Committee discusses consolidating landscape contractor bond tiers to $20,000; amendment requested

Sen. Taylor opened a work session on Senate Bill 864 on Feb. 25, 2025, which would change the bond structure for applicants and licensed landscape contracting businesses. Annie Bondametz, administrator for the State Landscape Contractors Board, told the committee the current bond structure ties bond amounts to job size: $3,000 for jobs up to $10,000; $10,000 for jobs $10,000 to less than $25,000; $15,000 for jobs $25,000 to less than $50,000; and $20,000 for any job $50,000 or greater.

Sen. Jeff Hayden (testifying as a committee member) recommended consolidating the four bond categories into a single $20,000 bond level, saying that $20,000 is achievable for "mom and pop" landscape businesses and avoids an overly burdensome $50,000 requirement. Bondametz said the board’s priority is consumer protection and that consolidating tiers to $20,000 would be an improvement over current structure. Chair Taylor agreed to pursue a committee amendment and asked staff to draft the language for consideration; the committee directed staff to aim to have the amendment ready for the next Tuesday hearing.

No final action was taken; the committee closed the work session after directing staff to prepare a committee amendment that consolidates bonding levels to $20,000 and omits a $50,000 bond proposal.