Surety Bond News

South Dakota grain buyers are affected by a new bill relating to bankruptcy. The new bill, which is referred to as SB 53, authorizes grain buyers in bankruptcy proceedings to file alternative financial documents in the place of the present surety bond if a bond cannot be attained during this period of time. The present law authorizes alternative security should the surety hault writing surety bonds within the State or be insolvent. SB 53 became active upon enactment.

The state of South Dakota has enacted a new law titled SB 44. The new grain dealer law alters the amount of the surety bond required from grain dealers, now referred to as grain buyers under SB44. Under the former law, the required surety bond amount was $50,000. The new law establishes two license classifications for the grain buyers, Class A and B. The Class A and B bond requirement is based on a rolling average of the amount spent on grain by the license applicant in South Dakota in the last three calendar years. For novice grain buyers, the bond amount is based on their predicted purchases. Grain buyers with less than three years experience will have to figure out the average actual purchases for all of their past experience as a buyer to base the amount of their bond on. The bond is valid for all grain purchases and all of the grain buyer’s company locations.

For a Class A license:

For a Class B license: