SURVEY.

SEC. 302. SURVEY. (a) In General.—The Comptroller General shall conduct a comprehensive survey of business firms, including using a questionnaire described in subsection (b), to obtain data on the experiences of such firms, and especially the experiences of small business concerns, in obtaining surety bonds from corporate surety firms. (b) Content of Survey Questionnaire.—In addition to such other questions as the Comptroller General deems appropriate to ensure a comprehensive survey under subsection (a), the questionnaire used by the Comptroller General shall include questions to obtain information from a surveyed business on— (1) the frequency with which the firm was requested to provide a corporate surety bond in fiscal year 1992; (2) whether the frequency with which the firm was requested to provide a corporate surety bond increased or decreased in fiscal years 1990, 1991, and 1992 and the reason for any increase or decrease, if known; (3) the frequency with which the firm provided a corporate surety bond in fiscal year 1992; (4) whether the frequency with which the firm provided a corporate surety bond increased or decreased in fiscal years 1990, 1991, and 1992 and the reason for any increase or decrease, if known; (5) the average size of corporate surety bonds provided by the firm in fiscal year 1992; (6) whether the average size of the corporate surety bonds provided by the firm increased or decreased during fiscal years 1990, 1991, and 1992 and the reason for any increase or decrease, if known; (7) the dollar amount of the largest corporate surety bond provided by the firm in fiscal year 1992; (8) whether the dollar amount of the largest corporate surety bond provided by the firm increased or decreased in fiscal years 1990, 1991, and 1992 and the reason for any increase or decrease, if known; 106 STAT. 1003 (9) the dollar amount of work performed by the firm by type of construction owner, including the Federal Government, State and local governments, other public entities, and private entities, in each of fiscal years 1990, 1991, and 1992; (10) the dollar amount of such work bonded by a corporate surety company for the firm by type of construction owner, including construction owners referred to in paragraph (9), for each of fiscal years 1990, 1991, and 1992; (11) whether the firm purchased its corporate surety bonds through an insurance agent or directly from a surety company; (12) the means used by the firm to identify its source for the purchase of corporate surety bonds; (13) the average corporate surety bond premium (expressed as a percentage of contract amount) paid by the firm in fiscal year 1992; (14) any increase or decrease in the average corporate surety bond premium (expressed as a percentage of the contract amount) paid by the firm in fiscal years 1990, 1991, and 1992 and the reason for any increase or decrease, if known; (15) whether or not the underwriting requirements (including state of accounts receivable, financial procedures, need for personal indemnification, and requirements for collateral) changed in fiscal year 1990, 1991, or 1992; (16) the nature of any changes in underwriting requirements experienced by the firm in fiscal years 1990, 1991, and 1992 and the reason for any such changes, if known; (17) whether or not the source of surety bonds (a surety agent or company) provided reasons for such changes in underwriting requirements and whether these reasons were provided orally or in writing; (18) whether or not the bonding capacity (total dollar amount and number of bonds) for the firm changed in fiscal year 1990, 1991, or 1992; (19) whether or not the source of surety bonds (a surety agent or company) provided reasons for any changes in bonding capacity and whether these reasons were provided orally or in writing; (20) the services provided and advice given by the firm’s source of corporate surety bonds in fiscal years 1990, 1991, and 1992; (21) whether or not the firm obtained a corporate surety bond with the assistance of a Federal program (such as the surety bond guarantee program of the Small Business Administration and the bonding assistance program of the Department of Transportation) or a State or local program in fiscal year 1990, 1991, or 1992; (22) whether or not the firm used any alternative to corporate surety bonds (such as individual surety bonds, letters of credit, certificates of deposit, and government securities) in fiscal year 1990, 1991, or 1992; (23) if the firm has not provided any corporate surety bonds in fiscal year 1990, 1991, or 1992, the reasons the firm has not done so; (24) the number of times the firm has had an application for a corporate surety bond denied in fiscal years 1990, 1991, and 1992, and the reason for any such denial, if known; 106 STAT. 1004 (25) whether or not the proposed source for the corporate surety bond (a surety agent or company) provided the reasons for its denial of that application and whether that explanation was provided orally or in writing; (26) the length of time the firm has been in business; (27) the number of years of construction experience of the firm’s officers (if a corporation), partners, or owner (if a sole proprietorship), and those responsible for managing the execution of the firm’s construction operations, and how many years of such experience is in the type of construction that provides the majority of the firm’s annual sales volume; (28) the approximate annual sales volume of the firm in fiscal years 1990, 1991, and 1992; (29) the net worth (total assets less total liabilities) of the firm at the close of the firm’s most recent fiscal year; (30) the working capital (current assets less current liabilities) of the firm at the close of the firm’s most recent fiscal year; (31) the average age of the firm’s accounts receivable (the average number of days required to collect payments due); (32) whether the firm made a profit in fiscal year 1990, 1991, or 1992; (33) the form and frequency of such firm’s financial statements (statements audited and certified by an independent certified public accountant, statements reviewed by such a certified public accountant, compilation financial statements, or other forms of financial statements), and whether such statements were furnished with applications for bonding, if requested; and (34) the 4-digit standard industrial classification code in which the firm performs the majority of its work. (c) Firms To Be Surveyed.—The Comptroller General shall develop a statistically valid sample of business firms from the most recent list of construction firms maintained by the Dun and Bradstreet Company (identified as the “DUN Market Identifier” file) for which data regarding sales is available.