HB 685 Summary

• Creates the Alabama Bail Bond Regulatory Act requiring professional bondsmen and recovery agents to register with and obtain licenses from the Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board rather than seeking individual county judge approval.

• Establishes a five-member board appointed by the Governor, Speaker of the House, and Senate Pro Tem with members requiring five years' experience in the bail bonding industry; members receive $500 per month compensation.

• Requires all new professional bondsmen and recovery agents to complete a 12-hour instructional course and pass an examination by January 1, 2016, with annual renewal requiring 8 hours of continuing education at a maximum cost of $75 per hour.

• Sets application and licensing fees (examination fee $125, renewal fee $50) and establishes the Alabama Bail Bond Board Fund to support board operations with excess revenues returned to the General Fund.

• Makes unlicensed operation as a professional bondsman or recovery agent a Class A misdemeanor and provides for license suspension or revocation for violations, false statements, fraud, or criminal convictions.