Surety Bond News

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.

The state of Oregon has enacted a new bill concerning manufactured structure dealers. The new bill is titled SB 85 and gets rid of the cap on the amount recoverable by anyone other than a retail customer on the surety bond that’s required of manufactured structure dealers. The previous law capped the recoverable amount at $20,000.

Legislators in Oregon have made some changes to the existing surety bond requirement concerning landscape contractors. The new bill which applies the change is titled HB 2156 and affects landscape contractors with $15,000 bonds; the surety bond will now guarantee backflow assembly testing services provided by employees of the contractor; the contractor’s installation and upkeep of backflow assemblies for irrigation systems or ornamental water features; and the installation of irrigation control wiring and outdoor landscape lighting.

HB 3624a is a new bill that was presented in the State of Oregon concerning real estate appraisal management companies. The new bill requires real estate appraisal management companies to register and attain a surety bond or letter of credit in the amount of $25,000. The surety bond is conditioned on the imbursement of all sums that arose for all individuals executing real estate appraisal services for the company and all funds owed as a result of a judgment opposing the company for negligent real estate appraisal actions which violates its contracts. The surety has the option to terminate the surety bond with 30 days of advance written notification.

New legislation was enacted in the State of Washington relating to mortgage loan servicers. The new law, which is labeled HB 2608, subjects mortgage loan servicers to the present licensing and bonding requirements for other mortgage loan professionals. For servicers, the surety bond must be in a minimum quantity of $30,000; which is calculated by the yearly dollar amount of loans serviced.