Response to Invitation to Bid, Spain Outfall Drainage Basin Improvements

On behalf of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers (NASBP), a national trade association representing firms employing surety bond producers, including licensed resident and licensed non-resident agents placing contract surety bonds in Florida, I am contacting you about a requirement stated in the Invitation to Bid, Spain Outfall Drainage Basin Improvements – Phase 1, Melbourne, Florida, Project No. 04209. Specifically, the Invitation to Bid, A1, contains the following statement: “Bid bonds shall be countersigned by an agent having an established place of business in the State of Florida (emphasis added).” Because you state a requirement that the countersigning agent have “an established place of business in the State of Florida,” we believe that such a requirement, if meant to call for a physical location in Florida, runs counter to Florida law and the applicable statute, specifically F.S.A. § 624.425, a copy of which is attached for your reference.

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