H-4392              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1844

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Representatives Rasmussen, Schoon, Vekich, Hargrove, B. Williams, Doty, Holm, Moyer, Wineberry, Heavey, Grant, Dorn, Sayan, Cooper, Rayburn, Sutherland, Silver and P. King

Read first time 1/27/88 and referred to Committee on Trade & Economic Development.

AN ACT Relating to the development loan fund program; creating a new section; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature finds that the development loan fund was created to provide flexible financing, often at reduced terms, to businesses in areas of the state experiencing economic distress.  The success of the development loan fund can be measured by its leveraging of private sector investment in businesses in distressed areas, by increasing the involvement of lenders in providing assistance to firms in these areas, and by providing a tool to increase the economic health of the distressed areas of the state.  The use of federal funds to make grants to local governments for loans to businesses in economically distressed areas of the state has provided a program which has increased the scarce capital available to finance small and medium-size firms in distressed areas.  These funds have successfully financed new firms, firm expansions, and the reopening of closed plants as well as preventing the threatened closure of facilities in distressed areas.  Therefore, the legislature finds that additional funds shall be provided to the development loan fund to continue the financing provided by the development loan fund program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     The sum of eight million dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the state building construction account to the department of community development for the purposes of this act.