Maryland Senate Bill SB0920

Maryland 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/6/26
• Refer: 2/6/26
• Report Pass: 3/16/26
• Engrossed: 3/19/26
• Refer: 3/20/26
• Report Pass: 4/8/26
• Enrolled: 4/13/26

Caption

Economic Development - Small, Minority, and Women-Owned Business Accounts - Management Fees (Small Business Increased Access to Capital Act)

Summary

SB920, the Small Business Increased Access to Capital Act, amends Maryland’s Economic Development law governing Small, Minority, and Women-Owned Business Accounts. The bill authorizes the Department of Commerce to allow an eligible fund manager to receive and retain a management fee tied to loans made from these accounts, rather than relying only on the existing authority for grant money to cover administrative and related expenses. The fee may be structured as a percentage of each loan principal, with the authorized percentage set between 1.5% and 3%. The bill also gives the Department discretion to set an annual cap on the total management fees an eligible fund manager may receive under the program. The stated purpose is to support administration and lending activity for these accounts, which are intended to expand access to capital for small businesses, including minority-owned and women-owned businesses. The bill takes effect July 1, 2026.

Impact

SB920 amends Section 5-1501 of the Economic Development Article to expand how eligible fund managers may be compensated for administering Small, Minority, and Women-Owned Business Accounts. It adds a new management-fee mechanism, permits the Department of Commerce to define the fee percentage within a statutory range, and allows the Department to impose an annual cap on cumulative fees. The practical effect is to provide additional operating support for fund managers involved in lending under the program, which may improve program administration and loan deployment while also increasing oversight by the Department.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests broad support for the bill. It passed the Senate unanimously, 45-0, and later passed the House by a wide margin, 119-12. No committee transcript was provided, but the favorable committee report and strong floor votes indicate the bill was generally viewed as a technical or program-support measure aimed at improving access to capital for small and underserved businesses.

Contention

No specific committee objections or floor debate are included in the record provided, so there is no documented substantive controversy in the materials. The most likely point of policy sensitivity is the new authority to pay management fees from the account and to set those fees as a percentage of loan principal, which could raise questions about program costs, fee levels, and oversight. Any concern would likely come from legislators or stakeholders focused on ensuring that more of the funds reach borrowers rather than administrators, while supporters would emphasize the need to compensate fund managers for lending operations and expand capital access.