ATLANTA (March 13, 2015) | Senator Michael Williams (R – Cumming) Wednesday led the passage of Senate Bill 195, a bill that makes a number of changes regarding education of professional bondsmen. The bill also makes changes regarding the enforcement of appearance bonds by judges and modernizes provisions related to providing court notices.
“It is very important that we double the maximum fee amount so we can provide double the amount of training for professional bondsmen,” said Sen. Williams. “Having these bail bondsmen in classes approved by the Georgia Association of Professional Bondsmen will allow them to role play some of the real life situations they may encounter while on the job, therefore, better preparing them for potentially difficult situations.”
Section 1 of this bill doubles the maximum amount of the annual fee for continuing education programs for professional bondsmen from $125 to $250.
In cases where the principal fails to appear in court, Section 2 directs the judge to issue a bench warrant for the principal’s arrest at the end of the court day.
Section 3 clarifies instances where a principal is excused from appearing in court on an appearance bond. These instances include when a person is involuntarily under arrest, in a mental institution or in the instance the principal has been removed from the country. Section 3 clarifies that these notices may be delivered to the court by email.
Senate Bill 195 will now be transferred to the House of Representatives for consideration.
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For Immediate Release:
March 13, 2015
For Information Contact:
Jennifer Yarber, Director
Brittany Wagner, Communications Specialist
brittany.wagner@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028