KS
Kansas House Bill HB2755

Kansas 2023-2024 Regular Session

Kansas House Bill HB2755 Compare Versions

The same version is selected twice. Please select two different versions to compare.
OldNewDifferences
11 Session of 2024
22 HOUSE BILL No. 2755
33 By Committee on Judiciary
44 Requested by Katie Whisman on behalf of the Kansas Bail Agents Association
55 2-7
66 AN ACT concerning appearance bonds; relating to release prior to trial;
77 requiring compensated sureties who post bond in municipal court to
88 comply with certain requirements; requiring a minimum bond premium
99 in district court; providing reasons for suspending or terminating
1010 authorization of a compensated surety; amending K.S.A. 12-4301 and
1111 22-2809b and repealing the existing sections.
1212 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
1313 Section 1. K.S.A. 12-4301 is hereby amended to read as follows: 12-
1414 4301. (a) A person having the right to post bond for appearance shall, in
1515 order to do so, execute in writing a promise to appear at the municipal
1616 court at a stated time and place. Such appearance bond shall be in an
1717 amount as determined by the municipal judge, and such amount shall be
1818 the same regardless of the method used to secure the appearance of the
1919 accused person. Unless the judge makes a specific finding otherwise,
2020 every bond for a person charged with an offense that would be a person
2121 offense pursuant to state law shall have a condition of release prohibiting
2222 the person from having contact with the alleged victim of such offense for
2323 a period of at least 72 hours. Such bond may be secured by any one of the
2424 following methods, and when so secured, such person shall be released
2525 from custody.
2626 (b) The methods of securing the appearance of an accused person are
2727 as follows:
2828 (a)(1) Payment of cash, except that the municipal judge may permit
2929 negotiable securities or a personal check in lieu of cash.;
3030 (b)(2) the execution of an appearance bond by a an uncompensated
3131 responsible individual residing within the state of Kansas, as surety, with
3232 the approval of the municipal judge.;
3333 (3) the execution of an appearance bond by a compensated surety as
3434 defined in K.S.A. 22-2809b, and amendments thereto, who is in
3535 compliance with the requirements of K.S.A. 22-2809a and 22-2809b, and
3636 amendments thereto;
3737 (c)(4) a guaranteed arrest bond certificate issued by either a surety
3838 company authori-zed to transact such business within the state of Kansas,
3939 or an automobile club authorized to transact business in this state by the
4040 1
4141 2
4242 3
4343 4
4444 5
4545 6
4646 7
4747 8
4848 9
4949 10
5050 11
5151 12
5252 13
5353 14
5454 15
5555 16
5656 17
5757 18
5858 19
5959 20
6060 21
6161 22
6262 23
6363 24
6464 25
6565 26
6666 27
6767 28
6868 29
6969 30
7070 31
7171 32
7272 33
7373 34
7474 35 HB 2755 2
7575 commissioner of insurance, except that such "guaranteed arrest bond
7676 certificate" must be signed by the person to whom it is issued and must
7777 contain a printed statement that the surety guarantees the appearance of
7878 such person and, in the event of failure of such person to appear in court at
7979 the time of trial, will pay any fine or forfeiture imposed upon such person
8080 not to exceed an amount to be stated on such certificate.; or
8181 (d)(5) in lieu of giving security in the manner provided by
8282 subsections (a), (b) and (c) above paragraphs (1) through (4), if the arrest
8383 is for the violation of a city ordinance relating to the operation of a motor
8484 vehicle, the accused person may deposit with the arresting law
8585 enforcement officer or the clerk of the municipal court a valid Kansas
8686 driver's license in exchange for a receipt therefor issued by the law
8787 enforcement officer or the clerk of the municipal court, the form of which
8888 shall be approved by the division of vehicles of the state department of
8989 revenue. Such receipt shall be recognized as a valid temporary Kansas
9090 driver's license authorizing the operation of a motor vehicle by the accused
9191 person to the date of the hearing stated on the receipt. Such driver's license
9292 and written copy of the notice to appear shall be delivered by the law
9393 enforcement officer to the municipal court as soon as reasonably possible.
9494 If the hearing on any such charge is continued for any reason, the
9595 municipal judge may note on the receipt the date to which such hearing
9696 has been continued, and such receipt shall be recognized as a valid
9797 temporary Kansas driver's license until such date, but in no event shall
9898 such receipt be recognized as a valid Kansas driver's license for a period
9999 longer than 30 days from the date for the original hearing. Any person who
100100 deposited a driver's license to secure such person's appearance, in lieu of
101101 giving a bond as provided in subsections (a), (b) and (c) above paragraphs
102102 (1) through (4), shall have such driver's license returned upon the giving of
103103 the required bond pursuant to (a), (b) and (c) above paragraphs (1)
104104 through (4) or upon final determination of the charge.
105105 (c) In the event the accused person deposits a valid Kansas driver's
106106 license with the municipal court and fails to appear in court on the date set
107107 for appearance, or any continuance thereof, and in any event within 30
108108 days from the date set for the original hearing, the municipal judge shall
109109 forward the driver's license of such person to the division of vehicles with
110110 an appropriate explanation attached thereto. Upon receipt of the driver's
111111 license of such person the division of vehicles shall suspend such person's
112112 privilege to operate a motor vehicle in this state until such person appears
113113 before the municipal court, or the municipal court makes a final
114114 disposition thereof, and notice of such disposition is given by the
115115 municipal court to the division, or for a period not exceeding six months
116116 from the date such person's driver's license is received by the division,
117117 whichever is earlier.
118118 1
119119 2
120120 3
121121 4
122122 5
123123 6
124124 7
125125 8
126126 9
127127 10
128128 11
129129 12
130130 13
131131 14
132132 15
133133 16
134134 17
135135 18
136136 19
137137 20
138138 21
139139 22
140140 23
141141 24
142142 25
143143 26
144144 27
145145 28
146146 29
147147 30
148148 31
149149 32
150150 33
151151 34
152152 35
153153 36
154154 37
155155 38
156156 39
157157 40
158158 41
159159 42
160160 43 HB 2755 3
161161 (d) Any person who applies for a replacement or new driver's license
162162 prior to the return of such person's original license, when such license has
163163 been deposited in lieu of the giving of a bond as provided in this section,
164164 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable as set forth in K.S.A. 8-2116,
165165 and amendments thereto.
166166 Sec. 2. K.S.A. 22-2809b is hereby amended to read as follows: 22-
167167 2809b. (a) As used in this section:
168168 (1) "Compensated surety" means any person who or entity that is
169169 organized under the laws of the state of Kansas that, as surety, issues
170170 appearance bonds for compensation, posts bail for four or more persons in
171171 a calendar year, is responsible for any forfeiture and is liable for
172172 appearance bonds written by such person's or entity's authorized agents. A
173173 "compensated surety" is either an insurance agent surety or, a property
174174 surety or a bail agent.
175175 (2) "Insurance agent surety" means a compensated surety licensed by
176176 the insurance commissioner to issue surety bonds or appearance bonds in
177177 this state and who represents an authorized insurance company. An
178178 "insurance agent surety" may have other insurance agent sureties working
179179 with or for such surety.
180180 (3) "Property surety" means a compensated surety who secures
181181 appearance bonds by property pledged as security. A "property surety"
182182 may be a person or entity, other than a corporation, and may authorize bail
183183 agents to act on behalf of the "property surety" in writing appearance
184184 bonds.
185185 (4) "Bail agent" means a person authorized by a compensated surety
186186 to execute surety bail bonds on such surety's behalf.
187187 (5) "Appearance bond premium" means the fee charged by a
188188 compensated surety for posting an appearance bond.
189189 (b) Every compensated surety shall submit an application to the chief
190190 judge of the judicial district, or the chief judge's designee, in each judicial
191191 district where such surety seeks to act as a surety. A compensated surety
192192 shall not act as a surety in such judicial district prior to approval of such
193193 application.
194194 (1) The application shall include, but is not limited to, the following
195195 information for each insurance agent surety, property surety or bail agent:
196196 (A) A copy of the applicant's Kansas driver's license or nondriver's
197197 identification card;
198198 (B) a statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the applicant is a
199199 resident of this state and is not prohibited by K.S.A. 22-2809a(c), and
200200 amendments thereto, from acting as a surety; and
201201 (C) a certificate of continuing education compliance in accordance
202202 with subsection (f).
203203 (2) The application for each insurance agent surety also shall include:
204204 1
205205 2
206206 3
207207 4
208208 5
209209 6
210210 7
211211 8
212212 9
213213 10
214214 11
215215 12
216216 13
217217 14
218218 15
219219 16
220220 17
221221 18
222222 19
223223 20
224224 21
225225 22
226226 23
227227 24
228228 25
229229 26
230230 27
231231 28
232232 29
233233 30
234234 31
235235 32
236236 33
237237 34
238238 35
239239 36
240240 37
241241 38
242242 39
243243 40
244244 41
245245 42
246246 43 HB 2755 4
247247 (A) A copy of the qualifying power of attorney certificates issued to
248248 such surety by any insurance company;
249249 (B) a current and valid certificate of license from the insurance
250250 department; and
251251 (C) a current and valid certificate of authority from the insurance
252252 department.
253253 (3) The application for each property surety also shall include:
254254 (A) A list of all bail agents authorized by such property surety to
255255 write appearance bonds on such property surety's behalf and all
256256 documentation from such bail agents demonstrating compliance with
257257 subsection (b)(1); and
258258 (B) an affidavit describing the property by which such property surety
259259 proposes to justify its obligations and the encumbrances thereon, and all
260260 such surety's other liabilities. The description shall include a valuation of
261261 the property described therein. If the valuation is not readily evident, an
262262 appraisal of the property may be required and, if required, shall be
263263 incorporated into the affidavit.
264264 (4) The chief judge of the judicial district may require, as a
265265 qualification for initial or continued authorization in the judicial district,
266266 a compensated surety to submit to a state and national criminal history
267267 record check. The fingerprints shall be used to identify the individual and
268268 to determine whether the individual has a record of criminal history in this
269269 state or any other jurisdiction. The chief judge or the chief judge's
270270 designee is authorized to submit the fingerprints to the Kansas bureau of
271271 investigation and the federal bureau of investigation for a state and
272272 national criminal history record check. The chief judge or the chief judge's
273273 designee may use the information obtained from fingerprinting and the
274274 criminal history record check for purposes of verifying the identification of
275275 the individual and for making an official determination of the
276276 qualifications for authorization in the judicial district. Disclosure or use of
277277 any information received by the chief judge or the chief judge's designee
278278 for any purpose other than the purposes provided for in this paragraph
279279 shall be a class A nonperson misdemeanor. The Kansas bureau of
280280 investigation may charge a reasonable fee for conducting a criminal
281281 history record check, and the individual seeking initial or continued
282282 authorization under this section shall pay the costs of fingerprinting and
283283 the state and national criminal history record check.
284284 (c) A property surety authorized to act as a surety in a judicial district
285285 pursuant to subsection (b) shall be allowed outstanding appearance bonds
286286 in the state of Kansas not to exceed an aggregate amount which is 15 times
287287 the valuation of the property described in subsection (b)(3). Such property
288288 surety shall not write any single appearance bond that exceeds 35% of the
289289 total valuation of the property described in subsection (b)(3).
290290 1
291291 2
292292 3
293293 4
294294 5
295295 6
296296 7
297297 8
298298 9
299299 10
300300 11
301301 12
302302 13
303303 14
304304 15
305305 16
306306 17
307307 18
308308 19
309309 20
310310 21
311311 22
312312 23
313313 24
314314 25
315315 26
316316 27
317317 28
318318 29
319319 30
320320 31
321321 32
322322 33
323323 34
324324 35
325325 36
326326 37
327327 38
328328 39
329329 40
330330 41
331331 42
332332 43 HB 2755 5
333333 (d) (1) A compensated surety shall:
334334 (A) Charge a minimum appearance bond premium of 10% of the face
335335 amount of the appearance bond;
336336 (B) only post a bond after the compensated surety has received at
337337 least
338338 1
339339 /2 of the required minimum appearance bond premium in one of the
340340 following forms:
341341 (i) Currency of the United States paid to the compensated surety
342342 prior to the execution of an appearance bond;
343343 (ii) a check delivered to a compensated surety that shall be property
344344 payable when delivered and promptly deposited in the compensated
345345 surety's bank account;
346346 (iii) a credit or debit card transaction if the compensated surety
347347 obtains authorization from the card issuer for the amount due and an
348348 approval number from the card issuer; or
349349 (iv) a bank or wire transfer or other electronic funds transfer
350350 including, but not limited to, peer-to-peer transfer, if such transfer occurs
351351 prior to the execution of the appearance bond; and
352352 (C) be physically present when the bond is posted and sign the bond
353353 at the jail.
354354 (2) A compensated surety may enter into a premium financing
355355 agreement for any appearance bond premium amount that exceeds 10% of
356356 the face amount of the appearance bond.
357357 (e) (1) Each judicial district may, by local rule, require additional
358358 information from any compensated surety and establish what property is
359359 acceptable for bonding purposes under subsection (b)(3).
360360 (2) A judicial district shall not require any compensated surety to
361361 apply for authorization in such judicial district more than once per year,
362362 but may require additional reporting from any compensated surety in its
363363 discretion. If the judicial district does not require an annual application,
364364 each compensated surety or bail agent shall provide a certificate of
365365 continuing education compliance in accordance with subsection (f) (g) to
366366 the judicial district each year.
367367 (3) A judicial district shall not decline authorization for a
368368 compensated surety solely on the basis of type of compensated surety.
369369 (e)(f) (1) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the
370370 chief judge of the judicial district, or the chief judge's designee, to
371371 authorize any compensated surety to act as a surety in such judicial district
372372 if the judge or designee finds, in such person's discretion, that such
373373 authorization is not warranted.
374374 (2) (A) If such authorization is granted, the chief judge of the judicial
375375 district, or the chief judge's designee, may terminate or suspend the
376376 authorization at any time. Reasons for terminating or suspending such
377377 authorization include, but are not limited to:
378378 1
379379 2
380380 3
381381 4
382382 5
383383 6
384384 7
385385 8
386386 9
387387 10
388388 11
389389 12
390390 13
391391 14
392392 15
393393 16
394394 17
395395 18
396396 19
397397 20
398398 21
399399 22
400400 23
401401 24
402402 25
403403 26
404404 27
405405 28
406406 29
407407 30
408408 31
409409 32
410410 33
411411 34
412412 35
413413 36
414414 37
415415 38
416416 39
417417 40
418418 41
419419 42
420420 43 HB 2755 6
421421 (i) Filing false statements with the court;
422422 (ii) soliciting appearance bond services at any jail;
423423 (iii) failing to charge the minimum appearance bond premium as
424424 required by this section;
425425 (iv) paying a fee or rebate or giving or promising anything of value to
426426 a jailer, law enforcement officer, any person who has the power to arrest
427427 or hold a person in custody or any public official or employee in order to
428428 secure a settlement, compromise, remission or reduction of the amount of
429429 any appearance bond, forfeiture or estreatment, or to secure or delay an
430430 appearance bond;
431431 (v) paying a fee or rebate or giving or promising anything of value,
432432 other than reward payments for information relating to the apprehension
433433 of fugitives, to an inmate in exchange for a business referral;
434434 (vi) requiring or accepting anything of value from a principal other
435435 than the appearance bond premium, except that the compensated surety
436436 may accept collateral security or other indemnity to secure the face
437437 amount of the bond;
438438 (vii) intentionally failing to promptly return collateral security to the
439439 principal when the principal is entitled to return of such security;
440440 (viii) knowingly employing or otherwise compensating for any
441441 appearance bond related work, any person who has been convicted of a
442442 felony unless such conviction has been expunged, other than reward
443443 payments for information relating to the apprehension of fugitives; or
444444 (ix) failing to pay any forfeiture judgment within 30 days of the filing
445445 of the journal entry of judgment.
446446 (B) The judge or the judge's desginee may investigate claims of
447447 violations described in subparagraph (A). If the chief judge makes a
448448 finding that a violation has occurred, the chief judge may suspend or
449449 terminate the authorization of the compensated surety.
450450 (A)(C) If the authorization is suspended for 30 days or more, the
451451 chief judge or designee shall make a record describing the length of the
452452 suspension and the underlying cause and provide such record to the surety.
453453 Such surety, upon request, shall be entitled to a hearing within 30 days
454454 after the suspension is ordered.
455455 (B)(D) If the authorization is terminated, the chief judge or designee
456456 shall make a record describing the underlying cause and provide such
457457 record to the surety. Such surety, upon request, shall be entitled to a
458458 hearing within 30 days after the termination is ordered.
459459 (3) If an authorized compensated surety does not comply with the
460460 continuing education requirements in subsection (f) (g), the chief judge of
461461 the judicial district, or the chief judge's designee, may allow a conditional
462462 authorization to continue acting as a surety for 90 days. If such
463463 compensated surety does not comply with the continuing education
464464 1
465465 2
466466 3
467467 4
468468 5
469469 6
470470 7
471471 8
472472 9
473473 10
474474 11
475475 12
476476 13
477477 14
478478 15
479479 16
480480 17
481481 18
482482 19
483483 20
484484 21
485485 22
486486 23
487487 24
488488 25
489489 26
490490 27
491491 28
492492 29
493493 30
494494 31
495495 32
496496 33
497497 34
498498 35
499499 36
500500 37
501501 38
502502 39
503503 40
504504 41
505505 42
506506 43 HB 2755 7
507507 requirements in subsection (f) (g) within 90 days, such conditional
508508 authorization shall be terminated and such compensated surety shall not
509509 act as a surety in such judicial district.
510510 (f)(g) (1) Every compensated surety shall obtain at least eight hours
511511 of continuing education credits during each 12-month period beginning on
512512 January 1, 2017.
513513 (2) The Kansas bail agents association shall either provide or contract
514514 for a minimum of eight hours of continuing education classes to be held at
515515 least once annually in each congressional district and may provide
516516 additional classes in its discretion. The chief judge in each judicial district
517517 may provide a list of topics to be covered during the continuing education
518518 classes. A schedule of such classes shall be publicly available. The
519519 association shall not charge more than $250 $300 annually for the eight
520520 hours of continuing education classes, and the cost of any class with less
521521 than eight hours of continuing education shall may be prorated
522522 accordingly. Any fee charged for attending continuing education classes
523523 shall not be increased or decreased based upon a compensated surety's
524524 membership or lack of membership in the association.
525525 (3) Upon completion of at least eight hours of continuing education
526526 credits during each 12-month period by a compensated surety, the Kansas
527527 bail agents association shall issue a certificate of continuing education
528528 compliance to such surety. The certificate shall be prepared and delivered
529529 to the compensated surety within 30 days of such surety's completion of
530530 the continuing education requirements. The certificate shall show in detail
531531 the dates and hours of each course attended, along with the signature of the
532532 Kansas bail agents association official attesting that all continuing
533533 education requirements have been completed.
534534 (4) Any continuing education credits used to comply with conditional
535535 authorization pursuant to subsection (e)(3) (f)(3) shall not be applied
536536 towards compliance in the current 12-month period or any subsequent 12-
537537 month period.
538538 (5) A person operating as a sufficient surety or bail bondsman in the
539539 state immediately prior to the effective date of this act shall be deemed to
540540 be compensated surety under this act and shall be exempt from the
541541 continuing education requirements for a conditional authorization pursuant
542542 to this section until July 1, 2017.
543543 Sec. 3. K.S.A. 12-4301 and 22-2809b are hereby repealed.
544544 Sec. 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
545545 publication in the statute book.
546546 1
547547 2
548548 3
549549 4
550550 5
551551 6
552552 7
553553 8
554554 9
555555 10
556556 11
557557 12
558558 13
559559 14
560560 15
561561 16
562562 17
563563 18
564564 19
565565 20
566566 21
567567 22
568568 23
569569 24
570570 25
571571 26
572572 27
573573 28
574574 29
575575 30
576576 31
577577 32
578578 33
579579 34
580580 35
581581 36
582582 37
583583 38
584584 39