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HB0291 • 2009

Small business investment credit.

AN ACT relating to economic development; providing definitions; providing requirements for certification as a small business investment company; providing requirements for participating investors; providing a credit against certain taxes for certain investments; requiring reports; and providing for an effective date.

Small Business Taxes
Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Representative Pedersen
Last action
2009-02-25
Official status
inactive
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

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Amendments

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HB0291H2001

2nd reading • PEDERSEN

Adopted

Plain English: Adopted 2nd reading by PEDERSEN

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HB0291HW001

Committee of the Whole • PEDERSEN

Adopted

Plain English: Adopted Committee of the Whole by PEDERSEN

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HB0291S2001

2nd reading • SCHIFFER

Adopted

Plain English: Adopted 2nd reading by SCHIFFER

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HB0291S2002

2nd reading • DOCKSTADER

Adopted

Plain English: Adopted 2nd reading by DOCKSTADER

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HB0291S2003

2nd reading • SCOTT

Adopted

Plain English: Adopted 2nd reading by SCOTT

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HB0291SW001

Committee of the Whole • ROSS

Adopted

Plain English: Adopted Committee of the Whole by ROSS

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HB0291SW002

Committee of the Whole • COOPER

Adopted

Plain English: Adopted Committee of the Whole by COOPER

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HB0291SS001

Standing Committee • LARSON

Adopted

Plain English: Adopted Standing Committee by LARSON

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Bill History

  1. 2009-02-25 Senate

    S Failed 3rd 15-14-1; Failed Reconsideration

  2. 2009-02-25 Senate

    S Failed 3rd Reading

  3. 2009-02-24 Senate

    S Passed 2nd Reading

  4. 2009-02-24 Senate

    Amendment Adopted

  5. 2009-02-24 Senate

    Amendment Adopted

  6. 2009-02-24 Senate

    Amendment Adopted

  7. 2009-02-23 Senate

    S Passed CoW

  8. 2009-02-23 Senate

    Amendment Adopted

  9. 2009-02-23 Senate

    Amendment Adopted

  10. 2009-02-23 Senate

    S Amendments Adopted

  11. 2009-02-23 Senate

    Amendment Adopted

  12. 2009-02-17 Senate

    S Placed on General File

  13. 2009-02-17 Senate

    S09 Recommended Amend and Do Pass

  14. 2009-02-10 Senate

    S Introduced and Referred to S09

  15. 2009-02-10 Senate

    S Received for Introduction

  16. 2009-02-09 House

    H Passed 3rd Reading

  17. 2009-02-06 House

    H Passed 2nd Reading

  18. 2009-02-06 House

    Amendment Adopted

  19. 2009-02-05 House

    H Passed CoW

  20. 2009-02-05 House

    Amendment Adopted

  21. 2009-02-05 House

    H Amendments Adopted

  22. 2009-02-02 House

    H Placed on General File

  23. 2009-02-02 House

    H03 Recommended Do Pass

  24. 2009-01-30 House

    H Introduced and Referred to H03

  25. 2009-01-30 House

    H Received for Introduction

  26. 2009-01-28 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
WORKING DRAFT
2009
STATE OF
WYOMING
09LSO-0557.E1

HOUSE BILL
NO.
HB0291

Small business investment credit.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Pedersen,
Anderson
, R., Berger, Buchanan, Gingery, Harshman, Illoway, Jorgensen, McOmie, Millin, Philp, Quarberg, Simpson, Stubson and Teeters and Senator(s) Bebout, Burns, Coe, Ross and Schiffer

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to economic development; providing definitions; providing requirements for certification as a small business investment company; providing requirements for participating investors; providing a credit against certain taxes for certain investments; requiring reports; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of
Wyoming
:

Section 1.

W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
1201 through 9
‑
12
‑
1212 are created to read:

ARTICLE 12

WYOMING
SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT CREDIT

9
‑
12
‑
1201.

Short title.

This article
shall be known and may be cited as the "
Wyoming

small business investment credit program
"
.

9
‑
12
‑
1202.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this article:

(i)

"Affiliate" means a
ny person who, directly or indirectly, owns, controls, or holds power to vote
fifteen
percent
(15%)
or more of the outstanding voting securities or other voting ownership interest of a Wyoming small business investment company or insurance company
and includes any person if fifteen
percent
(15%)
or more of
the
outstanding voting securities or other voting ownership interest
of that person
are directly or indirectly owned, controlled or held with power to vote by a Wyoming small business investment company or insurance company.
"Affiliate" does not include
an investment by a participating investor in a
Wyoming
small business investment company pursuant to an allocation of premiu
m tax credits under this article;

(ii
)

"Allocation date"
means the date credits under
W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
1205 are allocated to
participating investors
in
a
Wyoming
small business invest
ment company;

(iii)

"Designated capital"
means an amount of money that:

(A)

Is invested by a participating investor in a
Wyoming
small business investment company; and

(B)

Fully funds the p
urchase price of
a
participating investor's
qualified debt instrument issued by a
Wyoming
small business investment company.

(iv)

"Participating investor"
means any insurer wit
h a tax liability under W.S. 26
‑
4
‑
103;

(v)

"Qualified business"
means a business
which:

(A)

I
s independently owned an
d
o
perated;

(B)

Is headquartered in Wyoming,
its principal operations are located in Wyoming
,
at least sixty percent (60%) of the employees are employed in Wyoming or the business has committed in writing to move to Wyoming as a condition of the investment;

(C)

I
ntends to remain in
Wyoming
after receipt of the qualified investment;

(D)

Has one hundred (
100
)
employees
or less
;

(E)

Is not a franchise of and has no financial relationship with a Wyoming small business investment company or any affiliate of a Wyoming small business investment company prior to a Wyoming sm
all business investment company'
s first quali
fied investment in the business; and

(F)

I
s not predominately engaged in:

(I)

Professional services provided by accountants, doctors or lawyers;

(II)

Banking or lending;

(III)

Insurance;

(IV)

Direct gambling activities; or

(V)

Making loans to or investments in a
Wyoming
small business investme
nt company or an affiliate.

(vi)

"Qualified debt instrument"
means a debt instrument issued by a
Wyoming
small business investment company which:

(A)

I
s issued at par value or a premium;

(B)

H
as an original maturity date of at least four
(4) years from the date of issuance
and a repayment schedule which is not faster than a level principal amortization over four
(4)
years;
and

(C)

S
atisfies the
rating criteria to qualify as "NAIC 1" as determined by the securities valuation o
ffice of the
n
ational
a
ssociation of
i
nsurance
c
ommissioners.

(vii)

"
Qualifie
d distribution"
means any distribution or payment not made to a participating investor or affiliate of a participating investor by a
Wyoming
small business investment company in connection with:

(A)

The c
osts and e
xpenses of forming, syndicating
and organizing the Wyoming small business investment company, including
any
fee
paid for professional services,
and the costs of financing a
nd insuring the obligations of the
Wyoming small business investment company;

(B)

An annual management fee not to exceed three percent
(3%)
of designated capital on an annual basis to offset the costs and expenses of managing and operating a
Wyoming
small business investment company;

(C)

Reasonable and necessary fees in accordance with industry custom for ongoing professional services, including, but not limited to, legal and accounting services related to the operation of a Wyoming small business investment company;

(D)

An increase or projected inc
rease in federal or state taxes,
including penalties and related interest
,
of the equity owners of a Wyoming small business investment company resulting from the earnings or other tax liability of a Wyoming small business investment company to the extent that the increase is relat
ed to the ownership, management
or operation of a Wyoming small business investment company;
and

(E)

Payments of principal and interest to holders of qualified debt instruments issued by a
Wyoming
small business investment company.

(viii)

"Qualified investment"
means the investment of money by a Wyoming small business investment company in a qualified business for the purchase of any debt, debt participatio
n, equity or hybrid security of
any n
ature and description
, including a debt instrument or security
which
has the characteristics of debt but provides for conversion into equity or equity participation instrume
nts such as options or warrants;

(ix)

"State premium tax liability"
means a liability incurred by an insurer under W.S. 26
‑
4
‑
103, or in the case of a repeal or reduction of the liability imposed by W.S. 26
‑
4
‑
103, any othe
r tax liability imposed upon a participating investor by the state;

(x)

"
Wyoming
sm
all business investment company"
means a
partnership, corporation, trust
or limited liability company organized on a for-profit basis
which is
certified by the
council

pursuant to W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
1203
.

9
‑
12
‑
1203.

Certification.

(a)

The council
shall provide a
form
for applying for
certification as a
Wyoming
small business investment company
.

(b)

An applicant to be certified as a
Wyoming
small business investment company shall
:

(i)

File an application with the
council
and pay a nonrefundable fee
equal to the annual certification fee provided under W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
1208(b);

(ii)

Submit as part of
the
application an audited balance sheet
which
contains an unqualified opinion of an independent certified public accountant issued not more than
thirty-five (
35
)
days before the application date
and includes a statement
that the applicant has an equity capitalization of
five hundred thousand dollars (
$500,000
.00)
or more in the form of unencumbe
red cash, marketable securities
or other liquid assets; and

(iii)

Have at least two
(2)
principals or persons, employed or engaged to manage the funds who each have a minimum of five
(5)
years of money management experience in the venture capital or small business investment industry.

(c)

The council
may certify
a partnership
, cor
poration
, tr
ust or limited liability company which

is organized on a for-profit basis and
submit
s
an application to be designated as a
Wyoming
small business investment company if
:

(i)

The
appl
icant is located, headquartered
and licensed or registered to conduct business i
n
Wyoming
;

(ii)

The applicant

has
as its primary business the activity
of investing cash in qualified businesses;

(iii)

After a
review
of
the organizational documents and the business
history of each applicant the council
determine
s that
the officers and the board of directors, gener
al partners, trustees, managers
or members
of the applicant
are trustworthy and are acquainted with the requirements of this
article; and

(iv)

The applicant has complied with the requirements set forth in subsection (b) of this section for a
Wyoming
small business investment company and is otherwise qualified pursuant to the provisions of this article.

(d)

Not more than forty-five (
45
)
days after the receipt o
f an application under this section, the council shall
issue
a
certification
as a
Wyoming
small business investment company
or refuse
to issue
the certification and
provide
to the applicant th
e grounds for the refusal and any information that may allow the applicant to obtain certification
.

(
e
)

The council shall
begin
accepting applications for certification as
a
Wyoming
small business investment compan
y not later than

September
1, 2009.

(
f
)

The council
may contract with an independent thi
rd party to review, investigate
and certify that the applications
under this section and requests under W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
1207(j) and 9
‑
12
‑
1210(c)
comply with the provisions of this
article
.

9
‑
12
‑
1204.

Requirements.

(a)

An insurance company or affili
ate of an insurance company shall
not, directly or indirectly:

(i)

O
wn, whether through rights, options, conve
rtible interest, or otherwise, fifteen
percent
(15%)
or more of the voting securities or other voting ownership interest of a
Wyoming
small business investment company;

(ii)

Manage a
Wyoming
small business investment company; or

(iii)

Control the direction of investments for a
Wyoming
small business investment company.

(b)

A Wyoming small business investment company may obtain one
(1)
or more guaranties, indemnities, bonds,
insurance policies
or other payment undertakings for the benefit of its participating investors from any entity, except that in no case
shall
more than one
(1)
participating investor of a Wyoming small business investment company
, including any affiliates of the participating investor,
be entitled to provide such guaranties, indemni
ties, bonds, insurance policies
or other payment undertakings in favor of the participati
ng investors of a Wyoming small
business investment company and its affiliates.

(c)

This section

shall
not
be construed to
preclude a participating investor, insuran
ce company or other party from e
xercising its legal rights and remedies
including, without limitation:

(i)

I
nterim management of a Wyoming sm
all business investment company
in the event that a Wyoming small business investment company is in default of its statutory obligations or its contractual obligations to such participat
ing investor, insurance company or other party;

(ii)

M
onitoring a
Wyoming
small business investment company to ensure i
ts compliance with this section; or

(iii)

D
isallowing any investments that have not
been approved by the council pursuant to this article
.

9
‑
12
‑
1205.

Wyoming
small business investment credit
.

(a)

A participating investor
under this article
shall earn a credit against
any state premium tax liability

as provided in this section up to one hundred
percent
(100%)
of the participating investo
r'
s investment of designated capital in a
Wyoming
smal
l business investment company.

(b)

A
part
icipating investor may claim
in the next year
a
credit
under this section

for
tax
years
2012,
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
and
2018

in an amount equal to
fourteen and two thousand eight hundred fifty-seven
ten-
thousandths percent (14.2857%)
of the participating investor'
s investment of designated capital;

(c)

The
credit for any tax year shall
not exceed the
participating investor's state premium tax liability for that tax year
. If the amount of the credit determined un
der this section for any tax
year exceeds the liability for tax under this chapter, the
credit may be carried forward to future tax
years without limitation.

(d)

A credit under this section
may be used in connection with both final payments and prepayme
nts of a participating investor'
s state premium tax liability.

(e)

A participating investor claiming a credit under this section
shall
not
be
required to pay an
y
additional tax
or fee as a result of claiming a
credit
under this article
.

(f)

If the payment of
state premium tax liability
by a participating investor would result in
a credit against
or reduction in
any other tax imposed by this st
ate, the amount of such credit or reduction shall not be affected

by the issuance of a credit
under this section.

(g)

Final decertification of a
Wyoming
small business invest
ment company under W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
1210
may result in the disal
lowance and the recapture of a credit
under this section. The amount to b
e disallowed and recaptured shall
be assessed as follows:

(i)

If d
ecertification of a Wyoming small business investment company
is
within
two (2) years of
its allocation date
and
prior to meeting the requirements of
W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
1210(c),

all
credits under this section
are disallowed and any credits that were previously taken under this section shall be recaptured
;

(ii)

If d
ecertification of a Wyoming small business investment company
is
more than two

(
2
)
years

after
its allocation date and prior to meeting the requirements of
W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
1210(c),

all credits under this section are disallowed and no credits that were previously taken under this section shall be recaptured
;

(iii)

If
decertification of a
Wyoming
small business investment company
occurs after the company has
met the requirem
ents of W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
1210(c), no credits
under this section
are disallowed and no credits that were
previously taken
under this section shall be recaptured
.

(h)

A participating investor shall
not transfer, agree to transfer, sell, or agree to sell
a
credit under this section until
one hundred eighty (
180
)
days
or more
from the date on which the participating investor invested designated capital.
One hundred eighty (
180
)
days
or more
from the date of investment, a participating investor, or subsequent transferee, may transfer credits based upon rules adopted by the
council in consultation with the department of
insurance
to facilitate such transfers. Any transfer or sale of credits
shall
not affect the time schedule for claiming
a credit. Any tax credit
recaptured under this section
shall
remain the liability of the participating investor that actually applied the credit towards its tax liability.

9
‑
12
‑
1206.

Aggregate limitations on investment tax credits; allocation.

(a)

The aggregate amount of investment tax credits to be allocated to all participating investors of
Wyoming
small business investment companies under this
article
shall not exceed
twenty million dollars (
$20,000,000.
00).
No
Wyoming
small business investment company, on an aggregate basis with its affiliates,
shall
file credit allocation claims that exceed
twenty million dollars (
$20,000,000
.00)
.

(b
)

Tax credits shall be
allocated to participating investors in the order that the credit allocation claims are filed with the
council
, provided that all credit allocation claims filed with the
council
on the same day
shall
be treated as having been filed contemporaneously. Any credit allocation claims filed with the
council
prior to the initial credit
allocation claim filing date sha
ll be deemed to have been filed on such initial credit allocation claim filing date. The
council shall
set the initial credit allocation claim filing date to be not less than
ninety (90) days and not more
than
one hundred twenty (
120
)
days after the
council
begins accepting applications for certification
as a Wyoming small business investment company under W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
1203(f)
.

(c)

If
two
(2)
or more Wyoming small business investment companies file credit allocation claims with the
council
on behalf of their respective particip
ating investors on the same day
and the aggregate amount of credit allocation claims exceeds the
lesser of the
aggregate limit of investment tax credits under this section or the amount of credits that remain unallocated on that
day,
the credits shall be allocated among the participating investors who filed on that day on a pro rata basis with respect to the amounts claimed. The pro rata allocation for any one
(1)
participating investor is the product obtained by multiplying a fraction, the numerator of which is the amount of the credit allocation claim filed on behalf of a participating investor and the denominator of which is the total of all credit allocation claims filed on behalf of all participating investors on that day, by
the lesser of
the aggregate limit of credits under this section or the amount of credits that remain unallocated on that day.

(d)

Not more than
ten
(10)
business days after the
council
receives a credit allocation claim filed by a Wyoming small business investment company on behalf of one
(1)
or more of its participating investors, the
council

shall
notify the Wyoming small business investment company of the amount of credits allocated to each of the participating investors of that Wyoming small business investment company. In the event a Wyoming small business investment company does not receive an investment of designated capital from each participating investor required to earn the amount of credits allocated to such participating investor within ten
(10)
business days of the Wyoming small business investment company’s receip
t of a notice of allocation,
it shall notify the
council
on or
before the next business day
and the credits allocated to such participating investor of the Wyoming small business investment company
shall
be forfeited. The
council

shall
reallocate
credits forfeited under this subsection
among the participating investors of the other
Wyoming
small business investment companies on a pro rata basis with respect to the credit allocation claims filed on behalf o
f the participating investors.

(e)

The
council

may
levy a fine of not more than
fifty thousand dollars (
$50,000
.00)

for a
participating investor
which
does not invest the full amount of designated capital required to fund the
credits allocated to it by the council
in accordance with the credit allocation claim filed on its behalf.

(f)

No
participating investor,
individually or
on an aggregat
e basis with its affiliates, shall
file an allocation claim for more than
twenty-five percent (
25%
)
of the maximum amount of investment tax credits authorized
under this article
regardless of whether such claim is made in connection with one
(1)
or more
Wyoming
small
business investment companies.

9
‑
12
‑
1207.

Requirements for continuance of certification.

(a)

To
maintain
certification
under this article
, a
Wyoming
small business investment company
shall
make qualified investments as follows:

(i)

Within
two
(2)
years after the allocation date, a Wyoming small business investment company
shall
invest an amount equal to at least
twenty-five
percent
(25%)
of its designated capital in qualified investments; and

(ii)

Within
four
(4)
years after the allocation date, a
Wyoming
small business investment company must inves
t an amount equal to at least fifty
percent
(50%)
of its designated capital in qualified investments.

(b)

Before
making a proposed qualified investment in a specific business, a
Wyoming
small business investment company
shall request from the council
a written determination that the proposed investment
is
a qualified investment in a qualified business. The
council shall
notify a
Wyoming
small business investment company within
ten (
10
)
business days from the receipt of a request of its determination and an explanation thereof. If the
council does not
notify the
Wyoming
small business investment company of
its determination within ten (10) business days
,
the proposed investment is
deemed to be a qualified investment in a qualified business. If the
council
determines that the proposed investment does not meet the definition of a qualified investme
nt or qualified business, the council
may
accept
the proposed investment a
s

a qualified investment and
the business a
s

a qualified business if the council
determines that the proposed investment will further
the
economic development
of the state
.

(c)

Any
designated capital not invested in qualified investments by a
Wyoming
small business investment company shall be held or invested in such manner as the
Wyoming
small business investment company, in its d
iscretion, deems appropriate.

(d)

Designated capital and proceeds of designated capital returned to a Wyoming small business investment company after being originally invested in qualified investments may be invested again in qualified investments and such investment shall
be considered under
the requirements of su
bsection
s
(a
),

(e
)
and (f)
of this section

for the purposes of
making investments of designated capital in qualified investments.

(e)

If,
within
six
(6)
years after its allocation date, a Wyoming small business investment comp
any has not invested at least seventy
percent
(70%)
of its designated capital in qualified investments, neither the Wyoming small business investment company nor its affiliates shall be permitted to receive management fees.

(f)

If, within
eight
(8)
years after its allocation date, a Wyoming small business investment company has not invested
one hundred
percent
(100%)
of its designated capital in qualified investments, neither the Wyoming small business investment company nor its affiliates shall be permitted to receive management fees.

(g)

A
Wyoming
small business investment company
shall not invest more than
twenty
percent
(
20
%)
of its designated capital in any one
(1)
qualified business without the specific approval of the
council
.

(h)

F
or purposes of calculating the
investment percentage
s in
this subdivision, the cumulative amount of all qualified investments made by a
Wyoming
small business investment company from the allocation date
shall
be considered.

(j)

A

Wyoming
small business investment company
may, at any time but not more than once every two (2) years, request that the council determine if the
Wyoming
small business investment company is in compliance with the requirements of this section.

Upon a request under this subsection, the council
shall,
not later than sixty

(
60
)
days
after
receipt of
a request under this subsection,
c
ertify
that the Wyoming small business investment company has satisfied the requirements of
this section as of the date of the request
or provide notice of noncompliance and an explanation of
the
deficiencies. If the
council
does not provide such notification within
the sixty (
60
) day period
, the
Wyoming
small business investment company shall be deemed to
have met the applicable requirements of this section as of the date of the request
.

9
‑
12
‑
1208.

Wyoming
small business investment company reporting requirements.

(a)

Each
Wyoming
small
business investment company shall
report
the following to the council
:

(i)

As soon as practicable after the receipt of designated capital:

(A)

The name of each participating investor from which the designated capital was received, including such participating
investor's national association of insurance commissioners
identification number;

(B)

The amount
of each participating investor'
s investment of designated capital; and

(C)

The date on which the designated capital w
as received.

(ii)

O
n or before January 31 of each year:

(A)

The amount of the
Wyoming
sm
all business investment company'
s remaining uninvested designated capital at the end of t
he immediately preceding tax
year;

(B)

Whether
the
Wyoming
small business investment company has invested more than
twenty
percent
(
20
%)
of its total designated capital in any one
(1)
business;

(C)

All qualified investments that the Wyoming small business investment company has made in the previous taxable year, including the number of employees of each qualified business in which it has made investments at the time of such investment and as of Dec
ember 1 of the preceding tax
year; and

(
D)

For any qualified business where the
Wyoming
small business investment company no longer has an investment, the
Wyoming
small business investment company must provide employment figures for that company as of the last day befor
e the investment was terminated.

(iii)

Any information that the council
may
require by rule and regulation:

(A)

Which
will help the
council
ascertain the impact of the Wyoming small business investment company program directly and indirectly on the economy of the state of Wyoming including,
without limitation
, the number of jobs created by qualified businesses that have
received qualified investments; or

(B)

Information on the operations of the
Wyoming
small business investment company that the council requires to determine compliance with the requirements of this article.

(iv)

Within
ninety (
90
)
days of the close of its fiscal year, annual audited financial statements of the
Wyoming
sm
all business investment company
which
shall
include the opinion of an independent
certified public accountant.

(b)

The business council shall set annual certification fees through rule and regulation in the manner provided in W.S. 33
‑
1
‑
201(a). A
Wyoming
small business investment company shall submit to the council the annual, nonrefundable certification fee on or before April 1 o
f
each year. The annual certification fee shall not be required for the year if the payment date under this subsection is within six (6) months of the date a
Wyoming
small business investment company is first certified by the council under W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
1203.

9
‑
12
‑
1209.

Distributions.

(a)

A
Wyoming
small business investment company may make
a qualified distribution
at any time. In order for a Wyoming small business investment company to make a distribution other than a qualified distribution to its equity holders, the cumulative amount of all qualified investments of the Wyoming small business investment company
shall
equal or exceed
one hundred
percent
(100%)
of its designated capital.

(b)

A Wyoming small business investment company
shall
cont
ribute to the state of Wyoming general f
und an amount equal to
ten
percent
(
10
%)
of all distributions to the equity holders of
the
Wyoming small business investment company, other than qualified distribut
ions and distributions of
paid-in capital contributed to a Wyoming small business investment company by the equity holders. A
Wyoming
small business investment company
shall
make all contributions or investments required under this
subsection
concurrently with distributions to its eq
uity owners. Nothing in this subsection
shall
be construed to
effect qualified distributions.

(c)

If, more than ten (
10
)
years after the allocation date, a Wyoming small business investment company has failed to cumulatively invest an amount equal to at least
one hundred
percent
(100%)
of its designated capital in qualified investments, the percentage of distributions that a Wyoming small business investment company is required to invest or contribute to the state of Wyoming
g
eneral
f
un
d under subsection (b) of this section
shall
be twenty-five
percent
(25%)
.

9
‑
12
‑
1210.

Decertification
; certification of compliance
.

(a)

The council
shall conduct an annual review of each
Wyoming
small business inve
stment company to determine if each

Wyoming
small business investment company is abiding by th
e requirements of this article
and to ensure that no investment has been m
ade in violation of this article
. Th
e cost of the annual review and other determinations under this article including certifications requested under W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
1207(j) and subsection (c) of this section shall
be paid by each
Wyoming
small business investment company according to a fee sc
hedule adopted by the council
sufficient to cover actual direct and indirect costs of
the review or certification
.

(b)

Any material violation of this article
, including any material misrepresentation made to the
council
in connection with the application process,
is a basis
for decertification of a Wyoming small business investment company and the disall
owance of credits under W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
1
205
, provided that
in all instances the council
shall provide notice to the Wyoming small business investment of the grounds of
a
proposed decertification and the opportunity t
o cure any violation of this article before

the decertification
become
s
effective
.

(c)

A

Wyoming
small business investment company
may request that the council certify that the company
has invested an
amount cumulatively equal to one hundred percent (100%)
of its designated c
apital in qualified investments as provided in W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
1207

and has complied with
all other
requirements provided under this article.
Upon
a
re
quest under this subsection
, the
council shall
notify a
Wyoming
small bu
siness investment company not later than sixty

(
60
) days after receipt of a request under this subsection:

(i)

T
hat it has
achieved certification under this subsection; or

(ii)

That it
has not met the requirements
of this article, provide
a reason for
the determination that the company has been determined not to have met the requirements of this article and decertify the company if applicable under subsection (b) of this section
.

(d)

If the council certifies a

Wyoming
small business investment company
under subsection (c) of this section, the company
shall no longer be subject to regulation by the
council and shall not be subject to the
reporting
requirements under W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
1208
.
If the council
does not provide notification within
the sixty (
60
) day period as required in subsection (c) of this section,
the
Wyoming
small business investment company shall be deem
ed to be certified as provided in subsection (c) of this section
.

(e)

The council

shall provide
written notice of any decertification proceedings
under this section
to the
insurance commissioner
and to the address of each participating investor whose tax credit may be subject to recapture or forfeiture, using the address shown on the last fi
ling submitted to the council
.

9
‑
12
‑
121
1.

Registration requirements.

Each investment
by
a participating investor
for which
a tax credit is
awarded under this
article

shall
be registered or specifically exempt from registration
in accordance with applicable state or federal law
.

9
‑
12
‑
1212.

Reports to the governor and legislature.

(a)

The
council

shall
make an annual report to the governor
, the
joint appropriations interim committee
and the
joint minerals, business and economic development interim
committee for review and comment. The report shall
include:

(i)

The number of
Wyoming
small business investment companies holding designated capital;

(ii)

The amount of designated capital invested in each
Wyoming
small business investment company;

(iii)

The cumulative amount that each
Wyoming
small business investment com
pany has invested
;

(iv)

The cumulative amount of follow-on capital that the investments of each Wyoming small business investment company have created in terms of capital invested in qualified businesses at the same time or subsequent to investments made by a Wyoming small business investment company in such businesses by sources other than Wyoming small business investment companies;

(v)

The total amount of investment tax credits applied under this
article
for each year;

(vi)

The performance of each
Wyoming
small business investment company with regard to the requirements for continued certification;

(vii)

The classification of the companies in which each Wyoming small business investment company has invested according to industrial sector and size of company;

(viii)

The gross number of jobs created by investments made by each
Wyoming
small business investment company and the number of jobs retained;

(ix)

The location of the companies in which each
Wyoming
small business investment company has invested;

(x)

Those
Wyoming
small business investment companies that have been decertified, including the reasons for decertification; and

(xi)

Other related information as necessary to evaluate the effect of this
article
on economic development.

Section 2.

W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
102(a)(viii) is amended to read
:

9
‑
12
‑
102.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this act, the following terms have the following meanings, except where the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(viii)

"This act" means W.S. 9
‑
12
‑
101 through 9
‑
12
‑
905

and 9
‑
12
‑
1201 through 9
‑
12
‑
1212
.

Section 3.

This act is effective immediately upon co
m
pletion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constit
u
tion.

(END)

1
HB0291