Black v. Dallas County Bail Bond Board

In Black v. Dallas County Bail Bond Board, 882 S.W.2d 434 (Tex. App.--Dallas 1994, no writ), the board adopted a rule requiring bondsmen to pay all necessary and reasonable expenses incurred by the Sheriff's Department relating to the rearrest of a defendant whose bond had been forfeited. Black, a bondsman, filed suit, alleging that the board had exceeded its rule-making authority because the Legislature had deleted from the Bail Bond Act a provision that expressly made a bondsman's failure to pay rearrest costs a grounds for the suspension of his license. Id. at 438. Black argued that the change in the statute preempted the board's authority to adopt the rearrest rule. Id. The Black court held that "the broad grant of authority to supervise and regulate all phases of the bonding business impliedly authorizes the Board to enact rules on any phase of the business." Id. at 439.