PABAA Update: SB 397 passes House and Senate

We are proud to announce that the Senate has voted in concurrence with the House amendments to SB 397 (49-0). The bill’s fate now rests with Governor Wolf. Final passage is anticipated by the end of next week. Get ready to light up your sparklers in celebration of the birth of our nation and the future of our industry!

Los Angeles County

Please see the information below received by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

The Los Angeles County Superior Court informed you in a May 4, 2015 letter that “on or after July 1, 2015, all bail forfeiture motions for the extension or tolling of time on bail forfeiture matters related to bail bonds must be filed and scheduled for hearing at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center.”  The Los Angeles County District Attorney has assigned all motions arising under the Penal Code section 1305 et seq. to the Extradition Services Section in all cases where LADA was the prosecuting agency. All future motions and notices on or after July 1, 2015, must be mailed to:

Extradition Services Section
Los Angeles County District Attorney
320 West temple Street, 11th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Penal Code section 1305.4 and 1305. Subdivision (k), provides in relevant part, that the moving party on bail motions “shall give the prosecuting agency a written notice at least 10 court days before a hearing…”  Please notify and insure that you and/or your agents comply with this requirement.

Finally, all requests from LADA for extradition under Penal Code sections 1305, subdivisions (d), (e), (f) and (g) should also be served on the Extradition Services Section.

Very truly yours,

Jackie Lacey
District Attorney

William Woods
Assistant Head Deputy District Attorney

Registration of License and QPOAs

Attention Surety Bondsmen:

Please make sure your writing limit(s) that appears on your bondsman license matches your writing limit(s) displayed on your QPOAs. If your writing limit is not shown on your license, please contact myself or Sonya Lemon (803) 737-4978 immediately. Please fax (803) 737-6100 a copy of your QPOA to this office so that we can amend your license before you register with the court.

If you fail to register your QPOA when clocking your bondsman license with the court, you will not be allowed to execute any bail bonds in the State until your QPOA is registered and clocked with your principle county clerk of court.

Code 38-53-260 states, a surety bondsman must register and clock his license and QPOA with his principal county clerk’s office before becoming a surety on any bail bond in this State. If you choose to execute bonds in another county, you must register a certified copy of your bondsman license and QPOA with the other counties. If you do not understand this procedure, please do not hesitate to call this office immediately for guidance.

Attention Professional Bondsman:

If you are paying with a check, you must renew online first and provide this office with a copy of the invoice with your payment. All payments must be received in this office no later than 5 p.m. on June 30, 2015. Failure to comply will result in the delay of issuance of your 2016 bondsman and/or licenses.

South Carolina Update

In addition to providing the Department of Insurance with copies of the QPA’s, you do not need to issue a power of attorney to each county in this State. Your surety bondsman only needs one qualified power of attorney. The agent will register the QPA along with his 2015-16 bondsman license and he/she can make a request to the clerk of court to provide him/her with certified copies of the original to give to other counties where he/she plans to conduct bail bond business in accordance to code 38-53-260.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give Willie Seawright a call at the South Carolina DOI.

New Bail Processing Procedures in Los Angeles, CA

Effective July 1, 2015, all bail bonds posted for the release of individuals in law enforcement custody on Los Angeles Superior Court cases must be sent to the Central Bond Unit of the Los Angeles Superior Court as follows:

Central Bond Unit
Los Angeles Superior Court
210 W. Temple Street, Room 5-301
Los Angeles, CA 90012

It is no longer necessary to transmit this information to the court location at the time the bail bond is posted. You may, however, continue to post bail bonds at court locations for individuals with a schedules calendar date in that location.

Additionally, on or after July 1, 2015, all bail forfeiture motions for the extension or tolling of time on bail forfeiture matters related to bail bonds must be filed and schedules for hearing at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Central Criminal District Senior Administrator at (213) 628-7177.