SB 1020, An Act Establishing a Regional Economic Development Pilot Program: This bill develops a program to allow the Department of Economic and Community Development to provide an up to $10 million matching grant to a regional economic development entity - allowing smaller communities to band together to access additional resources and create stronger leverage to create economic development.
HB 6121, An Act Concerning a Workforce Development Pipeline for Persons with Disabilities: Requires the Department of Economic and Community Development to develop a plan to establish a workforce development pipeline for persons with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities face many obstacles in finding gainful employment, one of which is the lack of job opportunities. Businesses, and the economy as a whole, will benefit from persons with disabilities entering the workforce.
Small Business Express Program, As part of the FY 22-23 budget implementer (SB 1202), the legislature passed various changes to DECD’s Small Business Express program (EXP), generally increasing flexibility in the department’s administration of the program and allowing for increased participation by private lenders. Among its changes, the act does the following:
- Expands the types of assistance that may be provided from the revolving loan fund and eliminates related requirements on the uses, amounts, rates and terms, and prioritization of these loans;
- Allows the DECD commissioner, in consultation with Connecticut Innovations (CI), to establish a new EXP component;
- Eliminates the job creation incentive and matching grant components;
- Removes the requirement that there be no more than two minority business revolving loan funds, instead requiring a minimum of one, and increases the maximum size of loans these funds can provide;
- Makes changes to the administration and funding allocation of the EXP component operated in collaboration with Connecticut-based banks; and
- Establishes a goal for the department that by July 1, 2026, EXP (a) will be self-funded and (b) have a default rate of 20% or less for small businesses receiving assistance.
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