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HR 4455 108th Congress House

Equal Surety Bond Opportunity Act

Official title: To prohibit discrimination on the basis of certain factors with respect to any aspect of a surety bond transaction.

Introduced: May 20, 2004 Introduced by: Norton, Eleanor Holmes Democratic · District of Columbia See on congress.gov
Commerce Age discriminationCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority IssuesCivil actions and liabilityDamages
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DisabledDiscrimination in insuranceFamiliesFinance and Financial SectorGovernment Operations and PoliticsGovernment paperworkInjunctionsLawLegal feesLicensesMinoritiesRacial discriminationReligionReligious libertySexual orientationSocial WelfareSurety and fidelity
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This bill died when the 108th Congress ended
It never became law before the 108th Congress (2003–2004) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jun 28, 2004
Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution.
May 21, 2004
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E952)
May 20, 2004
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
May 20, 2004
Introduced in House
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 Latest action June 28, 2004

Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Equal Surety Bond Opportunity Act - Cites activities that constitute unlawful discrimination by a surety against an applicant in a surety bond transaction, including denial: (1) on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, or disability; or (2) because the applicant previously obtained a bond through a certain bonding assistance program or any special purpose bonding program.

Requires a surety to notify an applicant of action on the surety application within ten days of its filing.

Entitles an applicant against whom adverse action is taken to a statement of reasons for such action.

Subjects a surety to liability to the aggrieved applicant for both actual damages and legal costs for noncompliance with this Act.

Mandates full compliance with this Act as a condition for approval as surety by the Secretary of the Treasury.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 4455: Equal Surety Bond Opportunity Act. 108th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/108-HR-4455/
MLA
"H.R. 4455: Equal Surety Bond Opportunity Act." 108th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/108-HR-4455/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 4455, 108th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/108-HR-4455/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 4455: Equal Surety Bond Opportunity Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/108-HR-4455/)
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