Treasury Department Sets State Small Business Credit Initiative Session, Tribal Consultation

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on April 26, 2021, announced that it will hold an information session on the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) on May 13, 2021, from 2 to 3 p.m. ET and a tribal consultation on May 27, 2021, from 2 to 5 p.m. ET. Interested parties may register for the May 13 SSBCI information session and/or the May 27 SSBCI tribal consultation session.

Section 3301 of the American Rescue Plan Act (Pub. L. 117-7) reauthorizes and amends the State Small Business Credit Initiative Act of 2010 to provide resources to tribal governments named in the annually published list required by the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131) to support small businesses. Traditionally, state and local governments have used the SSBCI to provide a number of services to small businesses, including, but not limited to, capital and loan guarantees.

The Treasury Department is expected to release its preliminary tribal government allocations for the SSBCI on May 10, 2021.

Tribal Consultation Questions and Submission Information

The Treasury Department is seeking tribal feedback on the following questions:

1. What types of businesses does your tribe anticipate assisting with these funds?
2. Would your SSBCI Program target businesses that are located on tribal lands, native-owned businesses that are off tribal land but wholly owned by Native Americans or both?
3. Will you assist tribally owned businesses? How might their ownership or organizational structure hinder participation in an SSBCI program?
4. What kinds of technical assistance do you anticipate for the businesses you serve to be successful? The technical assistance should support the capital program; thus, how do you see the combination of capital and technical assistance working together to support tribal needs and SSBCI programming? Are there certain types of technical assistance that are particularly needed by businesses in your community? 
5. To what extent do tribes have the capacity to deliver technical assistance to very small and larger businesses? If the capacity does not exist or is limited, what types of partners do you think would be effective in providing support?
6. Do you see a role for other organizations such as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Minority Business Development Agencies (MBDAs), chambers of commerce and others to assist in outreach, providing technical assistance, access to capital or other support to ensure sustainability in your SSBCI programs?
7. The SSBCI Program – aside from the Capital Access Program (CAP), which is a set insurance-like program – requires a 10-to-1 crowding in of capital over the life of the program. Instruments to accomplish this are leverage, revolving loan funds multiple times, series round in equity investment, crowding in of fixed asset investments, etc. What barriers to raising capital do you anticipate? What recommendations do you have for the Treasury Department to help tribes successfully raise capital?
8. To maximize participation by eligible tribal governments, eligible entities may wish to apply jointly or partner with third parties. What challenges and opportunities do you anticipate that are related to partnering with other organizations to successfully execute an SSBCI Program?

Comments must be submitted to the Treasury Department by 11:59 p.m. ET on June 4, 2021.

For more information on the SSBCI, please contact the authors or another member of Holland & Knight's Native American Law Team.

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