FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 28, 2005
For more information contact:

Rachel Girt, Wyoming Business Council
Phone: 307.777.2851

WBC plans to amend rules for the Challenge Loan Program

CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Business Council plans to amend the rules for the Wyoming Partnership Challenge Loan Program, making it easier for counties to seek economic disaster declaration and creating a new program.

Under the Challenge Loan Program, a business or group of businesses can apply to the Wyoming Business Council for an economic disaster declaration. With the approval of the declaration, individual businesses within the designated area may apply for direct loans from the Wyoming Business Council in the amount of their actual dollar loss.

The proposed rule changes reflect changes made to the statutes during the 2005 Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Dave Freudenthal in March. The proposed amendments include the following: increase the amount of state loan participation from $250,000 to $500,000 on loans that the lead lender has secured with a Federal Guarantee; decrease the amount of loss for qualifying Economic Disaster Emergency Loans in four or less counties from $1.5 million to $1 million; and create a new program that enables the state to issue loan guarantees.

The Wyoming Business Council welcomes all comments and suggestions on these proposed amendments. Requests for an agency response must be made prior to, or within 30 days after adoption of the rule. Written comments must be submitted to the Wyoming Business Council no later that 5 p.m. on May 13, 2005. The proposed rules may also be downloaded from the Wyoming Business Council Web site.

The Wyoming Business Council’s Board of Directors will take action on the proposed changes at a public meeting to be held in Cody on June 7.

The mission of the Wyoming Business Council is to facilitate the economic growth of Wyoming. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.wyomingbusiness.org.

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