Revision
to the January Quarterly Meeting in Toledo.
Staybridge Suites
2300 Village Drive, Building #1800
Maumee, OH 43537
419-878-8999 (hotel front desk)
Board meeting & Regular meeting Friday, January 20th.
Board
Meeting 8:45 am
Regular Meeting 10 am - noon
OHIO
BAIL AGENTS ASSOCIATION
6TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Our 6th Annual Conference was held in
Columbus, Sept 22nd – 24th.
We
had a great line-up of speakers. We enjoyed good food, music and camaraderie
with our fellow agents and picked up CE credits at
the same time! It was a pleasure to see so many of you there. Thanks to
our sponsors for making this event happen. Also, a big thanks to Woody
Fox and Eddie Miller as well as to their staff for organizing this event.
Thanks to Mary Smith for all of her help, as well as to anyone else who
devoted their time and talents.
HB 86 was discussed. OBAA’s lobbyist Rick Baird, along with Senator
Bill Seitz were instrumental in the passage of this bill, which took effect
Sept. 29th, 2011. This was a victory for the bail industry. It forces
the court to notify the surety within 15 days after the declaration of
a forfeiture, and also increases the number of days for the surety to
show cause as to why judgment should not be entered against them. Senator
Seitz was also our first speaker. He already has some ideas on a “son
of HB 86”, which would target a new market of people who could utilize
our services. That would mean more business for the bail industry, and
that’s great news!! Thanks Senator Seitz for all of your help .
Our next speaker was Phil Pavarini. He is a licensed bondsman and private
investigator. His is currently running for the position of Cleveland Municipal
Court Clerk and states he would be more than happy to give up his license
if he wins the race. He commits to reducing long lines and wait time,
making records available to the public, processing cases promptly, updating
technology and stopping favoritism.
Following Phil was speaker Lori Tyack, Franklin County Municipal Court
Clerk. She is also the President of the Ohio Clerk’s Association.
Ms. Tyack was accompanied by Assistant Chief Deputy/Collections Mgr, Mike
Cherry. They have made some serious changes in their office, so bondsmen
are now on a level playing field. No more privileges for certain bondsmen.
Fair is fair… and that is a good thing!
We
couldn’t have a meeting without hearing from our friend, Attorney
Keith Blossard, from the Enforcement Division of ODI. Have you ever sent
his department a complaint about another agent/agency and wonder if it
has fallen on deaf ears? Well Keith says it hasn’t! He reminds us
that a statutory time frame needs to be followed when they receive a complaint.
They have to follow the laws and rules that are in place. In other words
…it’s a process and they take our complaints very seriously.
Their department has 8 enforcement agents who have to regulate over 297,000
resident & non-resident insurance agents and bail agents. This doesn’t
include agencies, underwriting companies and claim adjusters.
Day 2 we heard from Attorney Gary Rosenhoffer. He was hired by bondsman
Woody Fox who successfully filed suit against a municipal court clerk
who denied him of posting a surety bond on a 10% bond. A big thanks to
Woody for pursuing this matter! This was another victory for the bail
industry. Attorney Rosenhoffer went on to inform us of other helpful case
law and even suggested an amendment to the statute involving “remission
of funds”.
Click
here to see a page dedicated to our Sponsors and Contributors
As you have read, OBAA has been working hard for ALL bail agents…even those who are not members. Isn’t it time you join to help us with the fight? Please click on the membership tab and join today.
