40. Whenever a licensee executes or will execute a bail bond as an agent for a corporate surety, he must inform the person paying him for the bond in a written notice that the bond will be made as an obligation of the corporate surety. The written notice shall name the particular corporate surety, and shall be kept in the licensee’s file in the same manner as the receipt for payment.
41. No one who is statutorily ineligible for employment in a bail bond business (someone who has been convicted of a felony or crime involving moral turpitude within the last ten years) may participate in the operation of the business in any way. “Operation” includes but is not limited to answering business phones or phone numbers, training, coordinating business with, or supervising employees or agents of the business, negotiating referrals to or from other bonding companies with or without fee splitting, supervising in any manner existing clients of the business, making and enforcing business policies, quoting prices, negotiating business with customers or prospective customers, handling business finances, delivering bonds to jails, settling or arranging for the settlement of bond forfeiture cases, filing documents with courts or court clerks or any other phase of the business’s in-office or out-of office operations. It is the responsibility of each licensed surety to ensure that such ineligible persons do not participate in the operation of his or her business. A bondsman’s purported ignorance of such an ineligible person’s activities in connection with the bondsman’s business shall not exonerate the bondsman from responsibility for ensuring compliance with this rule.
42. During any month in which a bondsman makes any business related rental or purchase payment to a person who is statutorily ineligible for employment in a bail bond business, the bondsman must file a sworn report of such payments with the Tarrant County Bail Bond Board within thirty days of the last date of such month. The report must state all payments made to the ineligible person, and describe the specific date and number of the financial instrument conveying the payment. A copy of the financial instrument (such as a check or money order) shall be attached to the report. No such payments may be made in cash. The report must contain a statement under oath certifying that the payments listed are the only bail bond business related payments made during the applicable month to the person who is statutorily ineligible for employment in a bail bond business.
By way of example, but not limitation this rule would apply to the purchase of phone numbers or trade name from someone who has been convicted of a felony or crime involving moral turpitude within the last ten years, or to the lease of bail bond business premises from such a person.
43. When a bondsman or an agent or an attorney operating under the attorney exception takes money or property in exchange for making a bond, he or she must provide the following notice in English and Spanish to the person paying the money or providing the property:
NOTICE REGARDING ALIENS WHO MAKE BOND
An alien incarcerated for criminal charges in the United States may be subject to detention and deportation by the United States government. Detention and deportation are particularly likely for aliens who are in the United States illegally.
Bonds for criminal charges have no effect on detention and deportation proceedings or possibilities. An alien who makes bond on all state criminal charges may, in some cases, never obtain release from jail before disposing of his or her criminal case. Furthermore, he or she may be subject to deportation at any time.
An alien making a bail bond and his or her bondsman may remain liable on the bond when the alien fails to appear for court due to deportation from the United States.
Finally, it should be noted that anyone who encourages or aids an alien to enter or reenter the United States illegally may be subject to criminal prosecution, as may anyone who encourages or aids an alien to intentionally or knowingly fail to appear for court proceedings as promised in a bail bond.
NOTIFICACIÓN REFERENTE A PERSONAS INDOCUMENTADAS QUE UTILIZAN FIANZAS
Una persona indocumentada que haya sido encarcelada por cargos criminales dentro de los Estados Unidos, puede ser detenida y deportada por el gobierno federal. La detención y deportación son muy probables para aquellas personas que estén de manera ilegal en los Estados Unidos.
Las fianzas para cargos criminales no tienen efecto alguno en los procedimientos o posibilidades de detención y/o deportación. Una persona indocumentada que utiliza una fianza en cualquier cargo criminal podría, en algunos casos, no ser puesto en libertad antes de que se completen los procedimientos de su caso, e incluso, podría ser deportada en cualquier momento.
Una persona indocumentada que utiliza una fianza y su afianzador o afianzadora, pueden ser hechos responsables de cubrir la fianza cuando la persona indocumentada no se presente ante la corte debido a que haya sido deportada.
Finalmente, se debe aclarar que cualquier persona que ayuda o incentiva a que una persona indocumentada ingrese o reingrese de manera ilegal a los Estados Unidos, puede ser perseguida criminalmente. De la misma manera, también se puede perseguir criminalmente a cualquier persona que incentiva o ayuda a que una persona indocumentada, con conocimiento o de manera intencional, no se presente a corte de acuerdo a lo prometido en su fianza.
This notice must be signed by the recipient and by the bondsman or his agent, who must note the date and time when the notice is provided. A copy of the notice with the required signatures and documentation as to time the notice is provided must be kept in the bondsman’s file. The notice should be provided at the same time a receipt is given for any money or property received. Only one notice per bond is required. However, if arrangements for multiple bonds on the same person are being made simultaneously, there need be only one alien notice provided per arrested person.
43. To implement the legislature’s policy that attorneys making bonds pursuant to the attorney exemption must represent the bail bond principal in any criminal case arising out of their bonds at the time those bonds are executed, each bond executed by an attorney as surety under the “Attorney Exemption” found in Texas Occupations Code §1704.163 must include the following language over the bond principal’s signature: “I desire that the attorney whose signature appears as my bail bond surety on this document represent me in the criminal case or cases connected to this bond.”
