BILL REQ. #:  S-4525.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/03/10.   

     AN ACT Relating to the small business export finance assistance center; amending RCW 43.210.040 and 43.210.050; adding a new section to chapter 43.210 RCW; and making an appropriation.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 43.210.040 and 1998 c 109 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The small business export finance assistance center formed under RCW 43.210.020 and 43.210.030 ((shall have)) has the powers granted under chapter 24.03 RCW. In exercising such powers, the center may:
     (a) Solicit and accept grants, contributions, and any other financial assistance from the federal government, federal agencies, and any other sources to carry out its purposes;
     (b) Make loans or provide loan guarantees on loans made by financial institutions to Washington businesses with annual sales of two hundred million dollars or less for the purpose of financing exports of goods or services by those businesses to buyers in foreign countries and for the purpose of financing business growth to accommodate increased export sales. Loans or loan guarantees made under the authority of this section may only be considered upon a financial institution's assurance that such loan or loan guarantee is otherwise not available;
     (c) Provide assistance to businesses with annual sales of two hundred million dollars or less in obtaining loans and guarantees of loans made by financial institutions for the purpose of financing export of goods or services from the state of Washington;
     (((c))) (d) Provide export finance and risk mitigation counseling to Washington exporters with annual sales of two hundred million dollars or less, provided that such counseling is not practicably available from a Washington for-profit business. For such counseling, the center may charge reasonable fees as it determines are necessary;
     (((d))) (e) Provide assistance in obtaining export credit insurance or alternate forms of foreign risk mitigation to facilitate the export of goods and services from the state of Washington;
     (((e))) (f) Be available as a teaching resource to both public and private sponsors of workshops and programs relating to the financing and risk mitigation aspects of exporting products and services from the state of Washington;
     (((f))) (g) Develop a comprehensive inventory of export-financing resources, both public and private, including information on resource applicability to specific countries and payment terms;
     (((g))) (h) Contract with the federal government and its agencies to become a program administrator for federally provided loan guarantee and export credit insurance programs; and
     (((h))) (i) Take whatever action may be necessary to accomplish the purposes set forth in this chapter.
     (2) The center may not use any Washington state funds or funds which come from the public treasury of the state of Washington to make loans or to make any payment under a loan guarantee agreement. Under no circumstances may the center use any funds received under RCW 43.210.050 to make or assist in making any loan or to pay or assist in paying any amount under a loan guarantee agreement. Debts of the center shall be center debts only and may be satisfied only from the resources of the center. The state of Washington shall not in any way be liable for such debts.
     (3) The small business export finance assistance center shall make every effort to seek nonstate funds for its continued operation.
     (4) The small business export finance assistance center may receive such gifts, grants, and endowments from public or private sources as may be made from time to time, in trust or otherwise, for the use and benefit of the purposes of the small business export finance assistance center and expend the same or any income therefrom according to the terms of the gifts, grants, or endowments.

Sec. 2   RCW 43.210.050 and 1998 c 245 s 84 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The small business export finance assistance center formed under RCW 43.210.020 and 43.210.030 ((shall)) must enter into a contract under this chapter with the department of ((community, trade, and economic development)) commerce or its statutory successor.
     (2) The contract ((shall)) under subsection (1) of this section must:
     (a) Require the center to provide export assistance services((, consistent with RCW 43.210.070 and 43.210.100 through 43.210.120, shall));
     (b) Have a duration of two years((, and shall));
     (c) Require the center to aggressively seek to fund its continued operation from nonstate funds((. The contract shall also)); and
     (d) Require the center to report annually to the department on its success in obtaining nonstate funding. ((Upon expiration of the contract, any provisions within the contract applicable to the Pacific Northwest export assistance project shall be automatically renewed without change provided the legislature appropriates funds for administration of the small business export assistance center and the Pacific Northwest export assistance project. The provisions of the contract related to the Pacific Northwest export assistance project may be changed at any time if the director of the department of community, trade, and economic development or the president of the small business export finance assistance center present compelling reasons supporting the need for a contract change to the board of directors and a majority of the board of directors agrees to the changes. The department of agriculture shall be included in the contracting negotiations with the department of community, trade, and economic development and the small business export finance assistance center when the Pacific Northwest export assistance project provides export services to industrial sectors within the administrative domain of the Washington state department of agriculture.))

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 43.210 RCW to read as follows:
     The small business export finance assistance center must:
     (1) Develop a rural manufacturer export outreach program in conjunction with Washington impact. The program must provide outreach services to rural manufacturers in Washington to inform them of the importance of and opportunities in international trade, and to inform them of the export assistance programs available to assist these businesses to become exporters; and
     (2) Develop export loan or loan guarantee programs in conjunction with the Washington economic development finance authority and the appropriate federal and private entities.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   The sum of one hundred fifty thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, from the state general fund for the operation of the programs authorized in section 3 of this act.