Can a bail bond company hold multiple agent licenses, and does that give it extra votes on the county board?

Plain-English summary

Bail bonds in Texas can be written by individuals or by corporations acting as sureties. A corporate surety does not personally show up at the jail; it works through local agents, each authorized by a power of attorney to sign bonds on the company's behalf. The Harris County Bail Bond Board asked the Attorney General two practical questions: can it hand out more than one license to a single corporate surety, and does a company with several agent licenses get to vote more than once when bondsmen elect their seat on the board?

On the first question, the answer was yes. The bail bond statute says a separate license is required for each agent a corporate surety authorizes. So a company that uses five local agents needs five licenses, and the board has the implied power to issue them. The Attorney General was careful about what those licenses mean, though: the agent is licensed only as the company's agent, not as an independent bondsman. That distinction shows up in the security rules. An individual bondsman has to post his own collateral, but a designated agent of a corporate surety does not, because the company has already posted its security and the agent signs bonds for the company rather than for himself. The agent still has to clear the rest of the application requirements and get separate board approval.

On the second question, the answer was no. Even with multiple agent licenses, the corporate surety gets one vote, not one per license. The statute gives the vote to a bondsman "licensed in the county," and nothing in it lets a single licensee vote more than once. And because a designated agent is not licensed in his own right, that agent cannot cast a separate vote either. So one company, one vote.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1993. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here. The bail bond licensing statute (then V.T.C.S. article 2372p-3) has since been recodified into the Occupations Code, so the section numbers have changed; confirm current law before relying on anything described here.

Background and statutory framework

A bail bond board has only the powers expressly conferred on it by statute, together with those necessarily implied from its express powers or duties (Attorney General Opinion JM-471 (1986)). The Harris County board operates under V.T.C.S. article 2372p-3. In a county with such a board, no one may act as a bondsman except an attorney meeting certain requirements or a "person licensed under [the act]" (§ 3(a)); "person" is defined to mean an individual or corporation (§ 2(1)). The general licensing requirements for both individuals and corporations appear in section 6.

Section 7 sets the conditions for a corporation to act as surety. Under section 7(a), the corporation must obtain a license under section 6 (complying with section 6 except subpart (g)). Section 7(c) requires that, before executing any bail bond, the corporation file a power of attorney with the county clerk naming and authorizing each agent to execute bonds, and provides that "a separate license is required for each agent operating under a separate power of attorney."

The Attorney General read section 7(c) to allow a corporate surety to designate more than one local agent, each of whom must be separately licensed (Attorney General Opinion MW-507 (1982)). The opinion then distinguished between licensing an agent in his own right and licensing him merely as the corporation's agent. Section 6(r) requires an individual applicant, once tentatively approved, to furnish security (a cashier's check, certificate of deposit, cash, or a deed of trust to real property). A designated agent of a corporate surety need not furnish that security, because the corporate surety itself is licensed and has already posted its own security under section 6(f), and the agent executes bonds on the corporation's behalf, not in an individual capacity. The agent remains subject to the other section 6 requirements, with the application separately considered and approved by the board.

Board membership is governed by section 5. Section 5(b)(6) provides for "a licensed bondsman, licensed in the county, elected by other county licensees."

Citations

• V.T.C.S. art. 2372p-3, § 3(a) (only an attorney or a person licensed under the act may act as bondsman), § 2(1) ("person" means individual or corporation)
• V.T.C.S. art. 2372p-3, § 6, § 6(f) (corporate surety's security), § 6(g) (subpart a corporate surety need not satisfy), § 6(r) (individual applicant must furnish security)
• V.T.C.S. art. 2372p-3, § 7(a) (corporation must obtain a section 6 license), § 7(c) (power of attorney for each agent; separate license required for each agent)
• V.T.C.S. art. 2372p-3, § 5(b)(6) (bondsman representative elected by other county licensees)
• Attorney General Opinions JM-471 (1986) and MW-507 (1982)

Common questions

Can a bail bond board issue more than one license to a single corporate surety?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded the act impliedly authorizes the board to issue multiple licenses to a corporate surety, one for each agent the surety designates to execute bonds, because section 7(c) requires a separate license for each such agent.

Is a designated agent licensed as an independent bondsman?
No. The opinion concluded a designated agent is licensed only in his or her capacity as the corporation's agent, not in his or her own right. That is why the agent does not have to post the security an individual applicant must furnish, although the agent must still meet the other licensing requirements and be separately approved.

Does holding several agent licenses give a corporate surety extra votes?
No. The Attorney General concluded a corporate surety casts only one vote in the election of the bondsmen's representative, regardless of how many agent licenses it holds. Nothing in the statute lets a single licensee vote more than once.

Can an individual designated agent cast his own vote?
No. Because a designated agent is not licensed in his or her own right, the opinion concluded that such an agent cannot separately cast a vote in the board election.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/dan-morales/dm-0224
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1993/dm0224.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

Office of the Attorney General
State of Texas

DAN MORALES
ATTORNEY GENERAL

May 28, 1993

Honorable Mike Driscoll
Harris County Attorney
1001 Preston Suite 634
Houston, Texas 77002-1891

Opinion No. DM-224

Re: Whether the Harris County Bail Bond Board is authorized to issue more than one bail bond license to a corporate surety, and related question (RQ-463)

Dear Mr. Driscoll:

On behalf of the Harris County Bail Bond Board (the "board"), you have asked two questions relating to corporate sureties licensed to act as bail bondsmen. First, you ask whether the board is authorized to issue more than one license to a corporate surety. Second, you ask if a corporate surety is entitled to cast multiple votes in the election of the bail bondsmen's representative to the board.

A bail bond board has only those powers expressly conferred upon it by statute, together with those powers necessarily implied from powers or duties expressly provided. Attorney General Opinion JM-471 (1986) at 4 (citing cases). The board is established pursuant to article 2372p-3, V.T.C.S. (the "act"). In a county with a bail bond board governed by article 2372p-3, no person may act as a bondsman except an attorney who meets certain requirements or "persons licensed under [the act]." V.T.C.S. art. 2372p-3, § 3(a). The term "person" means "an individual or corporation." Id. § 2(1). The general licensing requirements, for both individuals and corporations, are set forth in section 6. See id. §§ 6, 7(a).

Section 7 of the act sets forth the conditions under which a corporation may act as surety. Section 7(a) requires that before acting as a surety, a corporation must obtain a license under section 6. See id. § 7(a) (a corporate surety must comply with the requirements of section 6 with the exception of subpart (g)). Section 7(c) provides as follows:

Any corporation which acts as a surety shall, before executing any bail bond, first file in the office of the county clerk of the county where such bail bond is given a power of attorney designating and authorizing the named agent of such corporation to execute such bail bonds by such agent. This power of attorney shall be a valid and binding obligation of the corporation. A separate license is required for each agent operating under a separate power of attorney.

Id. § 7 (emphasis added).

Section 7(c) clearly contemplates that a corporate surety may designate more than one local agent to act on its behalf under a power of attorney. See Attorney General Opinion JM-471 at 4 (noting that "the act [does not] limit the number of persons who may be designated as agents by a corporate surety"). In addition, it clearly requires that each of these agents must be separately licensed. Attorney General Opinion MW-507 (1982) at 3 (noting that section 7(c) "clearly requires a separate license for each agent executing bail bonds on behalf of the corporate surety"). The question is whether this licensing requirement contemplates that a designated agent is licensed in his or her own right, or merely as an agent of the corporation. We believe the statute contemplates the latter for the following reasons.

As noted above, section 6 sets forth the application requirements for licensees. Upon notice from the board that an application has been tentatively approved, an applicant must furnish security. See V.T.C.S. art. 2372p-3, § 6(r). While many of the application requirements are the same for both individual and corporate applicants, the security requirements for corporate applicants are different. Id. §§ 6(f), 7(a) (a corporate surety must comply with the requirements of section 6 with the exception of subpart (g)). An individual applicant is required to deposit a cashier's check, certificate of deposit, cash or other property with the county treasurer, or execute in trust to the board deeds to real property. See V.T.C.S. art. 2372p-3, § 6(r). We do not believe that the act requires an individual who merely acts as the designated agent of a corporate surety to furnish security. Such a requirement would serve no purpose because the corporate surety itself must be licensed by virtue of section 7(a) and therefore will have already posted its own security under section 6(f), and because the designated agent merely executes bail bonds on behalf of the corporate surety, not in his or her individual capacity. Of course, a designated agent is subject to all the other licensing requirements of section 6, and his or her application must be separately considered and approved by the board.

For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the act requires a corporate surety to obtain a license for each of its designated agents in his or her capacity as a designated agent. Accordingly, we conclude that the act impliedly authorizes the board to issue multiple licenses to a corporate surety. To the extent any of our prior opinions suggest to the contrary, they are overruled.

You also ask if a corporate surety is entitled to cast multiple votes in the election of the bail bondsmen's representative to the board. The membership of the board is governed by section 5 of the act which provides that the board shall be composed of a number of local officials and "a licensed bondsman, licensed in the county, elected by other county licensees." Id. § 5(b)(6) (emphasis added). We believe that although a corporate surety may have multiple licenses for designated agents, this would not entitle the corporate surety to multiple votes. Nothing in this provision suggests that a licensee would be entitled to more than one vote. Furthermore, we do not believe that an individual licensed as a designated agent would be entitled to separately cast a vote because such a licensee is not licensed in his or her own right. Therefore, we conclude that a corporate surety is entitled to cast only one vote.

SUMMARY

Article 2372p-3, V.T.C.S., authorizes the Harris County Bail Bond Board to issue multiple licenses to a corporate surety. In an election of the bail bondsmen's representative to the board, a corporate surety is entitled to cast only one vote.

DAN MORALES
Attorney General of Texas

WILL PRYOR
First Assistant Attorney General

MARY KELLER
Deputy Attorney General for Litigation

RENEA HICKS
State Solicitor

MADELEINE B. JOHNSON
Chair, Opinion Committee

Prepared by Mary R. Crouter
Assistant Attorney General