(a) The California Small Business Technical Assistance Program is hereby created within the California Office of the Small Business Advocate. (b) The program shall be under the direct authority of the Small Business Advocate. (c) The purpose of the program is to assist small businesses through free or low-cost one-on-one consulting and low-cost training by entering into grant agreements with one or more small business technical assistance centers. (d) In implementing the program, the office shall consult with local, regional, federal, and other state public and private entities that share a similar mission to support the needs of small businesses in California. (e) An applicant pursuant to this article shall be a small business technical assistance center, including a regional or statewide network, operating as a group or as an individual center. (1) A small business technical assistance center operating as a group consisting of centers organized under a coordinating administrative or fiscal entity shall apply by submitting a single consolidated application to the office. (2) A small business technical assistance center operating as an individual center shall apply by submitting a single application for that center to the office. (f) The office shall administer the program to provide grants to expand the capacity of small business development technical assistance centers in California, administered by and primarily funded by federal agencies, but shall also include other nonprofit small business technical assistance centers, that provide one-on-one confidential consulting and training to small businesses and entrepreneurs in this state. Except as modified by subdivision (l), an applicant shall be eligible to participate in the program if the office determines that the applicant meets all of the following criteria: (1) At the time of applying for funds, the applicant has an active contract with a federal funding partner to administer a program in this state, or has received a letter of intent from a federal funding partner to administer a federal small business technical assistance center program in this state within the next fiscal year. Alternatively, if the applicant is not a federally contracted small business technical assistance center, the applicant shall document a private funding source with similar intent and meet the criteria defined in subdivision (s) of Section 12100.62. (2) (A) The applicant provided a plan of action and commitment to fully draw down all of the federal funds available using local cash match and state funds not described in Section 12100.65 during the duration of the award period. Alternatively, if the applicant is not a federally contracted small business technical assistance center, the applicant shall present a plan of action for drawing down any match required by those private funding sources using local cash match outside of state funds not described in Section 12100.65 during the award period. The office may request that the applicant provide details relating to the source and amount of these nonstate local match funds. (B) If the applicant is a new small business technical assistance center, the applicant has demonstrated the ability to fully draw down substantially all federal or private funds available to it. (3) The requested funding amount does not exceed the total federal award specified in the contract with the federal funding partner contract, or the private funding sources specified, but in any event is no less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000). (4) The applicant seeks funding for one or more years, but no more than five years in duration. (5) The grant agreements authorized by this article are not subject to the model contract provisions developed pursuant to Chapter 14.27 (commencing with Section 67325) of Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code. (6) The applicant has a fiscal agent that is able to receive nonfederal funds. (g) The office shall issue a requ
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