Manifesting the Mission: Protecting and Promoting!

The start of 2022 has reminded me of the adage “never let your guard down,” as several matters have been brought to staff’s attention in the first months of the year by members for NASBP assistance. Such matters have included onerous contract language and bond forms, subcontractor default insurance (SDI) use in place of subcontract bonds on publicly funded construction, resident agent signature requirements, and new, difficult changes in administrative policies. NASBP has jumped on these matters, sending letters to provide industry perspective and to educate against such behavior, which is not in the best interests of those persons or entities but is not understood as such. NASBP has a record of success in many instances over the years in bringing awareness of that fact to obligees, officials, and others, such as general contractors and design professionals, reversing detrimental policies or practices. NASBP keeps a library of many of the past letters that it has issued on a whole host of subjects and matters across the country. They are sorted by state and are available at the Advocacy Info Maps (member login required).

Nonetheless, having a good offense is the best form of defense, and, on that score, NASBP has been working diligently to promote the benefits of suretyship. You, hopefully, are aware of the launch of the new NASBP-SFAA Contractor Bonding Education & Mentoring Program, which provides online, interactive instruction on positioning a construction business to qualify for surety bonds and aimed at minority and other under-represented businesses. See the press release about its launch.

This program bolsters NASBP’s resources for small and emerging construction businesses and is further evidence of the industry’s long-time efforts to make bonding access easy for firms interested in achieving surety credit. NASBP also has issued letters to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration asking that surety bonds be considered an acceptable form of security for use with rural broadband infrastructure projects, so letters of credit are not the lone security option. Moreover, in the coming months, NASBP will launch a continuance of its surety bond promotion campaign on the Engineering-News Record website, featuring three more of its “Be Guaranteed to Succeed” videos profiling a lender and contractors on the value of surety relationships. Likewise, NASBP will continue its social media efforts promoting surety bonds throughout 2022.

The start of the year also signals the commencement of most state legislative seasons, when legislation is introduced that may have significant repercussions for suretyship locally and nationally. NASBP already is in the mode of protecting and promoting as it confronts bond threshold increase bills in Virginia and bond waiver bills in Illinois. No doubt other challenges lay ahead. NASBP will need its best advocates, its members, in the various states to engage in grassroots activity for the best chance to blunt or reverse detrimental legislation that arises.

Please reserve May 25^th on your calendar for your participation in the next federal NASBP Legislative Fly-in, which will be conducted virtually. Participation will be at no cost to members and will be as convenient as your favorite office or home chair. More information about the Fly-in will be sent to you in the next couple of months.

As a community, we must never lower our guard, manifesting the NASBP mission–to strengthen professionalism, expertise, and innovation in surety and to advocate its use worldwide—in all we seek to accomplish.