Surety Bond News

Legislators in Nebraska have enacted a new law affecting conservators. The new law, which is named LB 157, changes the surety bond requirement for conservators. LB 157 states that a bond is only needed for estates worth more than $10,000. The new law will become effective January 1, 2012.

Commodity dealers in the state of Montana must follow new surety bond requirements. The new bill is titled SB 74 and requires supplementary bonds in order to get a commodities dealer’s license. The additional bond amount is $2,000 for each $1,000 that the dealer’s equity is less than $50,000 or $2,000 for each $1,000 that the dealer’s current liabilities surpass their assets. SB 74 became effective July 1, 2011.

Missouri State has put forth new legislation this summer concerning grain dealers. The new law is named SB 356/HB 458 and it changes the surety bond required of grain dealers. The previous legislation required at least a $20,000 bond and could not surpass $300,000. Due to a the biggest grain dealer fraud scheme in Missouri history, the new law boosts the minimum bond amount to $50,000 and the maximum bond amount to $600,000. SB 356/HB 458 also requires dealers to sustain assets equivalent to 100% of its liabilities. Should a dealer have a negative working capital, the new legislation allows dealers to obtain a bigger bond to compensate for the deficiency.

The interest in green energy still seems to be at its peak. A large wind farm is in the works to be built in Illinois but once the wind farm has served its purpose, time and money must be used to remove it for the environments sake; a surety bond will ensure that this happens.
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Members of the Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology must obtain larger bonds as a result of new legislation. The bill, which is labeled SB 2766, boosts the minimum surety bond amount required of the members from $5,000 to $10,000. The new bill became effective July 1, 2011.