Section 457-301-4 - EligibilityTo be eligible for a loan, an applicant must meet the following criteria:
A. Applicants shall be limited to individual residents of the State of Maine, and corporations, partnerships and joint ventures organized under the laws of the State of Maine in which all of the stockholders, partners or joint venturers individually meet the eligibility criteria for applicants under this rule. Nor-for-profit businesses shall not be eligible to apply for loans under the job-start program. Applicants will not be eligible if they employ more than 20 persons or have gross sales exceeding $2,500,000 per year, or, in the case of new businesses, they project that within the first twelve months of operation they will employ more than 20 persons or have gross sales exceeding $2,500,000.B. An applicant may not have previously received a job-start program loan, except that this restriction shall not apply if the amount previously received plus the amount of the additional assistance sought for the same business enterprise does not exceed the maximum permitted loan amount. For purposes of this subsection (B), the term "applicant" shall include the spouse, dependents or members of the same household, partners, or joint venturers or stockholders in the business for which the loan is sought. An applicant who has previously been rejected by the Authority for a loan under the job-start program may not reapply unless there has been a significant change in the application from the one rejected.C. The Gross Income of the applicant shall not exceed the higher of: 1 eighty percent (80%) of the State average of the most recently issued HUD median income guidelines for lower income families, pursuant to Section 8 of the U.S. Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, ("HUD Income Guidelines"); or2 80% of the most recently issued HUD Income Guidelines applicable to the county of residence of the applicant, based on household size, plus $1,000 for each member of the applicant's household in excess of five. In the case of a corporation, partnership or joint venture, Gross Income shall not exceed the average income guidelines referenced above as applicable to the stockholders, partners or joint venturers, and in addition all stockholders, partners and joint venturers must meet the applicable Gross Income requirement. Applicable gross income guidelines will be established for each fiscal year on the first day of each fiscal year.
D. The applicant's business enterprise for which the loan is sought must be located or conducted within the State, or if a maritime enterprise, must be operated principally from a port located within the State of Maine.E. If the applicant is a resident of a region served by a contracting community action agency, or the principal location of the business is in such a region, then the applicant shall apply to the community action agency serving the region in which the applicant's residence or business is located. In the case of partnerships, joint ventures or corporations, if at least fifty percent (50%) of the partners, venturers or stockholders are residents of a region served by the community action agency, or the principal location of the business shall be in a region served by a contracting community action agency, the application shall be presented to the contractor serving that region.F. Each applicant and his or her spouse and dependents shall have a total Net Worth of no more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000). In the case of a partnership, joint venture or corporation, all partners, venturers or stockholders must meet the Net Worth requirement (exclusive of their interest in the applicant) and in addition the applicant must have less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) in Net Worth.G. Except as may be specifically accepted by the chief executive officer, no loan funds may be disbursed unless the applicant has paid all taxes which are due and payable and is in compliance with all applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations or ordinances.94-457 C.M.R. ch. 301, § 4