Amends TCA Title 4; Title 16; Title 29, Chapter 32; Title 39 and Title 40.

This bill revises various provisions relative to bail and bail bondsmen, including the following: (1) Prohibits any person from operating as a professional bondsman in Tennessee on or after January 1, 2023, unless the person is registered with the department of commerce and insurance. This bill establishes requirements for registration, including, but not limited to, being at least 18 years of age and providing a surety bond in the amount of $10,000. A professional bondsman's certificate of registration will be valid for two years. This bill replaces the present law system whereby courts approve professional bondsmen with a system whereby the department of commerce and insurance will register professional bondsmen and provide lists of registrants to the courts; (2) Applies to laws concerning bail generally terms and definitions that presently apply only to provisions of law specifically concerning professional bondsmen, and defines "professional bonding agent" to mean both a professional bondsman and a person licensed as limited insurance representatives by the department of commerce and insurance; (3) Adds that a defendant for whom bail has been set in an amount not to exceed $7,500 may execute a bail bond and deposit with the clerk of the court before which the proceeding is pending a sum of money in cash equal to the sum of: 10 percent of the amount of the bail set; and the amount of any required bail bond tax. Upon depositing this sum, the defendant will be released from custody subject to the conditions of the bail bond. This bill allows the clerk to assess an administrative fee of 10 percent of the deposit and deduct this fee upon deposit by the defendant. If the conditions of the bail bond have been performed and the defendant has been discharged from all obligations in the cause, the clerk of the court will return to the defendant, unless the court orders otherwise, the entire sum which had been deposited, including any administrative fee assessed by the clerk. If a judgment for fine, court costs, restitution, or any combination thereof, is entered in the prosecution of a cause in which such a deposit had been made by the defendant, then the deposit must be applied to the payment of any fine, court costs, restitution, or any combination thereof, in the following manner: (A) The deposit must first be credited toward any judgment for restitution; and (B) Any remaining portion of the deposit must then be credited toward any judgment for fine, court costs, or any combination thereof; (4) Adds that if the defendant released upon posting bail bond under the provisions described above in (3) does not comply with the conditions of the bail bond, then the court having jurisdiction will enter an order declaring the bail to be forfeited. Notice of the order or forfeiture must be mailed forthwith by the clerk to the defendant at the defendant's last known address. If the defendant does not appear and surrender to the court having jurisdiction within 30 days from the date of the forfeiture or, within that period, satisfy the court that appearance and surrender by the defendant are impossible and not the defendant's fault, the court will enter judgment for the state against the defendant for the amount of the bail and costs of the court proceedings. The deposit made, as described above in (3), will be applied to payment of restitution, judgment, and costs in the following manner: (A) The deposit must first be credited toward any judgment for restitution; (B) Any remaining portion of the deposit must then be credited toward any costs actually incurred by a law enforcement agency that executes a warrant for the defendant's arrest for the failure to appear. The law enforcement agency must submit actual costs incurred by the agency executing the arrest warrant to the court; and (C) Any remaining portion of the deposit must then be credited toward any judgment for fine, court costs, or any combination thereof; (5) Requires, for a bail bond secured by a professional bail bondsman, the bondsman to provide the court with an electronic mail address for electronic service of a scire facias and to provide a copy of any contract or agreement with the defendant regarding the bail bond upon the request of the court or district attorney; (6) This bill revises provisions governing disciplinary action against a bondsman to expand the grounds for withholding, withdrawing, or suspending a professional bondsman's registration; to add the procedures to be followed in such circumstances; and to clarify actions a court may take to remove a bondsman's privileges in court. In regard to the due process requirements that apply to appeals of disciplinary action against bondsmen and denials of approval to act as a bondsman, under this bill, the hearings will be conducted under the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act. This bill preserves the right of any individual court to deny, withhold, suspend, or revoke an approved professional bondsman's bonding privileges in such court upon the court's determination that the professional bondsman's conduct is detrimental to the bondsman's client or is disruptive to the court or court proceedings. Any appeal of a court's action against a bondsman's privileges in that court must be appealed to the next highest court rather than administratively to the department; (7) Revises the present law provisions governing judgment for fine and costs and the application of a deposit toward those items. Present law provides that if a judgment for fine and court costs, or either, is entered in the prosecution of a cause in which a deposit had been made by defendant, the deposit must be applied to the payment of the judgment. This bill revises this provision to instead provide that if a judgment for fine, court costs, restitution, or any combination thereof, is entered in the prosecution of a cause in which a deposit had been made by the defendant, the deposit must be applied to the payment of any fine, court costs, restitution, or any combination thereof, in the manner described above in (3)(A) and (B); (8) Requires a general sessions judge, judicial commissioner, or clerk who makes a release determination to, prior to making the determination, review a form containing the factors to be considered pursuant to present law; and, upon making a release determination, to reduce the determination to writing on the form, including all factors used in making the determination; sign the form; and file the form with the clerk. This bill requires the clerk to include the form in the defendant's case file; (9) Creates, in making a release determination, a rebuttable presumption that a person charged with a bailable offense will not violate the conditions of the person's release if: the person is charged with an offense that, if convicted, would be eligible for expunction under present law. This bill authorizes the magistrate to consider the factors listed in present law in determining if the presumption has been overcome. If a magistrate determines that the presumption has not been overcome, the magistrate will release the person pending trial on the person's recognizance or upon the execution of an unsecured appearance bond. If a magistrate determines that the presumption has been overcome, then the magistrate may admit the person to bail; (10) Requires that courts report to the department findings made and actions taken with regard to inquiries into the solvency of professional bondsmen; (11) Deletes the present law requirement that any applicant for approval as a bonding company owner have two years' experience writing bail in Tennessee as a full-time qualified agent for a Tennessee professional bonding company in good standing; (12) Increases from eight hours to 30 hours the amount of continuing education credit that professional bondsmen must obtain each 12-month period; (13) Transfers responsibility for provision of continuing education for professional bondsmen from the Tennessee Association of Professional Bail Agents to a third-party contractor that is approved by the department, which may include a professional association related to bail bonding; (14) Requires that the practice of bail bonding and the regulation thereof be audited in conjunction with the audit of the department of commerce and insurance by the comptroller of the treasury for purposes of the governmental entity review laws, and specifically requires that the audit include a random review of at least 10 percent of certificates of compliance with continuing education requirements; (15) Decreases, from 180 to 60 days after a surety is served with scire facias, the time after which the court will enter a judgment for the state against the defendant and the defendant's sureties for the amount of bail and costs of proceedings; (16) Revises the timeline for a bondsman to report assets and liabilities; and (17) Deletes certain provisions regarding accepting premium renewal fees in equal installments and regarding seeking indemnification. This bill takes effect upon becoming a law for rulemaking purposes, and January 1, 2023, for all other purposes.