AB 567

Under current law, a defendant who has been arrested for a criminal offense or

a defendant who has been convicted of a crime and is awaiting sentencing may be

released with bail as a condition of release. Bail may be satisfied by the execution

of a bail bond with sufficient sureties. Most such sureties must be natural persons

who are Wisconsin residents. No surety may be compensated for acting as a surety

on a bail bond.

This bill authorizes the compensation of a surety on a bail bond if the surety is

a bail bond agent or a bail bond agency licensed by the Department of Safety and

Professional Services (DSPS) and the bail bond is underwritten by an insurance

company authorized to do a surety business in this state. A licensed bail bond agent

or agency must be compensated at a rate of 10 percent of the amount of the bond set.

Under the bill, DSPS must grant a license to act as a bail bond agent to an

individual who applies for licensure if DSPS determines that the individual satisfies

any education, training, and examination requirements established by DSPS by

rule, does not have a relevant arrest or conviction record, has paid an initial licensure

fee of $1,000, and satisfies any other requirements DSPS establishes by rule.

Similarly, the bill requires DSPS to grant a license to act as a bail bond agency

to a business if, after receiving an application for licensure, DSPS determines that

at least one owner, officer, director, member, or partner of the business is a bail bond

agent licensed by DSPS, that the business has paid an initial licensure fee of $1,000,

and that the business satisfies any other requirements imposed by DSPS.

The bill also establishes certification requirements for bail recovery agents. A

bail recovery agent is an individual who is compensated to locate, apprehend,

transport, or surrender a principal on a bail bond. Under the bill, only an individual

who is already licensed by DSPS as a private investigator may be certified as a bail

recovery agent in Wisconsin.

Under the bill, DSPS is required to keep a register of the names and addresses

of all licensed bail bond agents and agencies and all certified bail recovery agents.

DSPS must make that register available to the public. Additionally, on an annual

basis, DSPS must provide a complete list to the clerk of circuit court in each county

that includes the names and addresses of all licensed bail bond agents and agencies

and all certified bail recovery agents, and DSPS is required to promptly notify the

clerk of circuit court in each county concerning any disciplinary action DSPS takes

against a licensed bail bond agent or agency or a certified bail recovery agent.

The bill requires that a licensed bail bond agency file a bond or liability policy

with DSPS in an amount determined by DSPS by rule and that a licensed bail bond

agent who is not covered under an agency's bond or liability policy file a bond or

liability policy with DSPS in an amount determined by DSPS by rule.

The bill establishes specific restrictions concerning business referrals. No bail

bond agent or agency or bail recovery agent, and no agent or employee of a bail bond