(1)(a) Subject to available funds, the third-party administrator shall operate one or more programs to award grants and make loans to eligible applicants to enhance and expand workforce development or economic development in the Eastern Oregon Border Economic Development Region.

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(b) No more than 10 programs may be active at any time. A program is active as long as any loan made through the program remains outstanding or any work or project funded or financed by a grant awarded through the program has not been completed in accordance with the grant agreement.

(2) Eligible applicants for grants and loans include, but are not limited to:

(a) Local governments;

(b) Institutions of higher education as defined in ORS § 348.582;

(c) Private or nonprofit businesses whose principal place of business, or the majority of whose workforce, is located in the region;

(d) Small business development centers established under ORS § 285B.165 to 285B.171;

(e) Economic development organizations;

(f) School districts; and

(g) Other types of entities specified by the Eastern Oregon Border Economic Development Board by rule.

(3)(a) An eligible applicant may apply to the third-party administrator for a grant or loan. The third-party administrator may not consider an application unless the application is timely and accompanied by any required application fee. The third-party administrator shall prescribe deadlines for the application process.

(b) An applicant must demonstrate that the grant or loan moneys will be used for:

(A) Economic development that will lead to private investment, job creation or retention and the establishment or expansion of viable businesses in the region;

(B) Expansion of transportation infrastructure to facilitate moving traded sector goods or services in the region to market;

(C) Enhancement and expansion of workforce development in the region, including development of residential housing necessary to attract and keep employees in the region, that is responsive to the needs of the region’s businesses and industries;

(D) Certification of regionally significant industrial sites within the region;

(E) Extension of private utilities, including, but not limited to, gas and electrical connections, to regionally significant industrial sites within the region;

(F) A due diligence assessment pursuant to the Oregon Industrial Site Readiness Assessment Program under ORS § 285B.635 to 285B.640 or other assessments or evaluations that prepare a site for development; or

(G) Provision of support services and technical assistance to entrepreneurs and business owners in the region, including, but not limited to, small business development centers established under ORS § 285B.165 to 285B.171.

(c) Applications for loans must contain a proposed plan for repayment with interest of moneys borrowed from the third-party administrator under this section.

(d) The board shall adopt rules that, at a minimum, establish criteria for awarding grants and making loans under this section, in addition to the criteria set forth in paragraph (b) of this subsection.

(4) Loans may not be made under this section for a term that exceeds the useful life of the work or project for which the loan funds will be used or a specified number of years from completion of the work or project, whichever is less.

(5) Amounts paid as grants and loans shall not constitute a debt of the state or a lending of the credit of the state within the meaning of any statutory limitation and are not intended to constitute a debt of the state or a lending of the credit of the state within the meaning of any constitutional limitation.

(6) The third-party administrator shall consider applications for grants and loans under this section by:

(a) Evaluating timelines for completion of work and projects for which grant or loan moneys requested in the application will be used;

(b) Investigating whether necessary permits for development, if needed, have been or can be secured in a timely manner;

(c) Assessing the ability of the applicant to repay the grant or loan; and

(d) Applying any other methods or criteria the third-party administrator considers necessary or convenient for the purpose.

(7) The agreement between the board and the third-party administrator shall include limits on administrative fees, including, but not limited to, application fees, under this section that the third-party administrator may collect or retain from grant and loan proceeds.

(8) The third-party administrator may enter into an agreement with a lending partner for the purpose of administering loans made under this section.

(9) The following moneys shall be retained and accumulated by the third-party administrator to be used for the purposes set forth in ORS § 284.771 to 284.801:

(a) Moneys received as repayment of loans;

(b) Moneys received as repayment of grant proceeds in the event of default by the grantee under the grant agreement;

(c) Interest and other receipts from outstanding indebtedness; and

(d) Moneys from any other sources received pursuant to an agreement entered into pursuant to ORS § 284.781 (4).

(10) The agreement shall specify the amount of moneys distributed under ORS § 284.783 that the third-party administrator may retain for expenses incurred in operating grant and loan programs under this section. [2017 c.703 § 6; 2019 c.72 § 4; 2020 s.s.1 c.9 § 7]