Provides for the appointment of a bail bond producer. (8/1/26) (EG +$410,830 SG EX See Note)

Senate Bill 276 creates a new statutory requirement under Louisiana Revised Statutes 22:1558.1 governing the appointment of bail bond producers by insurance companies. The law requires that before a bail bond producer receives an appointment from an insurer, the producer must submit an affidavit to the insurance commissioner, signed under oath by both the producer and all former insurers, certifying that the producer owes no outstanding premiums or unsatisfied judgments to any insurer and that the producer agrees to discharge all outstanding forfeitures and judgments on bonds previously written. The affidavit must be in a form prescribed by the commissioner. If a bail bond producer fails to satisfy or discharge these outstanding forfeitures or judgments, a former insurer may submit a notice with supporting documents to the appointing insurer, the bail bond producer, and the commissioner within thirty days of receiving the affidavit, stating under oath that the producer failed to satisfy the obligations in a timely manner and that the former insurer has paid the forfeiture or judgment from its own funds.

Upon receipt of such a notice and supporting documents, the appointing insurer must immediately cancel the bail bond producer's appointment. Reappointment of that producer becomes possible only after the former insurer certifies that all outstanding forfeitures and judgments have been discharged. Both the appointing insurer and the bail bond producer have the right to appeal to the commissioner within ten days of receiving the notice and supporting documents from the former insurer. The commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act to implement and enforce the statute, including procedures for appeals and stays of its provisions.

This legislation operates within Louisiana's existing insurance regulatory framework codified in Title 22 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, which establishes the commissioner of insurance as the primary regulatory authority over insurance producers and their appointments. The bill creates a mechanism to ensure financial accountability within the bail bond industry by preventing producers with outstanding financial obligations to former insurers from obtaining new appointments without demonstrating full compliance with prior financial liabilities. The statutory scheme creates a notice-and-cancellation process that protects insurers from appointing producers with undischarged financial obligations while providing appellate recourse to both the appointing insurer and the producer through the commissioner, thereby operating within the constitutional framework of administrative procedure and regulatory due process applicable to licensing and appointment matters in Louisiana.