COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2040
(By Delegate Shook)
(Originating in the House Committee on the Judiciary)
[February 27, 2009]
A BILL to amend and reenact §62-1C-12 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to release of bail bonds; and
providing for release of bonds upon the defendant being
sentenced or beginning to serve the sentence; and providing
that bonds shall not be continued for the purpose of
collecting court costs or fines assessed.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §62-1C-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1C. BAIL.
§62-1C-12. Same -- Exoneration; return of deposit.
(a) When the condition of the bond has been satisfied or
the
its forfeiture
thereof has been set aside or remitted, the court or
magistrate shall exonerate the surety and release any bail and, if
the bail
be is in a form other than a recognizance, the deposit shall be returned to the person who made the same. The surety may
be exonerated by a deposit of cash in the amount of the bail or by
a timely surrender of the defendant into custody.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, when a bail bondsman, as defined in article ten, chapter
fifty-one of this code, has a surety bond forfeited because of the
failure of a defendant to appear before a court or magistrate, that
bail bondsman shall be reimbursed the full amount of the bond
forfeiture, be it cash or surety, if the bail bondsman returns the
defendant to the custody of the court or magistrate, within two
years of the forfeiture of the bond.
(c) The Administrator of the West Virginia Supreme Court of
Appeals,
shall ex officio,
be empowered to may audit, review and
suspend any bail bondsman whose surety on bonds is or becomes
insufficient or whose assets are below the amount of bonds he or
she has in existence.
(d) A recognizance secured by execution of a bail bond is
released upon the adjudicated person being sentenced or beginning
to serve an alternative sentence: Provided, That if the defendant
is ordered to report on a later date to begin to serve the imposed
sentence, the bond shall continue until the defendant reports to
serve that sentence.
(e) A bail bond shall not be continued for the sole purpose of
collecting court costs or fines.