HBA-JLV H.B. 2207 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2207
By: Lewis, Glenn
Criminal Jurisprudence
3/15/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

According to a 1993 Texas Attorney General's opinion, County bail-bond
boards (board) cannot question the appraisal value or obtain an independent
appraisal of the real estate an applicant for a bail-bondsman's license
intends to convey in trust to the board as security.  A 1999 codification
by the 76th Legislature appears to have created a significant change in the
authority of a County Bail Bond Board to consider independent appraisals of
property by requiring the board or a representative of the board to
determine whether an applicant possesses the financial resources to comply
with license requirements.  As a result of this codification, the 1993
Attorney General opinion may not have any statutory basis for allowing the
bail bondsman license applicant to submit an independent appraisal of
property executed in trust to the board.  House Bill 2207 allows the board
to obtain an independent appraisal of real property or utilize the most
recent county appraisal roll market value to determine the value of the
property submitted for licensure requirements. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2207 amends the Occupations Code to authorize the County Bail
Bond Board to obtain an independent appraisal of real property or utilize
the most recent county appraisal roll market value to determine the value
of the property submitted by the applicant for licensure requirements as
the board determines necessary to determine the value of the property. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.