Current Status Bill Number:3687 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:House Introduced Date:19970319 Primary Sponsor:Altman All Sponsors:Altman Drafted Document Number:dka\4208cm.97 Residing Body:House Current Committee:Judiciary Committee 25 HJ Subject:Bondsman acting as surety on bail bonds, deposits with clerk of court, pledge value changed; Courts, Insurance
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
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House 19970319 Introduced, read first time, 25 HJ
referred to Committee
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TO AMEND SECTION 38-53-270, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO A PROFESSIONAL BONDSMAN'S MAINTENANCE OF DEPOSITS WITH THE CLERK OF COURT, SO AS TO REVISE THE AMOUNT A PROFESSIONAL BONDSMAN SHALL MAINTAIN AS A DEPOSIT WITH A CLERK OF COURT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 38-53-270 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 118 of 1995, is further amended to read:
"Section 38-53-270. Each professional bondsman acting as surety on bail bonds in this State shall maintain deposits with the clerk of court of the county in which the bondsman has his primary place of business equal to at least one-fourth one-tenth the amount of all bonds or undertakings written in this State on which he is absolutely or conditionally liable as of the first day of the current month. The deposits must be in the form of either passbook savings accounts or certificates of deposit of building and loan associations chartered by this State or federal savings and loan associations located within this State in which deposits are guaranteed by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, not to exceed the amount covered by insurance, or of national banks located within this State or banks chartered by this State in which deposits are guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, not to exceed the amount covered by insurance, or by the pledge of the appraised value of real estate in South Carolina over any recorded mortgages and contracts of sale. The value shall must be determined by the county tax assessor for the county where the subject property is located. The interest paid on the deposits may be collected by the bondsman. The amount of the deposits must be reconciled with the bondsman's liabilities as of the first day of the month before the sixteenth of the month. The value of the deposits may not be less than five thousand dollars. The first ten thousand dollars of these deposits must be secured by passbook savings or certificates of deposits only. Any amounts above ten thousand dollars may be secured with pledges of other types of collateral approved by the clerk of court."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.