Loyal followers of the Jurisco Surety Blog will know that, to operate certain businesses in the State of California, business owners must acquire a license bond to qualify for a license. An article by Matthew Yglesias on Slate.com brought the onus the various licensing boards put on business owners brought the subject of license bonds in to some relief. (See link: for the full article).Though it can seem like acquiring a bond to gain a business license is an undue burden, the requirements are actually in place to protect consumers and employees.
Take for example California Senate Bill 662, which amended provisions (and repealed others) to the Business and Professions Code, relating to structural pest control operators. (See link for more info: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB662) The bond text outlines the changes in regards to the surety bond requirements:
| Existing law requires structural pest control operators to maintain a surety bond in the amount of $4,000 in order to maintain its license or company registration. If a structural pest control operator’s license or company registration is suspended or revoked, on specified grounds, the registrar of the board shall require the applicant, licensee, or registered company, as a condition of the issuance, reissuance, or restoration of the license or company registration, to file a surety bond in a sum to be determined by the registrar based upon the seriousness of the violation, but not less than $1,000 nor more than $8,000.This bill would raise the amount of the surety bond, needed to maintain the license or company registration, from $4,000 to $12,500, and would raise the upper limits of the amount of the surety bond required for an issuance, reissuance, or restoration of the license or company registration, after a suspension or revocation, from $8,000 to $25,000. |
The bond in this case is there to protect consumers from harmful activity by the pest control operators. Those being forced to obtain the bond may gripe about the extra hoops they must jump through, but those being protected by the extra layer of insurance and security should feel good that there are protections in place with their interest in mind. Many other businesses in California also require a surety bond to obtain a license. These include:
If you ever learn that you must obtain a surety license bond to operate a business in the State of California, or elsewhere across America; don’t be overwhelmed. The experts at Jurisco are available to answer your questions and to help you along the path to operating your successful business.