Signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes the "Small Business Recovery Act of 2020".

Highlights:

• Establishes the Small Business Recovery Loan Fund, consisting of appropriations, gifts, grants, deposits, transfers, and donations to the fund (Sec. 3). 

• Requires the state investment council to develop a funding schedule to ensure that sufficient funding is made available to carry out the provisions of the bill (Sec. 3). 

• Authorizes the state to evaluate the qualifications of any small business that applies for a loan, which may include an independent credit reporting agency (Sec. 4). 

• Authorizes the state to use the provisions of the New Mexico Finance Authority Act to assist in the administration of distributing loans (Sec. 4). 

• Establishes that no loan amount shall exceed $75,000 (Sec. 4). 

• Establishes that small business recovery loans will be made for an initial period of 3 years, bearing an annual interest rate equal to half the Wall Street Journal prime rate (Sec. 5). 

• Authorizes small businesses with annual gross revenue of $500,000 or less that received a loan to attain additional funding of one-half percent of the loan amount, provided that (Sec. 6):

• The additional amount shall not be included in the loan and does not require repayment;

• The additional amount shall be provided to the service provider; and

• The state shall use funding made available for this bill to provide the service provider with an additional amount. 

• Requires the state to publish a report to the legislature on the total number of loans given, beginning prior to October 1, 2021, and each October 1 for the next 4 years (Sec. 7). 

• Establishes that the state will commit to invest one percent of the average year-end market values of the severance tax permanent fund to make loans to local governments within 30 days of this bill’s passage (Sec. 8). 

• Establishes that local governments are eligible if they show that they experienced at least a 10 percent decline in tax revenue for the last quarter of the fiscal year 2020 (Sec. 8). 

• Authorizes the state investment officer to make investments in New Mexico businesses to create new job opportunities and support new, emerging, or expanding businesses (Sec. 10).

• Appropriates $400 million to severance tax permanent fund for small businesses (Sec. 10). 

• Establishes that this bill takes effect immediately upon passage (Sec. 11).

Full Bill Text