The Florida Senate

288.776  Board of directors; powers and duties.--

(1)(a)  The corporation shall have a board of directors consisting of 15 members representing all geographic areas of the state. Minority and gender representation must be considered when making appointments to the board. The board membership must include:

1.  A representative of the following businesses, all of which must be registered to do business in this state: a foreign bank, a state bank, a federal bank, an insurance company involved in covering trade financing risks, and a small or medium-sized exporter.

2.  The following persons or their designee: the President of Enterprise Florida, Inc., the Comptroller, the Secretary of State, a senior official of the United States Department of Commerce, and the chair of the Florida Black Business Investment Board.

(b)  Appointees who are not state or Federal Government officials shall serve for a term of 3 years and shall be eligible for reappointment. Nonstate and nonfederal official vacancies on the board shall be filled by the board within 30 days after the effective date of the vacancy.

(2)  Board members shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for all necessary expenses in the performance of their duties, including attending board meetings and conducting board business.

(3)  The board shall:

(a)  Prior to the expenditure of funds from the export finance account, adopt bylaws, rules, and policies which are necessary to carry out the responsibilities under this part, particularly with respect to the implementation of the corporation's programs to insure, coinsure, lend, provide loan guarantees, and make direct, guaranteed, or collateralized loans by the corporation to support export transactions. The corporation's bylaws, rules, and policies shall be reviewed and approved by Enterprise Florida, Inc., prior to final adoption by the board.

(b)  Hold regularly scheduled meetings, at least quarterly, in order to carry out the objectives and responsibilities of the board.

(c)  Issue an annual report to Enterprise Florida, Inc., on the activities of the corporation, including an evaluation of activities and recommendations for change. The evaluation shall include the corporation's impact on the following:

1.  Participation of private banks and other private organizations and individuals in the corporation's export financing programs.

2.  Access of small and medium-sized businesses in this state to federal export financing programs.

3.  Export volume of the small and medium-sized businesses in this state accessing the corporation's programs.

4.  Other economic and social benefits to international programs in this state.

(d)  Adopt policies, including criteria, establishing which exporters and export transactions shall be eligible for insurance, coinsurance, loan guarantees, and direct, guaranteed, or collateralized loans which may be extended by the corporation. Pursuant to this subsection, the board shall adopt rules to include the following criteria:

1.  Any individual signing any corporation loan application and loan or guarantee agreement shall have an equity in the business applying for financial assistance.

2.  Each program shall exclusively support the export of goods and services by small and medium-sized businesses which are domiciled in this state. Priority shall be given to goods which have value added in this state.

3.  Financial assistance shall only be extended when at least one of the following circumstances exists:

a.  The assistance is required to secure the participation of small and medium-sized export businesses in federal, state, or private financing programs.

b.  No conventional source of lender support is available for the business from public or private financing sources.

Personal financial records, trade secrets, or proprietary information of applicants shall be confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1).

(e)  Adopt requirements to ensure the full repayment of loans and loan guarantees, plus accrued interest, full-recourse claims, and indemnities on direct loan originations sold by the corporation, and the solvency of any insurance and coinsurance program extended under this part.

(f)  Approve any extension of insurance, coinsurance, loans, loan guarantees, or direct loan originations for sale, under this part.

(g)  Consult with Enterprise Florida, Inc., and its boards, or any state or federal agency, to ensure that the respective loan guarantee or working capital loan origination programs are not duplicative and that each program makes full use of, to the extent practicable, the resources of the other.

(h)  Work to secure a delegated line of authority from the United States Export-Import Bank or other appropriate federal or state agency or private sector entity in order to take advantage of this possible funding or guarantee source.

(i)  Develop a streamlined application and review process, including a survey of businesses to obtain the statistics required in paragraph (c).

History.--s. 52, ch. 93-187; s. 2, ch. 95-386; s. 72, ch. 96-320; s. 142, ch. 96-406; s. 23, ch. 97-278; s. 69, ch. 99-13.