Consumer protections: contracts and agreements to finance or secure a bail bond or immigration bond.

(1) Existing law requires a person engaged in a trade or business who negotiates primarily in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean, before entering into specified contracts or agreements, to deliver to the other party a translation of the contract or agreement in the language in which the contract or agreement was negotiated, including a loan or extension of credit secured other than by real property, or unsecured, for use primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. This bill would specify that "loan or extension of credit" includes a contract or agreement to finance or secure a bail bond or immigration bond for the release of a detained individual. (2) Existing law, the Consumers Legal Remedies Act, makes unlawful certain acts identified as unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices undertaken by a person in a transaction for the sale or lease of goods or services to a consumer, and defines "services" and "consumer" for purposes of those provisions. This bill would include within the definition of "services" the securing or financing of a bail bond or immigration bond for the release of an individual from detention and would define "consumer" to include an individual who, for the purpose of their release or another person's release from detention, seeks or acquires services to finance or secure a bail bond or immigration bond. (3) Existing law, the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, prohibits debt collectors from engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the collection of consumer debts and defines "consumer debt" and "consumer credit" for purposes of that act. This bill would include within the definition of "consumer debt" money owing from a transaction for services to finance or secure a bail bond or immigration bond for the release of a detained individual. (4) Existing law requires a creditor to deliver to a person a specified notice before the person is obligated on a consumer credit contract, and defines "consumer credit contract" for those purposes to include loans or extensions of credit secured by other than real property, or unsecured, for use primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. This bill would specify that "loans or extensions of credit" includes an agreement or contract between an individual and another party to finance or secure a bail bond or immigration bond for the release of an individual from detention. (5) The bill would state that all of the changes specified above are declaratory of existing law, would make a legislative finding and declaration to this effect, and would also make other legislative findings and declarations relating to bail bonds and immigration bonds.