Bill Text: NJ A898 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires 10 percent bail; prohibits installment payments.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee [A898 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A898-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
218th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2018 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman BETTYLOU DECROCE
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Handlin, Assemblymen Gusciora, DeAngelo, Giblin and Space
SYNOPSIS
Requires 10 percent bail; prohibits installment payments.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning bail payments and supplementing Title 17 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A bail agent, bail agency, or surety company shall not execute a bail bond for the release from custody or incarceration of a defendant charged with a crime of the first through fourth degree without collecting a minimum of 10 percent of the face amount of the bail bond as the premium for executing the bail bond. The premium shall be paid prior to or at the time of filing the bail bond. At the time the bail bond is posted, the bail agent or agency which executes the bail bond shall attest in writing to the appropriate court, or other agency authorized to accept bail bonds, that the 10 percent fee required by this subsection has been collected.
b. A defendant shall be prohibited from paying the premium to a bail agent, bail agency, or surety company pursuant to a payment plan, installment plan, or other similar agreement.
c. If the commissioner determines, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, that a bail agent or bail agency is in violation of this section, the authority of the agent or agency to negotiate, solicit or sell bail bonds, or be affiliated in any manner with the execution of bail bonds, shall be suspended for 90 days for a first violation, 180 days for a second violation, and one year for a third violation. For any subsequent violation, the insurance producer license of the bail agent or agency shall be permanently revoked.
d. Nothing in this act shall interfere with the presumption in favor of the court designating the posting of full United States currency cash bail for defendants charged with a crime with bail restrictions pursuant to subsection c. of section 1 of P.L.1994, c.144 (C.2A:162-12).
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires bail agents, bail agencies, and surety companies to charge and collect a premium of at least 10 percent of the face value of a bail bond from a defendant who is charged with a criminal offense in this State.
The bill specifically prohibits defendants from paying the premium under an installment plan or similar agreement.
The Commissioner of Banking and Insurance may suspend or revoke the authority of any bail agent or agency to solicit or sell bail bonds in this State if the agent or agency violates the bill's provisions. Under the bill, a period of license suspension of 90 days will be imposed for a first violation, 180 days for a second violation, and one year for a third violation. For a fourth or subsequent violation, the insurance producer license of the bail agent or agency is to be permanently revoked.
