SB 228 — AN ACT CONCERNING ANNUAL RANDOM AUDITS OF PROFESSIONAL BONDSMEN.

Senate GeneralBill Assembly File No.

204228 FebruaryPublic Session,Act 2024 Senate Bill No.

22824-26 Senate,AN AprilACT 3,CONCERNING 2024ANNUAL TheRANDOM CommitteeAUDITS onOF PublicPROFESSIONAL SafetyBONDSMEN. and Security reported through SEN.

GASTON of the 23rd Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING ANNUAL RANDOM AUDITS OF PROFESSIONAL BONDSMEN.

[Each] SB228(b) /Not Filelater than February 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, each professional bondsman licensed under the provisions of this chapter shall, [annually, during the month of January,] on forms furnished by Senate Bill No.

204228 1the SB228Commissioner Fileof No.Emergency Services and Public Protection, report to said commissioner in detail the names of the persons for whom such bondsman has become surety during the year ended December thirty- first preceding, with the date, the amount of bond and the fee charged and paid and such further information as said commissioner requires.

204 (b) Not later than February 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, each professional bondsman licensed under the provisions of this chapter shall, [annually, during the month of January,] on forms furnished by the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, report to said commissioner in detail the names of the persons for whom such bondsman has become surety during the year ended December thirty- first preceding, with the date, the amount of bond and the fee charged and paid and such further information as said commissioner requires.

ThisApproved actMay shall21, take2024 effectPublic asAct followsNo. and shall amend the following sections:

Section24-26 12 Julyof 1,2 2024 29-151 PS Joint Favorable SB228 / File No.

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204 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 25 $ FY 26 $ Judicial Dept.

(Probation) GF - Potential Minimal Minimal Cost Resources of the General Fund GF - Potential Minimal Minimal Revenue Gain Note:

GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill requires the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) to randomly audit three professional bondsmen annually for compliance with statutory commissions and fees, resulting in a potential cost to the Judicial Department for probation and a potentialrevenuegainfromfines,totheextentthatadditional violations are discovered.

On average, marginal cost for supervision in the community is less than $800 each year.

Currently, violations of this statute are subject to a fine of up to $3,500.

It is anticipated that DESPP can conduct these audits with existing resources.

The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to the number of violations discovered.

1Probation marginal cost is based on services provided by private providers and only includes costs that increase with each additional participant.

This does not include a cost for additional supervision by a probation officer unless a new offense is anticipated to result in enough additional offenders to require additional probation officers.

SB228 / File No.

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204 OLR Bill Analysis SB 228 AN ACT CONCERNING ANNUAL RANDOM AUDITS OF PROFESSIONAL BONDSMEN.

SUMMARY By law, professional bondsmen must report each January to the emergency services and public protection commissioner the names of the people the bondsman acted as a surety for in the previous year, with the date, bond amount, fees charged and paid, and any other information the commissioner requires.

This bill requires the commissioner, annually beginning by February 1, 2025, to randomly select three bondsmen whose books andrecords the commissioner must audit for compliance with the statutory commissions and fees.

By law, professional bondsmen may charge up to the following amounts for bail that they furnish:

$50 for amounts up to $500;

10% of amounts from $500 to $5,000;

and 7% of amounts greater than $5,000.

Lastly, the bill makes a technical change.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2024 COMMITTEE ACTION Public Safety and Security Committee Joint Favorable Yea 25 Nay 0 (03/19/2024) SB228 / File No.

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