(1) The professional
cash-bail agent or cash-bonding agent who posts a bail bond with the court on
behalf of a defendant shall ensure that the following documents comply with the
following provisions:
(a) An indemnity agreement must:
(I) Be in writing;
(II) Be signed by the professional cash-bail agent or cash-bonding agent;
(III) Be signed by the defendant or indemnitor;
(IV) Set forth the amount of bail set in the case, the name of the defendant
released on the bail bond, the court case number if available, the court where the
bond is executed, the premium charged, the amount and type of collateral held by
the professional cash-bail agent or cash-bonding agent, and the conditions under
which the collateral is returned;
(V) Contain documentation that the indemnitor has received copies of signed
and dated disclosure forms; and
(VI) If the defendant or indemnitor is illiterate or does not read English,
contain a note on the indemnity agreement that the agent or a third party has read
or translated the agreement to the defendant or indemnitor and be affixed with an
affidavit to the indemnity agreement attesting that the document was translated;
(b) A promissory note must be:
(I) In writing;
(II) Signed by the professional cash-bail agent or cash-bonding agent; and
(III) Signed by the defendant or indemnitor;
(c) A collateral receipt must:
(I) Be dated;
(II) Be in writing;
(III) Be signed by the professional cash-bail agent or cash-bonding agent;
(IV) Be signed by the defendant or indemnitor;
(V) Be prenumbered;
(VI) Contain a full description of the collateral, including the condition of the
collateral at the time it is taken into custody; and
(VII) Set forth the amount of bail set in the case, the name of the defendant
released on the bail bond, the court case number, the court where the bond is
executed, the premium charged, the amount and type of collateral held by the
agent, and the conditions under which the collateral is returned;
(d) A bail bond revocation request must be:
(I) Dated;
(II) In writing;
(III) Signed by the professional cash-bail agent or cash-bonding agent; and
(IV) Signed by the defendant or indemnitor.
(2) (a) Before accepting consideration, the professional cash-bail agent or
cash-bonding agent shall commit to writing, sign, date, and obtain the defendant's
or indemnitor's signature on an arrangement for the payment of all or part of the
premium, commission, or fee, including the payment schedule. The signature of the
professional cash-bail agent or cash-bonding agent is not an obligation to pay any
debt owed to a lender. To be enforceable, interest and financial charges on any
unpaid premium must comply with the Uniform Consumer Credit Code, articles 1
to 9 of title 5, C.R.S.
(b) Before accepting consideration or taking collateral, the professional
cash-bail agent or cash-bonding agent shall provide, in a form prescribed by the
commissioner, a disclosure statement to each defendant and indemnitor detailing
the terms of the bail bond.
(3) (a) A professional cash-bail agent or cash-bonding agent who accepts
consideration for a bail bond or undertaking shall, for each payment received,
provide to the person tendering payment a prenumbered, signed receipt containing
the following:
(I) The date;
(II) The defendant's name;
(III) A description of the consideration and amount of money received;
(IV) The purpose for which it was received;
(V) The penal sum of the bail bond;
(VI) The name of the person tendering payment; and
(VII) The terms under which the money or other consideration is released.
(b) The professional cash-bail agent or cash-bonding agent shall provide the
person tendering payment a signed and dated receipt for each premium payment
listing the amount paid.
(3.5) (a) If the bond is to be secured by real estate, the bail bonding agent
shall provide the property owner with a written disclosure statement in the
following form at the time an initial application is filed:
Disclosure of lien against real property
Do not sign this document until you read and understand it This bail bond will be
secured by real property you own or in which you have an interest. Failure to pay
the bail bond premiums when due or the defendant's failure to comply with the
conditions of bail could result in the loss of your property
(b) The disclosure required in paragraph (a) of this subsection (3.5) shall be
printed in fourteen-point, bold-faced type either:
(I) On a separate and specific document attached to or accompanying the
application; or
(II) In a clear and conspicuous statement on the face of the application.
(c) Before a property owner executes any instrument creating a lien against
real property, the bail bonding agent shall provide the property owner with a
completed copy of the instrument creating the lien against real property and the
disclosure statement described in paragraph (a) of this subsection (3.5). If a bail
bonding agent fails to comply fully with the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b)
of this subsection (3.5) and this paragraph (c), any instrument creating a lien
against real property shall be voidable.
(d) (I) The bonding agent shall deliver to the property owner a fully executed
and notarized reconveyance of title, a certificate of discharge, or a full release of
any lien against real property that secures performance of the conditions of a bail
bond within thirty-five days after receiving notice that the time for appealing an
order that exonerated the bail bond has expired. The bonding agent shall also
deliver to the property owner the original canceled note, as evidence that the
indebtedness secured by any lien instrument has been paid or that the purposes of
the instrument have been fully satisfied, and the original deed of trust, security
agreement, or other instrument that secured the bail bond obligation. If a timely
notice of appeal is filed, the thirty-five-day period begins on the day the appellate
court's affirmation of the order becomes final.
(II) If the bonding agent fails to comply with the requirements of this
subsection (3.5)(d), the property owner may petition the district court to issue an
order directing the clerk of the court to execute a full reconveyance of title, a
certificate of discharge, or a full release of any lien against real property created to
secure performance of the conditions of the bail bond. To be accepted by the court,
the petition must be verified and allege facts showing that the bonding agent has
failed to comply with the provisions of this subsection (3.5)(d).
(III) (A) If a bonding agent fails to comply with this subsection (3.5)(d), the
property owner may file a complaint with the commissioner requesting that the
commissioner petition a district court to file for record a full release of any lien
against real property securing performance of the conditions of the bail bond.
(B) To be accepted by the commissioner, the complaint must be verified and
allege facts showing that the bonding agent has failed to comply with this
subsection (3.5)(d). The complaint must include a copy of the lien the property
owner is requesting be released.
(C) Upon receipt of a verified complaint meeting the requirements of
subsection (3.5)(d)(III)(B) of this section, the commissioner shall mail a copy of the
complaint to the bonding agent at the bonding agent's last-known address.
(D) If the time for appealing an order that exonerated the bail bond has
expired at least three years before the complaint is filed, and if the commissioner
does not receive a reply from the bonding agent contesting the release of the lien
within thirty-five days after mailing the complaint required in subsection
(3.5)(d)(III)(C) of this section, the commissioner may petition the district court to
issue an order directing the clerk of the court to execute a full reconveyance of
title, a certificate of discharge, or a full release of any lien against real property
created to secure performance of the conditions of the bail bond. Upon the court
issuing an order executing a full reconveyance of title, issuing a certificate of
discharge, or releasing the lien, the commissioner shall send a copy of the lien
release documents to the bonding agent.
(E) If the commissioner receives, within thirty-five days after mailing the
complaint to the bonding agent, a reply from the bonding agent contesting the
factual basis of the property owner's complaint, the commissioner shall inform the
property owner that the property owner must petition the district court to release
the lien.
(e) Any bail bonding agent who violates this subsection (3.5) shall be liable
to the property owner for all damages that may be sustained by reason of the
violation, plus statutory damages in the sum of three hundred dollars. The property
owner shall be entitled to recover court costs and reasonable attorney fees, as
determined by the court, upon prevailing in any action brought to enforce the
provisions of this subsection (3.5).
(4) The professional cash-bail agent or cash-bonding agent shall prepare or
execute separate agreements and documents for each time the agent posts a bail
bond with the court. The agent shall give the indemnitor a copy of each document
executed in the course of the bail bond transaction.
(5) For three years after the date of discharge of a bail bond and return of
any collateral or proof of notice to the defendant or indemnitor that any promissory
note has been satisfied, the professional cash-bail agent or cash-bonding agent
shall keep at the agent's business, copies of each receipt, indemnity agreement,
bond, disclosure statement, payment plan, bond revocation request, or other
document or information related to the bond transaction and shall make these
documents available for inspection by the commissioner or the commissioner's
authorized representative during normal business hours.
(6) The indemnitor may be the defendant.
(7) The commissioner may examine the business practices, books, and
records of any professional cash-bail agent or cash-bonding agent as often as the
commissioner deems appropriate.