Small Business Access to Capital Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 258 To help small businesses access capital and create jobs by reauthorizing the successful State Small Business Credit Initiative. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 4, 2021 Mr. PETERS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To help small businesses access capital and create jobs by reauthorizing the successful State Small Business Credit Initiative. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business Access 4 to Capital Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. NEW TRANCHES OF CAPITAL FOR SUCCESSFUL 6 STATE PROGRAMS. 7 Section 3003 of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 8 (12 U.S.C. 5702) is amended by adding at the end the 9 following: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S258.IS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 258 IS ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL ALLOCATION AND COMPETITIVE 1 AWARDS.— 2 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 3 ‘‘(A) the term ‘eligible participating State’ 4 means a participating State that has certified 5 to the Secretary that the State has expended, 6 transferred, or obligated not less than 80 per- 7 cent of the second 1⁄3 of the 2010 allocation 8 transferred to the State under subsection 9 (c)(1)(A)(iii); and 10 ‘‘(B) the term ‘unused funds’ means— 11 ‘‘(i) amounts made available to the 12 Secretary under clause (i)(II) or (ii)(II) of 13 paragraph (2)(E); and 14 ‘‘(ii) amounts made available to the 15 Secretary under paragraph (4)(B)(ii). 16 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION FOR 2010 PARTICIPATING 17 STATES.— 18 ‘‘(A) ALLOCATION.—Of the amount made 19 available under paragraph (6)(D), the Secretary 20 shall allocate a total of $5,000,000,000 among 21 eligible participating States in the same ratio as 22 funds were allocated under the 2010 allocation 23 under subsection (b)(1) among participating 24 States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S258.IS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 258 IS ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—An eligible partici- 1 pating State desiring to receive funds allocated 2 under this paragraph shall submit an applica- 3 tion— 4 ‘‘(i) not later than the date that is 6 5 months after the date of enactment of the 6 Small Business Access to Capital Act of 7 2021; and 8 ‘‘(ii) in such manner and containing 9 such information as the Secretary may re- 10 quire. 11 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY OF ALLOCATED 12 AMOUNT.— 13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 14 subsection (c)(1), after an eligible partici- 15 pating State approved by the Secretary to 16 receive an allocation under this paragraph 17 has certified to the Secretary that the eligi- 18 ble participating State has expended, 19 transferred, or obligated not less than 80 20 percent of the last 1⁄3 of the 2010 alloca- 21 tion to the eligible participating State, the 22 Secretary shall transfer to the eligible par- 23 ticipating State the funds allocated to the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S258.IS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 258 IS eligible participating State under this para- 1 graph. 2 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT ON AGREEMENTS.—The 3 allocation or transfer of funds under this 4 paragraph to an eligible participating State 5 shall not be construed to— 6 ‘‘(I) amend or modify the terms 7 of the allocation agreement entered 8 into by the eligible participating State 9 relating to the 2010 allocation; or 10 ‘‘(II) modify or extend the alloca- 11 tion time period, as defined under 12 such allocation agreement. 13 ‘‘(D) USE OF TRANSFERRED FUNDS.—An 14 eligible participating State may use funds 15 transferred under this paragraph for any pur- 16 pose authorized under subparagraph (A) or (B) 17 of subsection (c)(3). 18 ‘‘(E) TERMINATION OF AVAILABILITY OF 19 AMOUNTS.— 20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If an eligible par- 21 ticipating State has not certified to the 22 Secretary that the State has expended, 23 transferred, or obligated not less than 80 24 percent of the last 1⁄3 of the 2010 alloca- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S258.IS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 258 IS tion as of the date that is 2 years after the 1 date on which the Secretary approves the 2 eligible participating State to receive an al- 3 location under this paragraph, any 4 amounts allocated to the eligible partici- 5 pating State under this paragraph— 6 ‘‘(I) may not be transferred to 7 the eligible participating State under 8 this paragraph; and 9 ‘‘(II) shall be available to the 10 Secretary to make awards under para- 11 graph (4). 12 ‘‘(ii) OTHER AMOUNTS.—Effective on 13 the date that is 2 years after the date of 14 enactment of the Small Business Access to 15 Capital Act of 2021, any amounts allo- 16 cated under this paragraph to a partici- 17 pating State that, as of such date, is not 18 an eligible participating State or to an eli- 19 gible participating State that did not sub- 20 mit an application under subparagraph (B) 21 or was not approved by the Secretary to 22 receive an allocation under this para- 23 graph— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S258.IS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 258 IS ‘‘(I) may not be transferred to an 1 eligible participating State under this 2 paragraph; and 3 ‘‘(II) shall be available to the 4 Secretary to make awards under para- 5 graph (4). 6 ‘‘(3) COMPETITIVE FUNDING.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount made 8 available under paragraph (6)(D), the Secretary 9 may award, on a competitive basis, not more 10 than a total of $5,000,000,000 to participating 11 States and consortiums of participating States 12 for use for any purpose authorized under sub- 13 paragraph (A) or (B) of subsection (c)(3). 14 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.— 15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A participating 16 State or consortium of participating States 17 desiring to receive an award under this 18 paragraph shall submit an application— 19 ‘‘(I) not later than the date es- 20 tablished by the Secretary, which shall 21 be not later than the date that is 1 22 year after the date of enactment of 23 the Small Business Access to Capital 24 Act of 2021; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S258.IS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 258 IS ‘‘(II) in such manner and con- 1 taining such information as the Sec- 2 retary may require. 3 ‘‘(ii) NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS.—A 4 participating State may submit not more 5 than 1 application on behalf of the partici- 6 pating State and not more than 1 applica- 7 tion as part of a consortium of partici- 8 pating States. 9 ‘‘(iii) STATES THAT DID NOT PARTICI- 10 PATE.—A State that is not a participating 11 State may apply to the Secretary for ap- 12 proval to be a participating State for pur- 13 poses of this paragraph and paragraph (4), 14 in accordance with section 3004. 15 ‘‘(C) FACTORS.—In determining whether 16 to make an award to a participating State or 17 consortium of participating States under this 18 paragraph, the Secretary shall consider— 19 ‘‘(i) how the participating State or 20 consortium of participating States plan to 21 use amounts provided under the award 22 under the approved State program to— 23 ‘‘(I) leverage private sector cap- 24 ital; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S258.IS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 258 IS ‘‘(II) create and retain jobs dur- 1 ing the 2-year period beginning on the 2 date of the award; 3 ‘‘(III) serve businesses that have 4 been incorporated or in operation for 5 not more than 5 years; and 6 ‘‘(IV) serve low- or moderate-in- 7 come communities; 8 ‘‘(ii) the extent to which the partici- 9 pating State or consortium of participating 10 States will establish or continue a robust 11 self-evaluation of the activities of the par- 12 ticipating State or consortium of partici- 13 pating States using amounts made avail- 14 able under this title; 15 ‘‘(iii) the extent to which the partici- 16 pating State or consortium of participating 17 States will provide non-Federal funds in 18 excess of the amount required under sub- 19 paragraph (E); and 20 ‘‘(iv) the extent to which the partici- 21 pating State expended, obligated, or trans- 22 ferred the 2010 allocation to the State. 23 ‘‘(D) AWARD OF FUNDS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S258.IS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 258 IS ‘‘(i) FIRST TRANCHE.—Notwith- 1 standing subsection (c)(1), and not later 2 than 30 days after making an award under 3 this paragraph to a participating State or 4 consortium of participating States, the 5 Secretary shall transfer 50 percent of the 6 amount of the award to the participating 7 State or consortium of participating 8 States. 9 ‘‘(ii) SECOND TRANCHE.—After a par- 10 ticipating State or consortium of partici- 11 pating States has certified to the Secretary 12 that the participating State or consortium 13 of participating States has expended, 14 transferred, or obligated not less than 80 15 percent of the amount transferred under 16 clause (i), the Secretary shall transfer to 17 the participating State or consortium of 18 participating States the remaining amount 19 of the award. 20 ‘‘(E) STATE SHARE.—The State share of 21 the cost of the activities, excluding administra- 22 tive expenses, carried out using an award under 23 this paragraph shall be not less than 10 per- 24 cent. The Secretary may determine what con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S258.IS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 258 IS tributions by a State qualify as part of the 1 State share of the cost for purposes of this sub- 2 paragraph. 3 ‘‘(4) AWARD OF UNUSED FUNDS.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 5 award, on a competitive basis, unused funds to 6 participating States for use for any purpose au- 7 thorized under subparagraph (A) or (B) of sub- 8 section (c)(3). 9 ‘‘(B) UNUSED 2010 FUNDS.— 10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 11 shall determine whether any amounts allo- 12 cated to a participating State under sub- 13 section (b) shall be deemed no longer allo- 14 cated and no longer available if a partici- 15 pating State has not certified to the Sec- 16 retary that the State has expended, trans- 17 ferred, or obligated 80 percent of the sec- 18 ond 1⁄3 of the 2010 allocation by December 19 31, 2022. 20 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY.—Effective on the 21 date of the determination under clause (i), 22 any amounts identified in the determina- 23 tion that were deemed no longer allocated 24 and no longer available to the participating 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S258.IS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 258 IS State shall be available to the Secretary to 1 make awards under this paragraph. 2 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.—A participating State 3 desiring to receive an award under this para- 4 graph shall submit an application— 5 ‘‘(i) not later than 3 months after the 6 date on which funds are deemed no longer 7 allocated and no longer available to any 8 participating State; and 9 ‘‘(ii) in such manner and containing 10 such information as the Secretary may re- 11 quire. 12 ‘‘(D) FACTORS.—In determining whether 13 to make an award to a participating State 14 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall con- 15 sider the factors described in paragraph (3)(C). 16 ‘‘(E) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—The Secretary 17 may not make an award of less than 18 $5,000,000 under this paragraph. 19 ‘‘(5) COMPLIANCE AND REPORTING REQUIRE- 20 MENTS.—During the period beginning on the date 21 on which a participating State first receives funds 22 under paragraph (2), (3), or (4) and ending on the 23 date that is 8 years after the date of enactment of 24 the Small Business Access to Capital Act of 2021, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S258.IS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 258 IS the participating State shall submit quarterly and 1 annual reports containing the information described 2 in, and in accordance with the deadlines established 3 under, section 3007. 4 ‘‘(6) ADMINISTRATION AND IMPLEMENTA- 5 TION.— 6 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES FOR 7 PARTICIPATING STATES.—A participating State 8 may use not more than 3 percent of the amount 9 made available to the participating State under 10 paragraph (2), (3), or (4) for administrative ex- 11 penses incurred by the participating State in 12 implementing an approved State program. 13 ‘‘(B) CONTRACTING.—During the 1-year 14 period beginning on the date of enactment of 15 the Small Business Access to Capital Act of 16 2021, and notwithstanding any other provision 17 of law relating to public contracting, the Sec- 18 retary may enter into contracts to carry out 19 this subsection. 20 ‘‘(C) AMOUNTS NOT ASSISTANCE.—Any 21 amounts transferred to a participating State 22 under paragraph (2), (3), or (4) shall not be 23 considered assistance for purposes of subtitle V 24 of title 31, United States Code. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S258.IS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 258 IS ‘‘(D) APPROPRIATION.—There are appro- 1 priated to the Secretary, out of any funds in 2 the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 3 $10,000,000,000 to carry out this subsection, 4 including to pay reasonable costs of admin- 5 istering the programs under this subsection, to 6 remain available until expended. 7 ‘‘(E) TERMINATION OF SECRETARY’S PRO- 8 GRAM ADMINISTRATION FUNCTIONS.—Notwith- 9 standing section 3009(c), the authorities and 10 duties of the Secretary to implement and ad- 11 minister the program under this subsection 12 shall terminate at the end of the 8-year period 13 beginning on the date of enactment of the 14 Small Business Access to Capital Act of 15 2021.’’. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S258.IS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS