§ 9-a. Financial assistance for small and medium-sized business
assistance projects. The corporation may provide loans for small and
medium-sized business assistance projects for costs associated with:

(1) The renovation or rehabilitation of industrial plants that are
economically inefficient due to the need for changes in design,
construction, technology or production processes; the renovation or
rehabilitation of existing facilities for reuse as an industrial
facility; the acquisition of real property and related improvements; new
construction; working capital; and the acquisition of modern production
technology, including machinery, equipment and computerized design and
control systems, required to improve production processes, expand
existing or enter new markets, or to otherwise remain competitive. The
corporation shall determine the terms and interest rates of such loans,
except that no loan shall exceed fifty percent of project costs, or
seven hundred fifty thousand dollars, whichever is less, no loan shall
have an interest rate lower than three percent, and no loan shall have a
term that exceeds the estimated useful life of the asset;

(2) Site acquisition, construction, renovation or acquisition of
permanently installed equipment necessary to establish or expand a child
day care facility located on the work site of the industrial firm
sponsoring the child day care facility or at a proximate site where a
consortia of industrial firms are sponsoring the child day care
facility. Such loans shall be made upon a determination by the
corporation that such facility is necessary to improve or maintain the
productivity of the company or companies. Such loans shall only be made
for child day care facilities: (a) that will be used primarily by the
children of employees of the company or companies sponsoring the
facility; (b) that will not be operated for profit; (c) that demonstrate
an ability to obtain, from the appropriate governmental agencies, all
necessary approvals and licenses required to operate the facility; and
(d) that demonstrate an ability to prevent access by children to any
equipment in facilities which could be injurious to their health or
safety. The corporation shall determine the terms and interest rates of
such loans, except that no loan shall exceed sixty percent of project
costs, or two hundred fifty thousand dollars, whichever is less, no loan
shall have an interest rate lower than three percent, and no loan shall
have a term longer than ten years.