Florida Senate - 2013 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1352
Barcode 475764
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: FAV .
03/12/2013 .
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The Committee on Ethics and Elections (Latvala) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Substitute for Amendment (130626) (with title
2 amendment)
3
4 Delete lines 425 - 601
5 and insert:
6 Section 8. Effective July 1, 2014, paragraph (b) of
7 subsection (1) of section 648.44, Florida Statutes, is amended
8 to read:
9 648.44 Prohibitions; penalty.—
10 (1) A bail bond agent or temporary bail bond agent may not:
11 (b) Directly or indirectly solicit business in or on the
12 property or grounds of a jail, prison, or other place where
13 prisoners are confined or in or on the property or grounds of
14 any court. The term “solicitation” includes the distribution of
15 business cards, print advertising, or other written or oral
16 information directed to prisoners or potential indemnitors,
17 unless a request is initiated by the prisoner or a potential
18 indemnitor. Permissible print advertising in the jail is
19 strictly limited to a listing in a telephone directory and the
20 posting of the bail bond agent’s or agency’s name, address, e
21 mail address, and telephone number in a designated location
22 within the jail.
23 Section 9. Effective July 1, 2014, section 903.012, Florida
24 Statutes, is created to read:
25 903.012 Posting and transmittal of bonds.—Bonds may be
26 posted in person or electronically at the election of the
27 receiving agency. Bonds may be transmitted electronically
28 between the sheriff’s office and the office of the clerk of
29 court.
30 Section 10. Effective July 1, 2014, section 903.101,
31 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
32 903.101 Sureties; licensed persons; to have equal access.
33 Subject to rules adopted by the Department of Financial Services
34 and by the Financial Services Commission, every surety who meets
35 the requirements of ss. 903.05, 903.06, 903.08, and 903.09, and
36 every person who is currently licensed by the Department of
37 Financial Services and registered as required by s. 648.42 shall
38 have equal access to the jails of this state for the purpose of
39 making bonds either in person or electronically.
40 Section 11. Effective July 1, 2014, subsection (1) of
41 section 903.14, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
42 903.14 Contracts to indemnify sureties.—
43 (1) A surety shall file with the bond an affidavit stating
44 the amount and source of any security or consideration which the
45 surety or anyone for his or her use has received or been
46 promised for the bond. The affidavit shall be filed in the same
47 manner as the bond.
48 Section 12. Effective July 1, 2014, paragraph (b) of
49 subsection (1), paragraph (a) of subsection (2), and subsection
50 (3) of section 903.26, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
51 903.26 Forfeiture of the bond; when and how directed;
52 discharge; how and when made; effect of payment.—
53 (1) A bail bond shall not be forfeited unless:
54 (b) The clerk of court gave the surety at least 72 hours’
55 notice, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, before
56 the time of the required appearance of the defendant. Notice
57 shall not be necessary if the time for appearance is within 72
58 hours from the time of arrest, or if the time is stated on the
59 bond. Such notice may be mailed or electronically transmitted.
60 (2)(a) If there is a breach of the bond, the court shall
61 declare the bond and any bonds or money deposited as bail
62 forfeited. The clerk of the court shall mail or electronically
63 transmit a notice to the surety agent and surety company in
64 writing within 5 days after of the forfeiture. A certificate
65 signed by the clerk of the court or the clerk’s designee,
66 certifying that the notice required herein was mailed or
67 electronically transmitted on a specified date and accompanied
68 by a copy of the required notice, shall constitute sufficient
69 proof that such mailing or electronic transmission was properly
70 accomplished as indicated therein. If such mailing or electronic
71 transmission was properly accomplished as evidenced by such
72 certificate, the failure of the surety agent, of a company, or
73 of a defendant to receive such mail notice shall not constitute
74 a defense to such forfeiture and shall not be grounds for
75 discharge, remission, reduction, set aside, or continuance of
76 such forfeiture. The forfeiture shall be paid within 60 days of
77 the date the notice was mailed or electronically transmitted.
78 (3) Sixty days after the forfeiture notice has been mailed
79 or electronically transmitted:
80 (a) State and county officials having custody of forfeited
81 money shall deposit the money in the fine and forfeiture fund
82 established pursuant to s. 142.01.;
83 (b) Municipal officials having custody of forfeited money
84 shall deposit the money in a designated municipal fund.;
85 (c) Officials having custody of bonds as authorized by s.
86 903.16 shall transmit the bonds to the clerk of the circuit
87 court who shall sell them at market value and disburse the
88 proceeds as provided in paragraphs (a) and (b).
89 Section 13. Effective July 1, 2014, subsections (1), (2),
90 and (6) of section 903.27, Florida Statutes, are amended to
91 read:
92 903.27 Forfeiture to judgment.—
93 (1) If the forfeiture is not paid or discharged by order of
94 a court of competent jurisdiction within 60 days and the bond is
95 secured other than by money and bonds authorized in s. 903.16,
96 the clerk of the circuit court for the county where the order
97 was made shall enter a judgment against the surety for the
98 amount of the penalty and issue execution. However, in any case
99 in which the bond forfeiture has been discharged by the court of
100 competent jurisdiction conditioned upon the payment by the
101 surety of certain costs or fees as allowed by statute, the
102 amount for which judgment may be entered may not exceed the
103 amount of the unpaid fees or costs upon which the discharge had
104 been conditioned. Judgment for the full amount of the forfeiture
105 shall not be entered if payment of a lesser amount will satisfy
106 the conditions to discharge the forfeiture. Within 10 days, the
107 clerk shall furnish the Department of Financial Services and the
108 Office of Insurance Regulation of the Financial Services
109 Commission with a certified copy of the judgment docket and
110 shall furnish the surety company at its home office a copy of
111 the judgment, which shall include the power of attorney number
112 of the bond and the name of the executing agent. If the judgment
113 is not paid within 35 days, the clerk shall furnish the
114 Department of Financial Services, the Office of Insurance
115 Regulation, and the sheriff of the county in which the bond was
116 executed, or the official responsible for operation of the
117 county jail, if other than the sheriff, two copies of the
118 judgment and a certificate stating that the judgment remains
119 unsatisfied. When and if the judgment is properly paid or an
120 order to vacate the judgment has been entered by a court of
121 competent jurisdiction, the clerk shall immediately notify the
122 sheriff, or the official responsible for the operation of the
123 county jail, if other than the sheriff, and the Department of
124 Financial Services and the Office of Insurance Regulation, if
125 the department and office had been previously notified of
126 nonpayment, of such payment or order to vacate the judgment. The
127 clerk may furnish documents or give notice as required in this
128 subsection by mail or electronic means. The clerk shall also
129 immediately prepare and record in the public records a
130 satisfaction of the judgment or record the order to vacate
131 judgment. If the defendant is returned to the county of
132 jurisdiction of the court, whenever a motion to set aside the
133 judgment is filed, the operation of this section is tolled until
134 the court makes a disposition of the motion.
135 (2) A certificate signed by the clerk of the court or her
136 or his designee, certifying that the notice required in
137 subsection (1) was mailed or electronically delivered on a
138 specified date, and accompanied by a copy of the required notice
139 constitutes sufficient proof that such mailing or electronic
140 delivery was properly accomplished as indicated therein. If such
141 mailing or electronic delivery was properly accomplished as
142 evidenced by such certificate, the failure of a company to
143 receive a copy of the judgment as prescribed in subsection (1)
144 does not constitute a defense to the forfeiture and is not a
145 ground for the discharge, remission, reduction, set-aside, or
146 continuance of such forfeiture.
147 (6) The failure of a state attorney to file, or of the
148 clerk of the circuit court to make, a certified copy of the
149 order of forfeiture as required by law applicable prior to July
150 1, 1982, shall not invalidate any judgment entered by the clerk
151 prior to June 12, 1981.
152 Section 14. Effective July 1, 2014, subsection (1) of
153 section 903.31, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
154 903.31 Canceling the bond.—
155 (1) Within 10 business days after the conditions of a bond
156 have been satisfied or the forfeiture discharged or remitted,
157 the court shall order the bond canceled and, if the surety has
158 attached a certificate of cancellation to the original bond, the
159 clerk of the court shall mail or electronically furnish an
160 executed certificate of cancellation to the surety without cost.
161 An adjudication of guilt or innocence, an acquittal, or a
162 withholding of an adjudication of guilt shall satisfy the
163 conditions of the bond. The original appearance bond shall
164 expire 36 months after such bond has been posted for the release
165 of the defendant from custody. This subsection does not apply to
166 cases in which a bond has been declared forfeited.
167 Section 15. Effective July 1, 2014, subsection (2) of
168 section 903.36, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
169 903.36 Guaranteed arrest bond certificates as cash bail.—
170 (2) The execution of a bail bond by a licensed general
171 lines agent of a surety insurer for the automobile club or
172 association member identified in the guaranteed traffic arrest
173 bond certificate, as provided in s. 627.758(4), shall be
174 accepted as bail in an amount not to exceed $5,000 for the
175 appearance of the person named in the certificate in any court
176 to answer for the violation of a provision of chapter 316 or a
177 similar traffic law or ordinance, except driving under the
178 influence of alcoholic beverages, chemical substances, or
179 controlled substances, as prohibited by s. 316.193. Presentation
180 of the guaranteed traffic arrest bond certificate and a power of
181 attorney from the surety insurer for its licensed general lines
182 agents is authorization for such agent to execute the bail bond.
183 Presentation may be made in person or by electronic means.
184 Section 16. Except as otherwise expressly provided, this
185 act shall take effect October 1, 2013.
186
187 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
188 And the title is amended as follows:
189 Delete lines 53 - 54
190 and insert:
191 in person or electronically; providing effective
192 dates.