In December, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed SB 622, the contents of which detail a proposed licensing process for debt settlement service providers.

According to the Chapter 3, Section 2, Subsection 2 of the engrossed bill, all debt settlement service providers would have to post a $25,000 surety bond to comply with the requirements of obtaining a license.

In addition to the price requirement, the small surety bond section within the proposed bill also states the following:

“The surety bond must run to the Commonwealth for the benefit of the Commonwealth and of an individual who resides in this Commonwealth that agrees to receive debt settlement services from the provider. Payment of surety bond must be conditioned upon noncompliance of the provider or its agent with this act.”

This allows consumers who receive services from the debt providers in question to utilize the bond for civil action. Click here for more information about how surety bonds work.

The Senate referred the engrossed version of the bill that passed the Pennsylvania House to its Commerce committee on December 16. The committee’s first and only vote of the year occurred on March 18, when it re-referred SB 1077 to the Consumer Affairs Committee. No further meetings are scheduled at this time.

Check back with the Surety Bond Insider for the progress of this bill.

If you need a surety bond in Pennsylvania or any other state, contact SuretyBonds.com online 24/7 or by phone at 1 (800) 308-4358 Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. CST. You’ll be connected with an expert surety specialist who will walk you through each step of the bonding process.