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.