Existing law establishes the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program to assist small businesses in complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Existing law requires the Capital Programs and Climate Financing Authority to adopt regulations to establish and regulate new loss reserve accounts for qualified loans made by participating lenders to small businesses for eligible products, as specified, including regulations limiting terms of loans and recaptures from loss reserve accounts to 5 years, as specified. Existing law caps qualified loans under the program at $50,000. Existing law establishes the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program Fund, a continuously appropriated fund to be administered by the authority for the purposes of the program. Existing law prescribes the uses for moneys in the fund, including specified program and administrative expenditures, and limits administrative expenditures to 5% of the initial appropriation plus 5% of all moneys recaptured.

Existing law establishes the California Seismic Safety Capital Access Loan Program, which is similar to the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program, to assist residential property owners with and small business owners seismically retrofitting residences and small businesses, as specified. Existing law establishes the California Seismic Safety Capital Access Loan Program Fund, a continuously appropriated fund to be used for the purposes of the program, as specified.

This bill would increase the cap for qualified loans under the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program to $250,000. The bill would, as of the operative date of the bill, require the authority to transfer the moneys from the California Seismic Safety Capital Access Loan Program Fund to the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program Fund. The bill would provide that moneys in the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program Fund may additionally be used for financial assistance to eligible projects, as specified. The bill would change the limit for administrative expenditures from the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program Fund to 5% of the initial appropriation plus 5% of all interest earned and moneys recaptured. The bill would require the regulations adopted for the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program to increase the 5-year term and recapture limits described above to 15 years. By transferring money into a continuously appropriated fund, expanding the purposes for which moneys in a continuously appropriated fund may be used, and increasing the amount of moneys that may be expended from a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.