Surety Bond News

In many cases small businesses and federal construction jobs mix like water and oil; they avoid each other. The government seems to gravitate to larger contractors as they have relative ease getting bonded in standard surety markets. The small contractors avoid the government funded SBA (Small Business Administration) Bond Guarantee Program, which is in place to help bond them, because of how cumbersome the SBA program is when compared to standard surety. Something has got to give. (more…)

Surplus line brokers are affected by revised surety law in Rhode Island. The new law is named SB 758/HB 5953 and modifies the surety bond requirements for surplus line brokers so that it pertains only to resident surplus line brokers.

The State of Oregon enacted a new bill affecting motor carriers. The new law is titled SB 259 and states that provisions in motor carrier transportation contracts requiring party or their surety or insurer to indemnify or hold harmless the other party against accountability for death, injury, or damaged property caused by negligence are invalid.

New surety legislation provides an option for employers in Oklahoma State. The new law is named SB 878 and allows employers to act as self-insurers. Employers that choose to self-insure must obtain a surety bond. The Workers’ Compensation Court would establish the amount of the bond but must be at least equal to the average of yearly claims in the previous three years.

Green energy is here to stay and the state of Illinois is taking advantage of it via wind farms. Once the wind farms have served their point, they must be decommissioned or removed for the environment’s sake; surety bonds are one way to assure that it happens. (more…)