DENTON COUNTY BAIL BOND BOARD
LOCAL RULES

1. AGENDA ITEMS:

Items submitted for the Bail Bond Board Agenda shall be submitted to the Staff Assistant no later than the close of business on the Monday of the week before the regular Thursday Bail Bond Board Meeting to give the staff time to prepare the agenda and timely submit it to the Bail Bond Board Counsel for approval before posting. Emergency items may be considered on an individual basis so long as they are in compliance with the Public Information Act. (Adopted December 19, 1996) [Amended 8/28/03]

2. APPLICATIONS FOR LICENSES:

A. All new applications for bail bond licenses shall be submitted to the Bail Bond Board no less than twenty (20) calendar days before the date of the regular Board Meeting at which the application is to be considered. Applications submitted less than twenty (20) calendar days before the date of the Board Meeting will not be placed on the agenda but will be held until the next regular meeting. (Adopted December 19, 1996) [Amended 8/28/03]
All corrections to applications must be submitted to the Board no later than the Monday of the week before the regular Thursday Bail Bond Board Meeting. Corrections not timely received by the Board will not be considered. (Adopted 8/28/03)

B. Applications for renewal shall be submitted not later than the 31st day before the license expiration date. All corrections to renewal applications must be submitted to the Board no later than the Monday of the week before the regular Thursday Bail Bond Board Meeting. Applications received by the Board later than the 31st day before the license expiration date will not be considered. Corrections not timely received will not be considered. (Adopted 8/28/03)

3. STANDING COMPLAINT COMMITTEE:

The Denton County Bail Bond Board has a standing complaint committee. The committee shall consist of the Sheriff’s representative, the District Attorney’s representative, and the licensed bail bond sureties’ representative to the Board. The counsel to the Board may attend the committee meetings and provide legal advice to the committee.
Upon the receipt of a sworn complaint against a bondsman licensed in Denton County, the committee shall review and investigate the complaint. Upon a majority vote of the committee, the committee shall submit a written recommendation to the Board’s staff that the complaint be referred to the Board or that the complaint not be referred to the Board. Each committee member shall have one vote.
Upon the recommendation of no referral to the Board, the Board’s staff shall notify the bondsman and the complainant(s) of such decision. The Board may review and reverse the committee’s recommendation at a regular or called meeting. (Adopted August 27, 1998)

4. LICENSED BAIL BOND SURETY ADVERTISING

The license number of each licensed bail bond surety must appear on the following advertisements: yellow pages or telephone book ads, bill boards, newspapers, magazines, and other widely distributed media publications. The license number is not required on business cards. [This rule goes into effect on September 1, 2003, but will not be strictly enforced until September 1, 2004, to allow for full compliance.] Violation of this rule may result in the suspension or revocation of the license. (Adopted 8/28/03)

5. ANNUAL ELECTION OF THE LICENSED BAIL BOND SURETIES’
REPRESENTATIVE

A. The election of the licensed bail bond sureties’ representative shall begin on the second Monday of January of each year and shall continue for five (5) consecutive business days.

B. To vote, a licensed bail bond surety shall appear in person at the Bail Bond Board offices and shall provide the elections officer with photo identification. The elections officer shall be the staff assistant to the Board unless otherwise designated by the Board at its sole discretion. The licensed bail bond surety desiring to vote shall sign in on the Licensed Bail Bond Surety Roster provided at the time of the election.

C. The elections shall be conducted by secret ballot on ballots provided by the Board. The Ballots are the property of the Denton County Bail Bond Board.

D. The ballots will be placed in a sealed ballot box and shall be opened and the votes tallied and canvassed by the Board at its first regular meeting after the election is conducted. Ballots where more than one candidate is marked are VOID and shall not be counted. If a licensed bail bond surety accidentally marks the wrong candidate, he/she shall advise the elections officer and the elections officer will exchange the Ballot and shall immediately destroy the miss-marked Ballot.

E. The licensed bail bond sureties’ representative shall be elected by a simple majority of the votes cast. The licensed bail bond sureties’ representative shall take office at the regular February meeting of the Board.

F. In the event of a tie, a runoff election shall begin on the Monday following the regular meeting where the ballots were canvassed and shall continue for five (5) consecutive business days. The runoff ballots will be handled in the same manner as a regular election of the licensed bail bond sureties’ representative. They shall be opened and the votes tallied and canvassed by the Board at its first regular meeting after the runoff election is conducted. The licensed bail bond sureties’ representative in office at the time of the annual election shall holdover until a successor is qualified. The licensed bail bond sureties’ representative elected in a runoff election may take office immediately upon the tally and canvass of the votes. (Adopted 8/28/03)

6. ANNUAL ELECTION OF THE PRESIDING OFFICER

The Board shall conduct an annual election of the presiding officer at the regular March meeting of the Board beginning in March, 2004. The presiding officer shall be elected by a simple majority vote of the quorum present. The presiding officer may succeed him or herself. (Adopted 8/28/03)

7. SECURITY FOR BAIL BOND LICENSES

A. Cashier’s checks and certificates of deposit intended for use as security for a bail bond license shall be styled “Denton County Treasurer for the benefit of ________”.

B. The Board will not accept certificates of deposit or cashier’s checks containing, or subject to, set-off provisions.

C. Applicants for a license/Licensed Bail Bond Sureties using cashier’s checks or certificates of deposit for security shall execute and have the issuing bank execute a security agreement to the Board. The applicant shall deliver the original to the Board. The form for the security agreement is attached to these Rules and will be distributed with Applications. Applicants for a license/Licensed Bail Bond Sureties using cashier’s checks or certificates of deposit for security shall deliver the original cashier’s checks or certificates of deposit to the Denton County Treasurer.

D. The Denton County Treasurer shall take possession of the original cashier’s checks or certificates of deposit and the Security Agreement. The Treasurer shall deposit the cashier’s checks into a bond security account. (Adopted 8/28/03) [Amended 11/20/03]

8. OUT OF COUNTY ATTORNEYS

Prior to writing a bond, all out of county attorneys desiring to write bail bonds in Denton County shall submit documentary proof to the Denton County Bail Bond Board that they reside within a county with a bail bond board or that they have completed the mandatory eight hours of continuing legal education required of licensed bondsmen within the last two years. Proof of residence in a bail bond board county shall be by affidavit under penalty of perjury. Proof of completion of mandatory continuing legal education shall be by presentation of a copy of a certificate of completion issued and signed by the sponsors of the education. (Adopted 05)

9. ATTORNEY BONDS

All attorneys desiring to write bail bonds in Denton County shall provide documentary proof that they have entered an appearance as counsel of record in the criminal case for which the bond is to be executed, if a case has been filed. Otherwise, writing a bond in Denton County is an entry of appearance for the defendant. The Board may suspend or revoke the attorney’s authorization to write bail bonds in Denton County for violating this rule and § 1704.163. (Adopted 05)

Attorney bonds are limited to an aggregate of $50,000.00 in Denton County unless prior financial arrangements have been made with the Denton County Bail Bond Board. The chairperson has the discretion to approve financial arrangements or refer requests to the Denton County Bail Bond Board.

10. NOTICE OF CHANGES IN AGENTS OR ATTORNEYS

Both individual and corporate sureties shall notify the Board in writing of any change in the registered or designated agent or attorney for service of citation within five business days of such a change. Sureties shall include the full name, address and telephone number of the new registered or designated agent or attorney for service. This includes notice of the waiver or recinding of the waiver of citation as contemplated by Texas Code of Criminal Procedure art. 22.03 filed with the clerks of the courts. (Adopted 05)

11. NAMES ON BONDS

All sureties shall include their full names, addresses for service of citation, and license numbers, all legibly written, on the face of each bond they write in Denton County. Failure to comply with this rule may result in the suspension or revocation of a license. (Adopted 05)

12. AUTHORITY TO SIGN BAIL BOND DOCUMENTS

Only licensed sureties, or their attorneys at law, may sign documents for court cases or that bind the sureties in any aspect of the bail bond business. Failure to comply with this rule may result in the suspension or revocation of a license. (Adopted 05)

13. PARTIAL RELEASES OF PROPERTY

Upon written request from a licensed surety still conducting bail bond business in Denton County, the Board may release a portion of the security it holds. The Board shall not reduce the surety’s total security to an amount less than that required by § 1704.160, or to an amount that would violate the applicable bond to security ratio established by § 1704.203. Written requests for release shall be filed no less than 45 days prior to the meeting date where the release is to be heard. The number of requests for release shall not exceed one per six month period, or twice per year per licensee. The release is within the sole discretion of the Board. This rule is not available to sureties no longer in business or with suspended licenses.