Bondsmen Serving As Elected Officials

Can you be a bondsman and also serve on the local school board, city council, or other elected position? Can you be an employee of the county, city, or other political subdivision and keep your bail bond license? The question has arisen several times over the years, and the answer is…..sometimes.

Missouri Supreme Court Rule 33.17(e) says: A person shall not be accepted as a surety on any bail bond unless the person is not an elected or appointed official or employee of the State of Missouri or any county or other political subdivision thereof, except that this disqualification shall not apply if the principal is the spouse, child or family member of the surety.

Additionally 374.702(2) RSMO 2005 says: No judge, attorney, court official, law enforcement officer, state, county, or municipal employee who is either elected or appointed shall be licensed as a bail bond agent or a general bail bond agent.

Back in 1980, (33.17e has not changed since that time) rule 33.17 was addressed by former Missouri Attorney General John Ashcroft. The AG was asked if a bondsman could also serve on the local school board. Ashcroft opined, “The terms of Rule 33.17 are clear and unequivocal. If a person is an official or employee of a political subdivision, he cannot be accepted as surety on a bail bond.” The AG defined political subdivision as defined in the Missouri Constitution Art. X, § 15: “The term “other political subdivisions,” as used in this article, shall be construed to include townships, cities, towns, villages, school, road, drainage, sewer and levee districts and any other public subdivision, public corporation or public quasi-corporation having the power to tax..” Ashcroft concluded that an elected school board member could not be accepted as surety on a bond. See AG opinion 95-80.

A decade or so later Senator Jet Banks was able to get his bail bond license while serving in the Missouri Senate. The administration at the Department of Insurance explained that Banks was able to have a bail bond license because he was not the surety under rule 33.17. The administration at that time held that the general agent or company backing the bond was the “surety” and a bail bond agent was simply an agent of the surety. Several bail bond agents around the state were then allowed to hold public office and also hold an agent license.

The question was publicized again in 1998 when Mike Randolph was elected county coroner. The question arose as to whether Randolph was the “surety” as defined by rule 33.17 and whether he could also serve as coroner. In an interview with Randolph, the Mornin’ Mail said, “He says he is an agent for a surety, but he does not qualify as a surety himself. He comes to this conclusion after obtaining legal advice as to the definition of a surety. According to Randolph, a surety is an individual that has assets at risk for a bond that is executed. As an agent, Randolph says he simply receives a commission for bonds that he arranges for the surety.” The county attorney saw it differently and said there was no distinction between any principal and an agent of that principal and that Randolph could not be Coroner and work as a bail bondsman. In January, Randolph resigned before taking office. The Mornin’ Mail reported that the court did have some reservations about approving Randolph as a bondsman if he was the Coroner in light of the Rules of Criminal Procedure. Randolph's resignation resolved the question.

In May 2004, legislation was passed prohibiting a bondsman from serving as an elected or appointed official and simultaneously holding a bail bond agent license or a general agent license. The enactment of this law caused another coroner to resign his position. David Haley held a bail bond license and also worked as coroner in Randolph County. He filed for re-election in 2004. Later in 2004, the law was passed prohibiting him from having a bail license and serving as coroner. Haley won his bid for re-election and the new law took effect in January 2005. The Moberly Monitor-Index reported that Haley contacted department officials who said he would be unable to renew his bail bond license because of his job as coroner. Haley also contacted legislators in an effort to have the statute repealed. In the end, Haley was forced to choose between his license and his job as coroner. He resigned as coroner before renewing his license.

I asked the DIFP how they currently interpreted this statute and Supreme Court Rule 33.17. So far, I have not received a reply. If you are a public official or thinking of running for public office, just be aware that other bondsmen successfully ran campaigns and then were forced from office.