Read 1st time April 20, 2000, and 1000 copies ordered printed.
ANNE C. WALKER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal sections 544.455 and 544.580, RSMo 1994, and section 374.710, RSMo Supp. 1999, relating to bail bonds, and to enact in lieu thereof three new sections relating to the same subject, with penalty provisions and a contingent effective date.
Section A. Sections 544.455 and 544.580, RSMo 1994, and section 374.710, RSMo Supp. 1999, are repealed and three new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 374.710, 544.455 and 544.580, to read as follows:
374.710. 1. Except as otherwise provided in sections 374.700 to 374.775, no person or other entity shall practice as a bail bond agent or general bail bond agent[, as defined in section 374.700,] in Missouri unless and until the department has issued to [him] such person or entity a license, to be renewed each year as [hereinafter] provided in this chapter, to practice as a bail bond agent or general bail bond agent.
2. Nothing in sections 374.700 to 374.775 shall be construed to prohibit any person from posting or otherwise providing a bail bond in connection with any legal proceeding, provided that such person receives no fee, remuneration or consideration therefor.
3. No person or other entity shall practice as a bail bond agent or general bail bond agent in any county of the second, third or fourth classification.
544.455. 1. Any person charged with a bailable offense, at [his] such person's appearance before an associate circuit judge or judge may be ordered released pending trial, appeal, or other stage of the proceedings against [him] such person on his or her personal recognizance, unless the associate circuit judge or judge determines, in the exercise of [his] such judge's discretion, that such a release will not reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required. When such a determination is made, the associate circuit judge or judge may either in lieu of or in addition to the above methods of release, impose any or any combination of the following conditions of release which will reasonably assure the appearance of the person for trial:
(1) Place the person in the custody of a designated person or organization agreeing to supervise [him] the person;
(2) Place restriction on the travel, association, or place of abode of the person during the period of release;
(3) Require the execution of a bail bond with sufficient solvent sureties, or the deposit of cash in lieu thereof;
(4) Require the person to report regularly to some officer of the court, or peace officer, in such manner as the associate circuit judge or judge directs;
(5) Require the execution of a bond in a given sum and the deposit in the registry of the court of ten percent, or such lesser percent as the judge directs, of the sum in cash or negotiable bonds of the United States or of the state of Missouri or any political subdivision thereof;
(6) Impose any other condition deemed reasonably necessary to assure appearance as required, including a condition requiring that the person return to custody after specified hours.
2. In determining which conditions of release will reasonably assure appearance, the associate circuit judge or judge shall, on the basis of available information, take into account the nature and circumstances of the offense charged, the weight of the evidence against the accused, the accused's family ties, employment, financial resources, character and mental condition, the length of his residence in the community, [his] the accused's record of convictions, and [his] the accused's record of appearance at court proceedings or flight to avoid prosecution or failure to appear at court proceedings.
3. An associate circuit judge or judge authorizing the release of a person [under] pursuant to this section shall issue an appropriate order containing a statement of the conditions imposed, if any, shall inform such person of the penalties applicable to violations of the conditions of [his] such person's release and shall advise [him] the person that a warrant for [his] the person's arrest will be issued immediately upon any such violation.
4. A person for whom conditions of release are imposed and who after twenty-four hours from the time of the release hearing continues to be detained as a result of [his] such person's inability to meet the conditions of release, shall, upon application, be entitled to have the condition reviewed by the associate circuit judge or judge who imposed them. The motion shall be determined promptly.
5. An associate circuit judge or judge ordering the release of a person on any condition specified in this section may at any time amend [his] such order to impose additional or different conditions of release; except that, if the imposition of such additional or different conditions results in the detention of the person as a result of [his] the person's inability to meet such conditions or in the release of the person on a condition requiring [him] the person to return to custody after specified hours, the provisions of subsection 4 shall apply.
6. Information stated in, or offered in connection with, any order entered pursuant to this section need not conform to the rules pertaining to the admissibility of evidence in a court of law.
7. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prevent the disposition of any case or class of cases by forfeiture of collateral security where such disposition is authorized by the court.
8. Persons charged with violations of municipal ordinances may be released by a municipal judge or other judge who hears and determines municipal ordinance violation cases of the municipality involved under the same conditions and in the same manner as provided in this section for release by an associate circuit judge.
9. Ten percent of all bail collected pursuant to this section shall, upon a finding of guilt or plea of guilty by the accused, be distributed to the local law enforcement agency which made the arrest. If the highway patrol made the arrest, the ten percent of bail collected shall be evenly distributed among the law enforcement agencies in the county. If the accused is acquitted or no charges are filed within six months, such ten percent shall be returned to the accused, unless the accused forfeited the bail by nonappearance, in which case such funds shall be distributed to the county schools fund.
544.580. 1. Sureties in recognizances or bail bonds in criminal cases and proceedings shall be residents of this state, and shall be worth, over and above the amount exempt from execution, and the amount of their debts and liabilities, the sum which is required; and the person or persons offered as sureties may be examined on oath in regard to their qualifications as sureties, and other proof may be taken in regard to the sufficiency of the same. The officer authorized to set conditions of release is authorized to administer all necessary oaths in that behalf.
2. No person shall profit by acting as a surety in any criminal case or proceeding in any county of the second, third or fourth classification. Any person who violates the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
Section B. The provisions of section A of this act shall become effective only upon the approval by the voters of this state,
on or before the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 2000, of a constitutional amendment changing section
20 of article I of the constitution of the state of Missouri to prohibit profiting by being a surety and of a constitutional
amendment changing section 7 of article IX of the constitution of the state of Missouri to permit the distribution of certain
bail moneys to law enforcement agencies, which are submitted to the voters of this state by joint resolution of the general
assembly during the ninetieth general assembly, and not otherwise.
Missouri House of Representatives