To enact sections 166.45 to 166.51 of the Revised Code to create the Small Business Working Capital Loan Program.

Section 1.  That sections 166.45, 166.46, 166.47, 166.48, 166.49, 166.50, and 166.51 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 166.45.  As used in sections 166.45 to 166.50 of the Revised Code:

(A) "EDGE business enterprise" has the same meaning as in section 123.152 of the Revised Code.

(B) "Eligible business" means any person that has all of the following characteristics:

(1) Is headquartered in this state;

(2) Is organized for profit;

(3) Had total annual sales in its most recently completed fiscal year of not more than fifty million dollars.

(C) "Minority business enterprise" has the same meaning as in section 122.71 of the Revised Code.

(D) "Participating lending institution" means a financial institution that is eligible to make commercial loans, is an eligible public depository of state funds under section 135.03 of the Revised Code, and agrees to participate in the small business working capital loan program.

(E) "Women's business enterprise" has the same meaning as in section 150.051 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 166.46. There is hereby created in the department of development the small business working capital loan program to provide a statewide availability of funds for lending purposes that will inject needed capital into the business community in order to create or preserve jobs in this state.

Sec. 166.47. (A) Upon the request of the director of development, the treasurer of state may invest up to one hundred million dollars of public money of the state with participating lending institutions for purposes of the small business working capital loan program. Each such institution shall enter into an agreement with the department of development that sets out the terms and conditions under which the institution is to participate in the program. As part of that agreement, the state may forego any accrued interest owed on the amount invested with an institution if the director determines it will provide small businesses the access to credit they need to create or preserve jobs in this state.

(B) Participating lending institutions shall comply fully with Chapter 135. of the Revised Code.

(C) The amount invested with a participating lending institution for purposes of the program remains the property of the state.

Sec. 166.48. (A) The director of development shall select, as administrators of the small business working capital loan program, not more than two private, for-profit Ohio-based investment firms to accept, review, and approve applications for loans from eligible businesses and to otherwise administer the program. The director shall select program administrators only after soliciting and evaluating requests for proposals as prescribed in this section.

(B) The department of development shall publish a notice of a request for proposals in newspapers of general circulation in this state once each week for two consecutive weeks before a date specified by the department as the date on which the department will begin accepting proposals. The notices shall contain a general description of the subject of the proposed agreement and the location where the request for proposals may be obtained. The request for proposals shall include all of the following:

(1) Instructions and information to respondents concerning the submission of proposals, including the name and address of the office where proposals are to be submitted;

(2) Instructions regarding the manner in which respondents may communicate with the department, including the names, titles, and telephone numbers of the individuals to whom such communications should be directed;

(3) The factors and criteria to be considered in evaluating respondents' proposals, the relative importance of each factor or criterion, and a description of the department's evaluation procedure;

(4) The amount of compensation a program administrator will receive, if any.

(C) After the date specified for receiving proposals, the department shall evaluate the submitted proposals. The department may discuss a respondent's proposal with that respondent to clarify or revise a proposal or the terms of the agreement.

The department shall choose for review proposals from at least three respondents the department considers qualified to administer the program. If three or fewer proposals are submitted, the department shall review each proposal. The department may cancel a request for proposals at any time before entering into an agreement with a respondent.

After reviewing the chosen proposals, the director may select not more than two such respondents and enter into a written agreement with each of them.

(D) Selecting a program administrator and entering into an agreement under this section do not constitute a purchase of services under Chapter 125. of the Revised Code.

Sec. 166.49.  (A) The program administrators selected under section 166.48 of the Revised Code shall accept and review applications for working capital loans from eligible businesses. Only those eligible businesses that meet the criteria established by the director of development under section 166.50 of the Revised Code may be approved for a working capital loan.

(B) Upon the approval of a loan application, the program administrators shall submit all necessary information to a participating lending institution at which the treasurer of state has invested public money of the state for purposes of the small business working capital loan program. That information shall include the amount and terms of the loan and any other information determined by the director. A program administrator may commit its own capital as part of the aggregate amount loaned to an eligible business under the program.

(C) The program administrators shall be responsible for monitoring compliance with all loan-related documents, as well as documenting the manner in which loan recipients are using the working capital loan funds. The program administrators shall submit monthly reports to the director that cover the total number of loans made under the program and the number that are in default; the number of loans made to minority business enterprises, women's business enterprises, and EDGE business enterprises; the progress made by the program in meeting the goal established by the director under division (C) of section 166.50 of the Revised Code; how the loan funds are being used; the number of jobs created or preserved in this state as a result of the loans; the overall progress of the program; and any other information determined by the director.

Sec. 166.50.  In order to implement the small business working capital loan program, the director of development shall do all of the following:

(A) Establish the criteria that must be met by an eligible business in order to receive a loan under the program. In determining those criteria, priority shall be given to the economic needs of the area in which the business is located, the number of jobs to be created or preserved in this state by the receipt of a loan, and such other factors related to the overall economic welfare of the state as the director considers appropriate to determine the relative financial need of the eligible business. The director shall also establish the minimum and maximum amounts that may be loaned to, and the maximum credit risk of, eligible businesses under the program.

(B) Prescribe the loan application form to be used by eligible businesses for purposes of the program. On the loan application an eligible business shall be required to certify that the loan will be used to create new jobs or preserve existing jobs and employment opportunities in this state and to acquire tangible personal property to be used in the business. Whoever knowingly makes a false statement concerning such application is guilty of the offense of falsification under section 2921.13 of the Revised Code.

(C) Establish a goal for lending to eligible businesses that are minority business enterprises, women's business enterprises, or EDGE business enterprises. The goal shall be in the form of a specified percentage of the total amount of money the state invests with participating lending institutions for purposes of the program.

(D) Establish the terms under which a program administrator may commit its own capital as part of a working capital loan.

Sec. 166.51. The director of development may use, as part of the small business working capital loan program, any federal money made available to the state for the purpose of providing working capital assistance to small businesses. In the event the federal money is required by the federal government to be used in a manner other than as prescribed by sections 166.45 to 166.50 of the Revised Code, the director of development may modify the small business working capital loan program set forth in those sections in order to meet the federal guidelines.