Extension of small business pilot program proposed

The Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee heard testimony Feb. 4 on a bill that would alter and extend the Small Business Innovation Act pilot program.

LB628, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad, would reduce the number of full-time equivalent employees required to qualify for the pilot program from five to two. The bill also would extend the sunset date for one year to Dec. 31, 2014.

Conrad said the changes would allow the pilot program, which is targeted at Nebraska-based high growth businesses, to better utilize funds appropriated to it by the Legislature in 2011.

“[LB628] is a technical bill that would make a good program more user friendly,” she said. “It took a little bit longer than we had hoped for [the program] to get off the ground and moving.”

Janell Anderson Ehrke, CEO of GROW Nebraska, testified in support of the bill. She said her company, which contracts with the state Department of Economic Development to implement the pilot program, has had difficulty finding qualifying companies in rural Nebraska that meet the minimum employee requirement.

No opposition testimony was given and the committee voted 8-0 to advance the bill to general file.