Title 42, Title 42 Affairs and Government

No grants, funding, or incentives shall be authorized pursuant to this chapter after December 31, 2028.

The general assembly hereby finds and declares that small businesses are the economic backbone of the state and the source of a majority of new jobs. The general assembly further finds that too many such businesses often have difficulty obtaining capital from traditional banking …

The small business capital access fund program is hereby created within the Rhode Island commerce corporation. The commerce corporation is authorized, within available appropriations, to provide direct assistance and/or partner with lending organizations to provide funding for lo…

The commerce corporation may elect to partner with an outside lending organization and authorize that organization to receive and administer program funds. Before partnering with an outside lending organization, the commerce corporation may identify eligible lending organizations…

Loan programs shall be structured by the commerce corporation that may include, but not be limited to, the following programs: (a) financing programs for companies that require additional capital outside of conventional senior debt or equity financing channels; (b) direct lending…

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this chapter, not less than ten percent (10%) and not more than twenty-five percent (25%) of program funds will be allocated to “micro loans” with a principal amount between two thousand dollars ($2,000) and twenty-five thousand dollars…

Any participating lending organizations shall submit to the commerce corporation annual reports stating the following: the number of program loans made; the amount of program funding used for loans; the use of loan proceeds by the borrowers; the number of jobs created or retained…

The commerce corporation may conduct audits of any participating lending organization in order to ensure compliance with the provisions of this chapter, any regulations promulgated with respect thereto and agreements between the lending organizations and the commerce corporation …

Upon termination of a lending organization’s participation in the program, the lending organization shall return to the commerce corporation, promptly after its demand therefor, an accounting of all program funds received by the lending organization, including a transfer of all c…