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Commerce committee weighs converting $5M development loan fund to grants and making VEGI permanent
Summary
Committee members and agency staff debated S 3 27 provisions to convert a $5 million revolving loan fund into grants, loosen matching requirements to help smaller regional development corporations, expand eligibility for federally impacted properties, and make the VEGI employer incentive permanent while preserving oversight.
The Brabaugh House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development opened a detailed review of S 3 27 on April 1, hearing agency staff describe several proposed changes to the state's economic development toolbox.
Agency staff told the committee the bill would convert an existing $5,000,000 development fund from a loan program with deed restrictions and an 80/20 match into a grant program and change the required applicant match to 50%. "Right now it is a loan; smaller development corporations simply don't have the capital to meet an 80/20 split," an agency official said, urging the change to broaden access for regional development corporations statewide.
The committee also considered language to create a special eligibility path for "federally impacted" properties (sites harmed by federal action or…
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