## The Attorney General of Texas April 9, 1986 JIM MAlTOX Attorney General

Supreme Court Building P. 0. BOX 12546 A”!dl”, TX. 7671% 2546 5121475.2501 Telex 910/674-1367 Telecopier 512l475-0266

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An Equal OpportunitYI Affirmative Action Employer Honorable Henry Wade District

Attorney Government

Center Dallas,Texas 75:!02 Opinion No.JM-471
Re: Whethera corporate surety way substltute an agent's name on a license without fulfilling the requirement

of a new application

for licensing
Dear Mr. Wade: The statute ,v'hich governs the licer~sing of bail bondsmen in certain counties, article 2372p-3, V.T.C.S., requires a corporate surety to designate a named agent of the corporation to execute

bail bonds on behalf of the licensed corporate

surety. A separate license, which Is valid for :24 months, is requiredfor each agent. You inform us that a corporatesurety licensed by the Dallas County Bail Bond Board desires to replace one of its designatedagents with a new agent, one not yet licensed. You wish to know whether the Dallas CountyBall Bond Boardmay permitthe newly designated agent's

name to be substituted

for that of the previouslydesignatedagent for the portionof the 24-month period remaining

on the previously

designated agent'slicense. Me answeryour questionin the negative. Subsection (,::I

of section 7 of' article 2372p-3, V.T.C.S.. governing

a corpor,%tion

actingas a surety, provides

the following: Any corporation

which acts as 8 surety shall, before errcuring

any bail bond, first file in the office c,fthe county clerk of the county where such bat:1bond is given a power of attorney designatLngand authorizingthe named agent of such corporationto execute such ball bonds by such agc!nt. This power of attorney shall be a valid and binding obligation of the corporation. A separ&e license is required for each agent operating

under a corporation power of attornay. (Emphasis

added). Subsection(a) of section8 governing the expiration

and renewal of a license

providesin part:

p. 2153Bonorable Aenry Wade - Page 2 (JM-471)

A license issued under this Act expires 24 months after the aate of its issuance and may not be renewed unless; an application

for renews1 is filed with the board at least 30 days before expiration. The application for renewal shall have the same fo:al and content as an application for an original license under this Act. The application

for renewalshallbe accompanied by a renewal fee of $530 Section 6 of the act governingapplication and issuance of a license sets forth very detailedand specificinformation disclosure requirements

and providesthe following in pertinent

part: 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* application

for 21license. The application shall 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 chartered or admittedto do business in this state and qualifiedto write fidelity, guaranty, and surety bonds under the Texas Insurance

Code, as amended; (2) The name underwhich the businessshallbe 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 intendsto convey in trust to the board to secure payment of any obligations incurred by the applicantin the bondingbusiness if the license is granted. The followingshall be included for each parcel llstcd: [Specific

requfrements] (5) A statement

indicating

the amount of cash or cash value of any certificate of deposit or cashier's checks which the applicant intends to ,

p. 2154Eonorable Eenry Wade - Page,

3 (JM-471)

place on deposit with the county treasurer to securepayment o:E

any obligations

incurred

by the applicantin the,bonding business if the license is granted; (6) A complete,

sworn financial

statement: (7) A declaration by the applicant that he till complywith this Act and the rulesprescribed by the board. (b) The applicationof an individual for a license under t'xts Act shall be accompanied by letters of reccmmendatlon from three reputable personswho have 'known the applicantfor a period of at least thr(!e years. If the applicantis a corporation,

the lettersshallbe requiredfor the person to be ir..charge of its business in the county. . . . (c) The application shallbe accompanied by a fee of $500 fl,r the filing of any original application,

a photograph

of the applicant.

and a set of fingerprints of the applicanttaken by a law enforcement

,xFficer designated

by the board.

. . . . (e) A hearins shallbe held on the application after the board conducts the inquiries

required

by Subsection(d) of this section.
. . . And finally, subsection9(a) of the act govetilngrefusal to grant, suspension, and rlrlocation

of licenses provides that "[alo licensemay be issued to any person who has not compliedwith the requirements

of this [a]ct for applying for an original or renewal license." The act simplydoes not authorize the board to permit the sort of substitution

about which you inquire. Article 2372p-3, V.T.C.S.,

was enacted for the purpose oE licensing and regulating

bail bondsmen in certain counrtes. Pursu;int to that end. the statute created at section5(a) county bail bond boards in such countiesand conferred upon them certainpowers. See generally Bexar CountyBail 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 agencyarc derivedentirely from legislativeenactment. Corzeliusv. Railroad Commission, 182 S.W.2d 412, 415 (Tex. Civ. App. - Austin 1944, no writ). An agency

p. 2155Plonorable EenryWade - Page 34 (JM-471)

.--- - - -, __-_. =__. -__ -- . **hnn nnlv**  **anrh anwcta**  **aa me**  expressly conferredon it by stature, Stauffe;v. City of San Antonio, 344 S.W.2d 158, 160 (Tax. 1961). -- together

with those powers uecessarily impliedfrom powers and duties expressly given'or lmpos~cd. City of Sherman v. Public Utility Commission

of Texas, 643 S.W.2d 681, 686 (Tex.1983). There is no provisionin the act which limitsthe length of time a licenseemay serve as a corporate agent; no re-application for designation

as agent is required. Nor does the act limit the number of persons who may be designatedas agents by a corporate surety. Subsection

7(c) requiresonly that any person designated as an agent be also a licensee. The itc:t, though, limits the length of time for which a licensemay be vrtlid, specifically

providing in subsection 8(a) that a license will errpire

24 months from its date of Issuance. There is no provisionin tie act which expressly or impliedly

permits the substitution

on a licer;sc

of one person's

name for another.
An applicant for lice~asing or renewal is required to provide detailedinformation about the applicant's financialstatus, letters of recommendation, and a set of fingerprints. Sec. 6. The required Information

is used to dezerminewhether the applicantis qualified for licensing. The licensingprocedure includesa hearing in which the applicant

participates. In view of the detailedscrutinyof the applicant's personal qualifications for licensing which article 2372p-3requires,

it is clear that the legislature did not Intend that the countybail bond board could substitute the name of an unlicensed person on a license previously

issuedto another

person. Accordingly, we answeryour 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 lztcensed for that of another person alreadylicensed.

JIM WATTOX Attorney

General

of Texas JACX EIGRTOWRR FirstAssistant

Attorney

General
MARY KELLER Executive

Assistant

AttorneyGeneral

p. 2156i Honorable Eenry Wade - Page Ii (JM-471)

ROBERTGRAY Special

Assistant

Attorney**General** RICK GILPIN Chairman,

OpinionCommittee Prepared

by Jim Moellinger Assistant

AttorneyGeneral

p. 2157