WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bail bondsmen and bail insurance companies are speaking out against a measure that would allow victims of rogue bounty hunters to sue their pursuers, saying it will "financially decimate their companies."
The bill "will create such a virtual deluge of new litigation as to render these service providers incapable of continuing," Jerry Watson of the National Association of Bail Insurance Companies, told the House Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution.But Rep. Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., said the measure, which he authored, would give more protection to victims.
"This is truly a problem national in scope," Hutchinson said Thursday.
Bounty hunters don't work for police or courts; they instead work for private bondsmen, who post bail for suspected criminals pending a court appearance. When a suspect jumps bail, the bondsman hires a bounty hunter to find and return the suspect.
But complaints have arisen about heavy-handed behavior by bounty hunters.
Provisions of Hutchinson's bill would also require bounty hunters who cross state lines to report their intentions to local law enforcement authorities and require the attorney general to develop model guidelines that state legislatures can consider enacting to regulate bounty hunting.
An exception to liability is provided when a bail agent hires a licensed bounty hunter or private investigator.
"The Bounty Hunter Responsibility Act fulfills an important public safety goal -- namely keeping innocent citizens safe from the abusive actions of rogue bounty hunters," Hutchinson said.
Rep. Charles Canady, R-Fla. the subcommittee chairman, said he hoped the Hutchinson bill would "afford unsuspecting victims of rogue bounty hunters and bail bondsmen a federal remedy when their civil rights have been infringed."
Laws aimed at regulating bounty hunters have cropped up in more than a dozen states, including Arizona, Mississippi, New Hampshire and Texas.
Bail bondsmen said they supported leaving the matter up to the states. "Regulate the bounty hunters at the state level or prohibit bounty hunters altogether," said Armando Roche, president of the Professional Bail Agents of the United States.