BILL ANALYSIS Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair 1009 (V Perez) Hearing Date: 8/17/2009 Amended: 8/17/2009 Consultant: Bob Franzoia Policy Vote: B,P&ED 6-3 _________________________________________________________________ ____ BILL SUMMARY: AB 1009 would require the Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing to develop and implement, until January 1, 2105, Direct Loan Program to provide loans to small businesses meeting certain requirements. This bill would require the maximum loan limit to be $500,000. This bill would establish the Direct Loan Account in the California Small Business Expansion Fund (CSBEF) and would continuously appropriate all moneys in the account for purposes of implementing and administering the program. This bill would authorize a public entity to deposit money in this account in order to capitalize the program. This bill would require the Director of the Small Business Financial Development Corporation, prior to the distribution of funds to determine that the program is sufficiently capitalized. This bill would require an annual report. _________________________________________________________________ ____ Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund Limited term small business Unknown, major costs through January General/ loan program 1, 2015; loan guarantees may not beSpecial* available or may be prohibitively expensive Loan administration Up to $250 annually; reimbursed from Special* loan interest charge * Direct Loan Account in the California Small Business Expansion Fund _________________________________________________________________ ____ STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. The CSBEF was created for the purpose of receiving state money to make guarantees with investors to indemnify them against the risk of loss in investment in a minority small business investment company, (2) enter into agreements with financial intuitions to indemnify such institutions' investments in securities in return for the institutions expanding their small business loan activity and (3) provide assistance to small businesses in the acquisition and development of agricultural lands with respect to financing managerial and technical assistance. These programs are carried out by agreements with regional nonprofit job creation corporations that are formed to promote the economic development of small businesses. The state's obligations and liabilities are limited to the amount appropriated from the General Fund to the fund and allocated by the Small Business Development Board. For the purposes of what public entities may deposit funds in the Direct Loan Account, it would be the state, the Regents of the University of California, a county, city, city and Page 2 AB 1009 (V Perez) county, district, public authority, public agency, and any other political subdivision or public corporation in the state or the United States. The amount of guarantee liability outstanding at any one time shall not exceed four times the amount of funds on deposit in the expansion fund plus any receivables due from funds loaned from the expansion fund to another fund. After January 1, 2013, the director may permit a higher leverage ratio for an individual corporation, as specified. While the Direct Load Account may receive moneys and be administered pursuant to an agreement between the Director of Small Business and the funding public entity, this account has no dedicated source of revenue. Chapter 12/2009 (ABx4 12, Evans) added Corporations Code Section 14044, to read: 14044. (a) As of the effective date of the act adding this section, notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, state money in the expansion fund or the trust fund shall not be available to corporations or to the state to enter into new loans, loan guarantees, or other investments authorized by this chapter. (b) State money in the expansion fund and the trust fund that is not needed to guarantee existing loans, to administer existing loans, or for other existing investments authorized under this chapter, as determined by the Director of Finance, shall revert to the General Fund. Associated with this language was the sweeping of $10 million from the SBEF, leaving the minimum of $26 million necessary to guarantee outstanding loans. Staff notes that until this language is repealed, new guarantees from the CSBEF are suspended.