(1) The department shall establish a financial assistance program to provide financial assistance to businesses that employ no more than five hundred employees or to individuals for the purposes of creating a prototype of a product stemming from research and development at a business operating in Nebraska or a public or private college or university in Nebraska. (2)(a) Until three months after April 20, 2022, funds shall be matched by nonstate funds equivalent in money equal to fifty percent of the funds requested; and (b) Beginning three months after April 20, 2022, funds shall be matched by nonstate funds equivalent in money equal to: (i) Twenty-five percent of the funds requested if the applicant's principal residence or principal place of business is located in an economic redevelopment area within a city of the metropolitan class; or (ii) Fifty percent of the funds requested for any other applicant. (3) Matching funds may be from any nonstate source, including private foundations, federal or local government sources, quasi-governmental entities, or commercial lending institutions, or any other funds whose source does not include funds appropriated by the Legislature. (4) The amount the department may provide shall not exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars per project. (5) A business or individual applying for financial assistance under this section shall include a business plan that includes a proof-of-concept demonstration. (6) Financial assistance under this section shall be expended within twenty-four months after the date of the awarding decision. (7) The department may award up to six million dollars per year for financial assistance under this section and, beginning in fiscal year 2027-28, shall award a minimum amount per year under this section. Such minimum amount shall be equal to the lesser of four million dollars or the total amount needed to fund all applications that qualify for funding under this section.
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