Bill
SF 195
Provides up to 750k, 0% loan bridging disaster-hit Wyoming small businesses with quick approvals, limited uses, secured by assets, repayable in 3 years.
Status and timeline
- Introduced: February 4, 2025
- Passed both houses (Senate 29–1–1; House 61–0–1) with amendments.
- Became law without the Governor’s signature: March 4, 2025.
- Assigned Chapter Number 103; Enrolled Act No. 50.
- Primary sponsors: Senators Biteman and Neiman (and Representative Donahue listed among sponsors).
Purpose
- Establishes a state-managed short-term emergency bridge loan program to provide rapid liquidity to Wyoming small businesses located in counties designated in a governor-declared natural disaster (including certain infrastructure failures).
Administration and funding
- Administered by the Office of State Lands and Investments; the Director oversees approvals and disbursements. The state loan and investment board is involved in rulemaking and registration processes, but loans approved by the Director do not require subsequent board approval.
- Creates the "Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Account" to hold program funds and repayments.
- Funding authority: the Director, with the Governor’s approval, may borrow up to $25,000,000 from the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account at 0% interest and deposit proceeds into the bridge loan account. The Director must report immediately to the Joint Appropriations Committee and legislative leaders when exercising this authority and include repayment-related appropriation requests in biennial/supplemental budgets until repaid.
- (Note: an earlier fiscal note referenced a $50,000,000 general fund appropriation; subsequent amendments changed the mechanism to a borrowing authority capped at $25,000,000.)
Who is eligible / key borrower requirements
- Eligible businesses:
- Physically located and operating in a county designated by the Governor’s disaster declaration.
- Established and operating before the disaster.
- Have one or more owners holding at least 50% equity who will serve as guarantor(s).
- Each guarantor must have credit score ≥ 550 and not be on probation or parole.
- Businesses engaged in certain prohibited activities (e.g., loan packaging, short‑term rentals, unlawful activities, certain speculative or investment/lending operations, some multi‑sales/gaming activities) are excluded.
Loan terms and allowed uses
- Maximum loan per business: $750,000.
- Origination fee: 2% of loan amount — 1% paid from the bridge loan account by the Office; 1% paid by the applicant from loan proceeds. The Office may require an additional fee if needed to offset reduced investment earnings.
- Use of proceeds: limited to recovery-related business purposes (examples include fencing repair, replacement of buildings/vehicles/equipment, inventory replacement, leasing land for business purposes, necessary transport/trucking, temporary operational facilities). Loans may not be used to expand pre-disaster operations or buy new property/equipment not previously owned.
- Security: loans must be secured by insurance proceeds, other anticipated disaster-related funds, or business-owned assets.
- Repayment: full repayment due no later than 3 years from issuance. Interest not to exceed 0% plus the prior fiscal year’s pooled fund investment earnings rate (effectively a low/near-zero rate).
- Repayments (principal & interest) are returned to the Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Account.
Application and approval process
- Financial institutions (banks/credit unions chartered in state) must register to participate and distribute applications.
- Businesses file completed applications with registered financial institutions, which screen and forward recommendations to the Office.
- The Office has five (5) business days to review a financial institution’s recommendation; the Director may approve and direct disbursement to the institution or directly to the applicant.
Other provisions
- Rulemaking: the Office/state loan and investment board must promulgate rules, develop applications and registration processes, and oversee disbursement and repayment procedures.
- Reporting: Director must notify legislative fiscal/appropriations leadership when borrowing stabilization funds and include related appropriation requests until loans are repaid.
- Administrative impact: the law increases duties for state agencies administering the program; fiscal impact depends on disaster declarations and loan demand.
Potential impacts
- Provides a rapid, state-backed liquidity source for disaster-impacted small businesses to bridge recovery until insurance/other funds arrive.
- Caps per-business support and places program controls (creditworthiness, use restrictions, short repayment term), limiting fiscal exposure but concentrating administrative workload on the Office and participating financial institutions.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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