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S1077................................................by JUDICIARY AND RULES
BAIL - Amends existing law to set forth the purpose of bail; to revise
provisions applicable to the forfeiture of bail; to revise applicable time
limits; and to clarify that certain contractual remedies of a bail surety
or bail agent are not limited.
02/01 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/02 Rpt prt - to Jud
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-eighth Legislature First Regular Session - 2005
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1077
BY JUDICIARY AND RULES COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO BAIL; AMENDING SECTION 19-2902, IDAHO CODE, TO SET FORTH THE PUR-
3 POSE OF BAIL AND TO PROVIDE DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE; AMENDING SECTION
4 19-2927, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO THE FORFEITURE OF
5 BAIL; AMENDING SECTIONS 19-2928 AND 19-2929, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE APPLI-
6 CABLE TIME LIMITS; AND AMENDING SECTION 41-1042, IDAHO CODE, TO CLARIFY
7 THAT CERTAIN CONTRACTUAL REMEDIES OF A BAIL SURETY OR BAIL AGENT ARE NOT
8 LIMITED.
9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
10 SECTION 1. That Section 19-2902, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
11 amended to read as follows:
12 19-2902. TAKING OF BAIL DEFINED -- PURPOSE. (1) The taking of bail con-
13 sists in the acceptance by a competent court or magistrate, of the undertaking
14 of sufficient bail for the appearance of the defendant, according to the terms
15 of the undertaking, or that the bail will pay to the state a specified sum.
16 (2) The purpose of bail is to ensure the attendance of the defendant in
17 court. The bail bond posted by a surety creates a monetary incentive for the
18 surety to locate and return to custody a defendant who fails to appear in
19 court. It is not the purpose of bail to generate revenue for the state of
20 Idaho. The provisions of this chapter shall be interpreted and applied in a
21 manner consistent with the purpose of bail as set forth in this section.
22 SECTION 2. That Section 19-2927, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
23 amended to read as follows:
24 19-2927. FORFEITURE OF BAIL. (1) If, without sufficient excuse, the
25 defendant neglects fails to appear before the court upon any occasion when his
26 presence has been ordered the court must immediately direct the fact to be
27 entered upon its minutes, order the forfeiture of the undertaking of bail, or
28 the money deposited instead of bail, as the case may be, and order the issu-
29 ance of a bench warrant for the arrest of the defendant. The clerk shall mail
30 written notice within five (5) days of the forfeiture for failure to appear to
31 the last known address of the person posting the undertaking of bail or, if
32 the bail consists of a surety bond, to the surety bail agent's address located
33 on the bond. A failure to give accurate and timely notice shall exonerate the
34 bail or undertaking. If at any time within ninety one hundred eighty (9180)
35 days after such entry in the minutes, the defendant is taken into custody in
36 Idaho or the defendant voluntarily appears, and satisfactorily excuses his
37 neglect, the court shall direct the forfeiture of the undertaking or the
38 deposit to be exonerated.
39 If within ninety (90) days of the date of forfeiture, a person, other than
40 the defendant, who has provided bail for the defendant, surrenders the defend-
41 ant to any Idaho peace officer, the undertaking of bail or deposits are
2
1 thereby exonerated.
2 (2) The court shall, for good cause shown, exonerate the bail or extend
3 the time within which the bail surety, the bail agent or the person posting
4 the undertaking of bail has to surrender the defendant to custody. Good cause
5 shall include, but not be limited to:
6 (a) The death of the defendant;
7 (b) The incarceration of the defendant in a foreign state or jurisdic-
8 tion;
9 (c) The refusal of the prosecuting authority to extradite the defendant
10 from a foreign state or jurisdiction;
11 (d) A medical condition of the defendant that prevents the return of the
12 defendant; or
13 (e) Other factual or legal circumstances that prevent the return of the
14 defendant to custody in Idaho.
15 (3) The court which has forfeited the undertaking of bail, or the money
16 deposited instead of bail, may, before remittance of the forfeiture, and with
17 the written consent of the person posting the same, set aside the forfeiture
18 and reinstate the undertaking of bail or money deposited instead of bail.
19 SECTION 3. That Section 19-2928, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
20 amended to read as follows:
21 19-2928. ENFORCEMENT OF FORFEITURE. If the forfeiture is not discharged,
22 as provided in the last section, the prosecuting attorney may, at any time
23 after ninety one hundred eighty (9180) days from the entry upon the minutes,
24 as provided in the last section, proceed by action in the name of the county,
25 against the bail upon their undertaking.
26 SECTION 4. That Section 19-2929, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
27 amended to read as follows:
28 19-2929. FORFEITURE OF DEPOSIT. If, by reason of the neglect of the
29 defendant to appear, money deposited instead of bail is forfeited, the clerk
30 shall mail written notice within five (5) days to the last known address of
31 the person posting the money of the forfeiture for failure to appear. A fail-
32 ure to give timely notice shall exonerate the bail. If the forfeiture is not
33 discharged or remitted, the clerk with whom it is deposited must, at the end
34 of ninety one hundred eighty (9180) days, of the date of forfeiture, unless
35 the court has before that time discharged the forfeiture, pay over the money
36 deposited to the county treasurer.
37 SECTION 5. That Section 41-1042, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
38 amended to read as follows:
39 41-1042. COLLECTIONS AND CHARGES PERMITTED. (1) Notwithstanding any other
40 provision of this chapter, a bail agent in any bail transaction shall not,
41 directly or indirectly, charge or collect money or other valuable consider-
42 ation from any person except for the following:
43 (a) To pay premiums at the rates established by the insurer;
44 (b) To provide collateral;
45 (c) To reimburse the bail agent for actual expenses incurred in connec-
46 tion with the bail transaction, limited to the following:
47 (i) Expenditures actually and reasonably incurred to verify under-
48 writing information or to pay for notary public fees, recording fees,
49 or necessary long distance telephone or telegram fees; provided how-
3
1 ever, that the total of all such expenditures reimbursed shall not
2 exceed fifty dollars ($50.00); and
3 (ii) Travel expenses incurred more than twenty-five (25) miles from
4 a bail agent's place of business, which includes any city or locality
5 in which the bail agent advertises or engages in bail business, up to
6 the amount allowed by the internal revenue service for business
7 travel for the year in which the travel occurs.
8 (2) Except as permitted under this section, a bail agent shall not make
9 any charge for his service in a bail transaction and the bail agent shall
10 fully document all expenses for which the bail agent seeks reimbursement.
11 (3) This section does not limit a bail surety or bail agent's contractual
12 remedies against a defendant or bond indemnitor for a material breach of the
13 terms of the bail contract including, but not limited to, the right to indem-
14 nification of any bond loss and reasonable investigation, legal and court
15 expenses actually incurred by the bail surety or bail agent in connection with
16 a bail forfeiture.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 14608
This legislation modifies bail statutes by stating the purpose
of bail is to ensure the attendance of the defendant in court.
This legislation also provides a bail surety or agent one
hundred eighty (180) days to locate and return a defendant who
has failed to appear in court. It identifies certain
conditions which justify either the exoneration of bail or an
extension of time to return the defendant. Finally, it
clarifies the authority of the bail surety or agent to enforce
the remedies of the bail contract if a defendant breaches the
contract, specifically the right to recover expenses caused by
the defendant's breach of the contract.
FISCAL NOTE
No fiscal impact to the State of Idaho. This legislation
should reduce the costs to law enforcement for locating and
returning defendants to the state of Idaho by motivating bail
sureties and agents to locate and return defendants who have
failed to appear in court.
CONTACT
Name: Steve J. Tobiason
Phone: 342-4545
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1077