HF 4006

as introduced - 90th Legislature (2017 - 2018) Posted on 03/19/2018 03:09pm

A bill for an act
relating to public safety; establishing a bail enforcement agent license; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 629.63; proposing coding for new law in
Minnesota Statutes, chapter 326.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [326.3351] BAIL ENFORCEMENT AGENT.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Prohibition. new text end

new text begin No person shall act as a bail enforcement agent without
having first obtained a license as provided in this section.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Application procedure. new text end

new text begin The board shall issue a bail enforcement license upon
application to any person who is qualified under subdivision 3 and in accordance with any
rules the board elects to adopt to implement this section. The bail enforcement license shall
remain effective for two years as long as the license holder remains qualified under
subdivision 3 and complies with the laws of Minnesota and the rules of the board. Upon
receipt of an application for a bail enforcement agent license, the board shall conduct an
investigation as it considers necessary to determine the qualifications of the applicant. The
board may charge an applicant a reasonable fee to cover the cost of processing the application
and issuing a bail enforcement license.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Disqualification. new text end

new text begin No person is qualified to hold a bail enforcement license who
has:
new text end

new text begin (1) been convicted of (i) a felony by the courts of this or any other state or of the United
States; (ii) acts which, if done in Minnesota, would be criminal sexual conduct; sex
trafficking; assault; domestic assault; stalking; harassment; theft; larceny; burglary; robbery;
unlawful entry; extortion; defamation; buying or receiving stolen property; using, possessing,
manufacturing, or carrying weapons unlawfully; using, possessing, or carrying burglary
tools unlawfully; escape; possession, production, sale, or distribution of narcotics unlawfully;
or (iii) in any other country acts which, if done in Minnesota, would be a felony or would
be any of the other offenses provided in this clause and for which a full pardon or similar
relief has not been granted;
new text end

new text begin (2) made any false statement in an application for a bail enforcement license or any
document required to be submitted to the board; or
new text end

new text begin (3) failed to demonstrate to the board good character, honesty, and integrity.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Definition. new text end

new text begin For purposes of this section, “bail enforcement agent” means a
person who is hired, directed, or paid to arrest a defendant who fails to comply with the
terms of the defendant's bail.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 629.63, is amended to read:

629.63 SURETY ARREST OF DEFENDANT.

If a surety believes that a defendant for whom the surety is acting as bonding agent (1)
is about to flee, (2) will not appear as required by the defendant's recognizance, or (3) will
otherwise not perform the conditions of the recognizance, the surety may arrest or have
another person or the sheriff arrest the defendant. new text begin A person working at the direction of a
surety to arrest a defendant must possess a valid bail enforcement agent license issued under
section 326.3351. The Department of Commerce must revoke a surety’s insurance producer’s
license if the surety directs a person without a valid bail enforcement agent license to arrest
a defendant.
new text end

If the surety or another person at the surety's direction arrests the defendant, the surety
or the other person shall take the defendant before the judge before whom the defendant
was required to appear and surrender the defendant to that judge.

If the surety wants the sheriff to arrest the defendant, the surety shall deliver a certified
copy of the recognizance under which the defendant is held to the sheriff, with a direction
endorsed on the recognizance requiring the sheriff to arrest the defendant and bring the
defendant before the appropriate judge.

Upon receiving a certified copy of the recognizance and payment of the sheriff's fees,
the sheriff shall arrest the defendant and bring the defendant before the judge.

Before a surety who has arrested a defendant who has violated the conditions of release
may personally surrender the defendant to the appropriate judge, the surety shall notify the
sheriff. If the defendant at the hearing before the judge is unable to post increased bail or
meet alternative conditions of release in accordance with rule 6.03 of the Rules of Criminal
Procedure, the sheriff or a deputy shall take the defendant into custody.