AB 1406, as amended, Gordon. Insurance: bail licenses.
(1) Existing law provides for the issuance of bail licenses under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Commissioner. Existing law requires persons soliciting or negotiating the execution or delivery of an undertaking of bail on behalf of a surety insurer to be licensed as a bail agent.
This bill would require each surety insurer or bail permittee to pay abegin delete fee, not to exceed $30end deletebegin insert fee of $15end insert per bail bond transaction. These fees would go to the Bail Investigation and Prosecution Fund, created as a special account in the Insurance Fund. This bill would provide that moneys in the Bail Investigation and Prosecution Fund be distributed by the
commissioner, upon appropriation, to fund the reasonable costs incurred in regulating entities involved in the undertaking of bail, as specified. This bill wouldbegin delete provide thatend deletebegin insert require the commissioner to reduce the amount of the assessment, as specified,end insert if the total amount in the Bail Investigation and Prosecution Fund ever exceedsbegin delete $8,000,000, then the commissioner shall reduce the amount of the assessment, as specified.end deletebegin insert $8,000,000.end insert This bill would authorize the commissioner to develop guidelines to implement or clarify these provisions. This bill would require the commissioner to provide an annual report on the department’s
Internet Web site including various information, as specified.
(2) Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 1824 is added to the Insurance Code, to
2read:
(a) The Bail Investigation and Prosecution Fund is
4hereby created as a special account within the Insurance Fund.
5Each surety insurer or bail permittee admitted and authorized to
6execute an undertaking of bail in this state through a licensed bail
7licensee shall pay abegin insert fifteen-end insertbegin insertdollar ($15)end insert fee per bail bond
8begin delete transaction, not to exceed thirty dollars ($30),end deletebegin insert transactionend insert for
each
9bail bond posted in this state. The revenue from this fee shall be
10deposited into the Bail Investigation and Prosecution Fund.
11(b) Moneys in the Bail Investigation and Prosecution Fund shall
12be distributed, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to fund the
13reasonable costs incurred in regulating entities involved in the
14undertaking of bail as described in this section. Moneys in the Bail
15Investigation and Prosecution Fund shall not be used for any other
16purpose. Moneys in the Bail Investigation and Prosecution Fund
17shall be distributed by the commissioner as follows:
18(1) Seventy percent of these funds shall be distributed within
19the department for consumer enforcement and protection purposes
20related to bail transactions, including, but not limited to:
21(A) Investigating and prosecuting unlawful conduct by bail
22licensees, or a person or entity purporting to solicit or negotiate in
23respect to execution or delivery of an undertaking of bail or bail
24bond, or execute or deliver an undertaking of bail or bail bond, or
25matters subsequent to the execution of an undertaking of bail or
26bail bond contract and arising out of it.
P3 1(B) Responding to consumer inquiries and complaints related
2to bail transactions.
3(C) Regulating and overseeing bail bond products, solicitation,
4and advertising directed toward consumers.
5(D) The cost of any fiscal audit performed pursuant to this
6section.
7(2) Thirty percent of the funds shall be distributed to county
8district attorneys and city attorneys, for investigating and
9prosecuting surety insurer and bail abuse cases involving licensees,
10or any person or entity engaged in the solicitation or negotiation
11in respect to execution or delivery of an undertaking of bail or bail
12bond, or execution or delivery of an undertaking of bail or bail
13bond.
14(A) The commissioner shall distribute funds to county district
15attorneys and city attorneys who show a likely positive outcome
16that will benefit consumers in the local jurisdiction based on
17
specific criteria promulgated by the commissioner. Each local
18district attorney and city attorney desiring a portion of those funds
19shall submit to the commissioner an application, including, at a
20minimum, all of the following:
21(i) The proposed use of the moneys and the anticipated outcome.
22(ii) A list of all prior relevant cases or projects and a copy of
23the final accounting for each. If cases or projects are ongoing, the
24most recent accounting shall be provided.
25(iii) A detailed budget, including salaries and general expenses,
26specifically identifying the cost of purchase or rental of equipment
27or supplies.
28(B) Each district attorney and city
attorney that receives funds
29pursuant to this section shall submit a final detailed accounting at
30the conclusion or closure of each case or project. For cases or
31projects that continue longer than six months, interim accountings
32shall be submitted every six months, or as otherwise directed by
33the commissioner.
34(C) Each district attorney and city attorney that receives funds
35pursuant to this section shall submit a final report to the
36commissioner, which may be made public, as to the success of the
37cases or projects conducted. The report shall provide information
38and statistics on the number of active investigations, arrests,
39indictments, and convictions. The applications for moneys, the
P4 1distribution of moneys, and the annual reports shall be public
2documents.
3(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
4information submitted to the commissioner pursuant to this section
5concerning criminal investigations, whether active or inactive,
6shall be confidential.
7(d) The commissioner may conduct a fiscal audit of the programs
8administered under this subdivision. If conducted, this fiscal audit
9shall be conducted by an internal audit unit of the department.
10(e) If the commissioner determines that a district attorney or
11city attorney is unable or unwilling to investigate or prosecute a
12relevant bail abuse case, the commissioner may discontinue
13distribution of funds allocated for that matter and may redistribute
14those funds to other eligible district attorneys or city attorneys.
15(f) If, as of June 30 of any calendar year, the total amount in
16the Bail Investigation and Prosecution Fund exceeds eight million
17dollars ($8,000,000), the commissioner shall reduce the amount
18of the assessment accordingly for the following year to eliminate
19that excess. A surety insurer, upon receipt of an invoice, shall
20transmit payment to the department for deposit in the Bail
21Investigation and Prosecution Fund. Any balance remaining in the
22Bail Investigation and Prosecution Fund at the end of the fiscal
23year shall be retained in the account, to be available in the next
24fiscal year.
25(g) The commissioner may develop guidelines for implementing
26or clarifying these provisions, including guidelines for the
27allocation, distribution, and potential return of unused funds. The
28commissioner may, from time to time, issue regulations for
29
implementing or clarifying these provisions.begin delete Regulations adopted
30pursuant to this section shall not be subject to the requirements of
31the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
32Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
33Code).end delete
34(h) The commissioner shall provide a consolidated report
35annually on the department’s Internet Web site, which shall
36include, but is not limited to, the following information:
37(1) The number of consumer complaints regardingbegin delete toend delete bail bond
38transactions.
39(2) The number of
investigations initiated relating to bail bond
40transactions.
P5 1(3) The number of investigations related to bail and bail bond
2transactions referred to and reported by prosecuting agencies.
3(4) The number of administrative or regulatory cases related to
4bail and bail bond transactions referred to the department’s legal
5division.
6(5) The number of administrative or regulatory enforcement
7actions taken in cases related to bail and bail bond transactions.
8(i) A violation of this section is not a crime pursuant to Section
91814.
The Legislature finds and declares that this act imposes
11limits on the public’s right of access to meetings of public bodies
12or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning
13of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant
14to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following
15finding to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and
16the need for protecting that interest:
17In order to ensure that criminal investigations are not frustrated
18or hindered, it is necessary to limit the public’s right of access to
19information submitted to the Insurance Commissioner pursuant to
20this act concerning criminal
investigations.
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