OK
Oklahoma Senate Bill SB798

Oklahoma 2024 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB798 Compare Versions

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4-An Act
5-ENROLLED SENATE
29+HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
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31+STATE OF OKLAHOMA
32+
33+1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
34+
35+ENGROSSED SENATE
636 BILL NO. 798 By: Coleman of the Senate
737
838 and
939
1040 Moore of the House
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1545 An Act relating to bondsmen; amending 59 O.S. 2021,
1646 Section 1327, as amended by Secti on 2, Chapter 170,
1747 O.S.L. 2022 (59 O.S. Supp. 2022, Section 1327), which
1848 relates to exoneration of bond; allowing for
1949 exoneration of bond under certain condition; and
2050 providing an effective date .
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25-SUBJECT: Bond exoneration
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2755 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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2956 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2021, Section 1327, as
3057 amended by Section 2, Chapter 170, O.S.L. 2022 (59 O.S. Supp. 2022,
3158 Section 1327), is amended to read as follows:
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3359 Section 1327. A. At any time before the re has been a breach of
3460 the undertaking in any type of bail provided herein, the surety or
3561 bondsman or a licensed bail enforcer pursuant to a client contract
3662 authorized by the Bail Enforcement and Licensing Act may surrender
3763 the defendant, or the defendant may surrender himself or herself, to
3864 the official to whose custody the defendant was committed at the
3965 time bail was taken, or to the official into whose custody the
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4093 defendant would have been given had he or she been committed. T he
4194 defendant may be surren dered without the return of premium for the
4295 bond if he or she has been guilty of nonpayment of premium, changes
4396 address without notifying his or her bondsman, conceals himself or
4497 herself, leaves the jurisdiction of the court witho ut the permission
4598 of his or her bondsman, or violates his or her contract with the
4699 bondsman in any way that does harm to the bondsman, or the surety,
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49100 or violates his or her obligation to the court. When a bondsman or
50101 surety, or a licensed bail enforcer, s urrenders a defendant purs uant
51102 to this subsection, the bondsman or surety shall file written
52103 notification of the surrender. After surrender, and upon filing of
53104 written notification of the surrender with the court clerk, the bond
54105 shall be exonerated and th e clerk shall enter a minu te in the case
55106 exonerating the bond.
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57107 B. 1. If the defendant has been placed in custody of another
58108 jurisdiction, the district attorney shall direct a hold order to the
59109 official, judge or law enforcement agency where the defendant is in
60110 custody. All reasonable expenses accrued in returning the defendant
61111 to the original court shall be borne by the bondsman who posted the
62112 bond with that court; provided, however, except for instances
63113 whereby the defendant is transported by a contract ed transport
64114 company, reasonable expenses shall mean the actual miles traveled in
65115 transporting the defendant at a rate equal to the current Internal
66116 Revenue Service standard mileage rate. Upon application, the bond
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67144 in the original court shall be exonerate d when the hold order is
68145 placed and upon proof of payment of expenses by the bondsman.
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70146 2. Except as provided for in paragraph 3 of this subsection,
71147 the premium for a bail bond shall be considered earned by the
72148 bondsman or the insurer, as applicable, when the defendant on the
73149 bond is released from custody and is not incarcerated in any
74150 capacity. If the bond premium has not been earned pursuant to the
75151 terms of this section, the payor of the premium or the depositor of
76152 any collateral, as applicable, may requ est the return of the prem ium
77153 or collateral given to the bondsman for the bond. The bondsman
78154 shall return any premium and collateral without delay. If a
79155 bondsman returns the premium to the payor pursuant to this section,
80156 he or she may charge a usual, cus tomary, and reasonable fee for his
81157 or her services provided in the transaction.
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83158 3. The premium for a bail bond shall be considered earned by
84159 the bondsman, regardless of whether the defendant on the bond is
85160 released from custody, if the bondsman and the pa yor of the bond
86161 premium have agreed in writing that the purpose of the bond is to
87162 secure the transfer of the defendant to another jurisdiction and the
88163 defendant is in fact transferred to that jurisdiction.
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92164 C. If the defendant has been arrested on new char ges and is in
93165 the custody of the same jurisdiction in which the bondsman or surety
94166 has posted an appearance bond or bonds for the defendant, and the
95167 bond or bonds have not been exonerated, and certified copies of
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96195 bonds are not reasonably available, the bon dsman or surety may
97196 recommit the defendant to be held in custody on the charges for
98197 which the bondsman or surety has previously posted appearance bonds
99198 thereon, in accordance with the following procedure:
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101199 1. On a Recommitment of Defendant by Bondsman form approved by
102200 the Administrative Office of the Courts, the bondsman or surety
103201 shall personally affix his or her signature to an affidavit
104202 attesting to the following:
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106203 a. the defendant is presently in the custody of the
107204 jurisdiction in which the bondsman or s urety has
108205 posted a bond or bonds,
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110206 b. the case number, if any, assigned to each bond,
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112207 c. that the bond or bonds have not been exonerated, and
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114208 d. the specific charges and bond amount or amounts;
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116209 2. The bondsman or surety shall present the Recommitment of
117210 Defendant by Bondsman form t o the official in whose custody the
118211 defendant is being held, and the official shall detain the defendant
119212 in his or her custody, thereon, as upon a commitment, and by a
120213 certificate in writing acknowledging the surrender; and
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122214 3. When a bondsman or surety re commits a defendant pursuant to
123215 this subsection, the bondsman or surety shall file a written
124216 notification thereof to the court, and after such notification, the
125217 bond or bonds shall be exonerated, and the clerk shall enter a
126218 minute in the case exonerating t he bond or bonds.
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128246 D. 1. When a defendant does appear before the court as
129247 required by law and enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, is
130248 sentenced or a deferred sentence is granted as provided for in
131249 Section 991c of Title 22 of t he Oklahoma Statutes, or deferred
132250 prosecution is granted as provided by law, in such event the
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135251 undertaking and bondsman and insurer shall be exonerated from
136252 further liability.
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138253 2. A bond posted for a petition for revocation of a suspended
139254 sentence, a petition for acceleration o f a deferred sentence or any
140255 violation of a probationary term shall be exonerated by operation of
141256 law when:
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143257 a. the defendant has confessed, stipulated or otherwi se
144258 agreed to the factual basis of the violation of
145259 probation,
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147260 b. the suspended senten ce is revoked in whole or part,
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149261 c. the deferred sentence is accelerated in whole or part,
150262 or
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152263 d. any additional sanction is imposed by the court.
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154264 E. The bond shall be exon erated by operation of law in any case
155265 in which the defendant has been arrested on new charges or on any
156266 warrant in the same jurisdiction in which the bondsman or insurer
157267 has posted the appearance bond or bonds for the defendant, and the
158268 defendant has been subsequently rele ased on his or her own personal
159269 recognizance or a pretrial release has been authorized by the court.
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161297 F. The bond shall be exonerated by operation o f law in any case
162298 in which the defendant has been arrested and there is an added
163299 charge to a case that would result in a higher fine or longer term
164300 of sentence if convicted, or an amendment to a charge that would
165301 result in a higher fine or longer term of s entence if convicted;
166302 provided, however, any premium paid by the defendant to the bondsman
167303 or insurer from the original charge shall be at the same premium
168304 rate and shall be credited to the defendant if the same bondsman or
169305 insurer posts the appearance bon d or bonds on the added or amended
170306 charge.
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172307 G. For purposes of this section, a “usual, customary, and
173308 reasonable fee” means a charge to the payor that is based on the
174309 amount of time spent by the bondsman or his or her employees
175310 researching, drafting, and e xecuting the bail bond. Such fee shall
176311 be detailed in a written document provided to the payor.
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180312 H. The court shall not issue an ord er modifying the terms of a
181313 previously set bond unless the order has also been signed b y the
182314 bail bondsman, bail bondsman surety, or both acknowledging the
183315 changes made to the bond prior to the defendant’s release. Failure
184316 to provide this notice shall exo nerate the bond by operation o f law.
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186317 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
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190-Passed the Senate the 22nd day of March, 2023.
191-
192-
193-
194- Presiding Officer of the Senate
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197-Passed the House of Representatives the 20th day of April, 2023.
198-
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201- Presiding Officer of the House
202- of Representatives
203-
204-OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
205-Received by the Office of the Governor this _______ _____________
206-day of _________________ __, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
207-By: _______________________________ __
208-Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _____ ____
209-day of _________________ __, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
210-
211- _________________________________
212- Governor of the State of Oklahoma
213-
214-
215-OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
216-Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this _______ ___
217-day of __________________, 20 _______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
218-By: _______________________________ __
319+COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON INSURANCE, dated 04/11/2023 - DO
320+PASS.