S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7360
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              April 26, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. REYES -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Small Business
 
 AN ACT to amend the New York state urban development corporation act, in
   relation to the small business regional revolving loan trust fund  and
   the small business regional revolving loan program

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Statement of legislative  intent.  The  legislature  hereby
 finds  and  declares  that small businesses are the economic backbone of
 the state and the source of a majority  of  new  jobs.  The  legislature
 further finds that such businesses often have difficulty obtaining small
 amounts of capital from traditional banking organizations that is neces-
 sary to start-up, improve, or expand operations. State assistance in the
 form  of  loans to meet such capital gaps would enable the formation and
 expansion of small businesses across the state and,  thus,  provide  job
 opportunities  to  the  state's  citizens. The legislature further finds
 that the existing regional revolving loan program  of  the  state  urban
 development  corporation  demonstrated  that  it  is  more efficient and
 effective to provide such loans through regional  not-for-profit  corpo-
 rations  that  are  knowledgeable  about  local  businesses and economic
 conditions. Therefore, it is the intent of the  legislature  to  improve
 job  opportunities  in  the  state by revitalizing the urban development
 corporation's regional revolving loan program and re-naming it the small
 business regional revolving loan program.
   § 2. The New York state urban development corporation created by chap-
 ter 174 of the laws of 1968 is hereby directed  to  audit,  pursuant  to
 subdivision  (19)  of section 16-a of section 1 of the urban development
 corporation act, each  existing  regional  corporation  administering  a
 small business regional revolving loan fund and to either recertify such
 regional corporation or decertify such regional corporation and competi-
 tively  select  a successor corporation to administer the small business
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD06075-02-9

 A. 7360                             2
 
 regional revolving loan fund.  In the case of regions that do not have a
 regional corporation administering a small business  regional  revolving
 loan  fund  or  that  have a decertified regional corporation, the urban
 development corporation shall issue a request for proposals, pursuant to
 the  provisions  of  section  16-a of section 1 of the urban development
 corporation act, to administer small business  regional  revolving  loan
 funds. The corporation shall select from the proposals received the most
 qualified  applicant  in  each region pursuant to subdivisions (4), (5),
 and (6) of such section 16-a. If there is no applicant or  no  qualified
 applicant in a region of the state, that region shall not participate in
 the  small  business  regional  revolving  loan fund program. The corpo-
 ration, from money available for this purpose, shall allocate  funds  to
 each  regional  corporation  pursuant  to  subdivision 1 of such section
 16-a.
   § 3. Section 16-a of section 1 of chapter 174 of  the  laws  of  1968,
 constituting  the  New  York state urban development corporation act, as
 amended by chapter 477 of the laws of 2002, subdivision 3-a as added  by
 chapter  474  of  the laws of 2017, subdivision 20 as amended by chapter
 378 of the laws of 2018 and subdivision 21 as amended by chapter 524  of
 the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
   § 16-a. [Regional] SMALL BUSINESS REGIONAL revolving loan program. (1)
 The  corporation  shall establish a fund to be known as the "SMALL BUSI-
 NESS regional revolving loan trust fund" and shall pay  into  such  fund
 any  monies  made  available  to  the corporation for such fund from any
 source. The monies held in or credited to the  fund  shall  be  expended
 solely for the purposes set forth in this section. The corporation shall
 not  commingle  the  monies  of  such  fund with any other monies of the
 corporation or any monies held in trust by the corporation.
   (2) The corporation shall allocate any monies made available for  such
 fund  for  the  purpose  of  making grants to regional corporations. The
 grants shall be allocated as follows:
   (a) fifty percent divided equally among the regions;
   (b) fifty percent according to a formula weighted in  favor  of  those
 regions  with  the greatest levels of economic distress as determined by
 poverty rates, number of persons receiving public assistance,  unemploy-
 ment  rates,  rate  of  employment  decline and such other indicators of
 economic distress as the corporation deems appropriate; and
   (c) in the event a regional corporation advises the  corporation  that
 it  does  not  require  all  or a portion of the funds to be distributed
 pursuant to this subdivision, such funds shall be re-distributed by  the
 corporation equally among the other regional corporations.
   (3)  In  accordance with the rules and regulations of the corporation,
 each regional corporation  shall  establish  two  special  accounts  for
 monies  received  by the regional corporation pursuant to the provisions
 of this section. The grant monies received from the  corporation,  earn-
 ings  on such monies, and any principal repayments shall be deposited in
 a loan fund account; any interest earned by the regional corporation  on
 loans  will  be  deposited  in  a separate interest repayment account. A
 regional corporation shall be authorized to provide financing assistance
 to eligible projects. Any interest earned from its loans may be used  by
 a  regional  corporation  for  the  cost  of  administering the programs
 authorized by this section.
   (3-a) Notwithstanding subdivision three of this section, where  appli-
 cable,  the corporation is authorized to enter into agreements as may be
 necessary  for  the  administration  and  reporting  of  funds   repaid,
 received,  expended  or  collected  in  a  manner  consistent  with  the

 A. 7360                             3
 
 provisions in section sixteen-t of this act. The use of  such  funds  by
 the  corporation  shall  be  consistent  with  the terms, conditions and
 restrictions set forth in subdivision four of this section,  to  provide
 financial  assistance  to  eligible  regional corporations as defined in
 subdivision eighteen of section three of this act. Outstanding expenses,
 loans and other obligations executed prior to the effective date of this
 subdivision shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the original
 contract or contracts.
   (4) Regional corporations shall be selected by  the  corporation  from
 among  eligible  applicants  to  administer  a  SMALL  BUSINESS regional
 revolving loan program. An eligible applicant shall:
   (a) represent at least two entire contiguous counties;
   (b) have available to it staff with sufficient  expertise  to  analyze
 applications  for  financial  assistance, to regularly monitor financial
 assistance to clients, and have made arrangements to provide  management
 or technical assistance to clients;
   (c)  have an effective plan to market its services to small businesses
 through such entities as chambers of commerce,  industry  trade  associ-
 ations, banks, local development corporations, community based organiza-
 tions and industrial development agencies; and
   (d) have established a loan committee composed of five or more persons
 experienced  in  commercial  lending or in the operation of a for-profit
 business and a staff person of the regional office of the department  of
 economic development. Such loan committee shall review every application
 to  the  regional  corporation for financial assistance pursuant to this
 section, shall determine the feasibility of the transaction proposed  in
 the  application  and shall recommend to the board of directors or other
 governing body of the regional corporation such action as the  committee
 deems appropriate.
   (5)  Applications  to  the  corporation for certification or recertif-
 ication as a regional corporation shall:
   (a) describe the applicant corporation,  including  its  organization,
 membership, loan committee, staff, and sources of other funds, if any;
   (b) identify the geographic region to be served;
   (c)  explain  the methods and criteria to be used in determining firms
 eligible for financial  assistance  from  the  SMALL  BUSINESS  regional
 revolving loan program;
   (d) describe the means for coordinating financial assistance available
 from  the  SMALL BUSINESS regional revolving loan program with financial
 assistance available from other public funding sources within the region
 and how such program will be used  to  leverage  private  financing  for
 projects;
   [(e)  at any time, the corporation may consider proposals to reconfig-
 ure geographic areas served by regional corporations;] and
   [(f)] (E) contain such other  information  as  the  corporation  deems
 appropriate.
   (6)  The  corporation  shall  select,  from among eligible applicants,
 regional corporations to administer  revolving  loan  programs,  on  the
 basis of:
   (a)  the  ability of the regional corporation to administer the finan-
 cial assistance programs authorized under this section;
   (b) the extent of coordination with other publicly supported financial
 assistance programs available  within  the  region  represented  by  the
 regional corporation;
   (c) the degree of public and private support within the region for the
 applicant regional corporation; and

 A. 7360                             4
 
   (d)  the  ability of the regional corporation to provide financial and
 other assistance to businesses located in distressed  areas  within  the
 region.
   (6-a)  The  corporation  shall,  every five years, recertify that each
 regional corporation has complied with the terms and conditions of  this
 section.  In the event a regional corporation is not recertified, or its
 certification is withdrawn pursuant  to  subdivision  nineteen  of  this
 section, then the corporation shall give written notice to such regional
 corporation  which shall thereafter neither make new loans nor undertake
 new obligations except upon written approval  of  the  corporation.  The
 corporation  may  thereafter certify another regional corporation in the
 manner provided in this section for the  selection  of  regional  corpo-
 rations. Upon the certification of a successor regional corporation, all
 remaining  loan  funds, records and accounts of the regional corporation
 not recertified shall be transferred to the corporation and the regional
 corporation not recertified shall cease to  function  pursuant  to  this
 section.  The  corporation  shall transfer returned funds to a successor
 regional corporation, or in the event no successor regional  corporation
 is formed, equally to other existing regional corporations.
   (7)  A regional corporation certified by the corporation shall use the
 funds received from the corporation, subject to  the  terms,  conditions
 and restrictions set forth in this section, to provide financial assist-
 ance  to  eligible  businesses  as  defined  in subdivision seventeen of
 section three of this act, for projects that demonstrate  a  substantial
 likelihood of providing increases in net new permanent jobs or retaining
 jobs in businesses that need such financial assistance to remain viable.
 THE REGIONAL CORPORATION CERTIFIED BY THE CORPORATION SHALL ALSO USE THE
 FUNDS  RECEIVED  FROM THE CORPORATION, SUBJECT TO THE TERMS, CONDITIONS,
 AND RESTRICTIONS SET FORTH IN THIS SECTION, TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL ASSIST-
 ANCE TO MICRO-ENTERPRISES, DEFINED AS ANY COMMERCIAL BUSINESS WITH  FIVE
 OR FEWER EMPLOYEES, ONE OR MORE OF WHOM IS THE OWNER.
   (8)  The  decision  to  approve or reject an application for financial
 assistance pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be made by a
 majority of the directors of the regional corporation, and such decision
 shall be final. No member of the board or  other  governing  body  of  a
 regional corporation shall participate in a decision on a project appli-
 cation  when  such  member  is a party to or has a financial interest in
 such project. Any member who cannot  participate  in  a  decision  on  a
 project  application for such reason shall not be counted as a member of
 the board or other governing body for purposes of determining the number
 of members required for a majority vote on such application.
   (9) No employee or officer of any  regional  corporation  shall  be  a
 party  to  or  have  any financial interest in any project that receives
 financial assistance pursuant to this section.
   (10) A regional corporation, in approving applications  for  financial
 assistance, shall give priority to projects:
   (a) that will provide increases in net new permanent jobs;
   (b)  located in economically distressed areas as defined by the corpo-
 ration or employing persons who live in such areas;
   (c) of minority or women-owned enterprises  or  enterprises  owned  by
 dislocated  workers, such workers as defined in the Workforce Investment
 Act (P.L. 105-220); and
   (d) of businesses in the early stages of development  that  have  been
 denied access to credit.
   (11) The funds allocated to each regional corporation pursuant to this
 section may be used to guarantee the repayment of a working capital loan

 A. 7360                             5

 provided  by  a  banking  organization  to  finance an eligible project.
 Guarantees may be provided for up to  ninety  percent  of  the  required
 total project financing, provided that no more than one hundred thousand
 dollars  may  be  guaranteed for any project. Guarantees may be made for
 the following types of financing: short and medium term loans for  work-
 ing  capital,  revolving  lines  of  credit,  and seasonal inventory and
 accounts receivable loans. Guarantees may  be  made  for  up  to  ninety
 percent  of  the required total financing up to a maximum of one hundred
 fifty thousand dollars for interim financing  where  another  lender  or
 guarantor  will  provide  permanent  financing within one hundred eighty
 days. In no event may a loan guarantee be for a term  longer  than  five
 years. Any loan made by a banking organization that is guaranteed pursu-
 ant  to this subdivision shall be secured by a security agreement, chat-
 tel paper, loan agreement, or such other instruments or documents deemed
 necessary or convenient by the regional corporation to secure the  loan.
 Any  guarantee  made  pursuant  to this subdivision shall be backed by a
 minimum reserve within the account established by each  regional  corpo-
 ration  of at least twenty-five percent of the amount guaranteed that is
 outstanding.
   (11-a) A regional corporation,  in  addition  to  receiving  funds  as
 provided  in  this section, may also apply for and accept funds from any
 other source for the purpose of furthering  its  goals  and  objectives.
 Such  funds  may  be  used in the same manner as funds received from the
 corporation to carry out the purposes of this section.
   (12) The funds of each regional corporation derived pursuant  to  this
 section  may  be  used to provide loans for working capital for eligible
 projects; provided that the amount of the loan does  not  exceed  ninety
 percent  of  the  total  project  cost, or one hundred thousand dollars,
 whichever is less. The interest rate and the terms [on]  OF  such  loans
 shall  be  determined by the regional corporation, but in no event shall
 the interest rate be less than [five percent] THE FEDERAL DISCOUNT RATE.
 The term of any loan shall not exceed five years.  All  loans  shall  be
 secured by lien positions on collateral at the highest level of priority
 that can accommodate the borrower's ability to raise sufficient debt and
 equity capital for the project.
   (13) A regional corporation shall not provide any financial assistance
 authorized by this section unless the following conditions are met:
   (a)  the  applicant  has demonstrated that there is little prospect of
 obtaining the project financing requested from other public  sources  of
 funding  within  the  region,  including local revolving loan funds, and
 that there is little prospect of obtaining  adequate  project  financing
 from  private  sources  of  capital, or in the case of a loan guarantee,
 that there is little prospect of obtaining project financing without the
 guarantee; except that in the case of local revolving loan funds, finan-
 cial assistance from the SMALL BUSINESS  regional  revolving  loan  fund
 account  may  be  provided  for  a project in conjunction with financial
 assistance from a local revolving loan fund,  provided  that  assistance
 from  the SMALL BUSINESS regional revolving loan fund is no greater than
 that provided by the local revolving loan fund, and that a project qual-
 ifying for financial assistance available from a  local  revolving  loan
 fund is not denied such assistance;
   (b)  the  applicant  has  a  minimum  equity  interest of at least ten
 percent in the business or project;
   (c) there is a reasonable prospect of repayment;
   (d) the project is located in the region represented by  the  regional
 corporation;

 A. 7360                             6
 
   (e) the project will comply with any applicable environmental rules or
 regulations;
   (f)  the applicant has certified that it will not discriminate against
 any employee or any applicant for employment because of race,  religion,
 color, national origin, sex, or age;
   (g)  a  staff  member  or a representative of the regional corporation
 acting in an official capacity has personally visited the  project  site
 and/or the applicant's place of business; and
   (h)  financial  commitments  for  the  project have been obtained from
 other public and private sources.
   (14) Grants made by the corporation pursuant to this section shall not
 be made available for:
   (a) projects that would result in the relocation of any business oper-
 ation from one municipality within the state to  another,  except  under
 one  of  the  following  conditions:   (i) when a business is relocating
 within a municipality with a population of at least  one  million  where
 the  governing  body  of  such municipality approves such relocation; or
 (ii) the regional corporation notifies each municipality from which such
 business operation will be relocated and  each  municipality  agrees  to
 such relocation;
   (b)  projects of newspapers, broadcasting or other news media; medical
 facilities, libraries, community or civic centers; or public infrastruc-
 ture improvements;
   (c) refinancing any portion of the total project cost or other  exist-
 ing  loans  or  debts  of an applicant, except for the purpose of trans-
 ferring to the employees or to other  local  interests  ownership  of  a
 company  that  would  otherwise  depart  from  or cease or substantially
 reduce operations in the state  AND  EXCEPT  WHEN  SUCH  REFINANCING  IS
 REQUIRED  TO  ENABLE  A  VIABLE BUSINESS TO MAINTAIN OR EXPAND ITS OPER-
 ATIONS IN THE STATE;
   (d) providing funds, directly or  indirectly,  for  payment,  distrib-
 ution,  or  as a loan, to owners, partners or shareholders of the appli-
 cant enterprise, except as ordinary income for services rendered; and
   (e) retail projects, except where the regional corporation finds there
 will be an increase in net new permanent jobs.
   (15) A regional corporation may  charge  application,  commitment  and
 loan  guarantee  fees  pursuant  to  a  schedule  of fees adopted by the
 regional corporation and approved by the corporation.
   (16) The regional corporations shall submit  annual  reports  for  the
 previous fiscal year to the corporation describing the financial assist-
 ance  provided  pursuant  to  this  section,  including:  the  number of
 projects assisted;  the  amount  and  type  of  assistance  provided;  a
 description of the projects; the number of jobs created or retained; the
 status  of outstanding loans, guarantees, earnings and account balances;
 and such other information as the corporation may require.
   (17) The corporation shall, assisted by the commissioner  of  economic
 development and in consultation with the department of economic develop-
 ment,  promulgate  rules  and  regulations  in accordance with the state
 administrative procedure act setting forth procedures to be followed by,
 and the responsibilities and obligations of, regional  corporations  and
 the corporation. Such rules and regulations shall be consistent with the
 program  plan required by subdivision nineteen of section one hundred of
 the economic development law.
   (18) For any positions opened as a result of  assistance  provided  in
 this  section, businesses so assisted shall first consider unemployed or
 low income  individuals  eligible  to  participate  in  programs  funded

 A. 7360                             7
 
 through  the  Workforce  Investment  Act  (P.L.  105-220)  who  shall be
 referred to the business by local workforce  investment  boards  created
 pursuant to such act or by the job service division of the department of
 labor.
   (19)  The corporation shall annually conduct an audit of each regional
 corporation to ensure conformity of  all  aspects  of  program  adminis-
 tration  and  of  financial assistance transactions with the substantive
 and procedural provisions of this section. In the event that the  corpo-
 ration finds instances of substantive noncompliance by a regional corpo-
 ration  with  any  of  the provisions of this section and such instances
 were, or should have been, known to be in  noncompliance,  the  regional
 corporation  shall return, within thirty days, upon demand by the corpo-
 ration, all uncommitted grant funds on hand and provide an accounting of
 the loans currently outstanding.
   The corporation may withdraw a regional corporation's certification:
   (a) when a member of a board of directors or other governing body,  an
 officer  or  an employee of said regional corporation is party to or has
 financial interests in loan projects;
   (b) when said regional corporation fails to comply with  the  require-
 ments for project loans pursuant to this section; or
   (c)  when  a  regional  corporation makes no loans within the previous
 fiscal year and there is more than one hundred thousand dollars  remain-
 ing in its loan fund account.
   The  corporation  shall  transfer  funds  returned  from a decertified
 regional corporation to a successor regional corporation, or,  if  there
 be  none,  distribute  such  funds equally among other existing regional
 corporations. Outstanding loans and other obligations payable to such  a
 decertified  regional  corporation  shall  be  assigned to its successor
 regional corporation, or to the corporation or an  agent  designated  by
 the  corporation upon such terms and conditions as the corporation shall
 determine.
   (20) [Reporting.] (a) The lending organization  shall  submit  to  the
 corporation  annual  reports  stating: the number of program loans made;
 the amount of program funding used for loans; the use of  loan  proceeds
 by  the  borrower; the number of jobs created or retained; the status of
 each outstanding program loan, including fund balance;  and  such  other
 information as the corporation may require.
   (b)  The  corporation  shall,  on  or before October 1, 1988 and on or
 before each October first thereafter, submit a report  to  the  governor
 and  the  legislature on the operations and accomplishments of the SMALL
 BUSINESS regional revolving loan program. Such report  shall  include  a
 summary  of  the information contained in the reports submitted pursuant
 to subdivision sixteen of this section and of the results of the  audits
 performed  by  the  corporation pursuant to subdivision nineteen of this
 section, and shall set forth the status of the SMALL  BUSINESS  regional
 revolving loan program for the previous fiscal year, including grants to
 the  regional corporations, earnings and account balances as reported to
 the corporation. The report to be submitted on October 1, 2005 and on or
 before each October first thereafter  shall  be  consolidated  with  the
 annual  program  report of the corporation required under the provisions
 of subdivision (b) of section thirty of this act, as amended.
   (c) Beginning April 1, 2019, the  corporation  shall  publish  on  its
 website  the  information contained in the annual reports required under
 paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision in  aggregate  form  omitting
 borrower identifiable information.

 A. 7360                             8
 
   (21) [Evaluation.] (a) The corporation shall submit to the director of
 the  division  of  the  budget,  the  chairperson  of the senate finance
 committee, and the chairperson of the assembly ways and means  committee
 an  evaluation  of this program prepared by an entity independent of the
 corporation. Such evaluation shall be submitted by September 1, 2005 and
 by September first every four years thereafter.
   (b)  Between  evaluation due dates, the corporation shall maintain the
 necessary records and data required to satisfy such evaluation  require-
 ments  and to satisfy information requests received from the director of
 the budget, the chairperson of the  senate  finance  committee  and  the
 chairperson of the assembly ways and means committee between such evalu-
 ation due dates.
   (22)  The  corporation  shall recertify existing regional corporations
 or, in the event a regional corporation's certification has  been  with-
 drawn, seek successor corporations among eligible applicants after April
 first, two thousand two.
   §  4.  Paragraph  (f) of subdivision 2 of section 16-c of section 1 of
 chapter 174 of the laws of 1968, constituting the New York  state  urban
 development  corporation  act,  as  added  by chapter 169 of the laws of
 1994, is amended to read as follows:
   (f) The provisions of subdivisions eight, nine, and  fourteen  through
 nineteen  of section sixteen-a of this act pertaining to the SMALL BUSI-
 NESS regional revolving [loans] LOAN trust fund shall also be applicable
 to the minority and women revolving  loan  trust  fund,  provided  that:
 where the term "regional corporation" appears therein it shall be inter-
 preted  to  mean  an  entity selected to administer a minority and women
 revolving loan trust fund account, and "SMALL BUSINESS regional  revolv-
 ing  [loans]  LOAN trust fund" shall mean a minority and women revolving
 loan trust fund, and where the term "this section"  appears  therein  it
 shall mean this section sixteen-c.
   §  5.  Paragraph  (h) of subdivision 1 of section 16-e of section 1 of
 chapter 174 of the laws of 1968, constituting the New York  state  urban
 development  corporation  act,  as  added  by chapter 169 of the laws of
 1994, is amended to read as follows:
   (h) "Revolving loan fund account grants" shall include: (i) grants  to
 provide the local match for federally funded community-based loan funds;
 (ii)  grants  to  capitalize  and  recapitalize  SMALL BUSINESS regional
 revolving loan trust fund accounts pursuant to section sixteen-a of this
 act; and (iii) grants to recapitalize minority and women revolving  loan
 trust  fund  accounts  established pursuant to section sixteen-c of this
 act.
   § 6. Subdivision 13 of section 16-e of section 1 of chapter 174 of the
 laws of 1968, constituting the New York state urban  development  corpo-
 ration  act,  as added by chapter 169 of the laws of 1994, is amended to
 read as follows:
   (13) Regional loan fund account grants. Assistance from  this  program
 may  be  provided  for  grants of up to five hundred thousand dollars to
 capitalize, and up to two  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  recapitalize,
 SMALL  BUSINESS  regional revolving loan trust fund accounts established
 pursuant to section sixteen-a of this act and up to two hundred thousand
 dollars to recapitalize minority and women  revolving  loan  trust  fund
 accounts  established  pursuant to section sixteen-c of this act; and up
 to two hundred thousand dollars to provide the local match for appropri-
 ately federally-financed community-based loan funds.
   § 7. The opening paragraph of paragraph  (b-1)  of  subdivision  6  of
 section 16-l of section 1 of chapter 174 of the laws of 1968, constitut-

 A. 7360                             9
 
 ing  the  New  York state urban development corporation act, as added by
 chapter 603 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
   The  corporation is authorized, within available appropriations in the
 empire state economic development fund established pursuant  to  section
 16-m  of this act, to provide financial assistance in the form of loans,
 loan guarantees, working capital loans, and interest subsidy  grants  to
 subsidize loans from federally chartered instrumentalities and state and
 private  lending institutions, including agricultural cooperative corpo-
 rations, provided that such assistance  to  state  lending  institutions
 shall  not  exceed  one-third  of the total project cost or four hundred
 thousand dollars, whichever is less, to agricultural enterprises seeking
 to implement the projects listed in this  paragraph.    Funds  for  such
 loans,  grants, subsidies, or any other assistance specified pursuant to
 this act may come from funds derived from the financial  assistance  for
 small and medium-sized business assistance projects established pursuant
 to  section  9-a of this act, the SMALL BUSINESS regional revolving loan
 trust fund established  pursuant  to  section  16-a  of  this  act,  the
 regional  economic  development partnership program established pursuant
 to section 16-e of this act, the empire state economic development  fund
 established  pursuant  to  section  16-m  of this act, or from any other
 funds, programs, or projects administered by the corporation or by other
 state appropriations.
   § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.