Revision: Jan. 24, 2011, midnight
SB 63 – AS INTRODUCED
2011 SESSION
04/01
SENATE BILL 63
AN ACT relative to the list of bail bondsmen and prohibiting law enforcement and corrections officers from indicating preferences for bail bond companies.
SPONSORS: Sen. Barnes, Jr., Dist 17; Rep. Itse, Rock 9; Rep. Comerford, Rock 9
This bill prohibits anyone but the secretary of state from compiling, furnishing, or altering the secretary of state’s approved list of bail bondsmen and prohibits law enforcement, corrections, and court personnel from indicating a preference for any particular bail bondsman. The bill also provides that a defendant released pending trial who fails to appear within 90 days of the date required shall forfeit all designated property held by the court to secure such defendant’s appearance.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11-0844
04/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven
AN ACT relative to the list of bail bondsmen and prohibiting law enforcement and corrections officers from indicating preferences for bail bond companies.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 List of Professional Bondsmen.. Amend RSA 598-A:3 to read as follows:
598-A:3 List of Professional Bondsmen.
I. The secretary of state or designee shall furnish all superior court clerks, all district courts having authority to accept bail, all jails, and all police stations with a list of the names of all persons approved and registered as professional bondsmen and shall notify such clerks, courts, jails, and police stations of any change in a bondsman’s status. The secretary of state shall update the list as necessary, but not less than once per year. No person, other than the secretary of state or the secretary of state’s designee, shall compile, furnish, or alter [any list furnished under this section] the list. The list shall be displayed prominently and visibly to defendants in all courts, jails, and police stations.
II. No law enforcement, corrections, or court personnel shall in any way indicate a preference for a particular bail bondsman to a defendant or defendant’s counsel.
2 Bail and Recognizances; Release of a Defendant. Amend RSA 597:2, III(b)(1) to read as follows:
(1) Execute an agreement to forfeit, upon failing to appear [as] within 90 days of the date required, such designated property, including money, as is reasonably necessary to assure the appearance of the person as required, and post with the court such indicia of ownership of the property or such percentage of the money as the court or justice may specify;
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.