17-19-111. Fees.

17-19-111. Fees. (a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, and notwithstanding any other provisions of Arkansas law to the contrary, a professional bail bond company, county sheriff, keeper of a jail, or other person authorized to take bond under § 16-84-102 is hereby required to charge, collect, and remit the following fees into the Bail Bondsman Board Fund for the support, personnel, maintenance, and operations of the Professional Bail Bond Company and Professional Bail Bondsman Licensing Board and for the Domestic Peace Fund administered by the Arkansas Child Abuse/Rape/Domestic Violence Commission, in addition to any other fees, taxes, premium taxes, levies, or other assessments imposed in connection with the issuance of bail bonds under Arkansas law. (b)(1) In addition to the bail or appearance bond premium or compensation allowed under § 17-19-301, each licensed professional bail bond company, county sheriff, keeper of a jail, or other person authorized to take bond under § 16-84-102 shall charge and collect as a nonrefundable fee for the Bail Bondsman Board Fund an additional fee of ten dollars ($10.00) per bail bond for giving bond for each bail and appearance bond issued by the licensed professional bail bond company, county sheriff, keeper of a jail, or other person authorized to take bond under § 16-84-102 by or through its individual licensees. (2) The fee shall be collected quarterly and then reported and filed with the board no later than fifteen (15) calendar days after the end of each quarter. (3) The notarized quarterly reporting form and a notarized annual reconciliation form as to all fees collected for the Bail Bondsman Board Fund shall be filed by each professional bail bond company on forms prescribed by the board and at the times and in the manner as the board shall prescribe in conformity with this section. (4) A paper-processing charge of fifteen dollars ($15.00) shall be collected on each bail bond in order to defray the surety's costs incurred by the quarterly and annual reporting requirements contained in this section and to further defray the surety's costs incurred in the collection of all fees due, owing, and collected on behalf of the Bail Bondsman Board Fund and the surety's costs incurred in the preparation of all required reports submitted in conformance with the standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. (c)(1) The board may grant an extension for the filing of the report and fees for good cause shown upon timely written request. (2) Absent an extension for good cause shown, each licensed professional bail bond company failing to report or pay these fees shall be liable to the Bail Bondsman Board Fund for a monetary penalty of one hundred dollars ($100) per day for each day of delinquency. (3) The board may pursue any appropriate legal remedies on behalf of the Bail Bondsman Board Fund to collect any delinquent fees and penalties. (d)(1) Upon collection of the fees and any monetary penalties, the board shall deposit or fund: (A) Sufficient fees and penalties directly into the Bail Bondsman Board Fund to provide for the personal services and operating expenses of the board; and (B) The remainder of all fees and penalties directly into the Domestic Peace Fund administered by the Arkansas Child Abuse/Rape/Domestic Violence Commission. (2) The fees and penalties shall be in addition to all other fees, licensure or registration fees, taxes, assessments, levies, or penalties payable to any federal or state office, court, agency, board, or commission or other public official or officer of the state, or its political subdivisions, including counties, cities, or municipalities, by a professional bail bond company, county sheriff, keeper of a jail, or other person authorized to take bond under § 16-84-102. (3)(A) Each bail bondsman is required to assist in collection of the fees but is exempt from the payment of the fees to the Bail Bondsman Board Fund unless he or she misappropriates or converts such moneys to his or her own use or to the use of others not entitled to the fees. (B) In that case, the board shall proceed on behalf of the Bail Bondsman Board Fund with any civil or criminal remedies at its disposal against the individual responsible. (C) Upon criminal conviction of the individual responsible for fraudulent conversion of the moneys due the Bail Bondsman Board Fund, the individual responsible shall pay restitution to the Bail Bondsman Board Fund, and the court shall incorporate a finding to that effect in its order. (D) Absent substantial evidence to the contrary, the violations by the individual may be attributed to the employing bail bond company, and any criminal or civil court may, in its discretion and upon substantial evidence, order the employing bail bond company to pay restitution to the Bail Bondsman Board Fund on behalf of the responsible individual and shall incorporate that finding into its order. (e) For purposes of any statutory security deposit Arkansas law requires of professional bail bond companies, including, but not limited to, the deposit under § 17-19-205, the payment of the fees required by this section is considered to be a duty of the licensee, so as to allow the board on behalf of the Bail Bondsman Board Fund to make a claim against any such deposit for the fees required by this section and any penalties owed on the fees, up to the limit of any security deposit. (f) Under no circumstances shall the fees or penalties held in or for deposit into the Bail Bondsman Board Fund be subject to any tax, levy, or assessment of any kind, including, but not limited to, bond forfeiture claims, garnishment or general creditors' claims, remedies under Title 16 of this Code, or other provisions of Arkansas law.