[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1637 Reported in Senate (RS)]





                                                       Calendar No. 582

105th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1637

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To expedite State review of criminal records of applicants for bail 
        enforcement officer employment, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           September 17, 1998

                       Reported with an amendment





                                                       Calendar No. 582
105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1637

  To expedite State review of criminal records of applicants for bail 
        enforcement officer employment, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 12, 1998

  Mr. Torricelli (for himself and Mr. Kohl) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

                           September 17, 1998

                Reported by Mr. Hatch, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To expedite State review of criminal records of applicants for bail 
        enforcement officer employment, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Bounty Hunter 
Accountability and Quality Assistance Act of 1998''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Congress finds that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) bail enforcement officers, also known as 
        bounty hunters or recovery agents, provide law enforcement 
        officers with valuable assistance in recovering fugitives from 
        justice;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) regardless of the differences in their duties, 
        skills, and responsibilities, the public has had difficulty in 
        discerning the difference between law enforcement officers and 
        bail enforcement officers;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) the American public demands the employment of 
        qualified, well-trained bail enforcement officers as an 
        adjunct, but not a replacement for, law enforcement officers; 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) in the course of their duties, bail 
        enforcement officers often move in and affect interstate 
        commerce.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    In this Act--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the term ``bail enforcement employer'' means 
        any person that--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) employs 1 or more bail enforcement 
                officers; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) provides, as an independent 
                contractor, for consideration, the services of 1 or 
                more bail enforcement officers (which may include the 
                services of that person);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the term ``bail enforcement officer''--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) means any person employed to obtain 
                the recovery of any fugitive from justice who has been 
                released on bail; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) does not include any--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) law enforcement 
                        officer;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) attorney, accountant, or 
                        other professional licensed under applicable 
                        State law;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) employee whose duties are 
                        primarily internal audit or credit functions; 
                        or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) member of the Armed Forces on 
                        active duty; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) the term ``law enforcement officer'' means a 
        public servant authorized under applicable State law to conduct 
        or engage in the prevention, investigation, prosecution, or 
        adjudication of criminal offenses, including any public servant 
        engaged in corrections, parole, or probation 
        functions.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. BACKGROUND CHECKS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Submission.--An association of bail 
        enforcement employers, which shall be designated for the 
        purposes of this section by the Attorney General, may submit to 
        the Attorney General fingerprints or other methods of positive 
        identification approved by the Attorney General, on behalf of 
        any applicant for a State license or certificate of 
        registration as a bail enforcement officer or a bail 
        enforcement employer.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Exchange.--In response to a submission under 
        paragraph (1), the Attorney General may, to the extent provided 
        by State law conforming to the requirements of the second 
        paragraph under the heading ``Federal Bureau of Investigation'' 
        and the subheading ``Salaries and Expenses'' in title II of 
        Public Law 92-544 (86 Stat. 1115), exchange, for licensing and 
        employment purposes, identification and criminal history 
        records with the State governmental agencies to which the 
        applicant has applied.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Regulations.--The Attorney General may promulgate such 
regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section, including 
measures relating to the security, confidentiality, accuracy, use, and 
dissemination of information submitted or exchanged under subsection 
(a) and to audits and recordkeeping requirements relating to that 
information.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to the 
Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of 
Representatives a report on the number of submissions made by the 
association of bail enforcement employers under subsection (a)(1), and 
the disposition of each application to which those submissions 
related.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) State Participation.--It is the sense of Congress that 
each State should participate, to the maximum extent practicable, in 
any exchange with the Attorney General under subsection 
(a)(2).</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. MODEL GUIDELINES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall publish in the 
Federal Register model guidelines for the State control and regulation 
of persons employed or applying for employment as bail enforcement 
officers.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Recommendations.--The guidelines published under 
subsection (a) shall include recommendations of the Attorney General 
regarding whether a person seeking employment as a bail enforcement 
officer should be--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) allowed to obtain such employment if that 
        person has been convicted of a felony offense under Federal 
        law, or of any offense under State law that would be a felony 
        if charged under Federal law;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) required to obtain adequate liability 
        insurance for actions taken in the course of performing duties 
        pursuant to employment as a bail enforcement officer; 
        or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) prohibited, if acting in the capacity of that 
        person as a bail enforcement officer, from entering any private 
        dwelling, unless that person first knocks on the front door and 
        announces the presence of 1 or more bail enforcement 
        officers.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Byrne Grant Preference for Certain States.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--Section 505 of title I of the 
        Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
        3755) is amended by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(e) Preference for Certain States.--Notwithstanding any 
other provision of this part, in making grants to States under this 
subpart, the Director shall give priority to States that have adopted 
the model guidelines published under section 5(a) of the Bounty Hunter 
Accountability and Quality Assistance Act of 1998.''.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by 
        paragraph (1) shall take effect 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 6. JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY FOR ACTIVITIES OF BAIL 
              ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a bail 
enforcement officer, whether acting as an independent contractor or as 
an employee of a bail enforcement employer on a bail bond, shall be 
considered to be the agent of that bail enforcement employer for the 
purposes of that liability.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bounty Hunter Accountability and 
Quality Assistance Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) bounty hunters, also known as bail enforcement officers 
        or recovery agents, provide law enforcement officers and the 
        courts with valuable assistance in recovering fugitives from 
        justice;
            (2) regardless of the differences in their duties, skills, 
        and responsibilities, the public has had difficulty in 
        discerning the difference between law enforcement officers and 
        bounty hunters;
            (3) the availability of bail as an alternative to the 
        pretrial detention or unsecured release of criminal defendants 
        is important to the effective functioning of the criminal 
        justice system;
            (4) the safe and timely return to custody of fugitives who 
        violate bail contracts is an important matter of public safety, 
        as is the return of any other fugitive from justice;
            (5) bail bond agents are widely regulated by the States, 
        whereas bounty hunters are largely unregulated;
            (6) the public safety requires the employment of qualified, 
        well-trained bounty hunters; and
            (7) in the course of their duties, bounty hunters often 
        move in and affect interstate commerce.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``bail bond agent'' means any person licensed 
        by a State to underwrite or issue a bond to secure the release 
        of a criminal defendant pending judicial proceedings, unless 
        such person also is self-employed to obtain the recovery of any 
        fugitive from justice who has been released on bail;
            (2) the term ``bounty hunter''--
                    (A) means any person whose services are engaged, 
                either as an independent contractor or as an employee 
                of a bounty hunter employer, to obtain the recovery of 
                any fugitive from justice who has been released on 
                bail; and
                    (B) does not include any--
                            (i) law enforcement officer acting under 
                        color of law;
                            (ii) attorney, accountant, or other 
                        professional licensed under applicable State 
                        law;
                            (iii) employee whose duties are primarily 
                        internal audit or credit functions;
                            (iv) person while engaged in the 
                        performance of official duties as a member of 
                        the Armed Forces on active duty (as defined in 
                        section 101(d)(1) of title 10, United States 
                        Code); or
                            (v) bail bond agent;
            (3) the term ``bounty hunter employer''--
                    (A) means any person that--
                            (i) employs 1 or more bounty hunters; or
                            (ii) provides, as an independent 
                        contractor, for consideration, the services of 
                        1 or more bounty hunters (which may include the 
                        services of that person); and
                    (B) does not include any bail bondsman; and
            (4) the term ``law enforcement officer'' means a public 
        officer or employee authorized under applicable Federal or 
        State law to conduct or engage in the prevention, 
        investigation, prosecution, or adjudication of criminal 
        offenses, including any public officer or employee engaged in 
        corrections, parole, or probation functions, or the recovery of 
        any fugitive from justice.

SEC. 4. MODEL GUIDELINES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall develop model 
guidelines for the State control and regulation of persons employed or 
applying for employment as bounty hunters. In developing such 
guidelines, the Attorney General shall consult with organizations 
representing--
            (1) State and local law enforcement officers;
            (2) State and local prosecutors;
            (3) the criminal defense bar;
            (4) bail bond agents;
            (5) bounty hunters; and
            (6) corporate sureties.
    (b) Recommendations.--The guidelines developed under subsection (a) 
shall include recommendations of the Attorney General regarding 
whether--
            (1) a person seeking employment as a bounty hunter should--
                    (A) be required to submit to a fingerprint-based 
                criminal background check prior to entering into the 
                performance of duties pursuant to employment as a 
                bounty hunter; or
                    (B) not be allowed to obtain such employment if 
                that person has been convicted of a felony offense 
                under Federal or State law;
            (2) bounty hunters and bounty hunter employers should be 
        required to obtain adequate liability insurance for actions 
        taken in the course of performing duties pursuant to employment 
        as a bounty hunter; and
            (3) State laws should provide--
                    (A) for the prohibition on bounty hunters entering 
                any private dwelling, unless the bounty hunter first 
                knocks on the front door and announces the presence of 
                1 or more bounty hunters; and
                    (B) the official recognition of bounty hunters from 
                other States.
    (c) Effect on Bail.--The guidelines published under subsection (a) 
shall include an analysis of the estimated effect, if any, of the 
adoption of the guidelines by the States on--
            (1) the cost and availability of bail; and
            (2) the bail bond agent industry.
    (d) Byrne Grant Preference for Certain States.--
            (1) In general.--Section 505 of title I of the Omnibus 
        Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755) is 
        amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Preference for Certain States.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of this part, in making grants to States under this subpart, 
the Director shall give priority to States that have adopted the model 
guidelines developed under section 4(a) of the Bounty Hunter 
Accountability and Quality Assistance Act of 1998.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall take effect 2 years after the date of enactment of this 
        Act.
    (e) No Regulatory Authority.--Nothing in this section may be 
construed to authorize the promulgation of any Federal regulation 
relating to bounty hunters, bounty hunter employers, or bail bond 
agents.
    (f) Publication of Guidelines.--The Attorney General shall publish 
model guidelines developed pursuant to subsection (a) in the Federal 
Register.