Small Business Drought Relief Act of 2003

Small Business Drought Relief Act of 2003 - Amends the Small Business Act to include within the definition of "disaster," for purposes of disaster loans provided to small businesses through the Small Business Administration (SBA), droughts and below average water levels in the Great Lakes or any other U.S. body of water that supports commerce by small businesses. Authorizes such loan assistance for farm- and nonfarm-related small businesses affected by droughts. Limits the amount that may be used during FY 2003 to provide drought disaster loans to non-farm related concerns.

Requires the SBA to respond in writing to a State Governor regarding its determination concerning the provision of disaster loan assistance within 30 days after receiving such Governor's certification that small businesses in that State have suffered economic injury as a result of a disaster.

[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 318 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 318

   To provide emergency assistance to nonfarm-related small business 
  concerns that have suffered substantial economic harm from drought.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 5, 2003

   Mr. Kerry (for himself, Mr. Bond, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Edwards, Mr. 
    Johnson, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Levin, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Daschle, Mr. 
  Hollings, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Warner, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Harkin, and Mr. 
Reid) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
        to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide emergency assistance to nonfarm-related small business 
  concerns that have suffered substantial economic harm from drought.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. LOANS TO SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS DAMAGED BY DROUGHT.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business 
Drought Relief Act of 2003''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) as of July 2002, more than 36 States (including 
        Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Louisiana) have suffered 
        from continuing drought conditions;
            (2) droughts have a negative effect on State and regional 
        economies;
            (3) many small businesses in the United States sell, 
        distribute, market, or otherwise engage in commerce related to 
        water and water sources, such as lakes, rivers, and streams;
            (4) many small businesses in the United States suffer 
        economic injury from drought conditions, leading to revenue 
        losses, job layoffs, and bankruptcies;
            (5) these small businesses need access to low-interest 
        loans for business-related purposes, including paying their 
        bills and making payroll until business returns to normal;
            (6) absent a legislative change, the practice of the Small 
        Business Administration of permitting only agriculture and 
        agriculture-related businesses to be eligible for Federal 
        disaster loan assistance as a result of drought conditions 
        would likely continue;
            (7) during the past several years small businesses that 
        rely on the Great Lakes have suffered economic injury as a 
        result of lower than average water levels, resulting from low 
        precipitation and increased evaporation, and there are concerns 
        that small businesses in other regions could suffer similar 
        hardships beyond their control and that they should also be 
        eligible for assistance; and
            (8) it is necessary to amend the Small Business Act to 
        clarify that nonfarm-related small businesses that have 
        suffered economic injury from drought are eligible to receive 
        financial assistance through Small Business Administration 
        Economic Injury Disaster Loans.
    (c) Drought Disaster Authority.--
            (1) Definition of disaster.--Section 3(k) of the Small 
        Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(k)) is amended--
                    (A) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(k)''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) For purposes of section 7(b)(2), the term `disaster' 
includes--
            ``(A) drought; and
            ``(B) below average water levels in the Great Lakes, or on 
        any body of water in the United States that supports commerce 
        by small business concerns.''.
            (2) Drought disaster relief authority.--Section 7(b)(2) of 
        the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(2)) is amended--
                    (A) by inserting ``including drought, with respect 
                to both farm-related and nonfarm-related small business 
                concerns affected by drought,'' before ``if the 
                Administration''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``the 
                Consolidated Farmers Home Administration Act of 1961 (7 
                U.S.C. 1961)'' and inserting the following: ``section 
                321 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act 
                (7 U.S.C. 1961), in which case, assistance under this 
                paragraph may be provided to farm-related and nonfarm-
                related small business concerns, subject to the other 
                applicable requirements of this paragraph''.
    (d) Prompt Response to Disaster Requests.--Section 7(b)(2)(D) of 
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(2)(D)) is amended by striking 
``Upon receipt of such certification, the Administration may'' and 
inserting ``Not later than 30 days after the date of receipt of such 
certification by a Governor of a State, the Administration shall 
respond in writing to that Governor on its determination and the 
reasons therefore, and may''.
    (e) Limitation on Loans.--From funds otherwise appropriated for 
loans under section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)), 
not more than $9,000,000 may be used during fiscal year 2003 to provide 
drought disaster loans to non-farm related small business concerns.
    (f) Rulemaking.--Not later than 45 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration 
shall promulgate final rules to carry out this Act and the amendments 
made by this Act.
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