Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion, KP-0132

Andrews County attorney asked whether a reserve deputy sheriff may act as a surety on a bail bond and whether the sheriff may accept such a bond.
Andrews County is governed by Chapter 17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (not Occupations Code chapter 1704), which sets basic eligibility and requisites for individual sureties.
Chapter 17 disqualifies felons, minors, and others but otherwise imposes few qualifications for individual sureties.
Reserve deputies are appointed by the sheriff, serve at the sheriff’s discretion, and when on duty have the same rights, privileges, and duties as other peace officers; the sheriff may limit their authority.
Local Government Code chapter 171 addresses conflicts of interest for local public officials, but its prohibitions on acting as surety target official bonds or surety for business entities, not individual sureties on bail bonds.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
1) May a reserve deputy sheriff sign as surety on bail bonds in the county where the deputy serves?	Requester: Reserve deputy should be allowed if statutory eligibility in Chapter 17 is met.	AG: If deputy meets Chapter 17 eligibility, nothing in statute bars acting as surety.	Held: Yes—if the reserve deputy satisfies Chapter 17 requirements, nothing in law prohibits acting as a surety.
2) May a sheriff accept a bail bond that lists a reserve deputy as surety?	Requester: Sheriff should be able to accept such bonds if statutory prerequisites met.	AG: Chapter 17 allows sheriffs to accept bonds for misdemeanors and felonies; no statutory bar if prerequisites satisfied.	Held: Yes—sheriff may accept such a bond so long as Chapter 17 requisites and surety eligibility are met.
3) Do other laws (e.g., Local Government Code ch. 171) prohibit a reserve deputy from acting as surety or a sheriff from accepting such a bond?	Requester: Potential conflict-of-interest concerns could bar it.	AG: Chapter 171 prohibits surety for official bonds or surety for business entities contracting with government, but not individual sureties on bail bonds.	Held: No—chapter 171 does not bar a reserve deputy from acting as surety for an individual bail bond; caution advised to avoid using official authority to enforce private interests.

Erwin v. Bowman, 51 Tex. 513 (1879) (public policy bars sheriff from using official power to enforce personal benefits—cited by analogy to caution against law enforcement using office to enforce personal financial interests)
Castaneda v. Gonzales, 985 S.W.2d 500 (Tex. App.-Corpus Christi 1998) (distinguishes applicability of Occupations Code chapter regulating bail bond sureties vs. Code of Criminal Procedure chapter 17 for counties below population threshold)