TAPBA Annual Board of Directors and Membership Meeting was held on May 20th at the Music Road Hotel & Convention Center in Pigeon Forge, TN. During the meeting, President Charles White handed out The Director of the Year Award to Johnny Knowles and The President’s Award to David Sparks. Several other awards were passed out to members who have volunteered their time solving bail bond issues throughout the past year.
The ineffectiveness of pretrial release has been exposed and serious reform is needed in Santa Clara County. The Board approved a motion to donate $2,500 to Santa Clara County to lobby against pretrial release. A small victory here will trigger a response in the entire state of California and will help change the discourse nationwide.
During an open forum discussion, member Donnie Driver spoke to the board about introducing a bill that would require a bondsman to obtain a bail license through the State of Tennessee, therefore eliminating the Judge’s discretion to approve bondsman in his or her jurisdiction.
All Board Members in attendance received a folder containing several resources on fighting pretrial release. AIA’s materials included our On The Move newsletter, 10% Deposit Bail booklet and Pretrial Release Booklet. If you would like to receive hardcopies of AIA’s material that was included in this informational folder, please contact [email protected].