(A) In lieu of providing a financial statement showing a minimum net worth for a license group as required by Section 40-11-260, an applicant may provide a surety bond from a surety authorized to transact surety business in this State in an amount of two times the required net worth for the applicant's license group with his initial or renewal application.
(B) The surety bond provided in subsection (A) must:
(1) be continuous in form and must be maintained in effect for as long as the applicant maintains the license issued by the department or until the applicant submits a financial statement showing that he meets the net worth requirements for his license group as provided in Section 40-11-260;
(2) list the State of South Carolina as obligee for the bond;
(3) be for the benefit of any person who is damaged by an act or omission of the applicant constituting a breach of construction contract or a contract for the furnishing of labor, materials, or professional services for construction undertaken by the applicant, or by any unlawful act or omission of the applicant in performing construction; and
(4) be in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other surety bond required of the applicant by law or regulation, or by any party to a contract with the applicant.
(C) The surety bond provided in subsection (A) only may be canceled by notification to the board by the surety and the applicant thirty days prior to cancellation. When the surety bond is canceled, the licensee shall provide proof of net worth for his license group as required by Section 40-11-260 within ten days of cancellation or his license is suspended until written proof of net worth is provided.
(D) Claims may be filed against the bond on a form approved by the board in accordance with procedures established by the board in regulation.
HISTORY: 2018 Act No. 217 (H.4612), Section 1, eff May 18, 2018.