S-4103.1                   _______________________________________________

                                                     SENATE BILL 6218

                              _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1994 Regular Session

By Senators Sheldon, Bluechel, Skratek, M. Rasmussen, Erwin, McAuliffe, Oke and Winsley

Read first time 01/17/94.  Referred to Committee on Trade, Technology & Economic Development.

Establishing a self-employment assistance program for low-income individuals.

          AN ACT Relating to self-employment for low-income individuals; adding a new section to chapter 43.330 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The legislature finds that:

          (1) Self-employment is one avenue for low-income individuals to achieve economic self-sufficiency; and

          (2) Insufficient opportunity currently exists for most low-income individuals to develop the business skills or receive the credit necessary to start or expand a business.

          The legislature declares that there is substantial public purpose in providing training and capital to promote the self-employment of low-income individuals in Washington.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 43.330 RCW to read as follows:

          (1) The department shall implement a self-employment assistance program.  The program shall provide grants to local development organizations to use for self-employment assistance for low-income individuals.  The assistance shall include entrepreneurial training, small business mentoring, and a revolving loan fund.  The department shall use loan payment proceeds from the development loan fund, federal community development block grant funds, and federal community services block grant funds to make the grants to local development organizations, and may use such other funds as it deems appropriate.  No grant shall be greater than seventy-five thousand dollars.  The grants are to be distributed through a competitive application process to be administered by the department in consultation with an advisory committee.

          (2) Any organization receiving a grant must:  (a) Demonstrate the need for a low-income self-employment project in its community; (b) demonstrate the capacity of the organization to administer the project; and (c) describe the project's loan procedure, entrepreneurial training, small business mentoring, and other support and assistance.  An organization receiving a grant must devote a minimum of seventy-five percent of the grant amount to the revolving loan fund and may provide loans of no greater than five thousand dollars.

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