II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1901 

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 

JULY 30, 2015 

Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business Access 

5 to Capital Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NEW TRANCHES OF CAPITAL FOR SUCCESSFUL 

2 STATE PROGRAMS. 

3 Section 3003 of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 

4 (12 U.S.C. 5702) is amended by adding at the end the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL ALLOCATION AND COMPETITIVE

7 AWARDS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

9 ‘‘(A) the term ‘eligible participating State’ 

10 means a participating State that has certified 

11 to the Secretary that the State has expended, 

12 transferred, or obligated not less than 80 percent of the second 1 13 ⁄3 of the 2010 allocation 

14 transferred to the State under subsection 

15 (c)(1)(A)(iii); and 

16 ‘‘(B) the term ‘unused funds’ means— 

17 ‘‘(i) amounts made available to the 

18 Secretary under clause (i)(II) or (ii)(II) of 

19 paragraph (2)(E); and 

20 ‘‘(ii) amounts made available to the 

21 Secretary under paragraph (4)(B)(ii). 

22 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION FOR 2010 PARTICIPATING

23 STATES.— 

24 ‘‘(A) ALLOCATION.—Of the amount made 

25 available under paragraph (6)(D), the Secretary 

26 shall allocate a total of $500,000,000 among elVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:17 Jul 31, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1901.IS S1901

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1 igible participating States in the same ratio as 

2 funds were allocated under the 2010 allocation 

3 under subsection (b)(1) among participating 

4 States. 

5 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—An eligible partici6 pating State desiring to receive funds allocated 

7 under this paragraph shall submit an applica8 tion— 

9 ‘‘(i) not later than the date that is 6 

10 months after the date of enactment of the 

11 Small Business Access to Capital Act of 

12 2015; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) in such manner and containing 

14 such information as the Secretary may re15 quire. 

16 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY OF ALLOCATED

17 AMOUNT.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

19 subsection (c)(1), after an eligible partici20 pating State approved by the Secretary to 

21 receive an allocation under this paragraph 

22 has certified to the Secretary that the eligi23 ble participating State has expended, 

24 transferred, or obligated not less than 80 

percent of the last 1 25 ⁄3 of the 2010 allocaVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:17 Jul 31, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1901.IS S1901

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1 tion to the eligible participating State, the 

2 Secretary shall transfer to the eligible par3 ticipating State the funds allocated to the 

4 eligible participating State under this para5 graph. 

6 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT ON AGREEMENTS.—The 

7 allocation or transfer of funds under this 

8 paragraph to an eligible participating State 

9 shall not be construed to— 

10 ‘‘(I) amend or modify the terms 

11 of the Allocation Agreement entered 

12 into by the eligible participating State 

13 relating to the 2010 allocation; or 

14 ‘‘(II) modify or extend the Allo15 cation Time Period, as defined under 

16 such Allocation Agreement. 

17 ‘‘(D) USE OF TRANSFERRED FUNDS.—An 

18 eligible participating State may use funds 

19 transferred under this paragraph for any pur20 pose authorized under subparagraph (A) or (B) 

21 of subsection (c)(3). 

22 ‘‘(E) TERMINATION OF AVAILABILITY OF

23 AMOUNTS.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If an eligible par25 ticipating State has not certified to the 


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1 Secretary that the State has expended, 

2 transferred, or obligated not less than 80 

percent of the last 1 3 ⁄3 of the 2010 alloca4 tion as of the date that is 2 years after the 

5 date on which the Secretary approves the 

6 eligible participating State to receive an al7 location under this paragraph, any 

8 amounts allocated to the eligible partici9 pating State under this paragraph— 

10 ‘‘(I) may not be transferred to 

11 the eligible participating State under 

12 this paragraph; and 

13 ‘‘(II) shall be available to the 

14 Secretary to make awards under para15 graph (4). 

16 ‘‘(ii) OTHER AMOUNTS.—Effective on 

17 the date that is 2 years after the date of 

18 enactment of the Small Business Access to 

19 Capital Act of 2015, any amounts allo20 cated under this paragraph to a partici21 pating State that, as of such date, is not 

22 an eligible participating State or to an eli23 gible participating State that did not sub24 mit an application under subparagraph (B) 

25 or was not approved by the Secretary to 


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1 receive an allocation under this para2 graph— 

3 ‘‘(I) may not be transferred to an 

4 eligible participating State under this 

5 paragraph; and 

6 ‘‘(II) shall be available to the 

7 Secretary to make awards under para8 graph (4). 

9 ‘‘(3) COMPETITIVE FUNDING.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount made 

11 available under paragraph (6)(D), the Secretary 

12 may award, on a competitive basis, not more 

13 than a total of $1,000,000,000 to participating 

14 States and consortiums of participating States 

15 for use for any purpose authorized under sub16 paragraph (A) or (B) of subsection (c)(3). 

17 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A participating 

19 State or consortium of participating States 

20 desiring to receive an award under this 

21 paragraph shall submit an application— 

22 ‘‘(I) not later than the date es23 tablished by the Secretary, which shall 

24 be not later than the date that is 1 

25 year after the date of enactment of 


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1 the Small Business Access to Capital 

2 Act of 2015; and 

3 ‘‘(II) in such manner and con4 taining such information as the Sec5 retary may require. 

6 ‘‘(ii) NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS.—A 

7 participating State may submit not more 

8 than 1 application on behalf of the partici9 pating State and not more than 1 applica10 tion as part of a consortium of partici11 pating States. 

12 ‘‘(iii) STATES THAT DID NOT PARTICI13 PATE.—A State that is not a participating 

14 State may apply to the Secretary for ap15 proval to be a participating State for pur16 poses of this paragraph and paragraph (4), 

17 in accordance with section 3004. 

18 ‘‘(C) FACTORS.—In determining whether 

19 to make an award to a participating State or 

20 consortium of participating States under this 

21 paragraph, the Secretary shall consider— 

22 ‘‘(i) how the participating State or 

23 consortium of participating States plan to 

24 use amounts provided under the award 

25 under the approved State program to— 


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1 ‘‘(I) leverage private sector cap2 ital; 

3 ‘‘(II) create and retain jobs dur4 ing the 2-year period beginning on the 

5 date of the award; 

6 ‘‘(III) serve businesses that have 

7 been incorporated or in operation for 

8 not more than 5 years; and 

9 ‘‘(IV) serve low- or moderate-in10 come communities; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the extent to which the partici12 pating State or consortium of participating 

13 States will establish or continue a robust 

14 self-evaluation of the activities of the par15 ticipating State or consortium of partici16 pating States using amounts made avail17 able under this title; 

18 ‘‘(iii) the extent to which the partici19 pating State or consortium of participating 

20 States will provide non-Federal funds in 

21 excess of the amount required under sub22 paragraph (E); and 

23 ‘‘(iv) the extent to which the partici24 pating State expended, obligated, or trans25 ferred the 2010 allocation to the State. 


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1 ‘‘(D) AWARD OF FUNDS.— 

2 ‘‘(i) FIRST TRANCHE.—Notwith3 standing subsection (c)(1), and not later 

4 than 30 days after making an award under 

5 this paragraph to a participating State or 

6 consortium of participating States, the 

7 Secretary shall transfer 50 percent of the 

8 amount of the award to the participating 

9 State or consortium of participating 

10 States. 

11 ‘‘(ii) SECOND TRANCHE.—After a par12 ticipating State or consortium of partici13 pating States has certified to the Secretary 

14 that the participating State or consortium 

15 of participating States has expended, 

16 transferred, or obligated not less than 80 

17 percent of the amount transferred under 

18 clause (i), the Secretary shall transfer to 

19 the participating State or consortium of 

20 participating States the remaining amount 

21 of the award. 

22 ‘‘(E) STATE SHARE.—The State share of 

23 the cost of the activities, excluding administra24 tive expenses, carried out using an award under 

25 this paragraph shall be not less than 10 perVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:17 Jul 31, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1901.IS S1901

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1 cent. The Secretary may determine what con2 tributions by a State qualify as part of the 

3 State share of the cost for purposes of this sub4 paragraph. 

5 ‘‘(4) AWARD OF UNUSED FUNDS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

7 award, on a competitive basis, unused funds to 

8 participating States for use for any purpose au9 thorized under subparagraph (A) or (B) of sub10 section (c)(3). 

11 ‘‘(B) UNUSED 2010 FUNDS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

13 shall determine whether any amounts allo14 cated to a participating State under sub15 section (b) shall be deemed no longer allo16 cated and no longer available if a partici17 pating State has not certified to the Sec18 retary that the State has expended, trans19 ferred, or obligated 80 percent of the second 1 20 ⁄3 of the 2010 allocation by December 

21 31, 2016. 

22 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY.—Effective on the 

23 date of the determination under clause (i), 

24 any amounts identified in the determina25 tion that were deemed no longer allocated 


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1 and no longer available to the participating 

2 State shall be available to the Secretary to 

3 make awards under this paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.—A participating State 

5 desiring to receive an award under this para6 graph shall submit an application— 

7 ‘‘(i) not later than 3 months after the 

8 date on which funds are deemed no longer 

9 allocated and no longer available to any 

10 participating State; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) in such manner and containing 

12 such information as the Secretary may re13 quire. 

14 ‘‘(D) FACTORS.—In determining whether 

15 to make an award to a participating State 

16 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall con17 sider the factors described in paragraph (3)(C). 

18 ‘‘(E) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—The Secretary 

19 may not make an award of less than 

20 $5,000,000 under this paragraph. 

21 ‘‘(5) COMPLIANCE AND REPORTING REQUIRE22 MENTS.—During the period beginning on the date 

23 on which a participating State first receives funds 

24 under paragraph (2), (3), or (4) and ending on the 

25 date that is 8 years after the date of enactment of 


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1 the Small Business Access to Capital Act of 2015, 

2 the participating State shall submit quarterly and 

3 annual reports containing the information described 

4 in, and in accordance with the deadlines established 

5 under, section 3007. 

6 ‘‘(6) ADMINISTRATION AND IMPLEMENTA7 TION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES FOR

9 PARTICIPATING STATES.—A participating State 

10 may use not more than 3 percent of the amount 

11 made available to the participating State under 

12 paragraph (2), (3), or (4) for administrative ex13 penses incurred by the participating State in 

14 implementing an approved State program. 

15 ‘‘(B) CONTRACTING.—During the 1-year 

16 period beginning on the date of enactment of 

17 the Small Business Access to Capital Act of 

18 2015, and notwithstanding any other provision 

19 of law relating to public contracting, the Sec20 retary may enter into contracts to carry out 

21 this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(C) AMOUNTS NOT ASSISTANCE.—Any 

23 amounts transferred to a participating State 

24 under paragraph (2), (3), or (4) shall not be 


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1 considered assistance for purposes of subtitle V 

2 of title 31, United States Code. 

3 ‘‘(D) APPROPRIATION.—There are appro4 priated to the Secretary, out of any funds in 

5 the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

6 $1,500,000,000 to carry out this subsection, in7 cluding to pay reasonable costs of administering 

8 the programs under this subsection, to remain 

9 available until expended. 

10 ‘‘(E) TERMINATION OF SECRETARY’S PRO11 GRAM ADMINISTRATION FUNCTIONS.—The au12 thorities and duties of the Secretary to imple13 ment and administer the program under this 

14 subsection shall terminate at the end of the 8- 

15 year period beginning on the date of enactment 

16 of the Small Business Access to Capital Act of 

17 2015.’’. 

Æ 


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