§ 11-52-102 — Small business emergency bridge loan program; eligibility; requirements; account

(a) The small business emergency bridge loan program is
hereby created to provide short-term bridge loans to Wyoming
businesses after declared natural disasters.
(b) The office of state lands and investments shall
administer the program. The state loan and investment board
shall:
(i) Promulgate any rules necessary to implement the
program;
(ii) Establish a process by which financial
institutions may register to administer and process emergency
bridge loans issued under the program;
(iii) Develop an application for emergency bridge
loans, including specifying the documentation required to apply,
and provide applications to participating financial institutions
for distribution;
(iv) Review all applications and recommendations from
financial institutions to ensure that emergency bridge loans are
approved and made in accordance with this chapter;
(v) Oversee the disbursement and repayment of funds
from emergency bridge loans.
(c) Subject to available funding, small business emergency
bridge loans shall be made and disbursed in accordance with all
of the following:
(i) Before bridge loans shall be available under this
chapter, the governor shall declare that a natural disaster has
occurred and shall designate the counties in which the natural
disaster has occurred. For purposes of this paragraph, the
governor may declare a natural disaster for purposes of making
loans available under this section upon the failure of
infrastructure, including but not limited to roads, bridges,
dams and irrigation infrastructure. Upon this declaration,
businesses located in the designated counties in which the
natural disaster has been declared may apply for emergency
bridge loans under this chapter;
(ii) Emergency bridge loans shall be made only to
businesses that:
(A) Are physically located and doing business in
Wyoming and are physically located within the area in which the
governor has declared that a natural disaster has occurred;
(B) Were established and in operation before the
declared natural disaster occurred;
(C) Have one (1) or more persons who own not
less than fifty percent (50%) of the business, who can apply for
the loan and who shall serve as guarantor for the loan. Any
person or persons applying for a loan under this chapter for a
business shall have a credit score of not less than five hundred
fifty (550) and shall not be on probation or parole at the time
of application;
(D) Not be engaged in the business of loan
packaging, offering or providing short-term rentals,
speculation, multi-sales distribution, gaming, investment or
lending or any activity that violates state or federal law.
(iii) Applications for emergency bridge loans shall
be filed with a financial institution registered with the office
to participate in the program. Upon receipt of a complete
application and all required documentation, the financial
institution shall review the application and documentation to
determine whether the business qualifies for an emergency bridge
loan under this chapter and shall forward a recommendation to
the office whether to approve or reject the loan and any terms
or conditions that should be included for the loan;
(iv) Upon receipt of a recommendation from a
financial institution, the office shall, not later than five (5)
business days after receiving the recommendation, review the
recommendation and ensure that the applicant qualifies for a
loan. Upon determining that an applicant qualifies under this
chapter, the director may approve the application and, if
approved, shall disburse funds from the account created in
subsection (f) of this section to the financial institution for
disbursement to the loan applicant or, if requested by the loan
applicant or if the financial institution is unable to accept
the funds, for disbursement directly to the loan applicant, and
specify any terms and conditions that shall be included as part
of the loan agreement. Loans approved by the director shall not
require subsequent approval by the state loan and investment
board.
(d) Emergency bridge loans issued under this chapter
shall:
(i) Require an origination fee of two percent (2%) of
the loan amount, to be distributed to the financial institution
for processing the loan. The office shall pay one percent (1%)
of the origination fee from funds available in the account
created in subsection (f) of this section. The loan applicant
shall pay the remaining one percent (1%) of the origination fee
from loan proceeds. For purposes of this paragraph, the office
may require an additional origination fee to be paid by the
applicant for deposit in the account created by subsection (f)
of this section if the additional fee is necessary to account
for a decreased amount of investment earnings as a result of the
emergency bridge loan program;
(ii) Not exceed seven hundred fifty thousand dollars
($750,000.00) for each business applying under this chapter;
(iii) Be secured by insurance proceeds or other
anticipated funds that the business will receive as a result of
the natural disaster or other land, equipment or assets owned by
the business;
(iv) Be expended only for any business purposes,
which may include, but not limited to, fencing repair, the
replacement of livestock, the replacement of buildings or
shelters, business vehicles, inventory replacement, equipment
damaged or destroyed in the natural disaster, the leasing of
land for business purposes, necessary trucking and
transportation expenses and temporary facilities for the
business to operate;
(v) Not be expended to expand the business's
operations or to purchase additional property or equipment that
the business did not have before the natural disaster;
(vi) Contain repayment terms, provided that:
(A) Full repayment shall occur not later than
three (3) years after the issuance of the loan;
(B) Interest shall be charged on the loan at a
rate not to exceed zero percent (0%) plus the interest rate
earned on pooled fund investments in the previous fiscal year.
The interest rate specified in this subparagraph shall be
reduced to account for investment earnings and the rate of
return on investments of the small business emergency bridge
loan account created in subsection (f) of this section.
(e) Each business receiving a loan under this chapter
shall make repayments to the office. Upon receiving payments,
the office shall deposit the funds received, including interest,
in the small business emergency bridge loan account created in
subsection (f) of this section.
(f) There is created the small business emergency bridge
loan account. Funds within the account shall be used only to
provide emergency bridge loans under this chapter, origination
fees specified in this chapter and any administrative costs
associated with operating the program. The state treasurer shall
invest funds within the account in accordance with law, and all
earnings from the account shall be deposited in the account. The
office may accept grants, gifts or other funds for deposit in
the account. Any grants, gifts or other funds accepted under
this subsection shall first be expended to reduce, on a pro rata
basis, the interest that applicants are required to pay under
this section. Funds in the account are continuously appropriated
to the office to be expended only in accordance with this
chapter.
(g) Not later than October 1 of each year, the office
shall annually review the program and report to the joint
appropriations committee, the joint agriculture, state and
public lands and water resources interim committee and the state
loan and investment board on the loans made under the program,
all outstanding loan commitments, repayments received and the
balance of the account created in subsection (f) of this
section.
(h) The director of the office of state lands and
investments, with approval from the governor, is authorized to
borrow from the legislative stabilization reserve account up to
twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000.00) as necessary to
meet funding requirements for qualifying loans under this
section. Any loan proceeds shall be deposited into the small
business emergency bridge loan account. Interest charged on the
amounts borrowed shall be zero percent (0%). The director of the
office of state lands and investments shall report to the joint
appropriations committee, the president of the senate and the
speaker of the house of representatives immediately upon
exercise of this loan authority. The director of the office of
state lands and investments, after consultation with the state
auditor, shall include an appropriation request in each biennial
budget and supplemental budget request in an amount equal to the
lesser of twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000.00) or the
outstanding loan balance until all loans from the legislative
stabilization reserve account to the emergency bridge loan
account are repaid in full.