(30 ILCS 750/9-10) (from Ch. 127, par. 2709-10)

Sec. 9-10. Federal Programs.

(a) The Department is authorized to accept and expend federal moneys pursuant to this Article except that the terms and conditions hereunder which are inconsistent with, prohibited by, or more restrictive than the federal authorization under which such moneys are made available shall not apply with respect to the expenditure of such moneys.

(b) The Department is authorized to receive and expend federal funds made available pursuant to the federal State Small Business Credit Initiative Act of 2010 as amended by Section 3301 of the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, enacted in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

(1) Such funds may be deposited into the State Small Business Credit Initiative Fund and may be used by the Department, subject to appropriation, for any permitted purposes in accordance with the federal State Small Business Credit Initiative Act of 2010 as amended by Section 3301 of the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and any related federal guidance.

(2) Permitted purposes include to provide support to small businesses responding to and recovering from the economic effects of the COVID–19 pandemic, to ensure business enterprises owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals have access to credit and investments, to provide technical assistance to help small businesses applying for various support programs, and to pay reasonable costs of administering the initiative.

(3) Terms such as "business enterprise owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals", "socially and economically disadvantaged individual" and "very small business", and any other terms defined in the federal State Small Business Credit Initiative Act of 2010 as amended by Section 3301 of the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and any related federal guidance, have the same meaning for purposes of the Department's implementation of this initiative. The term "small business" includes both for-profit and not-for-profit business enterprises to the extent permitted by federal law and guidance.

(4) The Department may use such funds to enter into technical assistance agreements and other agreements with both for-profit and not-for-profit business enterprises and may provide technical assistance to small businesses to the extent permitted by federal law and guidance.

(Source: P.A. 102-16, eff. 6-17-21.)