Florida Senate - 2025 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SB 324 Ì615984PÎ615984 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: RCS . 04/01/2025 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Committee on Commerce and Tourism (Smith) recommended the following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Delete lines 68 - 104 4 and insert: 5 (5) “Program” means the Construction Impact Relief 6 Revolving Loan Program established in s. 288.9995. 7 Section 5. Section 288.9994, Florida Statutes, is created 8 to read: 9 288.9994 Rulemaking authority.—By October 1, 2025, the 10 department shall adopt rules to implement this part, including, 11 but not limited to, developing guidelines for the award of loans 12 under the program and creating application forms for the 13 program. 14 Section 6. Section 288.9995, Florida Statutes, is created 15 to read: 16 288.9995 Construction Impact Relief Revolving Loan 17 Program.— 18 (1) The Construction Impact Relief Revolving Loan Program 19 is created within the department. The program may be funded by 20 the Legislature. Under the program, the department shall: 21 (a) Provide financial assistance to eligible small 22 businesses within construction zones, including low-interest 23 loans of up to $100,000, with interest not to exceed the federal 24 funds rate at the time the loan is issued, for the operational 25 costs of eligible small businesses during construction 26 disruptions. 27 (b) Develop a public awareness and marketing campaign to 28 promote the program in partnership with local chambers of 29 commerce and other business organizations and to encourage 30 customer support for small businesses adversely impacted by 31 state and local government construction activities. Such 32 marketing campaign efforts must include, but are not limited to, 33 all of the following: 34 1. Digital advertising campaigns. 35 2. Signage and outreach. 36 (2) An applicant seeking to obtain financial assistance 37 under paragraph (1)(a) must submit an application to the 38 department. The application must require documentation of 39 demonstrable loss and a plan for the use of funds. Proof of 40 demonstrable loss must include, but is not limited to, all of 41 the following: 42 (a) Documentation of reduction in revenue from the start 43 date of the state or local government construction activities to 44 the week before an application is submitted to the department. 45 Such proof may be made by comparing the applicant’s average 46 weekly or monthly revenue of the year before the state or local 47 government construction activities began and the applicant’s 48 current weekly or monthly revenue. 49 (b) Photo or video evidence of the obstruction to the 50 applicant due to the construction zone. Such obstruction may 51 include, but is not limited to, any of the following: 52 1. Restricting parking or primary entry access to the 53 eligible small business. 54 2. Blocking visibility of the applicant from all directions 55 of traffic flow along the road and adjoining sidewalks in which 56 the applicant is located, during each phase of construction. 57 (3) An applicant must consult with the Florida Small 58 Business Development Center Network created in s. 288.001 to 59 confirm the applicant’s eligibility for the program. If an 60 applicant is eligible for any other loan program, he or she is 61 not eligible to participate in the program. 62 63 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 64 And the title is amended as follows: 65 Delete lines 10 - 19 66 and insert: 67 the Construction Impact Relief Revolving Loan Program 68 within the Department of Commerce; authorizing the 69 Legislature to fund the program; requiring the 70 department to provide specified financial assistance 71 to eligible small businesses within construction 72 zones; requiring the department to develop a public 73 awareness and marketing campaign to promote the 74 program in partnership with specified entities; 75 providing requirements for the campaign; requiring 76 applicants to submit specified information with their 77 applications; requiring an applicant to consult with 78 the Florida Small Business Development Center Network 79 to confirm the applicant’s eligibility for the 80 program; prohibiting an applicant from participating 81 in the program under certain circumstances; creating 82 s.