Who collects Louisiana's commercial bail bond premium fee when a defendant is booked into a city jail?

Plain-English summary

Rapides Parish Sheriff William Hilton asked in 2005 whether Louisiana's premium bond fee applied when a person was booked into a municipal jail, and who collected it. The Attorney General answered that the fee applied to commercial surety criminal bail bonds regardless of whether the charge went to city or district court. The parish sheriff collected and remitted the fee.

The opinion quoted LSA-R.S. 22: 1065.1: the commercial surety owed two dollars for each one hundred dollars of bond liability when presenting the appearance bond and power of attorney. Its conclusion followed that payment direction to the sheriff of the parish.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2005. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy.

Common questions

Did booking into a city jail avoid the premium bond fee?

No. The AG read the statute as covering commercial surety criminal bail bonds statewide and said the fee applied to the municipal-jail situation presented.

Who received the payment when the bond was presented?

The AG said the commercial surety paid the sheriff of the parish when it submitted the appearance bond and power of attorney. The opinion assigned collection and remittance to the sheriff.

Did prosecution in city court change that answer?

No. The opinion's syllabus said the sheriff's authority applied regardless of whether the offense was prosecuted in city or district court.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion interpreted the premium fee in La. R.S. 22:1065.1 and referred to an earlier Attorney General opinion on the same provision. The quoted law set the amount by bond liability and directed payment to the parish sheriff. The AG applied it to a municipal booking and did not identify a separate city collector.

Citations

• La. R.S. 22:1065.1 (commercial surety criminal bail bond premium fee).
• Act 1080 of 1999 (listed on the opinion's cover).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0207

Original opinion text

November 7, 2005
OPINION NO. 05-0207

Honorable William E. Hilton
8 Bonds - Surety
Sheriff Rapides Parish
54 Insurance
P.O. Box 1510
La. R.S. 22:1065.1, Act 1080 of 1999
Alexandria, LA 71309
Sheriff's authority, in collecting/remitting the two percent premium bond fee, is granted by LSA-RS 22:1065.1 regardless of whether the offense is prosecuted in city or
Dear Mr. Hilton: district court.

Your request for an Attorney General Opinion concerning LSA-R.S. 22: 1065.1, which provides for a two percent premium bond fee collection and remittance, has been forwarded to me for research and reply. Your questions are as follows:

1) Is the two percent premium bond fee collectible in the case of individuals booked into municipal jail facilities?

2) If so, who is responsible for the collection and remittance of the fee?

The answer to your first question was dealt with in La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 00-17 by looking directly to LSA-R.S. 22: 1065.1, which provides in part:

There shall be a fee on premium for all commercial surety underwriters who write criminal bail bonds in the State of Louisiana.
That fee shall be equal to two dollars for each one hundred dollars worth of liability underwritten by the commercial surety. (emphisis added)

The answer to the second part of your question is also provided for in La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 00-17 and LSA-R.S. 22: 1065.1 which provides in part.

In furtherance of the payment of this premium fee all commercial surety underwriting criminal bail bonds in the State of Louisiana shall, upon submitting the appearance bond and their power of attorney, simultaneously pay to the sheriff of the parish a fee of two dollars for each one hundred dollars worth of liability on the bail bond being presented for the release of a person on bail.(emphisis added)

To summarize, in answer to your questions; from the plain language of LSA-R.S. 22: 1065.1:

Page 2

William E. Hilton, Sheriff
OPINION 05-0207
Page 2

1) The 2% fee is to be collected on all bonds.
2) Only the Sheriff has the authority to collect and remit such fees.

Very truly yours,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: ________
ELLISON C. TRAVIS
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

ECT/eb/jy

Page 3

OPINION NO. 05-0207

8 Bonds - Surety
54 Insurance
La. R.S. 22:1065.1
Act 1080 of 1999

Sheriff's authority, in collecting/remitting the two percent premium bond fee, is granted by LSA-RS 22:1065.1 regardless of whether the offense is prosecuted in city or district court.

William E. Hilton
Sheriff, Rapides Parish
P. O. Box 1510
Alexander, LA 71309

Date Received:
Date Released: November 7, 2005

Ellison C. Travis
Assistant Attorney General