The Florida Senate

288.712  Florida guarantor funds.--

(1)  The board is authorized to establish, with or without public or private partners, guarantor funds to assure capital availability to black business enterprises and to assist qualified black business enterprises in obtaining surety bonds and other credit instruments when required.

(2)  There is hereby created in the State Treasury the Black Contractors Bond Trust Fund, the Black Business Loan Guaranty Trust Fund, and the Black Business Loan Guaranty Program Administrative and Loss Reserve Fund.

(3)(a)  The board may contract with a regulated surety company to conduct a surety bond program for black business enterprises.

(b)  For purposes of this section, the corporation may utilize the Black Contractors Bond Trust Fund in the State Treasury, consisting of moneys deposited or credited to the Black Contractors Bond Trust Fund pursuant to appropriation made by law; any grants, gifts, and contributions received pursuant to ss. 288.707-288.714; all moneys recovered following defaults; and any other moneys obtained by the board for this purpose. The fund shall be administered by the corporation in trust for the purposes of this section and shall at no time be part of general public funds under the following procedures:

1.  The corporation is authorized to post or pledge the assets of the Black Contractors Bond Trust Fund as collateral in amounts necessary to secure the issuance of bid bonds and construction contract bonds to black business enterprises. The board of the corporation shall establish a premium to be charged to the black business enterprise for which the assets have been so posted or pledged, pursuant to generally accepted actuarial principles, and shall establish such rules as may otherwise be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.

2.  Any claims against the state arising from defaults shall be payable from the Black Contractors Bond Trust Fund.

3.  Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit or restrict the corporation from entering into a joint venture or other contractual agreement with a private insurer or to invest in a private entity to handle all or part of a black contractors bonding program, credit program, or both for black business enterprises. Such investments or joint venture shall be made under conditions required by law and as the board may, from time to time, require and may take any of the forms described in s. 288.711(2) and (3). The board is authorized and encouraged to contract with a regulated surety company to conduct a surety bond program for black business enterprises. Moneys from the Black Contractors Bond Trust Fund may be used for these purposes.

(4)(a)  The board may establish a loan guaranty program to assure capital availability to black business enterprises.

(b)  If the board of the corporation chooses to establish a loan guaranty program, it shall use the Black Business Loan Guaranty Trust Fund in the State Treasury, consisting of moneys deposited or credited to the Black Business Loan Guaranty Trust Fund pursuant to appropriation made by law; any grants, gifts, and contributions received pursuant to ss. 288.707-288.714; all moneys recovered following defaults; and any other moneys obtained by the corporation for this purpose. The Black Business Loan Guaranty Trust Fund shall be administered by the corporation in trust for the purposes of this section and shall at no time be part of general public funds under the following procedures:

1.  The corporation shall utilize the Black Business Loan Guaranty Program Administrative and Loss Reserve Fund in the State Treasury, consisting of all premiums charged and collected in accordance with this section and any income earned from the moneys in the account. All expenses of the corporation in carrying out the purposes of this subsection shall be paid from the Black Business Loan Guaranty Program Administrative and Loss Reserve Fund. Any moneys to the credit of the Black Business Loan Guaranty Program Administrative and Loss Reserve Fund in excess of the amount necessary to fund the corporation's activity shall be held as a loss reserve to pay claims arising from defaults on loans underwritten in accordance with this section.

2.  Any claims against the state arising from defaults shall be payable initially from the Black Business Loan Guaranty Program Administrative and Loss Reserve Fund and, secondarily, from the Black Business Loan Guaranty Trust Fund.

3.  The corporation as loan guarantor may exercise all rights and powers of a company authorized by the Department of Insurance to guarantee loans but shall not be subject to any requirements of an insurance company under the Florida Insurance Code, nor to any rules of the Department of Insurance; however, the corporation shall refer to the insurance code and rules thereunder when designing and administering such program. The corporation shall follow sound actuarial principles when administering this program. The corporation shall establish a premium for the loan guaranty and such rules as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.

4.  The corporation may guarantee no more than 20 percent of the principal of a loan to a black business enterprise.

(5)(a)  The board shall establish a program to develop a secondary market for loans to black business enterprises. It shall cooperate with the Small Business Administration and the State Board of Administration in identifying market opportunities and barriers to efficient and effective handling of a secondary market for loans to black business enterprises.

(b)  If the board finds that an insufficient or ineffective secondary market exists in the state for loans to black business enterprises, the board is authorized to develop, with or without public or private partners, investment pools of such loans. It may insure such investment pools, use any of its moneys available to establish reserve funds, charge such premiums, and establish trust funds as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection.

(6)  Nothing in this section grants or pledges to any obligee or other person any state moneys other than the moneys in the Black Contractors Bonding Program Administrative and Loss Reserve Fund, the Black Contractors Bond Trust Fund, the Black Business Loan Guaranty Trust Fund, the Black Business Loan Guaranty Program Administrative and Loss Reserve Fund, or moneys available upon request of the board specially retained for this purpose.

(7)  Personal financial records of persons participating in the programs pursuant to this section are confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1).

History.--ss. 14, 32, ch. 85-104; s. 3, ch. 89-352; s. 105, ch. 90-360; s. 28, ch. 94-322; s. 1, ch. 95-386; s. 141, ch. 96-406; s. 7, ch. 2002-180.