1015-S2.E AMS BFST S2289.1
 
E2SHB 1015 - S COMM AMD
By Committee on Business, Financial Services & Trade
NOT CONSIDERED 04/26/2021
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1. This chapter may be known and cited as the Washington equitable access to credit act.
NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2. (1) Subject to appropriation, the department of commerce shall create and operate the equitable access to credit program. The purpose of the equitable access to credit program is to award grants to qualified lending institutions for the purpose of providing access to credit for historically underserved communities. The equitable access to credit program must be governed by the provisions of this chapter and by any guidelines developed and rules adopted by the department of commerce pursuant to this chapter.
(2) The following requirements apply to the operation of the equitable access to credit program:
(a) No more than 25 percent of all grants awarded in any calendar year may be awarded to the same grant recipient;
(b) Up to 20 percent of an individual grant award may be used by the grant recipient to fund a loan loss reserve, technical assistance, and/or small business training programs;
(c) At least 65 percent of the value of all grants awarded in any calendar year must be provided for native community development financial institution grantees or grantees to provide services or invest, or both, in rural counties as defined in RCW 82.14.370; and
(d) For the 2021-2023 fiscal biennium, up to five percent of the program revenues may be used for all agencies' staffing and other administrative costs related to the implementation of this act.
(3) In order to receive a grant award under the equitable access to credit program, a qualified lending institution must:
(a) Be recognized by the United States department of the treasury as:
(i) An emerging community development financial institution; or
(ii) A certified community development financial institution;
(b) Match any grant awarded by the equitable access to credit program on:
(i) At least a 20 percent basis, if the institution is recognized by the United States department of the treasury as an emerging community development financial institution;
(ii) At least a 50 percent basis, if the institution:
(A) Is recognized by the United States department of the treasury as a certified community development financial institution; and
(B) Has net assets of fewer than $3,000,000 at the time of the grant application; or
(iii) At least a one-to-one basis, if the institution:
(A) Is recognized by the United States department of the treasury as a certified emerging community development financial institution; and
(B) Has net assets of $3,000,000 or more at the time of the grant application;
(c) Be registered as a nonprofit organization exempt from taxation under Title 26 U.S.C. Sec. 501(c)(3) of the federal internal revenue code of 1986, as amended, as of the effective date of this section; and
(d) Demonstrate a history of lending in Washington.
(4) The director must appoint members to an advisory board that will assist the department in ranking applications for the grants. The department is encouraged to seek representation from members with relevant expertise, including those from the banking industry familiar with community development financial institutions, rural economic development professionals, local government representatives, and representatives from federally recognized Indian tribes. The department shall seek, to the greatest extent possible, a fair geographic balance.
(5)(a) The following criteria must be considered in ranking applications:
(i) The number and total value of loans and investments closed during the previous five-year period by the qualified lending institution in Washington and the percentage of those loans and investments that went to historically underserved communities;
(ii) Funds leveraged by the proposed grant award, which may be no less than one-to-one for certified community development financial institutions with net assets of $3,000,000 or more at the time of the grant application;
(iii) Projected loan or investment production with the award over the performance period of the grant;
(iv) How the award supports the growth of the qualified lending institution;
(v) Past performance of loans and investments made by the qualified lending institution including, where applicable, past performance of loans and investments made using funds from the equitable access to credit program; and
(vi) Awards to a diversity of qualified lending institution awardees, including institutions of different sizes or with different target markets or products, access to historically underserved communities, or other differentiators that ensure a broad-base access to capital.
(b) The department may also include such additional criteria as it deems helpful in achieving the goal of ensuring access to credit to underserved communities across the state.
(6) Grant awards must cease from the equitable access to credit program upon the expiration of this chapter.
(7) Once a loan or investment made by a qualified lending institution using funds awarded from the equitable access to credit program has been repaid, the qualified lending institution must reloan the repaid funds consistent with the terms of this chapter for a period of 10 years from the date of the grant award.
(8) A qualified lending institution that receives funds from the equitable access to credit program must submit a report to the department of commerce by June 30th of each year that contains the following information:
(a) A list of loans and investments made using funds from the equitable access to credit program's grant and associated match, including, on a per-borrower or per-investee basis:
(i) The date the loan or investment was originated;
(ii) The amount of the loan or investment;
(iii) The total cost of the project, including owner equity and leverage;
(iv) The interest rate and interest type;
(v) The term;
(vi) The number of permanent full-time equivalent jobs projected to be created in the business due to this financing;
(vii) Whether the loan or investment utilized a guarantee program;
(viii) The North American industry classification system code;
(ix) The entity structure;
(x) Whether the investee or borrower is more than 50 percent owned or controlled by:
(A) One or more minorities;
(B) One or more women; or
(C) One or more low-income persons;
(xi) The race of the primary investee(s) or borrower(s);
(xii) Whether the primary investee or borrower is Hispanic or Latino; and
(xiii) The location, by city and county, in which funds from the program will be invested;
(b) Certification that each loan or investment made using funds from the program was to a historically underserved community; and
(c) Other information as required by the department of commerce.
(9) No later than September 15th of each year, beginning in 2021, the department of commerce must submit a report to the appropriate committees of the legislature that contains the following information:
(a) The list of grant applicants, total value of grants requested, and the location of each applicant;
(b) The list of grant recipients, total amount of awards, and required match amounts; and
(c) On an aggregate basis, information on loans and investments as reported under subsection (8) of this section.
(10) The department may contract for all or part of the administration of this section.
(11) The department may adopt rules as necessary to implement this section.
NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3. By December 1, 2022, the department of commerce shall complete a program evaluation study of the equitable access to credit program. The study shall also provide recommendations on creating a lending program that serves underserved communities with the most efficient and equitable methods for providing underserved communities with access to capital. The study shall consider best practices in other states, including programs that leverage community development financial institutions. The department shall consult with qualified lending institutions, borrowers, banks, credit unions, and other relevant stakeholders. The study shall include an analysis of the rates and terms provided to borrowers using the equitable access to credit program and consider alternative methods of lending to underserved communities that result in more favorable terms to borrowers.
NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4. The sum of $16,000,000, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal biennium ending June 30, 2023, from the general fundfederal appropriation to the department of commerce for the purposes of this act.
NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5. This chapter expires July 1, 2023.
NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6. Sections 1 through 3 and 5 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW."
E2SHB 1015 - S COMM AMD
By Committee on Business, Financial Services & Trade
NOT CONSIDERED 04/26/2021
On page 1, line 2 of the title, after "act;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; making an appropriation; and providing an expiration date."
EFFECT: Removes the B&O tax preference. Shifts the fund source to federal funds. Shortens the duration of the program to the 2021-2023 fiscal biennium. Requires the Department of Commerce to do a program evaluation that is due December 1, 2022.
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