Lance Surety Bond Associates, Inc.

This requires contractors who are performing on construction contacts to have to subcontract any construction work outside the scope of its license to properly licensed construction contractors. They are also required to post a minimum of a $15,000 surety bond. Under current law a license bond based on the type of work and volume of the business is required. This pertains to the landscape contractor performs in an amount ranging from $3,000 to $15,000. This new bill would then require a new bond amount for landscape contractors performing on contractors outside the scope of their license.

License Bond – Towing Companies

The purpose of SB 570 would be to repeal the bond requirement for towing companies that tow vehicles from parking lots. Under current law a $20,000 bond must be posted to guarantee the payment of any liability incurred under the law.

HB 247: License Bond – Radon Mitigation Professionals

Under this bill radon mitigation professionals and radon measurement professionals will be regulated. These professionals will have to be certified and be able to post a $10,000 License and Permit Surety Bond. This bond will be conditioned on compliance with the proposed law and any rules adopted to implement it. In order for this bond to be in compliance it will have to be issued by a corporate surety that is authorized to transact surety business within the Commonwealth. The surety’s liability with the principal will be limited to the penal sum of the bond, and the bill provides for cancellation by the surety with advance written notice. The SFAA was contacted during the drafting of this bill and assisted in writing it.

SB 87/HB 159: License Bond – Currency Exchanges

This will increase the amount of the license bond for community currency exchanges from 10K to 50K. This provides services for cashing checks, drafts, money orders or any other acceptable evidences of money. The Director of Financial Institutions is permitted to require a larger bond amount. This cannot exceed the exchanges outstanding liabilities. This bond secures any liability the exchange inherited on any money orders, and for any sums due for unpaid checks, draft or money orders left with the exchange for collection, and for any liability incurred in connection with the services permitted under current law. This new bill will clarify this to include the payment of any penalties and fees incurred by the remitter in the case that a money order is returned unpaid. Under current law an exchange is permitted to provide a blanket bond for all licensees belonging to a statewide association of exchanges. This bill will increase the required amount of the blanket bond from $2 million to $10 million.

There are numerous types of surety bonds that fall under the license and permit bond category, and they can come with a wide variety of guarantees. Below is a list of the primary classifications for guarantees that accompany different types of license and permit bonds.

Compliance-only Bonds: These types of surety bonds guarantee that principals will be in compliance with all pertinent laws for a specific activity or business.

Compliance bonds with third-party liability: Similar to compliance-only bonds, these types of license and permit bonds guarantee that the principal will comply with the laws pertaining to the activity they are licensed for. However, they also come with a guarantee that the surety will pay damages to any third-party group or individual that happens to suffer from any losses incurred due to non-compliance by the principal.

Forfeiture Bonds: When dealing with this classification of license and permit bond, a surety must forfeit the entire amount of the surety bond in the unfortunate event that the principal does not complete a project per the terms of the contract, or is otherwise found to be non-compliant. What makes this different from many other guarantees, is that instead of simply paying for damages incurred as a result of a contract violation the surety must forfeit the entire amount of the surety bond. This is common for license and permit bonds that come with a financial guarantee.

Tax or Fee Bonds: This type of license and permit bond guarantees that the principal will both properly account for and remit taxes and fees collected through the their business operations. Common examples are liquor tax bonds, fuel tax bonds, and sales tax bonds.

Merchandising and Dealer Bonds: Simply put, this classification of license and permit bond guarantees that a principal partaking in merchandising activities will comply with all applicable laws and regulations. Essentially, they act to deter fraudulent practices or misrepresentation by a principal, and provide the necessary protection for the public. A common example would be an auto dealer bond, which protects the public from fraudulent practices by a motor vehicle dealer.

Reclamation and Environmental Protection Bonds: These types of surety bonds guarantee that any land altered or damaged during the course of business operations by a principal will be fully restored to its original state upon completion of work. Details on what specific restoration must take place should be included in the permit filing, and often times can include actions such as planting grass seed, replacing topsoil, etc. In regards to the environmental protection guarantee, principals must promptly clean up any spillage or runoff that could unintentionally pollute local land or water in the vicinity of the principals operation.

For more information, see our section on License and Permit Bonds.

As of July 1, 2009, HB 1359 established an increase in the license bond amount required for all exterminators of termites and structural pests operating in the state of Arkansas. The license bond amount doubled from $50,000 to $100,000. However, HB 1350 did not increase the surety bond amount required for Arkansas

Alabama SB 249, which was enacted on May 21, 2009, created a licensing requirement for all mortgage loan originators, as well as a requirement for them to be covered by a surety bond. However, the law does allow mortgage loan originators to use the surety bond of someone whom they are an employee or an exclusive agent of, as long as that person is subject to the Mortgage Brokers License Act (SB 232) or the Alabama Consumer Credit Act (SB 234). This license bond needs to provide ample coverage for each mortgage loan originator in an amount equal to the amount of the originated loans.

This new law became effective in Alabama on June 1, 2009, but the licensing requirements will not go effective until June 1 of this current year.

Similar to my recent post about SB 232 (Mortgage Broker Bonds), Alabama SB 234 created a new surety bond requirement for the state

Effective on November 21, 2009, Alabama SB 232 created a new surety bond requirement for the state

On May 21, 2009, with the enactment of Alabama