Effective: May 26, 2010
Latest Legislation: House Bill 300 - 128th General Assembly
A surety bail bond agent or insurer shall not do any of the following:
(A) Suggest or advise the employment of, or name for employment, any particular attorney to represent its principal;
(B) Solicit business in, or on the property or grounds of, a detention facility, as defined in section 2921.01 of the Revised Code, or in, or on the property or grounds of, any court. For purposes of this division, "solicit" includes, but is not limited to, the distribution of business cards, print advertising, or any other written information directed to prisoners or potential indemnitors, unless a request is initiated by the prisoner or potential indemnitor. Permissible print advertising in a detention facility is strictly limited to a listing in a telephone directory and the posting of the surety bail bond agent's name, address, and telephone number in a designated location within the detention facility.
(C) Wear or otherwise display any identification, other than the wallet identification card required under division (G) of section 3905.85 of the Revised Code, in or on the property or grounds of a detention facility, as defined in section 2921.01 of the Revised Code, or in or on the property or grounds of any court;
(D) Pay a fee or rebate or give or promise anything of value to a jailer, law enforcement officer, committing magistrate, or other person who has power to arrest or to hold in custody, or to any public official or public employee, in order to secure a settlement, compromise, remission, or reduction of the amount of any bail bond or estreatment of bail;
(E) Pay a fee or rebate or give or promise anything of value to an attorney in a bail bond matter, except in defense of any action on a bond;
(F) Pay a fee or rebate or give or promise anything of value to the principal or to anyone in the principal's behalf;
(G) Post anything without using a bail instrument representing an insurer, to have a defendant released on bail on all types of set court bail, except for the following:
(1) Cash court fees or cash reparation fees;
(2) Ten per cent assignments;
(3) Other nonsurety court bonds, if the agent provides full written disclosure and receipts and retains copies of all documents and receipts for not less than three years.
(H) Participate in the capacity of an attorney at a trial or hearing of a principal;
(I) Accept anything of value from a principal for providing a bail bond, other than the premium filed with and approved by the superintendent of insurance and an expense fee, except that the surety bail bond agent may, in accordance with section 3905.92 of the Revised Code, accept collateral security or other indemnity from a principal or other person together with documentary stamp taxes if applicable. No fees, expenses, or charges of any kind shall be deducted from the collateral held or any return premium due, except as authorized by sections 3905.83 to 3905.95 of the Revised Code or by rule of the superintendent. A surety bail bond agent, upon written agreement with another party, may receive a fee or other compensation for returning to custody an individual who has fled the jurisdiction of the court or caused the forfeiture of a bond.
(J) Execute a bond in this state on the person's own behalf;
(K) Execute a bond in this state if a judgment has been entered on a bond executed by the surety bail bond agent, which judgment has remained unpaid for at least sixty days after all appeals have been exhausted, unless the full amount of the judgment is deposited with the clerk of the court.
As used in this section, "instrument" means a fiduciary form showing a dollar amount for a surety bail bond.