KP-0272
Ken Paxton
Summary
Subsection 1704.304(c) of the Occupations Code prohibits a bail bond surety from soliciting business in a police station, jail, prison, detention facility, or other place of detainment for persons in the custody of law enforcement. Based on the description provided, a court would likely conclude that a signboard installed inside a jail facility by a third party providing information about available bail bond services does not amount to a solicitation and is therefore not prohibited under subsection 1704.304(c).
The First Amendment does not impose any duty on a public official with control over a detention facility to provide a public forum for third-party contractors to install and maintain an informational signboard in the facility.