House Bill 584 Summary

• Creates the Idaho Micro Enterprise Development Authority as an independent public body to provide startup and expansion loans to small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, with loan amounts capped at $35,000 per business.

• Establishes a 7-member board of commissioners appointed by the governor with 5-year terms; commissioners cannot simultaneously serve on the Idaho Housing and Finance Authority after January 1, 2012.

• Requires businesses seeking loans to provide a business plan, certification of inability to obtain traditional financing, and documentation of denials from at least 3 state or nationally chartered lenders.

• Provides job creation incentives allowing $2,500 in loan forgiveness for each job created paying at least Idaho's annual average wage and maintained for a full calendar year, up to 10 jobs maximum.

• Directs the state to distribute amounts from the sales tax account to the authority's capital reserve fund for bond retirement and loan forgiveness, as certified by the authority's chairperson annually.