Nearly all the states are back in legislative session, and, to date, NASBP is tracking over 200 bills of impact to the surety industry. Such legislation includes increases to state bond thresholds and bonds on interconnection/solar contracts and public-private partnerships (P3s)—to name just a few. Essential to government relations initiatives of any trade association is forging productive working and reciprocal relationships with government decisionmakers and like-minded external stakeholder organizations. To develop such relationships, trade associations, through their members and staff, must make constant efforts to get to know and to be recognized by their elected representatives and by stakeholder groups.

Over the years, NASBP members have advocated on behalf of the industry in the states to advance and to defend the surety product on a host of issues. This session (and during a previous legislative session) legislation was introduced to raise the bond threshold in the state of Connecticut (CT). A NASBP CT member firm immediately called on its network of contracting stakeholder organizations to alert them to the impact this legislation could have on their members. Other state legislative and regulatory examples that can require grassroots involvement to advocate for the surety product arise when a state proposes legislation or regulations:

• that waive statutory bonding requirements or that fail to include statutory bonding requirements on public-private partnerships (P3) for public works projects;
• that provide for onerous or unrealistic contract requirements, such as long-term warranties or excessive liquidated damages in public works contracts; and
• that include arcane resident agent countersignature requirements by state and local procurement officials who are requiring resident agents countersign documents on behalf of non-resident agents (which have been eliminated in all the states and have been found to be unconstitutional). 

NASBP encourages its member firms to be vigilant to protect the surety product, in the instances described above, by developing relationships with their state-elected officials and local and national contracting organizations. As always, NASBP staff stand ready to serve as a ready resource when called upon to assist on these legislative and regulatory matters.