Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

The Attorney General of Texas
April 9, 1986
JIM MAlTOX
Attorney General
Supreme Court Building
HonorableHenry Wade OpinionNo.JM-471
P. 0. BOX 12546 DistrictAttorney
A”!dl”, TX. 7671% 2546 GovernmentCenter Re: Whether a corporatesuretyway sub-
5121475.2501 Dallas,Texas 75:!02 stltute an agent's name on a license
Telex 910/674-1367
Telecopier 512l475-0266
without fulfillingthe requirementof a
new applicationfor licensing
714 Jackson. Suite 700 Dear Mr. Wade:
Dallas, TX. 752024506
214/742-6944
The statute ,v'hich governs the licer~singof bail bondsmen in
certain counties, article 2372p-3, V.T.C.S., requires a corporate
4624 Alberta Ave., Suite 160 surety to designatea named agent of the corporationto executebail
El Paso. TX. 793052793 bonds on behalf of the licensedcorporatesurety. A separatelicense,
9151533.3464 which Is valid for :24months, is requiredfor each agent. You inform
us that a corporatesurety licensedby the Dallas County Bail Bond
1 Texas. Suite 700
Board desires to replace one of its designated agents with a new
i-mus,on, TX. 77002-3111 agent, one not yet licensed. You wish to know whether the Dallas
7131223.5666 County Ball Bond Board may permit the newly designatedagent'sname to
be substitutedfor that of the previouslydesignatedagent for the
portionof the 24-monthperiod remainingon the previouslydesignated
806 Broadway, Suite 312
Lubbock, TX. 79401.3479
agent'slicense. Me answer your questionin the negative.
6OW747.5238
Subsection (,::Iof section 7 of' article 2372p-3, V.T.C.S..
governinga corpor,%tion
acting as a surety,providesthe following:
4309 N. Tenth. Suite S
McAllen, TX. 76501.1665
5121662.4547
Any corporationwhich acts as 8 surety shall,
before errcuringany bail bond, first file in the
office c,f the county clerk of the county where
2M) Main Plaza, Suite 400 such bat:1 bond is given a power of attorney
San Antonio. TX. 76205.2797
designatLngand authorizingthe named agent of
512n25.4191
such corporationto execute such ball bonds by
such agc!nt. This power of attorney shall be a
An Equal OpportunitYI valid and binding obligationof the corporation.
Affirmative Action Employer A separ&e license is required for each agent
operatingunder a corporationpower of attornay.
(Emphasisadded).
Subsection(a) of section8 governingthe expirationand renewal
of a licenseprovidesin part:
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,
BonorableAenry Wade - Page 2 (JM-471)
A license issued under this Act expires 24
months after the aate of its issuanceand may not
be renewed unless;an applicationfor renews1 is
filed with the board at least 30 days before
expiration. The application for renewal shall
have the same fo:aland content as an application
for an original license under this Act. The
applicationfor renewalshall be accompaniedby a
renewal fee of $530
Section 6 of the act governing applicationand issuance of a
license sets forth very detailedand specificinformationdisclosure
requirementsand providesthe followingin pertinentpart:
Sec. 6. (a) Any person desiring to act as a
bondsman in any court of the county shall file
with the County Bail Bond Board a swor*
applicationfor 21license. The applicationshall
be in such form aad shall containsuch information
as the board 'may prescribe including the
following:
(1) The narn(!)age, and address of the
applicant, and if the applicant is a surety
corporation,and whether charteredor admitted to
do business in this state and qualifiedto write
fidelity, guaranty, and surety bonds under the
Texas InsuranceCode, as amended;
(2) The name underwhich the business shall be
conducted;
(3) The name of the place or places, including
street address aid city, wherein the business is
to be conducted;
(4) A statesent listing any nonexempt real
estate owned by the applicantthat the applicant
intends to convey in trust to the board to secure
payment of any obligations incurred by the
applicant in the bondingbusiness if the license
is granted. The followingshall be included for
each parcel llstcd:
[Specificrequfrements]
(5) A statementindicatingthe amount of cash
or cash value of any certificateof deposit or
cashier's checks which the applicant intends to
p. 2154
EonorableEenry Wade - Page,3 (JM-471)
place on deposit with the county treasurer to
secure payment o:Eany obligationsincurredby the
applicant in the,bondingbusiness if the license
is granted;
(6) A complete,sworn financialstatement:
(7) A declarationby the applicant that he
till comply with this Act and the rules prescribed
by the board.
(b) The applicationof an individual for a
license under t'xtsAct shall be accompaniedby
letters of reccmmendatlonfrom three reputable
personswho have 'knownthe applicantfor a period
of at least thr(!eyears. If the applicantis a
corporation,the lettersshallbe requiredfor the
person to be ir..chargeof its business in the
county. . . .
(c) The applicationshall be accompaniedby a
fee of $500 fl,r the filing of any original
application,a photographof the applicant.and a
set of fingerprintsof the applicant taken by a
law enforcement,xFficer
designatedby the board.
. . . .
(e) A hearins shallbe held on the application
after the board conductsthe inquiriesrequiredby
Subsection(d) of this section.. . .
And finally, subsection9(a) of the act govetilng refusal to
grant, suspension,and rlrlocationof licenses provides that "[alo
license may be issued to any person who has not complied with the
requirementsof this [a]ct for applying for an original or renewal
license."
The act simply does not authorizethe board to permit the sort of
substitutionabout which you inquire. Article 2372p-3,V.T.C.S.,was
enacted for the purpose oE licensingand regulatingbail bondsmen in
certain counrtes. Pursu;intto that end. the statute created at
section 5(a) county bail bond boards in such counties and conferred
upon them certainpowers. See generallyBexar County Bail Bond Board
v. Dcckard,604 S.W.2d 214, 216 (Tex.Civ. App. - San Antonio 1980, no
writ); Attorney General Opinions JM-251 (1984); IN-507 (1982).
Generally,the powers of sn administrative agency arc derivedentirely
from legislativeenactment. Corzeliusv. Railroad Commission, 182
S.W.2d 412, 415 (Tex. Civ. App. - Austin 1944, no writ). An agency
p. 2155
Eenry Wade - Page 34 (JM-471)
Plonorable
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. expressly conferredon it by stature,
Stauffe; v. City of San Antonio,
-- 344 S.W.2d 158, 160 (Tax. 1961).
togetherwith those powers uecessarilyimpliedfrom powers and duties
expressly given'or lmpos~cd. City of Sherman v. Public Utility
Commissionof Texas, 643 S.W.2d 681, 686 (Tex. 1983).
There is no provisionin the act which limitsthe length of time
a licensee may serve as a corporate agent; no re-applicationfor
designationas agent is required. Nor does the act limit the number
of persons who may be designated as agents by a corporate surety.
Subsection7(c) requiresonly that any person designatedas an agent
be also a licensee. The itc:t,though, limits the length of time for
which a license may be vrtlid,specificallyproviding in subsection
8(a) that a licensewill errpire24 months from its date of Issuance.
There is no provisionin tie act which expresslyor impliedlypermits
the substitutionon a licer;scof one person'sname for another.
An applicant for lice~asingor renewal is required to provide
detailed informationabout the applicant'sfinancialstatus, letters
of recommendation, and a set of fingerprints. Sec. 6. The required
Informationis used to dezermine whether the applicantis qualified
for licensing. The licensingprocedure includesa hearing in which
the applicantparticipates. In view of the detailedscrutinyof the
applicant's personal qualifications for licensing which article
2372p-3requires,it is clear that the legislaturedid not Intend that
the countybail bond board could substitutethe name of an unlicensed
person on a licensepreviouslyissued to anotherperson. Accordingly,
we answer your questionin the negative.
SUMMARY
Under article 2372p-3,V.T.C.S.,a countybail
bond board may not substitute the name of one
personnot yet lztcensedfor that of anotherperson
alreadylicensed.
JIM WATTOX
AttorneyGeneralof Texas
JACX EIGRTOWRR
First AssistantAttorneyGeneral
MARY KELLER
ExecutiveAssistantAttorneyGeneral
p. 2156
i
HonorableEenry Wade - Page Ii (JM-471)
ROBERT GRAY
SpecialAssistantAttorneyGeneral
RICK GILPIN
Chairman,Opinion Committee
Preparedby Jim Moellinger
AssistantAttorneyGeneral
p. 2157