(1) The small business incubator program is created in the department of commerce to provide start-up and operating assistance to qualified small business incubators.

(2) The department shall award grants to qualified small business incubator organizations for:

(a) Construction and equipment costs, up to a maximum of three million dollars per recipient; and

(b) Provision of technical assistance to small businesses, up to a maximum of one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars per year per recipient.

(3) The department shall:

(a) Require a grant recipient to show that it has the resources to complete the project in a timely manner and the state grant is not the sole source of funds;

(b) Develop, in conjunction with the Washington association of small business incubators, criteria for receipt of grant funds, including criteria related to organizational capacity, community need, and the availability of other economic development resources;

(c) Accept and receive grants, gifts, and pledges of funds for the support of the small business incubator program, which shall be deposited in the small business incubator account established in *RCW 43.176.040; and

(d) Integrate the promotion of small business incubators as economic development tools in its strategic plan.

*Reviser's note: RCW 43.176.040 was repealed by 2012 c 198 s 26.

Explanatory statement—2023 c 470: See note following RCW 10.99.030.