Sec. 1. 10 MRSA §1026-Q is enacted to read:

§1026-Q.__Early Care and Education Revolving Loan Program

1.__Established.__The Early Care and Education Revolving Loan Program, referred to in this section as the "program," is established to provide financial assistance to businesses providing early care and education.__The authority shall administer the program, which may include direct loans to early care and education providers, as well as loans or grants by the authority to eligible economic development corporations or entities for the purpose of providing loans to early care and education providers.__The Early Care and Education Revolving Loan Program Fund, referred to in this section as the "fund," is established as a revolving fund, into which must be deposited all amounts appropriated to the program, interest earnings on the fund, any amounts repaid to the program by loan recipients and funds from any other source.__Amounts in the fund must be used by the authority for purposes authorized in this section.

2.__Eligible corporations.__The program is open to local, regional and statewide nonprofit or governmental economic development corporations or entities, capable of providing financial assistance to businesses providing early child care and education.__To be eligible to participate in the program:

A.__A corporation must apply to the authority to participate in the program.__The application must describe the corporation and its funding sources, the region it serves, its methods and criteria for qualifying borrowers, strategies in locating qualified borrowers, its expertise in management assistance and financing of early child care and education businesses, its ability to leverage funds from other sources and other information the authority determines necessary;

B.__A corporation must have a strategy for the provision of marketing and technical assistance to early child care and education businesses and enough expert assistance available to underwrite, document and process loans and assist its clients; and

C.__The corporation must be determined by the authority to be able to prudently and effectively administer a direct loan fund and to coordinate the administration of a loan fund with other business assistance programs and employment training and social assistance programs.