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BONDING ASSISTANCE
The US Department of Transportation (DOT) Bonding Education Program (BEP) partners with the Surety and Fidelity Association of America (SFAA) to help small businesses become bond ready. Becoming bondable is a challenge for many disadvantaged businesses and this program aims to help businesses grow by obtaining or building bonding capacity. The BEP is offered through DOT’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization and its network of Small Business Transportation Resource Centers (SBTRC) around the county. A list of centers in OCTA's Market Area follow below:
Los Angeles
LA Metro
Diversity and Economic Opportunity Department
One Gateway Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90012-2952
Tel: 213.922.2600
http://www.metro.net/about/deod/
Los Angeles World Airports
Los Angeles International Airport
1 World Way, Los Angeles, CA 90045
http://www.lawa.org
Minority Business Development Agency—Los Angeles Business Center
Sergio Gascon
3716 South Hope Street, Suite No. 341
Los Angeles, CA 90089
Phone: (213) 821-2541
E-mail: sgascon@usc.edu
Port of Long Beach
925 Harbor Plaza
Long Beach, CA 90801
http://www.polb.com
Port of Los Angeles
425 S. Palos Verdes Street
San Pedro, CA 90731
http://www.portoflosangeles.org
Los Angeles County Office of Small Business/Procurement Technical Assistance Center - PTAC
1100 North Eastern Avenue, 1st Floor
Los Angeles , CA 90063
Phone: (323) 881-3964
Toll free: (855) 230-6430
OSB E-mail: osb@isd.lacounty.gov
Southwest Region
Southwest Region SBTRC: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada
The Southwest Region Small Business Transportation Resource Center (SW SBTRC), operated by the California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce, serves
the small business contracting community in Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada. The goal of the SW SBTRC is to increase the ability of small
businesses to compete for and enter into transportation-related contracts at the local, state and federal levels throughout the region. Headquartered
in Sacramento, the SW SBTRC assists small and disadvantaged businesses in the region by providing procurement, technical, financial and bonding assistance.
http://www.dot.gov/osdbu/sw-sbtrc
Additional Resources
The Caltrans/SBA Bonding Assistance Initiative is another valuable resource available to you. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), in consultation with the Governor’s Office of Small Business Advocate, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), to offer a technical assistance surety bond guarantee program to promote increased small business participation in Caltrans, State highway and transit projects.
This initiative is vital to placing more small businesses on the path to full and adequate utilization within California, bringing success to more small businesses, thereby strengthening the State’s business community and economy. Further, this initiative provides a viable means to advance the unimpeded participation of all willing, ready, and able construction contractors and subcontractors, professional architectural and engineering firms, suppliers and truckers, without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, or physical disability to participate in the State’s Contracting Program.
SBA’s Surety Bond Guarantee Program helps eligible small businesses obtain bid, performance and payment bonds by guaranteeing surety companies between 70% and 90% of the bond amount.
SBA’s Surety Bond Guarantee Program contains two components: Prior Approval Program and Preferred Program. For more information, please visit their Web site at www.SBA.gov
Contact or visit your nearest SBA office (in OCTA's Market Area) listed below:
Santa Ana District Office
200 W. Santa Ana Blvd.
Suite 700
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Phone: (714) 550-7420
Los Angeles District Office
330 North Brand, Suite 1200
Suite 700
Glendale, CA 91203
Phone: (818) 552-3215
http://www.caltrans.ca.gov/hq/bep/documents/CT_SBA_Bonding_Assistance_Initiative.pdf
