S.C. Code Ann. § 11-35-3030 – Bond and security

(1) Bid Security. (a) Requirement for Bid Security. Bid security is required for all competitive sealed bidding for construction contracts in excess of one hundred thousand dollars and such other contracts as may be prescribed by the state engineer's office. Bid security is a bond provided by a surety company meeting the criteria established by the regulations of the board or otherwise supplied in a form which may be established by regulation of the board.
(b) Amount of Bid Security. Bid security shall be in an amount equal to at least five percent of the amount of the bid at a minimum.
(c) Rejection of Bids for Noncompliance with Bid Security Requirements. When the invitation for bids requires security, noncompliance requires that the bid be rejected except that a bidder who fails to provide bid security in the proper amount or a bid bond with the proper rating shall be given one working day from bid opening to cure such deficiencies. If the bidder cannot cure these deficiencies within one working day of bid opening, his bid shall be rejected.
(d) Withdrawal of Bids. After the bids are opened, they shall be irrevocable for the period specified in the invitation for bids. If a bidder is permitted to withdraw its bid before bid opening pursuant to Section 11-35-1520(8) no action shall be had against the bidder or the bid security.
(2) Contract Performance Payment Bonds. (a) When Required-Amounts. When a construction contract is awarded pursuant to Section 11-35-3020, the following bonds or security shall be delivered to the using agency and shall become binding on the parties upon the execution of the contract:
1. (i) a performance bond satisfactory to the State, executed by a surety company meeting the criteria established by the board in regulations, or otherwise secured in a manner satisfactory to the State, in an amount equal to one hundred percent of the price specified in the contract;
2. (ii) a payment bond satisfactory to the State, executed by a surety company meeting the criteria established by the board in regulations, or otherwise secured in a manner satisfactory to the State, for the protection of all persons supplying labor and material to the contractor or its subcontractors for the performance of the work provided for in the contract. The bond shall be in an amount equal to one hundred percent of the contract price.
3. (iii) in the case of a construction contract valued at one hundred thousand dollars or less, the using agency may waive the requirements of (i) and (ii) above, provided that the using agency has protected the State.
4. (b) Authority to Require Additional Bonds. Nothing in subsection (2) of this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the board to require a performance bond or other security in addition to these bonds, or in circumstances other than specified in item (a) of such subsection in accordance with regulations promulgated by the board.
5. (c) Suits on Payment Bonds--Right to Institute. Every person who has furnished labor, material, or rental equipment to a bonded contractor or his subcontractors for the work specified in the contract, and who has not been paid in full therefor before the expiration of a period of ninety days after the day on which the last of the labor was done or performed by such person or material or rental equipment was furnished or supplied by such person for which such claim is made, shall have the right to sue on the payment bond for the amount, or the balance thereof, unpaid at the time of institution of such suit and to prosecute such action for the sum or sums justly due such person. A remote claimant shall have a right of action on the payment bond only upon giving written notice to the contractor within ninety days from the date on which such person did or performed the last of the labor or furnished or supplied the last of the material or rental equipment upon which such claim is made, stating with substantial accuracy the amount claimed as unpaid and the name of the party to whom the material or rental equipment was furnished or supplied or for whom the labor was done or performed. Such written notice to the bonded contractor shall be personally served or served by mailing the same by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, in an envelope addressed to the bonded contractor at any place the bonded contractor maintains a permanent office for the conduct of its business, or at the current address as shown on the records of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. However, in no event shall the aggregate amount of any claim against such payment bond by a remote claimant exceed the amount due by the bonded contractor to the person to whom the remote claimant has supplied labor, materials, rental equipment, or services, unless the remote claimant has provided notice of furnishing labor, materials, or rental equipment to the bonded contractor. Such written notice to the bonded contractor shall be personally served or sent by fax or sent by electronic mail or sent by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, to the bonded contractor at any place the bonded contractor maintains a permanent office for the conduct of its business, or at the current address as shown on the records of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. After receiving the notice of furnishing labor, materials, or rental equipment, no payment by the bonded contractor shall lessen the amount recoverable by the remote claimant. However, in no event shall the aggregate amount of claims on the payment bond exceed the penal sum of the bond.
  No suit under this section shall be commenced after the expiration of one year after the last date of furnishing or providing labor, services, materials, or rental equipment.
  For purposes of this section, "bonded contractor" means the contractor or subcontractor furnishing the payment bond, and "remote claimant" means a person having a direct contractual relationship with a subcontractor of a bonded contractor, but no contractual relationship expressed or implied with the bonded contractor.
6. (d) Suits on Payment Bonds--Where and When Brought. Every suit instituted upon a payment bond shall be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction for the county or circuit in which the construction contract was to be performed, but no such suit shall be commenced after the expiration of one year after the day on which the last of the labor was performed or material was supplied by the person bringing suit. The obligee named in the bond need not be joined as a party in any such suit.
(3) Bonds Forms and Copies. (a) Bond Forms. The board shall promulgate by regulation the form of the bonds required by this section.
(b) Certified Copies of Bonds. Any person may request and obtain from the using agency a certified copy of a bond upon payment of the cost of reproduction of the bond and postage, if any. A certified copy of a bond shall be prima facie evidence of the contents, execution, and delivery of the original.
(4) Retention. (a) Maximum amount to be withheld. In any contract or subcontract for construction which contract or subcontract provides for progress payments in installments based upon an estimated percentage of completion, with a percentage of the contract's proceeds to be retained by the State or general contractor pending completion of the contract or subcontract, the retained amount of each progress payment or installment shall be no more than five percent.
(b) Release of Retained Funds. When the work to be performed on a state construction project or pursuant to a state construction contract is to be performed by multiple prime contractors or by a prime contractor and multiple subcontractors, the work contracted to be done by each individual contractor or subcontractor will be considered a separate division of the contract for the purpose of retention. As each such division of the contract is certified as having been completed, that portion of the retained funds which is allocable to the completed division of the contract shall be released forthwith to the prime contractor, who shall, within ten days of its receipt, release to the subcontractor responsible for the completed work the full amount of any retention previously withheld from him by the prime contractor.