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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
ENGROSSED SENATE
BILL NO. 798 By: Coleman of the Senate
and
Moore of the House
An Act relating to bondsmen; amending 59 O.S. 2021,
Section 1327, as amended by Secti on 2, Chapter 170,
O.S.L. 2022 (59 O.S. Supp. 2022, Section 1327), which
relates to exoneration of bond; allowing for
exoneration of bond under certain condition; and
providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2021, Section 1327, as
amended by Section 2, Chapter 170, O.S.L. 2022 (59 O.S. Supp. 2022,
Section 1327), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1327. A. At any time before the re has been a breach of
the undertaking in any type of bail provided herein, the surety or
bondsman or a licensed bail enforcer pursuant to a client contract
authorized by the Bail Enforcement and Licensing Act may surrender
the defendant, or the defendant may surrender himself or herself, to
the official to whose custody the defendant was committed at the
time bail was taken, or to the official into whose custody the
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defendant would have been given had he or she been committed. T he
defendant may be surren dered without the return of premium for the
bond if he or she has been guilty of nonpayment of premium, changes
address without notifying his or her bondsman, conceals himself or
herself, leaves the jurisdiction of the court witho ut the permission
of his or her bondsman, or violates his or her contract with the
bondsman in any way that does harm to the bondsman, or the surety,
or violates his or her obligation to the court. When a bondsman or
surety, or a licensed bail enforcer, s urrenders a defendant purs uant
to this subsection, the bondsman or surety shall file written
notification of the surrender. After surrender, and upon filing of
written notification of the surrender with the court clerk, the bond
shall be exonerated and th e clerk shall enter a minu te in the case
exonerating the bond.
B. 1. If the defendant has been placed in custody of another
jurisdiction, the district attorney shall direct a hold order to the
official, judge or law enforcement agency where the defendant is in
custody. All reasonable expenses accrued in returning the defendant
to the original court shall be borne by the bondsman who posted the
bond with that court; provided, however, except for instances
whereby the defendant is transported by a contract ed transport
company, reasonable expenses shall mean the actual miles traveled in
transporting the defendant at a rate equal to the current Internal
Revenue Service standard mileage rate. Upon application, the bond
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in the original court shall be exonerate d when the hold order is
placed and upon proof of payment of expenses by the bondsman.
2. Except as provided for in paragraph 3 of this subsection,
the premium for a bail bond shall be considered earned by the
bondsman or the insurer, as applicable, when the defendant on the
bond is released from custody and is not incarcerated in any
capacity. If the bond premium has not been earned pursuant to the
terms of this section, the payor of the premium or the depositor of
any collateral, as applicable, may requ est the return of the prem ium
or collateral given to the bondsman for the bond. The bondsman
shall return any premium and collateral without delay. If a
bondsman returns the premium to the payor pursuant to this section,
he or she may charge a usual, cus tomary, and reasonable fee for his
or her services provided in the transaction.
3. The premium for a bail bond shall be considered earned by
the bondsman, regardless of whether the defendant on the bond is
released from custody, if the bondsman and the pa yor of the bond
premium have agreed in writing that the purpose of the bond is to
secure the transfer of the defendant to another jurisdiction and the
defendant is in fact transferred to that jurisdiction.
C. If the defendant has been arrested on new char ges and is in
the custody of the same jurisdiction in which the bondsman or surety
has posted an appearance bond or bonds for the defendant, and the
bond or bonds have not been exonerated, and certified copies of
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bonds are not reasonably available, the bon dsman or surety may
recommit the defendant to be held in custody on the charges for
which the bondsman or surety has previously posted appearance bonds
thereon, in accordance with the following procedure:
1. On a Recommitment of Defendant by Bondsman form approved by
the Administrative Office of the Courts, the bondsman or surety
shall personally affix his or her signature to an affidavit
attesting to the following:
a. the defendant is presently in the custody of the
jurisdiction in which the bondsman or s urety has
posted a bond or bonds,
b. the case number, if any, assigned to each bond,
c. that the bond or bonds have not been exonerated, and
d. the specific charges and bond amount or amounts;
2. The bondsman or surety shall present the Recommitment of
Defendant by Bondsman form t o the official in whose custody the
defendant is being held, and the official shall detain the defendant
in his or her custody, thereon, as upon a commitment, and by a
certificate in writing acknowledging the surrender; and
3. When a bondsman or surety re commits a defendant pursuant to
this subsection, the bondsman or surety shall file a written
notification thereof to the court, and after such notification, the
bond or bonds shall be exonerated, and the clerk shall enter a
minute in the case exonerating t he bond or bonds.
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D. 1. When a defendant does appear before the court as
required by law and enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, is
sentenced or a deferred sentence is granted as provided for in
Section 991c of Title 22 of t he Oklahoma Statutes, or deferred
prosecution is granted as provided by law, in such event the
undertaking and bondsman and insurer shall be exonerated from
further liability.
2. A bond posted for a petition for revocation of a suspended
sentence, a petition for acceleration o f a deferred sentence or any
violation of a probationary term shall be exonerated by operation of
law when:
a. the defendant has confessed, stipulated or otherwi se
agreed to the factual basis of the violation of
probation,
b. the suspended senten ce is revoked in whole or part,
c. the deferred sentence is accelerated in whole or part,
or
d. any additional sanction is imposed by the court.
E. The bond shall be exon erated by operation of law in any case
in which the defendant has been arrested on new charges or on any
warrant in the same jurisdiction in which the bondsman or insurer
has posted the appearance bond or bonds for the defendant, and the
defendant has been subsequently rele ased on his or her own personal
recognizance or a pretrial release has been authorized by the court.
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F. The bond shall be exonerated by operation o f law in any case
in which the defendant has been arrested and there is an added
charge to a case that would result in a higher fine or longer term
of sentence if convicted, or an amendment to a charge that would
result in a higher fine or longer term of s entence if convicted;
provided, however, any premium paid by the defendant to the bondsman
or insurer from the original charge shall be at the same premium
rate and shall be credited to the defendant if the same bondsman or
insurer posts the appearance bon d or bonds on the added or amended
charge.
G. For purposes of this section, a “usual, customary, and
reasonable fee” means a charge to the payor that is based on the
amount of time spent by the bondsman or his or her employees
researching, drafting, and e xecuting the bail bond. Such fee shall
be detailed in a written document provided to the payor.
H. The court shall not issue an ord er modifying the terms of a
previously set bond unless the order has also been signed b y the
bail bondsman, bail bondsman surety, or both acknowledging the
changes made to the bond prior to the defendant’s release. Failure
to provide this notice shall exo nerate the bond by operation o f law.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON INSURANCE, dated 04/11/2023 - DO
PASS.