§1574. Bail Bond Apprentice Program

            A.(1) The Bail Bond Apprentice Program is hereby created.

            (2) The Bail Bond Apprentice Program shall be available only to persons who meet current bail bond producer licensing requirements as provided for in this Chapter and who are not sexual offenders or serial sexual offenders as defined in R.S. 15:536.

            (3) All persons entering the Bail Bond Apprentice Program shall register with the commissioner at least ten days prior to beginning the program. Registration shall consist of filing with the commissioner a properly completed form prescribed by the commissioner. The information required on such form from each apprentice shall include but shall not be limited to each of the following:

            (a) The name, home address, and telephone number of the registrant.

            (b) The date of birth and social security number of the registrant.

            (c) The date the prospective apprentice shall commence training in the Bail Bond Apprentice Program.

            (d) The name, address, and license number of the supervising licensed bail bond producer.

            (4) Apprentices shall complete eight hours of instruction in applicable underwriting principles, state laws, and regulations, and ethical practices before the end of the apprenticeship program. The instruction shall be conducted by one of the following:

            (a) An insurance trade association.

            (b) An insurance company admitted to do business in Louisiana.

            (c) An accredited public or private college or university.

            (5) The registrant and supervising bail bond producer shall notify the commissioner of any changes to the registration information within fifteen days of the effective date of the change.

            (6) The supervising bail bond producer shall notify the commissioner of the termination of an incomplete apprenticeship within fifteen days of the termination.

            B. The Bail Bond Apprentice Program shall consist of three consecutive months of employment by a Department of Insurance licensed bail bond producer. The apprentice shall be supervised by the producer during the three-month period and work for no less than twenty-four hours per week. The apprentice shall observe the bail bond producer, perform every phase of the bail bond business, and shall perform duties in every phase of the bail bond business except for the solicitation, negotiation, quotation of fees, and the execution of a bail bond.

            C. The supervising bail bond producer shall maintain records to support that the apprentice has worked the required number of hours. For each apprentice, these records shall include pay stubs and time sheets. Time sheets shall contain the number of hours worked, the specific functions performed, and the date and time of the performance of those functions. These records shall be made available for examination and review to the Department of Insurance upon request.

            D.(1) Upon completion of the required three months of work experience, without expulsion, the apprentice and the supervising bail bond producer shall certify, on a form provided by the Department of Insurance, that the apprentice has completed all of the requirements of the apprentice program. This form shall be a notarized sworn affidavit, completed under penalty of perjury.

            (2) No person shall be permitted to sit for an examination as a bail bond producer until completion of this apprenticeship program and until the required certification of the completion has been submitted to the Department of Insurance along with the required application for testing and licensure.

            (3) An apprenticeship shall terminate if not completed within six months of the date of initial registration.

            E. The program created by the provisions of this Section shall be subject to the provisions of this Title, and nothing in this Section shall be interpreted to permit the payment of commissions to an unlicensed producer.

            Acts 2010, No. 731, §1; Acts 2011, No. 94, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2012; Acts 2012, No. 89, §1; Acts 2018, No. 100, §1; Acts 2020, No. 139, §1; Acts 2022, No. 273, §1, eff. June 3, 2022.