The legislature finds that:

(1) The economic health and well-being of the state, particularly in areas of high unemployment, economic stagnation, and poverty, is of substantial public concern.

(2) The consequences of minimal economic activity and persistent unemployment and underemployment are serious threats to the safety, health, and welfare of residents of these areas, decreasing the value of private investments and jeopardizing the sources of public revenue.

(3) The economic and social interdependence of communities and the vitality of industrial and economic activity necessitates, and is in part dependent on preventing substantial dislocation of residents and rebuilding the diversification of the areas’ economy.

(4) The ability to remedy problems in stagnant areas of the state is beyond the power and control of the regulatory process and influence of the state, and the ordinary operations of private enterprise without additional governmental assistance are insufficient to adequately remedy the problems of poverty and unemployment.

(5) The revitalization of depressed communities requires the stimulation of private investment, the development of new business ventures, the provision of capital to ventures sponsored by local organizations and capable of growth in the business markets, and assistance to viable, but under-financed, small businesses in order to create and preserve jobs that are sustainable in the local economy.

Therefore, the legislature declares there to be a substantial public purpose in providing capital to promote economic development and job creation in areas of economic stagnation, unemployment, and poverty. To accomplish this purpose, the legislature hereby creates the rural Washington loan fund and vests in the department of commerce the authority to spend federal funds to stimulate the economy of distressed areas.

Explanatory statement—2023 c 470: See note following RCW 10.99.030.

Findings—Intent—Part headings and subheadings not law—Effective date—Severability—1999 c 164: See notes following RCW 43.160.010.