SENATE SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1,
TO SENATE BILL 515
January 15, 2016 - Offered by Senator Gudex.
SB515-SSA1,1,3 1An Act to create 20.192 (1) (am) and 238.137 of the statutes; relating to: a
2regional revolving loan fund grant program administered by the Wisconsin
3Economic Development Corporation and making an appropriation.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This substitute amendment requires the Wisconsin Economic Development
Corporation to establish a grant program for the establishment of a number of
regional revolving loan funds. Under the program, WEDC must designate as
economic development regions nine geographic areas in Wisconsin that combined
cover the entire state. In making those designations, WEDC is required to consider
the geographic areas served by specific economic development organizations
enumerated in the substitute amendment.
Provided certain conditions are satisfied, WEDC is required to make grants to
one or more regional economic development organizations in each of the designated
economic development regions for the purpose of creating regional revolving loan
funds. Among the conditions each of those regional economic development
organizations must satisfy is that the organization at least matches the amount of
the grant with moneys the organization has raised from other sources.
A regional economic development organization must use the grant and all
matching moneys only for the operation of a regional revolving loan fund. WEDC is
required to approve policies and procedures for loans made from each regional
revolving loan fund.

A regional economic development organization may make a loan under the
substitute amendment only if the recipient of the loan has secured a primary source
of funding other than the regional revolving loan fund and the loan will be used for
the purposes specified in the substitute amendment. The substitute amendment
provides that a regional economic development organization receiving a grant under
the substitute amendment may not make a loan to a business or other organization
whose principal place of business is located in an economic development region other
than the region the regional economic development organization primarily serves.
If a regional economic development organization suspects that an applicant for or
recipient of a regional revolving loan fund loan committed fraud or another crime
with respect to the loan, the matter must be referred to law enforcement.
WEDC may award up to $1,000,000 in grants per state fiscal biennium to each
economic development region, for a total potential of $9,000,000 in grants per state
fiscal biennium. However, WEDC may reallocate to economic development regions
grant moneys not awarded in a previous state fiscal biennium regardless of that
$1,000,000 limit. The substitute amendment further authorizes WEDC to expend
up to $1,000,000 per state fiscal biennium for training regional economic
development organizations not qualifying for a grant in the operation of a regional
revolving loan fund and for WEDC to directly operate a regional revolving loan fund
itself.
The substitute amendment requires that a regional economic development
organization receiving a grant under the substitute amendment submit any
information required by WEDC to measure the regional revolving loan fund's
performance and compliance with the program, in addition to an annual schedule of
grant expenditures required under current law. WEDC must annually provide all
of that information to the appropriate standing committees of each house of the
legislature having economic development under their purview.
Additionally, the substitute amendment requires each grant recipient to
submit an annual report to WEDC for the previous state fiscal year that includes all
of the following:
1. The name and address of each person receiving a loan from the grant
recipient's regional revolving loan fund.
2. The amount and purpose of each loan.
3. The total costs incurred by the recipient of the loan with respect to the
purposes for which the loan was made.
4. A description of the number of full-time jobs created or retained and
businesses positively impacted as a result of the loan.
5. An accounting of all loan-origination and other loan fees each recipient of
a loan paid to the regional economic development organization.
WEDC is required to include all of that information in its annual report to the
legislature concerning its economic development programs.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB515-SSA1,1
1Section 1. 20.005 (3) (schedule) of the statutes: at the appropriate place, insert
2the following amounts for the purposes indicated: - See PDF for table PDF
SB515-SSA1,2 3Section 2. 20.192 (1) (am) of the statutes is created to read:
SB515-SSA1,3,64 20.192 (1) (am) Regional revolving loan fund grants. As a continuing
5appropriation, the amounts in the schedule for regional revolving loan fund grants
6under s. 238.137.
SB515-SSA1,3 7Section 3. 238.137 of the statutes is created to read:
SB515-SSA1,3,8 8238.137 Regional revolving loan fund grant program. (1) In this section:
SB515-SSA1,3,109 (a) "Economic development region" means a geographic area designated under
10sub. (1m).
SB515-SSA1,3,1211 (b) "Grant recipient" means a regional economic development organization
12receiving a grant under sub. (2) (b).
SB515-SSA1,3,1613 (c) "Regional economic development organization" means an organization that
14has as its primary purpose the promotion of the economic development of an
15economic development region and includes the organizations under sub. (1m) (a) to
16(i).
SB515-SSA1,4,2 17(1m) The corporation shall designate as economic development regions 9
18geographic areas in this state that combined cover the entire state. In making those

1designations, the corporation shall consider the geographic areas served by the
2following economic development organizations:
SB515-SSA1,4,33 (a) Prosperity Southwest Wisconsin.
SB515-SSA1,4,44 (b) Madison Region Economic Partnership.
SB515-SSA1,4,55 (c) Milwaukee 7 Regional Economic Development Partnership.
SB515-SSA1,4,66 (d) The 7 Rivers Alliance.
SB515-SSA1,4,77 (e) Centergy, Inc.
SB515-SSA1,4,88 (f) New North, Inc.
SB515-SSA1,4,99 (g) Momentum West, Inc.
SB515-SSA1,4,1010 (h) Grow North Regional Economic Development Corporation.
SB515-SSA1,4,1111 (i) Visions Northwest Regional Economic Development Group.
SB515-SSA1,4,13 12(2) (a) The corporation shall develop and implement a regional revolving loan
13fund grant program subject to the requirements of this section.
SB515-SSA1,4,1614 (b) For each economic development region, from the appropriation under s.
1520.192 (1) (am), the corporation shall award a grant to one or more regional economic
16development organizations, if any, that satisfy all of the following conditions:
SB515-SSA1,4,1917 1. The corporation determines that the regional economic development
18organization has the training and expertise necessary to operate a regional revolving
19loan fund subject to the requirements of this section.
SB515-SSA1,4,2220 2. The corporation approves the structure of and the regional investment
21strategy and administrative guidelines for the regional economic development
22organization's regional revolving loan fund.
SB515-SSA1,4,2423 3. The regional economic development organization at least matches the
24amount of the grant with moneys the organization has raised from other sources.
SB515-SSA1,5,3
1(c) Each grant recipient shall use the grant moneys and all matching moneys
2under par. (b) 3. only for the operation of a regional revolving loan fund under this
3section.
SB515-SSA1,5,74 (d) The corporation may not award a grant under par. (b) to a regional economic
5development organization unless the corporation has approved policies and
6procedures for loans made by the regional economic development organization from
7its regional revolving loan fund.
SB515-SSA1,5,118 (e) 1. A grant recipient may not make or offer to make a loan from its regional
9revolving loan fund to a business or other organization whose principal place of
10business is located in an economic development region other than the economic
11development region the grant recipient primarily serves.
SB515-SSA1,5,1512 2. A grant recipient may not make or offer to make a loan from its regional
13revolving loan fund to a business or other organization unless the business or other
14organization has secured a primary source of funding other than the grant recipient's
15regional revolving loan fund.
SB515-SSA1,5,1916 3. A grant recipient may make a loan or offer to make a loan from its regional
17revolving loan fund to a business or other organization only if the loan is to be used
18for working capital, purchasing equipment, building construction and improvement,
19land or other asset acquisition, or private infrastructure improvements.
SB515-SSA1,5,2220 (f) 1. Each grant recipient shall comply with s. 238.03 (3) (a) and shall submit
21to the corporation all other information the corporation requires to measure the
22regional revolving loan fund's performance and compliance with this section.
SB515-SSA1,6,223 2. By October 1 each year, the corporation shall submit to the appropriate
24standing committee of each house of the legislature having economic development
25under its purview, as determined by the presiding officer, all of the information

1provided to the corporation under subd. 1. and s. 238.03 (3) (a) by each grant
2recipient.
SB515-SSA1,6,43 (fg) By August 1 each year, each grant recipient shall submit a report to the
4corporation for the previous state fiscal year that includes all of the following:
SB515-SSA1,6,65 1. The name and address of each person receiving a loan from the grant
6recipient's regional revolving loan fund.
SB515-SSA1,6,77 2. The amount and purpose of each loan.
SB515-SSA1,6,98 3. The total costs incurred by the recipient of the loan with respect to the
9purposes under par. (e) 3. for which the loan was made.
SB515-SSA1,6,1110 4. A description of the number of full-time jobs created or retained and
11businesses positively impacted as a result of the loan.
SB515-SSA1,6,1312 5. An accounting of all loan-origination and other loan fees each recipient of
13a loan paid to the grant recipient.
SB515-SSA1,6,1514 (fr) The corporation shall include the information required under par. (fg) with
15its annual report under s. 238.07 (2).
SB515-SSA1,6,1816 (g) For each economic development region, the corporation may not grant more
17than $1,000,000 under par. (b) per state fiscal biennium to regional economic
18development organizations primarily serving that region.
SB515-SSA1,6,2219 (hm) Notwithstanding par. (g), the corporation may reallocate to economic
20development regions grant moneys not awarded under par. (b) in a previous state
21fiscal biennium. The corporation may use a competitive application process for
22reallocating grant moneys under this paragraph.
SB515-SSA1,7,223 (im) If a grant recipient has reason to believe that an applicant for or recipient
24of a loan from the grant recipient's regional revolving loan fund violated ch. 943 or
25committed another crime with respect to the loan, the grant recipient shall refer the

1matter to the appropriate law enforcement agency or district attorney for
2investigation.
SB515-SSA1,7,6 3(3) The corporation may assess a fee to each regional economic development
4organization awarded a grant under sub. (2) (b), not to exceed 5 percent of the total
5grant amount, to the extent necessary to reimburse the corporation for costs incurred
6for administration of the program under this section.
SB515-SSA1,7,11 7(4) (a) From the appropriation under s. 20.192 (1) (am), the corporation may
8expend up to a total of $1,000,000 per state fiscal biennium to train, or to contract
9with another person under a competitive request for proposals process to train, a
10regional economic development organization in the operation of a regional revolving
11loan fund if the organization fails to qualify for a grant under sub. (2) (b).
SB515-SSA1,7,1512 (b) 1. Notwithstanding s. 238.123, the corporation may use moneys not
13expended under par. (a) to operate a regional revolving loan fund administered
14directly by the corporation subject to the corporation's policies and procedures
15established under sub. (2) (d).
SB515-SSA1,7,1816 2. The corporation shall pay to the secretary of administration for deposit in
17the general fund all amounts it receives as repayments of principal and interest on
18loans made under this paragraph.
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