AN ACT Relating to local development; adding a new section to chapter 42.17 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 43.63A RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 43.170 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the growth of small and young businesses will have a favorable impact on the Washington economy by creating jobs, increasing competition in the market place, and expanding tax revenues. Access to financial markets by entrepreneurs is vital to this process. Without reasonable access to financing, talented and aggressive entrepreneurs are cut out of the economic system and the state's economy suffers. It is the purpose of sections 1 through 5 of this act to guarantee that entrepreneurs and investors have an institutionalized means of meeting their respective needs for access to capital resources and information about promising business investments in Washington state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. As used in sections 1 through 5 of this act, the term:

(1) "Entrepreneur" means an individual, proprietorship, joint venture, partnership, trust, business trust, syndicate, association, joint stock company, cooperative, corporation, or any other organization operating in this state, engaged in manufacturing or traded services, with fewer than two hundred fifty employees and paying more than fifty percent of its contributions or payments for the purposes of unemployment insurance to this state.

(2) "Manufacturing" means all activities of a commercial or industrial nature wherein labor or skill is applied, by hand or machinery, to materials so that as a result thereof a new, different, or useful substance or article of tangible personal property is produced for sale or commercial or industrial use and shall include the production or fabrication of specially made or custom made articles. "Manufacturing" also includes computer programming, the production of computer software, and other computer-related services, and the activities performed by research and development laboratories and commercial testing laboratories.

(3) "Traded services" means those commercial and professional services that are developed for sale outside the state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. There is created in the business assistance center of the department of trade and economic development the Washington investment opportunities office.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The Washington investment opportunities office shall:

(1) Maintain a list of all entrepreneurs engaged in manufacturing or traded services throughout the state seeking capital resources and interested in the services of the investment opportunities office.

(2) Maintain a file on each entrepreneur which shall include the entrepreneur's business plan and any other information which the entrepreneur offers for review by potential investors.

(3) Assist entrepreneurs in procuring the managerial and technical assistance necessary to attract potential investors. Such assistance shall include the automatic referral to the small business innovators opportunity program of any entrepreneur with a new product meriting the services of the program.

(4) Provide entrepreneurs with information about potential investors and provide investors with information about those entrepreneurs which meet the investment criteria of the investor.

(5) Promote small business securities financing.

(6) Remain informed about investment trends in capital markets and preferences of individual investors or investment firms throughout the nation through literature surveys, conferences, and private meetings.

(7) Publicize the services of the investment opportunities office through public meetings throughout the state, appropriately targeted media, and private meetings. Whenever practical, the office shall use the existing services of local associate development organizations in outreach and identification of entrepreneurs and investors.

(8) Report to the ways and means committees and commerce and labor committees of the senate and the house of representatives by December 1, 1989, and each year thereafter, on the accomplishments of the office. Such reports shall include:

(a) The number of entrepreneurs on the list referred to in subsection (1) of this section, segregated by standard industrial classification codes;

(b) The number of investments made in entrepreneurs, segregated as required by (a) of this subsection, as a result of contact with the investment opportunities office, the dollar amount of each such investment, the source, by state or nation, of each investment, and the number of jobs created as a result of each investment;

(c) The number of entrepreneurs on the list referred to in subsection (1) of this section segregated by counties, the number of investments, the dollar amount of investments, and the number of jobs created through investments in each county as a result of contact with the investment opportunities office;

(d) A categorization of jobs created through investments made as a result of contact with the investment opportunities office, the number of jobs created in each such category, and the average pay scale for jobs created in each such category;

(e) The results of client satisfaction surveys distributed to entrepreneurs and investors using the services of the investment opportunities office; and

(f) Such other information as the managing director finds appropriate.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The director of the business assistance center, after consultation with the directors of the department of trade and economic development and the department of community development, schools of business administration, chambers of commerce, local associate development organizations, and local investment firms, shall form an advisory panel to assist in directing the services of the investment opportunities office toward meeting the finance and investment needs of entrepreneurs and investors. Advisory panel members shall serve without pay but shall be entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses incurred in serving on the advisory panel in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The director of the business assistance center may enter into contracts with nongovernmental agencies to provide any of the services under section 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 42.17 RCW to read as follows:

Notwithstanding the provisions of RCW 42.17.260 through 42.17.340, no financial or proprietary information supplied by investors or entrepreneurs under chapter 43.63A RCW shall be made available to the public.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Sections 1 through 6 of this act are each added to chapter 43.63A RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 43.170 RCW to read as follows:

Any innovation or inventor receiving assistance under this program shall be referred to the investment opportunities office operated by the department of trade and economic development.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.