FISCAL NOTE

House Bill 473 as substituted and reported by the Committee on Ways and Means General Fund creates the Alabama Rural, Agribusiness, and Opportunity Zone Jobs Act which establishes procedures for a growth fund to invest in growth businesses located in growth zones in Alabama, and that are eligible to receive matching loan funds from the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Fund. The SSBCI Fund, established by this bill, would receive money from the federal allocations to the states pursuant to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Further, this bill will increase the administrative obligations of a state department, to be determined by the Governor, to issue an investment authority notice, administer the program, and establish the necessary rules for the establishment of growth funds in the state, which will be partially offset by the $20,000 fee for each applicant filing, $5,000 fee for each annual renewal, and a $500 fee for an opinion request. This bill requires the growth fund to forfeit its management fees and immediately satisfy the SSBCI loan, if the growth fund does not invest all of its allocation in the first 12 months or fails to maintain growth investments until six years after the closing date for all investments in the fund.

Additionally, this bill provides that the department will: (1) verify that all investment fund applicants are licensed as a rural business investment company as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or a small business investment company as defined by the U.S. Small Business Investment Program; (2) verify that the investment companies have invested at least $100,000,000 in non-public companies located in non-metropolitan counties; and (3) report to the Legislature pursuant to Section 40-1-50, beginning in 2023 with an assessment of the incentives allowed in this bill.