Attorney General Opinion JM-1023

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS February 27, 1989 Honorable Rene Guerra Criminal District Attorney Hidalgo County Courthouse Edinburg, Texas 78539 Opinion No. JM-1023 Re: Authority of a county bail bond board to limit issuance of a bail bond license to a single individ- ual who seeks to operate under different assumed names (RQ-1636) Dear Mr. Guerra: you ask whether the Hidalgo Bail Bond Board has the authority to limit the issuance of a bail bond license to one license per individual even though the person seeks to under different operate more than one bail bond company assumed names. you provide the following information question. that prompts your In Hidalgo County, we have approximately twenty-four (24) bail bond companies. Not all of these businesses are owned by differ- ent bondsmen. In fact, some bondsmen operate or plan to operate as many as four different bail bond businesses. The reason for operat- ing more than one bonding company is because it allows them for [sic] more than one list- ing at the County Jail Bail Bond List, which subsequently increases one's chances of being chosen when a bondsman is sought by a prisoner. For example: H (husband) is licensed to operate H-l Bail Bonds and W (wife) is licensed to operate W-l Bail Bonds. The issue arises when H seeks a license to operate H-3 Bail Bonds. p. 5276 Honorable Rene Guerra - Page 2 (JM-1023) In Attorney General Opinion MW-507 (1982) the questions of who may be licensed as a bail bondsman and who may sign a bail bond under article 2372p-3, V.T.C.S., were addressed. In Attorney General Opinion MW-507 it was stated: Section 3(a) of article 2372p-3, V.T.C.S., provides that no person may act as a bondsman except 'persons' licensed under the act and persons licensed to practice law. Section 2(l) defines 'oerson' as an individual or cornoration: it no lonaer includes 'other business entities, and associations of persons' as it did prior to the amendment of article 2372p-3 in 1981. Thus, only an individual or a corporation may currently obtain a license under article 2372p-3, V.T.C.S . . . . If the licensee is an individual, the statute neither prohibits nor authorizes the licensee to have agents or employees sign the bail bonds in the licensee's behalf. However, article 17.08 of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires the bond to be signed by the name or mark of the surety. This statute has been interoreted as reouir- ina the suretv to Sian the bond oersonally rather than to have the attorney-in-fact fo; the surety sign the ~bond. See Ex carte Meadows, 87 S.W.2d 254 (Tex. Crim. App. 1935) ; Attorney General Opinion WW-889 (1960) . Article 2372p-3, V.T.C.S., provides no exception to article 17.08 of the Code of Criminal Procedure when the surety is an individual. Therefore, an individual licensee cannot appoint an agent to sign bonds on its behalf. While such an appoint- ment would not clearly violate article 2372p-3, V.T.C.S., it would violate article 17.08,~Code of Criminal Procedure, when the surety is an individual. (Emphasis added.) Section 6(a) of article 2372p-3 provides that the application of a person for a license shall include "the name under which the business shall be conducted." In Attorney General Opinion MW-321 (1981) it was stated that no provision of article 2372p-3 prevents the use of an assumed name. No provision is made for the licensee to operate p. 5277 Honorable Rene Guerra - Page 3 (JM-1023) under more than one name, the statute providing "the name under which the business shall be conducted." (Emphasis added.) While a bail bondsman may operate his business under an assumed name, only the individual (or corporation) may qualify as an applicant; and when acting as a surety the individual must sign the bond personally. It is the individual that is eligible to apply for a license rather than the business being operated under an assumed name. A bail bond business operating under an assumed name is not a distinct entity from another such business bearing a different assumed name so as to enable the individual owner of both businesses to be eligible for two licenses. Since article 2372p-3 prohibits the issuance of a license to any- one other than an individual or a corporation, a county bail bond board is without authority to grant more than one bail bond license to any person. SUMMARY Article 2372p-3, V.T.C.S., does not authorize a county bail bond board to grant more than one bail bond license to any person. JIM MATTOX Attorney General of Texas MARY KELLER First Assistant Attorney General LOU MCCREARY Executive Assistant Attorney General JUDGE ZOLLIE STEAKLEY Special Assistant Attorney General RICK GILPIN Chairman, Opinion Committee Prepared by Tom G. Davis Assistant Attorney General p. 5278