Bill Text: FL S1374 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Black Business Loan Program
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-07 - Indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration [S1374 Detail]
Download: Florida-2011-S1374-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2011 SB 1374 By Senator Smith 29-01710-11 20111374__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the Black Business Loan Program; 3 amending s. 288.7102, F.S.; revising the 4 recertification and audit periods for eligible 5 recipients of the Black Business Loan Program; 6 authorizing existing recipients to submit certain 7 information to the Office of Tourism, Trade, and 8 Economic Development instead of financial audits under 9 certain circumstances; authorizing recipients to 10 redress audit findings within a specified period; 11 providing term of and revising requirements for 12 funding agreements between recipients and the office; 13 revising the entities with whom the office must 14 consult before adopting rules; revising limits on the 15 use of funds for technical support to black business 16 enterprises and direct administrative costs; 17 conforming provisions; reenacting s. 288.7094(2), 18 F.S., relating to black business investment 19 corporations, to incorporate changes made by the act 20 in a reference thereto; providing an effective date. 21 22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 23 24 Section 1. Section 288.7102, Florida Statutes, is amended 25 to read: 26 288.7102 Black Business Loan Program.— 27 (1) The Black Business Loan Program is established in the 28 Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development. Under the 29 program, the office shallannuallycertify eligible recipients 30 for a period of 5 years, recertify existing eligible recipients 31 once every 5 years, andsubsequentlydisburse funds annually or 32 as appropriated by the Legislature, through such eligible 33 recipients, to black business enterprises that cannot obtain 34 capital through conventional lending institutions but that could 35 otherwise compete successfully in the private sector. 36 (2) The office shall establish an application andannual37 certification process for entities seeking funds to participate 38 in providing loans, loan guarantees, or investments in black 39 business enterprises pursuant to the Florida Black Business 40 Investment Act. The office shall process all applications and 41 recertifications submitted by June 1 on or before July 31 of the 42 same calendar year. 43 (3) If the Black Business Loan Program is appropriated any 44 funding in a fiscal year, the office shall distribute an equal 45 amount of the appropriation, calculated as the total annual 46 appropriation divided by the total number of program recipients 47 certified on or before July 31 of that fiscal year. 48 (4) To be eligible to receive funds and provide loans, loan 49 guarantees, or investments under this section, a recipient must: 50 (a) Be a corporation registered in the state. 51 (b) For an existing recipient during the 1st through 4th 52 years of the recipient’s recertification period, annually submit 53 to the office a financial audit or compilation of the 54 recipient’s financial statement information for the most 55 recently completed fiscal year and a copy of the office’s most 56 recent letter certifying the recipient as qualified for the 57 award of funds. 58 (c) For an existing recipient during the 5th year of the 59 recipient’s recertification period, submit to the office a 60 recertification application and a financial audit performed by 61 an independent certified public account for the most recently 62 completed fiscal year, which audit does not reveal any material 63 weaknesses or instances of material noncompliance that the 64 recipient does not substantially redress within 60 days after 65 receipt of the audit report. 66 (d)(c)For a new recipient: 67 1. Demonstrate that its board of directors includes 68 citizens of the state experienced in the development of black 69 business enterprises. 70 2. Demonstrate that the recipient has a business plan that 71 allows the recipient to operate in a manner consistent with ss. 72 288.707-288.714 and the rules of the office. 73 3. Demonstrate that the recipient has the technical skills 74 to analyze and evaluate applications by black business 75 enterprises for loans, loan guarantees, or investments. 76 4. Demonstrate that the recipient has established viable 77 partnerships with public and private funding sources, economic 78 development agencies, and workforce development and job referral 79 networks. 80 5. Demonstrate that the recipient can provide a private 81 match equal to 20 percent of the amount of funds provided by the 82 office. 83 (e)(d)For an existing or new recipient, agree to maintain 84 the recipient’s books and records relating to funds received by 85 the office according to generally accepted accounting principles 86 and in accordance with the requirements of s. 215.97(7) and to 87 make those books and records available to the office for 88 inspection upon reasonable notice. 89 (5) Each eligible recipient must meet the provisions of ss. 90 288.707-288.714, the terms of the agreementcontractbetween the 91 recipient and the office, and any other applicable state or 92 federal laws. An entity may not receive funds under ss. 288.707 93 288.714 unless the entity meetsannualcertification 94 requirements. 95 (6)Upon approval by the office andBefore release of the 96 funds as provided in this section, the office shall issue a 97 letter certifying the eligible recipientapplicantas qualified 98 for an award. The office and the eligible recipientapplicant99 shall enter into an annual agreement that sets forth the 100 conditions for award of the funds. The term of any agreement 101 between the office and an eligible recipient may not exceed 1 102 year. The agreement must include the total amount of funds 103 awarded; the performance conditions that must be met once the 104 funding ishas beenawarded, including, but not limited to, 105 compliance with allof therequirements of this section for 106 eligible recipients of funds under this section; and sanctions 107 for failure to meet performance conditions, including any 108 provisions to recover awards. The agreement may not require any 109 reporting of or obligation for appropriated funds beyond the 1 110 year term of the agreement, except that appropriated funds 111 remaining unexpended at the end of the 1-year agreement must be 112 reported until the funds are expended. 113 (7) The office, in consultation with the presidents of the 114 black business investment corporationsboard, shall adopt rules 115 pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this section. 116 (8) A black business investment corporation certified by 117 the office as an eligible recipient under this section is 118 authorized to use funds appropriated for the Black Business Loan 119 Program in any of the following forms: 120 (a) Purchases of stock, preferred or common, voting or 121 nonvoting; however, no more than 40 percent of the funds may be 122 used for direct investments in black business enterprises; 123 (b) Loans or loan guarantees, with or without recourse, in 124 either a subordinated or priority position; or 125 (c) Technical support to black business enterprises, not to126exceed 9 percent of the funds received,and direct 127 administrative costs, not to exceed 2712percent of the funds 128 received. 129 (9) It is the intent of the Legislature that if any one 130 type of investment mechanism authorized in subsection (8) is 131 held to be invalid, all other valid mechanisms remain available. 132 (10) All loans, loan guarantees, and investments, and any 133 income related thereto, shall be used to carry out the public 134 purpose of ss. 288.707-288.714, which is to develop black 135 business enterprises. This subsection does not preclude a 136 reasonable profit for the participating black business 137 investment corporation or for return of equity developed to the 138 state and participating financial institutions upon any 139 distribution of the assets or excess income of the investment 140 corporation. 141 Section 2. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 142 made by this act to section 288.7102, Florida Statutes, in a 143 reference thereto, subsection (2) of section 288.7094, Florida 144 Statutes, is reenacted to read: 145 288.7094 Black business investment corporations.— 146 (2) A black business investment corporation that meets the 147 requirements of s. 288.7102(4) is eligible to participate in the 148 Black Business Loan Program and shall receive priority 149 consideration by the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic 150 Development for participation in the program. 151 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.