§ 6802 — Professional bondsmen; licensing

New York § 6802

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law ISC: Insurance
• Art. 68: Bail Bonds

Text

§ 6802. Professional bondsmen; licensing. (a) No person, firm or\ncorporation or any officer or employee thereof shall act in this state\nas an agent or solicitor of an insurer or charitable bail organization\ndoing a bail business in soliciting, negotiating or effectuating any\nsuch deposit or bail bond by such insurer or charitable bail\norganization unless licensed by the superintendent as an agent pursuant\nto the provisions of this section. Any person, firm or corporation so\nacting without being duly licensed shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.\n (b) Every corporation or charitable bail organization engaging as an\ninsurer doing a bail business in this state shall procure a license\npursuant to the provisions of this section for each of its employees,\nofficers and agents acting for it in soliciting, negotiating or\neffectuating any such deposit or bail bond.\n (c) The superintendent may, in the superintendent's discretion, issue\nto any person, firm or corporation a license to act as an agent of an\nauthorized insurer or charitable bail organization, in soliciting,\nnegotiating or effectuating any such deposit or bail bond by such\ninsurer or any such deposit by such charitable bail organization.\n (d) Any such license issued to a firm or corporation shall authorize\nonly the members named in such license as sublicensees, to act\nindividually as agents thereunder. Any sublicense issued to a\ncorporation shall authorize only the officers and directors named in\nsuch license as sublicensees, to act individually as agents thereunder.\nEvery sublicensee, acting as insurance agent pursuant to a license\nissued to a firm or corporation, shall be authorized to act only in the\nname of such firm or corporation.\n (e) Before the issuance of a license every applicant shall satisfy the\nsuperintendent as to his trustworthiness and competence and otherwise\ncomply with the conditions set forth in this section. The superintendent\nmay refuse to issue any such license if in his judgment such refusal\nwill best promote the interests of the people of this state.\n (f) At the time of the application for every license a twenty-five\ndollar fee shall be paid to the superintendent for each year or fraction\nof a year in which a license shall be valid for each individual\napplicant and for each proposed sublicensee.\n (g) Every applicant for a license hereunder shall file with the\nsuperintendent written evidence by those who know his character and\nreputation and by such other proof as the superintendent may require,\nincluding his fingerprints, that he is a person of good character and\nreputation and has never been convicted of any offense involving moral\nturpitude or of any crime. If such applicant is a firm or corporation\nsuch proof must be made with respect to every member, shareholder,\nofficer and director of such firm or corporation. Such fingerprints\nshall be submitted to the division of criminal justice services for a\nstate criminal history record check, as defined in subdivision one of\nsection three thousand thirty-five of the education law, and may be\nsubmitted to the federal bureau of investigation for a national criminal\nhistory record check.\n (h) In order to determine the competence of each applicant for a\nlicense or a sublicense, the superintendent shall require every\napplicant to pass to the satisfaction of the superintendent a written\nexamination to be prepared by the superintendent and appropriate to the\ndoing of a bail business. If the applicant or any proposed sublicensee\nintends to maintain an office or solicit, negotiate, effectuate or\ndeposit bail on behalf of another in any city containing a population of\nmore than one hundred seventy-five thousand, such written examination\nmay inquire into the applicant's knowledge of the pertinent provisions\nof the criminal procedure law and the pertinent rules and practices of\nthe courts and district attorneys' offices within the area of the\napplicant's proposed operations. Such examination shall be held at such\ntimes and places as the superintendent shall determine.\n (i) Every individual applying to take any written examination shall at\nthe time of applying pay to the superintendent, or at the discretion of\nthe superintendent, directly to any organization that is under contract\nto provide examination services, an examination fee of an amount which\nis the actual documented administrative cost of conducting the\nexamination as certified by the superintendent from time to time. An\nexamination fee represents an administrative expense and is not\nrefundable.\n (j) Every applicant for any such license shall file with the\nsuperintendent a qualifying bond, approved by the attorney general as to\nform and by the superintendent as to sufficiency, in a penalty of five\nthousand dollars, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the\nduties of such licensee. No such qualifying bond shall be subject to\ntermination or cancellation by either party in less than sixty days\nafter the giving of written notice to the other party and to the\nsuperintendent. A termination or cancellation shall not affect the\nliability of the surety or sureties on such bond incurred prior to the\neffective date of such termination or cancellation. If during the term\nof such bond such licensee shall be guilty of fraudulent or dishonest\nconduct or other misconduct or malfeasance in his dealings with any\ncourt or magistrate or with any person or corporation in connection with\nany deposit or bail bond, the attorney general may maintain an action on\nsuch qualifying bond in the name of the people of this state and either\nrecover the full amount of the penalty or recover for the use and\nbenefit of the person or persons aggrieved, the amount of loss or injury\nsustained by such person or persons by reason of such misconduct. No\nsuch recovery or recoveries shall exceed in the aggregate five thousand\ndollars, exclusive of interest and costs.\n (k) The superintendent may, upon notice and after a hearing, revoke or\nsuspend, for such period as he may determine, any such license or\nsublicense issued pursuant to the provisions of this section if, after\nnotice and hearing as specified in this chapter, he determines that the\nlicensee or any sublicensee or any member of a firm or corporation which\nis so licensed has:\n (1) violated any provision of, or any obligation imposed by, the\ninsurance law, or has violated any other law of the state;\n (2) has made a material misstatement in the application for such\nlicense;\n (3) has been guilty of any fraudulent or dishonest practices or other\nmisconduct or malfeasance;\n (4) has charged or received, as premium or compensation for the making\nof any deposit or bail bond, any sum in excess of that permitted by law;\n (5) has required, as a condition of his executing a bail bond, that\nthe principal agree to engage the services of a specified attorney; or\n (6) has demonstrated his incompetency or untrustworthiness to act as a\nlicensee.\n (l) The superintendent, in lieu of revoking or suspending a license in\naccordance with the provisions of this article, may, in any one\nproceeding, by order, require the licensee to pay to the people of this\nstate a penalty in a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars for each\noffense, and a penalty in a sum not exceeding twenty-five hundred\ndollars in the aggregate for all offenses. Upon failure of such licensee\nto pay such penalty within twenty days after the mailing of such order,\npostage prepaid, registered, and addressed to the last known place of\nbusiness of such licensee, unless such order is stayed by a court of\ncompetent jurisdiction, the superintendent may revoke the license of\nsuch licensee or may suspend the same for such period as he may\ndetermine.\n (m) Every license issued to an officer, employee, or agent of an\ninsurer or charitable bail organization doing a bail business pursuant\nto this section shall be for a term expiring on the thirty-first day of\nDecember of even numbered years and may be renewed for the ensuing two\ncalendar years upon the filing of a renewal application. The\nsuperintendent may refuse to issue any such license if in the\nsuperintendent's judgment such refusal will best promote the interests\nof the people of this state. Every such licensee and sublicensee shall\nfile an information statement on or before the thirty-first day of\nDecember of each even numbered year, the form and subject matter of\nwhich may be prescribed by the superintendent.\n (n) Any domestic, foreign or alien surety company which was licensed\nto do a bail bond business in this state before January first, nineteen\nhundred forty shall so long as its license or any renewal remains in\nforce, be deemed licensed as an insurer to do such business within the\nmeaning of paragraph one of subsection (b) of section six thousand eight\nhundred one of this article and article eleven of this chapter.\n (o) This section shall not apply to any insurer authorized in this\nstate to execute and issue policies of motor vehicle and aircraft\ninsurance as specified in paragraphs thirteen, fourteen and nineteen of\nsubsection (a) of section one thousand one hundred thirteen of this\nchapter or to any agent of such insurer or to any broker who, as an\nincident to the execution and issuance of any such policy or to the\nsolicitation, negotiation or procurement thereof undertakes to pay, in\naddition to the applicable limits of liability, the cost of bail bonds\nrequired of the insured because of accident or asserted traffic law\nviolations arising out of the use of a vehicle insured under the terms\nof the policy, provided the cost of each such bail bond does not exceed\none hundred dollars, or who otherwise arranges for the execution of a\nbail bond or deposit in lieu of cash bail on behalf of the insured in\nthe event of the insured's arrest or detention by reason of an asserted\nviolation of any law relating to the use of a motor vehicle.\n (p) The superintendent may issue a replacement for a currently in\nforce license which has been lost or destroyed. Before such replacement\nlicense shall be issued, there shall be on file in the office of the\nsuperintendent a written application for such replacement license,\naffirming under penalty of perjury that the original license has been\nlost or destroyed, together with a fee of fifteen dollars.\n