Last year, a number of states passed legislation aimed at developing new technical assistance programs and surety bond guarantee programs, most of which were designed to aid small and emerging contractors (contract bonds), and other start-up companies, to include some minority business enterprises.

In the state of California, AB 2376 was enacted which crated the Small and Emerging Contractors Bonding Program, which followed a 2006 executive order from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. This newly enacted law tasks the Department of Transportation to work with California