I

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1637

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 8, 1998

Referred to the Committee on Judiciary

AN ACT

To expedite State review of criminal records of applicants

for bail enforcement officer employment, and for other

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bounty Hunter Ac5 countability and Quality Assistance Act of 1998’’.
2

S 1637 RFH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) bounty hunters, also known as bail enforce4 ment officers or recovery agents, provide law en5 forcement officers and the courts with valuable as6 sistance in recovering fugitives from justice;

7 (2) regardless of the differences in their duties,

8 skills, and responsibilities, the public has had dif9 ficulty in discerning the difference between law en10 forcement officers and bounty hunters;

11 (3) the availability of bail as an alternative to

12 the pretrial detention or unsecured release of crimi13 nal defendants is important to the effective function14 ing of the criminal justice system;

15 (4) the safe and timely return to custody of fu16 gitives who violate bail contracts is an important

17 matter of public safety, as is the return of any other

18 fugitive from justice;

19 (5) bail bond agents are widely regulated by the

20 States, whereas bounty hunters are largely unregu21 lated;

22 (6) the public safety requires the employment of

23 qualified, well-trained bounty hunters; and

24 (7) in the course of their duties, bounty hunters

25 often move in and affect interstate commerce.
3

S 1637 RFH

1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this Act—

3 (1) the term ‘‘bail bond agent’’ means any re4 tail seller of a bond to secure the release of a crimi5 nal defendant pending judicial proceedings, unless

6 such person also is self-employed to obtain the recov7 ery of any fugitive from justice who has been re8 leased on bail;

9 (2) the term ‘‘bounty hunter’’—

10 (A) means any person whose services are

11 engaged, either as an independent contractor or

12 as an employee of a bounty hunter employer, to

13 obtain the recovery of any fugitive from justice

14 who has been released on bail; and

15 (B) does not include any—

16 (i) law enforcement officer acting

17 under color of law;

18 (ii) attorney, accountant, or other pro19 fessional licensed under applicable State

20 law;

21 (iii) employee whose duties are pri22 marily internal audit or credit functions;

23 (iv) person while engaged in the per24 formance of official duties as a member of

25 the Armed Forces on active duty (as de-
4

S 1637 RFH

1 fined in section 101(d)(1) of title 10,

2 United States Code); or

3 (v) bail bond agent;

4 (3) the term ‘‘bounty hunter employer’’—

5 (A) means any person that—

6 (i) employs 1 or more bounty hunters;

7 or

8 (ii) provides, as an independent con9 tractor, for consideration, the services of 1

10 or more bounty hunters (which may in11 clude the services of that person); and

12 (B) does not include any bail bond agent;

13 and

14 (4) the term ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ means

15 a public officer or employee authorized under appli16 cable Federal or State law to conduct or engage in

17 the prevention, investigation, prosecution, or adju18 dication of criminal offenses, including any public of19 ficer or employee engaged in corrections, parole, or

20 probation functions, or the recovery of any fugitive

21 from justice.

22 SEC. 4. MODEL GUIDELINES.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the

24 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall

25 develop model guidelines for the State control and regula-
5

S 1637 RFH

1 tion of persons employed or applying for employment as

2 bounty hunters. In developing such guidelines, the Attor3 ney General shall consult with organizations represent4 ing—

5 (1) State and local law enforcement officers;

6 (2) State and local prosecutors;

7 (3) the criminal defense bar;

8 (4) bail bond agents;

9 (5) bounty hunters; and

10 (6) corporate sureties.

11 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The guidelines developed

12 under subsection (a) shall include recommendations of the

13 Attorney General regarding whether—

14 (1) a person seeking employment as a bounty

15 hunter should—

16 (A) be required to submit to a fingerprint17 based criminal background check prior to enter18 ing into the performance of duties pursuant to

19 employment as a bounty hunter; or

20 (B) not be allowed to obtain such employ21 ment if that person has been convicted of a fel22 ony offense under Federal or State law;

23 (2) bounty hunters and bounty hunter employ24 ers should be required to obtain adequate liability in25 surance for actions taken in the course of perform-
6

S 1637 RFH

1 ing duties pursuant to employment as a bounty

2 hunter; and

3 (3) State laws should provide—

4 (A) for the prohibition on bounty hunters

5 entering any private dwelling, unless the bounty

6 hunter first knocks on the front door and an7 nounces the presence of 1 or more bounty hunt8 ers; and

9 (B) the official recognition of bounty hunt10 ers from other States.

11 (c) EFFECT ON BAIL.—The guidelines published

12 under subsection (a) shall include an analysis of the esti13 mated effect, if any, of the adoption of the guidelines by

14 the States on—

15 (1) the cost and availability of bail; and

16 (2) the bail bond agent industry.

17 (d) NO REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this

18 section may be construed to authorize the promulgation

19 of any Federal regulation relating to bounty hunters,

20 bounty hunter employers, or bail bond agents.
7

S 1637 RFH

1 (e) PUBLICATION OF GUIDELINES.—The Attorney

2 General shall publish model guidelines developed pursuant

3 to subsection (a) in the Federal Register.

Passed the Senate October 7 (legislative day, October 2), 1998.

Attest: GARY SISCO,

Secretary.