Knight’s small business bill passes the House

The House recently approved the Small Business Investment Opportunity Act of 2017, which looks to increase small businesses’ borrowing power by $25 million, according to a statement from Rep. Steve Knight’s office.

HR 2333, the legislation that is said to improve capital access for small businesses, was signed into law on Thursday.

Introduced by Knight, R-Palmdale, last May, the bill looks to make improvements to the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program, an initiative run by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that allows privately owned and managed investment funds to invest in small businesses.

This bill amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to increase the maximum amount of outstanding leverage, or borrowing power, made available to any licensed small business investment company from $150 million to $175 million, according to Congress.gov.

Current law limits the amount of capital SBICs can invest in growing firms. The Small Business Investment Opportunity Act of 2017 will raise the limit to allow small businesses access to additional resources to expand operations and invest in their workforce.

"The SCV is home to hundreds of small businesses that will benefit from this bill," Knight said Monday. "The valley’s proximity to hubs of commerce and trade in Los Angeles and Long Beach, in combination with an exceptionally high rate of educated workers, makes it a perfect spot to start and grow a business… This bill by opening up more options for capital funding through the SBA, (and) will create more opportunities for businesses in all industries to reach their goals.”

The chair of the House Small Business Committee praised the effort to reduce challenges for proprietors of smaller companies.

"No doubt, access to capital remains one of the biggest obstacles for small business owners in growing their companies," said Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Small Business Committee. "Congressman Knight's bill will allow small businesses to more easily get the financing they need and I thank him for all the hard work he has put into this bill to see it become law."

HR 2333 passed the House of Representatives with unanimous support in July 2017, and passed in the Senate with unanimous consent in early June 2018.