2004
Legislative Agenda
Legend:
Blue Italics was either removed or changed by the SCBAA.
Black and/or underlined or
PO Box 1894 - Lexington, SC 29071 803-957-7577
~ Draft ~ (Page 2 of 3) Sections 38-53-80
to 38-53-115
SECTION 38-53-80. License required of bail bondsman and runners.
No person may act in the capacity of a professional bondsman, surety bondsman, or runner or perform any of the functions, duties, or powers prescribed for professional or surety bondsmen or runners under the provisions of this chapter unless that person is qualified, except for an accommodation bondsman, licensed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. No license may be issued to a professional bondsman, surety bondsman, or runner except as provided in this chapter.
The applicant shall apply for a license or renewal of a license on forms prepared and supplied by the director or his designee. The director or his designee may ask the applicant any questions, written or otherwise, relating to his qualifications, residence, prospective place of business, and any other inquiries which, in the opinion of the director or his designee, are necessary in order to protect the public and ascertain the qualifications of the applicant. The director or his designee shall request that the State Law Enforcement Division conduct any reasonable investigation relative to the determination of the applicant's fitness to be licensed or to continue to be licensed.
The failure of the applicant to secure approval of the director or his designee does not preclude him from applying as many times as he desires, but no application may be considered by the director or his designee within one year subsequent to the date upon which the director or his designee denied the applicant's last application.
(A) An applicant for a license to work as a professional bondsman, surety bondsman, or runner must complete not less than twenty hours of education in subjects pertinent to the duties and responsibilities of a professional and surety bondsman or runner, including all laws and regulations related to being a professional or surety bondsman or runner. A written examination must be administered at the conclusion of the course work. Each applicant must pass the examination before he can be licensed.
Each person licensed as a professional bondsman, surety bondsman, or runner must complete annually not less than six hours of continuing education in subjects related to the duties and responsibilities of a professional and surety bondsman or runner before his license shall be renewed. The continuing education courses shall not include a written or oral examination. The six-hour annual requirement is in addition to the twenty-four hour continuing education requirement for surety insurance agents as required by Section 38-43-106.
(B) A person licensed as a professional bondsman, surety bondsman, or runner before the effective date of this section is not required to complete the requisite twenty hours of education but must complete six hours of continuing education courses in order to have his license renewed.
(C) The South Carolina Bail Agent's Association or any other group or association approved by the Department of Insurance to provide educational courses to bondsmen must establish an educational curriculum for bondsman licensure. The Department of Insurance must approve the courses offered and ensure that the courses meet the standards for education established by this section and the department. The requirement of course work for licensure is not satisfied by a mail order course. The department must also approve a written examination to be administered by all groups who provide educational courses to be administered at the conclusion of the twenty-hour course work.
(D) A person who falsely represents that he has met the educational requirements of this section is subject, after being afforded notice and an opportunity for a due process hearing by the Administrative Law Judge Division, to the penalty provided for in Section 38-53-340.
(E) A professional bondsman, surety bondsman, or runner who is more than sixty years of age and who has at least twenty years of licensure is exempt from the continuing education requirements contained in this section.
(F) The director shall establish rules and regulations for the effective administration of this section.
SECTION 38‑53‑90.
Qualifications for licensure of professional bondsman, surety
bondsman or runner.
Before a license is issued to an applicant permitting him to act as a professional bondsman, surety bondsman or runner, the applicant shall furnish to the director or his designee a complete set of his fingerprints and a recent passport size full‑face photograph. The applicant’s fingerprints must be certified by an authorized law enforcement officer. The background check must be preformed by SLED and the FBI.
Before being issued the license, every applicant for a license as a professional bondsman, surety bondsman, or runner shall certify to the director that he:
(a) is eighteen years of age or older;
(b) is a resident of this State;
(c) is a person of good moral character and has not been convicted of a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude within the last ten years;
(e) has no outstanding bail bond obligations
(f) has no current or prior violation of any provision of this chapter or any similar provision of laws of any other state.
(d) has knowledge, training, or experience of sufficient duration and extent to satisfy reasonably the director or his designee that he possesses the competence necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of a licensee.
SECTION 38-53-95 Appointment of bail bondsman; affidavit required
(a) prior to receiving an appointment, a surety bondsman shall submit to the director or his designee an affidavit, signed under oath, by the surety bondsman and by any former insurer, stating that the surety bondsman does not owe any premium or unsatisfied judgment to any insurer and that the bondsman agrees to discharge all outstanding forfeitures and judgments on bonds previously written.
If the surety bondsman does not satisfy or discharge all forfeitures or judgments, the former insurer shall submit a notice with supporting documents, to the appointing insurer, the surety bondsman, and the director, which states, under oath, that the surety bondsman has failed to satisfy, in a timely manner, the forfeitures and judgments on bonds written by the surety bondsman and that the former insurer has satisfied the forfeiture or judgment from its own funds. Upon receipt of the notification and supporting document, the appointing insurer shall immediately cancel the surety bondsman’s appointment. The surety bondsman may be reappointed only upon certification by the former insurer that all forfeitures and judgments on bonds written by the surety bondsman have been discharged. The appointing insurer or surety bondsman may, within 10 days of the receipt of notice from the former insurer, appeal to the Department.
(b) The Department shall adopt rules regarding the process of appeals and stays of the requirements of this section, to implement this section.
(c) As used in this section, “former insurer” means the insurer with whom the surety bondsman had a prior appointment and who is responsible for any outstanding bonds written by the surety bondsman.
SECTION 38‑53‑100. Fees for license and Renewal fees
(A) A license fee of four hundred dollars must be paid to the director or his designee with each application for a license as a professional bondsman and surety bondsman. The director or his designee shall forward four hundred dollars to the State Treasurer to be placed in the general fund; however, of the four hundred dollars, two hundred dollars must be paid over to the director or his designee to offset the costs he incurs under the provisions of this chapter, and two hundred dollars must be paid over to the State Law Enforcement Division to offset the costs it may incur under the provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 38-53-102. Suspension of license.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the department must suspend for a period of five years the license of a bail bondsman, his associates, affiliates, or runners who refer defendants to attorneys. However, nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit a bail bondsman, his associates, affiliates, or runners from indicating to a defendant that he should contact an attorney for professional assistance, as long as the bail bondsman, his associates, affiliates, or runners do not mention or in any other manner suggest or indicate a particular attorney or law firm by name.
In addition to the other requirements of this chapter, an applicant for a professional bondsman's license shall furnish annually a detailed financial statement under oath and in a form as the director or his designee may require. The statement is subject to the same examination as is prescribed by law for domestic insurance companies
SECTION 38-53-115. Records to be maintained
(a) All record related to executing bail bonds, including bail bonds registers, monthly reports, receipts, collateral security agreements, and memoranda of agreements, shall be kept separate from records of any other business and must be maintained for not less than three years after the final entry has been made. Records that preserved by computer or photographic reproduction or records that are in photographic form constitute compliance with this requirement.
South Carolina
Dept of Insurance
