AB 1927

AB1927:v95#DOCUMENT

Bill Start

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1927

An act to add Article 5.6 (commencing with Section 1299.30) to Chapter 1 of Title 10 of Part 2 of Section 538j to the Penal Code, relating to bail.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1927, as amended, Krell. Bail Consumer Protection Act.

Existing law generally regulates the business of insurance in the state, including the conduct of insurance licensees, and provides for the issuance of bail licenses under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Commissioner. Existing regulations generally prohibit the solicitation of bail except after a bona fide request for bail services has been received from the arrestee or from another specified person.

Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to impersonate certain personnel, including a law enforcement officer or an officer or member of a fire department, with the intent of fraudulently impersonating such a person, or of fraudulently inducing the belief that they are such a person.

This bill, the Bail Consumer Protection Act, would prohibit a bail agent or impersonator from engaging in unauthorized solicitation of bail to any family member or known contact of an arrested individual for the purpose of engaging the recipient in bail bond services, as specified. The bill would provide that the prohibition does not apply in certain circumstances, including when the communication to a family member or known contact is in response to a voluntary inquiry or bona fide request for bail bond services initiated by that family member or known contact. The bill would prescribe civil penalties, enforceable by the Attorney General or any public prosecutor. The bill would define terms for purposes of the act. make it a misdemeanor for any person to willfully impersonate, or falsely hold themselves out to be, a licensed bail agent, and while doing so solicits or attempts to solicit bail from any individual. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOYES

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Bail Consumer Protection Act.

SEC. 2.Article 5.6 (commencing with Section 1299.30) is added to Chapter 1 of Title 10 of Part 2 of the Penal Code, to read:

5.6.Bail Consumer Protection

1299.30.

For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:

(a)“Arrested individual” means a person who has been taken into custody by a law enforcement agency on suspicion of committing a criminal offense.

(b)“Bail agent” means any person licensed or required to be licensed under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 1800) of Part 2 of Division 1 of the Insurance Code to engage in the business of bail for the release of persons from custody, including any licensed or unlicensed person or entity acting at the direction or on behalf of a bail agent.

(c)“Family member” means a spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or other person related by blood, marriage, or adoption to the arrested individual, or any person identified in public records or arrest notifications as a known emergency contact or cohabitant of the arrested individual.

(d)“Impersonator” means any person or entity impersonating a bail agent or government law enforcement agency for the purpose of engaging in the unauthorized solicitation of bail as defined in subdivision (f).

(e)“Known contact” means any person identified in the arrested individual’s booking records, emergency contact information, or other publicly available arrest-related data as a potential point of contact for the arrested individual.

(f)“Unauthorized solicitation of bail” means any telephone call, text, email, or other form of communication to an arrestee, an arrestee’s family, or adult personal contacts initiated by a bail agent or impersonator to solicit the purchase of bail where the recipient has not previously requested bail services.

1299.31.

(a)A bail agent or impersonator shall not engage in unauthorized solicitation of bail to any family member or known contact of an arrested individual for the purpose of engaging the recipient in bail bond services related to a person that has been arrested.

(b)Subdivision (a) applies regardless of whether the bail agent or impersonator obtained the personal information of the family member or known contact from public records, arrest booking information, or any other source. Subdivision (a) does not apply to either of the following:

(1)Communication to any family member or known contact in response to a voluntary inquiry or bona fide request for bail bond services initiated by the same family member or known contact.

(2)Communications through written advertisements or publicly accessible websites, if the communications do not target specific family members or known contacts without consent.

(c)(1)A first violation of this section shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each unauthorized solicitation of bail.

(2)A second or subsequent violation shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each unauthorized solicitation of bail.

(d)The Attorney General or any public prosecutor may investigate complaints, impose penalties, and seek injunctive relief for violations of this section.

SEC. 3.

The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

SEC. 2.

Section 538j is added to the Penal Code, to read:

538j. (a) Any person who willfully impersonates, or falsely holds themselves out to be, a licensed bail agent, and while doing so solicits or attempts to solicit bail from any individual, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.(b) For purposes of this section, the following apply:(1) “Licensed bail agent” means a person licensed pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 1800) of Part 2 of Division 1 of the Insurance Code.(2) “Solicit” includes, but is not limited to, phone calls, robocalls, text messages, emails, and in-person communications.(c) The penalties provided in this section are cumulative and do not restrict the application of any other law, including any criminal penalties that may be imposed for any theft or for a violation of Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 1800) of Part 2 of Division 1 of the Insurance Code.

SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.