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HOUSE MAJORITY OFFICE SENATE MAJORITY OFFICE |
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Press Release
February 22, 2010
Contacts:
Michael Cox (503) 986-1904
Molly Woon (503) 986-1074
Joint Ways & Means Passes Bills to Increase Small
Business Investment and Create Jobs
SB 1017 and HB
3698 will increase the availability of working capital for small businesses
SALEM – The Joint Ways & Means Committee today
passed two bills to increase small business investment and create jobs. Oregon
Democrats have made creating jobs and making Oregon an attractive place to open
and grow small businesses their top priority for the February Special Session.
SB 1017 and HB 3698 both increase the availability of working capital for small
businesses in the state.
Senate Bill 1017, called the Access to Business Capital
Act (ABC Act) gives small businesses better access to the capital they need
through the Oregon Business Development Fund and the Oregon Entrepreneurial
Development Loan Fund. Senator Suzanne Bonamici (D-NW Portland/Washington Co.)
and Representative Margaret Doherty (D-Tigard) worked together on the
legislation, which is a key part of both the House and Senate Democrats’
agendas for the February session.
“The ABC Act helps community businesses by making it
easier for them to access small business loan programs,” said Bonamici.
“This bill will provide additional flexibility to get money out the door
more quickly for companies that need help.”
“Small businesses are having a really hard time
accessing the capital they need to grow their businesses in this tough
economy,” said Doherty. “This bill will increase access to funds
for the small businesses that are the backbone of our economy and the engine of
our recovery.”
Nearly 60 percent of Oregon Business Development Fund
loans are made in rural areas of Oregon, giving help to small businesses who
need capital to expand and grow and helping create jobs. The Oregon
Entrepreneurial Development Loan Fund helps smalls businesses get off the
ground by providing start-up funds and has been one of the most successful
tools the state has in targeting loans to women, with over 36 percent of the
existing loans being made to women-owned businesses across the state.
HB 3698 creates the Building Opportunities for Oregon
Small Business Today Fund (BOOST Fund) to increase the availability of working
capital to Oregon small businesses that create jobs and hire Oregonians to fill
them.
“We hear time and time again that the biggest
obstacle small businesses face to creating jobs is a lack of access to working
capital,” said House Democratic Majority Leader Mary Nolan (D-SW
Portland). “This bill changes the game by providing capital for small
businesses that are dedicated to creating new, full-time jobs in Oregon.”
To qualify for BOOST funds a small business must
demonstrate a reasonable capacity to increase employment, establish a goal of
creating new full-time jobs in Oregon with a reasonable prospect of achieving
such goals, and demonstrate a history of providing comparable wages to its
employees.
SB 1017 now heads to the Senate floor for a vote, while HB
3698 moves to the floor of the House.
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The Senate Democratic Agenda can be found at
http://www.leg.state.or.us/senatedemocrats/Feb2010Agenda.pdf
The House Democratic Agenda can be found at
http://www.leg.state.or.us/housedemocrats/