Surety Bond News

Utah legislatures seem to be trimming off quite a few surety bond requirements for various state officials. The officials that no longer need bonds to work legally include the treasurer of the regional grazing boards, employees of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission; the Labor Commissioner and the Labor Commission’s employees; the adjutant general, the property and fiscal officers of the United States for the Utah National Guard; the business administrator including other appointed board officers of a local school board; the Transportation Commission; the Utah Insurance Commissioner and employees of the Insurance Department; officers of the State militia; the officers and employees of the Division of Finance; employees of the Division of Fleet Operations and Administration of State Motor Vehicles; the State Auditor; and the Attorney General. Hopefully the termination of all of these public official bonds doesn’t backfire on the state since the individuals in the list above are no longer required to be covered by a surety bond which in the end is meant to protect public money.

HB 366 is a new bill that was presented in Utah State concerning pawn brokers. The new bill requires pawn brokers that sell, trade, or pawn motor vehicles as a function of their usual business practices to become licensed as a used motor vehicle dealer. HB 366 requires used motor vehicle dealers to acquire a surety bond to attain the license required under the newly enacted legislation for supplementary locations. HB 366 also requires a $75,000 surety bond in relation to a dealer’s license.

The State of Utah updated the current requirements that motor vehicle dealer’s must meet by introducing a new bill. The new bill is named HB 404 and expands the present requirements for a motor vehicle dealer’s surety bond; it must guarantee the cooperation with the present legislation, which requires payoff of liens on trade ins.

Ski resorts are affected by a new bill that was introduced in Utah State. The new bill, which is referred to as SB 187, requires ski resorts in the State to be licensed and to acquire a surety bond or cash in the quantity of $25,000. The surety bond is conditioned on fulfillment of the new bill and must stay active for the license term. Another separate surety bond will not be necessary for any of the resort’s sublicenses. The aggregate of any surety bonds that the resort licensee attains must provide coverage for each sublicense. Should the license be withdrawn, then the surety bond may be forfeited under SB 187.

Utah State presented a new bill relating to mortgage originators. The new bill is named HB 286 and inserts the federal definition of mortgage originators to a new segment in Utah law, and requires originators to be licensed and bonded to apply the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act. The Utah legislation includes minimal provisions to put the federal law in to practice. Legislation requires the banking commissioner to institute minimum surety bond requirements that mirror the dollar amount of the loans originated by the originator. Should the employer of the originator acquire a surety bond on behalf of the originator, the surety bond must cover the actions of the originator.