail bondsman.
SECTION
20. RETURN OF EXCESS COLLATERAL ON FORFEITURE
If collateral received is in excess of the bail forfeited, such
excess shall be returned to the person who placed the collateral with the
licensee immediately upon the application of the collateral to the forfeiture.
Documented reasonable expenses incurred due to a breach of the bail bond
contract or Court Order may be deducted from the collateral, if the Court does
not allow a remission from the sum specified in the bail bond,
SECTION 21. REFUND OF PREMIUM
The principal shall be entitled to a refund of his premium when
the arrestee is surrendered by his bail bondsman at any time prior to the final
termination of the liability on the bond provided that the arrestee has not
committed any of the following:
A.
left the jurisdiction of the court without written consent of the court for a
period in excess of twenty-four (24) hours;
B. moved from his place of residence without
notifying his bail bondsman;
C. was
arrested for an offense other than a traffic violation;
D. violated any substantive provision in the
bail bond contract.
SECTION
22. ALLOWABLE CHARGES
A. The
premium allowed by Ark. Code Ann. §
17-17-301
is the maximum amount a bail bondsman may charge for writing a bond. The
following separate charges are not allowable and shall not be charged by a
company or any licensee:
(1) Operating
expenses
(2) Mileage
(3) Telephone calls
(4) Photo fees
(5) Postage
(6) Extra personnel fees
(7) Prepaid recovery expenses
B. Allowable charges do include
any expenses such as filing fees for documents or other fees which are expenses
incurred by the person executing any documents in order to procure coverage by
a bail bond.
C. Any rebating or
discounting of premiums by any company or licensee is strictly
prohibited.
SECTION 23.
FORFEITURES; MISREPRESENTATIONS
No bail bondsman shall purposely make any misleading or untrue
representations to any court or to any public official for the purpose of
avoiding or preventing a forfeiture of bail or having set aside a forfeiture
which has occurred.
SECTION
24. UNPAID FORFEITURES AND MISCONDUCT; LICENSE SANCTIONS
A. If it is foiind that any licensee has been
found guilty of misconduct or malfeasance and upon notice from the aggrieved
party of damages due to the licensee's misconduct, the Commissioner may notify
the licensee by certified mail of the claim.
(1) If the verified amotint due the aggrieved
party is not paid within twenty (20) days of receipt of notice, the
Commissioner may suspend the license and immediately withdraw the allowable
amount from the posted certificate of deposit or maintain a civil action on the
letter of credit.
(2) The license
of the malefactor shall remain suspended until the amount of damage is
paid.
(3) If the amount remains
unpaid after suspension, the Commissioner may order a hearing for the licensee
to show cause why his license should not be revoked.
B. When a final unpaid civil judgment of
forfeiture is forwarded to the Commissioner pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
17-17-208(b)(1),
the Commissioner shall notify the licensee involved by certified mail. If the
forfeiture judgment remains unpaid for ten (10) days following receipt of
notice, the Commissioner may automatically suspend the license and make claim
against the licensee's security deposit up to the allowable amount of ten
thousand dollars ($10,000).
SECTION
25. BAIL BOND COMPLAINT FORM AND PROCEDURES
Any person desiring to make a complaint concerning an alleged
violation of Ark. Code Ann. §§
17-17-201, et
seq.. by any company or individual bondsman shall use the bail bond complaint
form prescribed in Appendix "G" of this Rule. A copy of the complaint form may
be obtained from the Legal Division of the Arkansas Insurance Department. The
form must be signed by the complaining party under penalty of perjury and
notarized.
SECTION 26.
GIFTS PROHIBITED
No licensee shall give, directly or indirectly, any gift of any
kind to any public official, any candidate for public office, or any employee
of a governmental agency who has duties or responsibilities with respect to the
administration of justice or a place wherein detention of a person charged with
a crime may occur or to any prisoner in any jail. Items which are distributed
generally for the purposes of advertising and political contributions lawfully
given shall not be considered gifts for the purposes of this section.
SECTION 27. NOTICE OF CHANGE OF
ADDRESS; COOPERATION
A. Every bail bondsman
and professional bail bond company shall notify the Arkansas Insurance
Department in writing of any change of his principal business address and/or
his residence address within ten (10) days of such change.
B. Every bail bondsman and company shall
promptly respond to all correspondence, request for information, or otherwise,
directed to the bondsman or company by the Arkansas Insurance Department or an
employee thereof. Every professional bail bondsman and/or company duly licensed
shall fully cooperate with any examination or investigation conducted by the
Department.
C. Failure on the part
of any company or its licensees to make all financial and business records
available for inspection or examination upon request by the Arkansas Insurance
Department, or failure to otherwise cooperate with the requirements of
subsections (A) or (B) of this section, shall be grounds for automatic
suspension according to the procedures set out in Section 11(0) of this Rule
and Regulation.
SECTION
28. WRITTEN STATEMENT OF BAIL TRANSACTION; CONTENTS
Every bail bondsman shall at the time of obtaining the release of
an arrestee on bail, deliver and keep a copy for his own records to such
arrestee or to the principal a numbered document signed by the arrestee
containing the following information:
(1) the name and address of bail
bondsman;
(2) the name of the
professional bail bond company, if applicable;
(3) the name of the arrestee;
(4) the date of arrest;
(5) the date of release of the
arrestee;
(6) the date, time and
place of the arrestee's required appearance, if known;
(7) the amount of bail;
(8) the offenses with which the arrestee is
charged;
(9) the premium for the
bail bond;
(10) the amount
received;
(11) the unpaid balance,
if any; and
(12) a description of
and receipt number for any collateral received.
SECTION 29. EXAMINATIONS
Any person who, after proper application for an exam permit,
passes the required exam for licensure as a professional bail bandsman shall
have one (1) year from the date that the exam result is certified to apply for
a license. If no application is made within one (1) year, such person, if
desiring to be licensed, shall be required to retake and pass the
examination.
SECTION 30.
RECORD RETENTION
All records required herein shall he maintained for a period of
five (5) years.
SECTION 31.
SEVERABILITY
Any section or provision of this Rule held by the court to be
invalid or unconstitutional will not affect the validity of any other section
or provision.
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