The Washington State Bail Agents Association (WSBAA) held their Spring Conference on April 8, 2010 in Shelton, Washington. This was an election year for members. Elected as the new President of this association is AIA agent, Jeremy Hubbard. Jeremy replaces long time President Holly Bishop, whose commitment and dedication to the bail industry has served the State of Washington and its agents well. We join all agents in extending our gratitude to Holly and our congratulations to Jeremy. We see great things ahead for the WSBAA. We congratulate Jeremy and all of the newly-elected officers: Vice President, Dave Regan, Jr; Secretary, Conrad Russell; Treasurer, Becky Magneson. Board members are Troy Hansen, Denny Behrend, Gary Marshall, and Holly Bishop.
The rest of the conference covered challenges facing the bail industry and the community at large. For example, agents are charging less than the 10% premium, which is required by WA law. An initiative is being introduced to deny bail to an individual who may commit a violent crime if released, as was the case in Lakewood, WA in which four police officers were killed by a man out on bail. Another initiative under way in the state is the creation of a Bail Task Force, which would review all aspects of bail and pretrial release and report the findings to the Washington State Supreme Court, the Governor and applicable committees of the legislature.
Agents were encouraged to get to know their local and state legislators. By doing so, they have an opportunity to educate them about bail bond agents and bail.
Kim Shomer, Attorney at Law, also talked about issues facing bail agents in Washington. This includes a rule imposed by the local judge which requires agents to have a physical office in Spokane County in order to write there. Representing 6 agents in this county, Kim has lobbied on their behalf to the judge, claiming that as long as agents are handling the bail law appropriately, it should not matter where they are located. She is awaiting the judge’s decision She is also lobbying against judges charging fees to exonerate bonds, only giving 30 days to surrender a defendant (instead of the 60 days as in the state statutes), and courts retaining 50% of the bond amount after payment and the defendant has been returned to court.
In a statement to all of his supporters, Jeremy wrote:
“First, I would like to thank everyone for their support. I would also like to thank Holly for his dedication to the industry we all know and love. I will be starting my push to educate the courts and build membership for the WSBAA next week in Seattle. I will be spending a week in each county. I will do my best to visit every bond company to see what we can do to help. I will also be visiting jails, judges, clerks, and anybody else who will see me in hopes of getting the message out that commercial bail is far superior to any other form of pretrial release. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please let me know. With a combination of our great members and great board, we can make a difference.”