FL S1592

Shifts administration of the Microfinance Loan Program from the Department of Economic Opportunity to Enterprise Florida, Inc., which will enter into 5-year funding agreements with loan administrators (previously 3-year contracts)

Narrows program eligibility from "entrepreneurs and small businesses" to "microbusinesses," defined as businesses with 5 or fewer employees and average annual gross revenues of $100,000 or less over the preceding 2 years

Expands microloan terms by increasing the maximum loan period from 1 year to 5 years, reducing maximum interest from prime rate plus 1,000 basis points to prime plus 500 basis points, and raising the administrative servicing fee from 1% to 5%

Adds surety bond guarantees to the Microfinance Guarantee Program, with guarantees up to 25% of surety amounts between $25,000 and $1 million, and increases the leverage ratio cap from 3:1 to 5:1

Extends the program evaluation deadline by the Office of Economic and Demographic Research from January 1, 2018, to January 1, 2020, covering the first 5 years of program operations instead of 3 years