Senate Bill No. 624
(By Senator Chafin)
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[Introduced March 26, 2001; referred to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article ten, chapter fifty-one of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated section two-a,
relating to eligibility and education requirements for bond
business and bond agent licensing.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article ten, chapter fifty-one of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section two-a,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. PROFESSIONAL BONDSMEN.
§51-10-2a. Licensing bond businesses and bond agent; continuing
education; fees.
(a) On or after the first day of July, two thousand one, no
bond agent or bond business may operate in this state unless duly
licensed through the secretary of state.
(b) In order to be eligible for a license as a bond agent or
to conduct a bond business, an applicant shall:
(1) Be at least eighteen years of age;
(2) Be a citizen of the United States or an alien who is
legally residing within the United States;
(3) Not have had any previous license to operate a bond
business or act as a bond agent revoked or any application for any
bond business licenses or registrations denied by the appropriate
governmental authority in this or any other state or territory;
(4) Not have been declared incompetent by reason of mental
defect or disease by any court of competent jurisdiction unless a
court has subsequently determined that the applicant's competency
has been restored;
(5) Not suffer from habitual drunkenness or from narcotics
addiction or dependence;
(6) Be of good moral character;
(7) Have satisfactorily completed eight hours of education in
a curriculum established by the professional bail agents of West Virginia, or its successor, assign or agent;
(8) Not have been convicted of a felony in this state or any
other state or territory;
(9) Not have been convicted of any of the following:
(A) Illegally using, carrying or possessing a pistol or other
dangerous weapon;
(B) Making or possessing burglar's instruments;
(C) Buying or receiving stolen property;
(D) Entering a building unlawfully;
(E) Aiding an inmate's escape from prison;
(F) Possessing or distributing illicit drugs;
(10) Not have violated any provisions of this article;
(11) Notwithstanding any requirement of this section to the
contrary, any person acting as a bond agent or operating a bond
business before the effective date of this section, shall be
licensed: Provided, That the person or authorized agent of a
bonding business complete the application, satisfactorily complete
the mandatory education requirements before the first day of July,
two thousand two, and pay all applicable fees.
The provisions of this section shall not prevent the issuance
of a license to any person who, subsequent to his or her conviction, shall have received an executive pardon therefore,
removing this disability.
(c) The bill bond license shall be renewed on the first day of
July of each successive year: Provided, That the holder of the
bail bond license has, prior to the expiration of the bail bond
license, submitted to eight hours of continuing education as
authorized by the professional bail agents of West Virginia, its
successor, assign or agent.
(d) (1) The secretary of state may establish and collect a
reasonable registration fee not to exceed fifty dollars to
accompany application for license to be used for the purposes of
defraying administrative and other expenses incurred due to the
enactment of this article.
(2) There is hereby created in the state treasury a special
account, designated the "bail agent/bail business account." All
fees collected pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be
deposited in the bail agent/bail business account. Expenditures
from the account shall be for the purposes set forth in this
subsection and are not authorized from collections but are to be
made only in accordance with appropriation by the Legislature and
in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twelve of this code and upon the fulfillment of the provisions set forth
in article two, chapter five-a of this code: Provided, That for
the fiscal year ending the thirtieth day of June, two thousand two,
expenditures are authorized from collections rather than pursuant
to an appropriation by the Legislature.
(e) The secretary of state is authorized to file and
disseminate an interpretive rule for the purpose of providing
information and guidance to prospective licensees and the general
public with respect to the enforcement of this article. The
secretary of state is charged with the enforcement of this article
in the civil and criminal courts of the state and may take any
lawful action reasonably necessary to effectuate its purposes.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require bond agents and
bond businesses to be licensed through the secretary of state, sets
the minimum requirements to be a bond agent or operate a bond
business and requires those so licensed to attend educational
classes to continue their license. It further authorizes the
secretary of state to charge a fee, not to exceed fifty dollars and
places those funds into a special account to offset the expense of
administering the license.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.