9-12-1303. Certification.

(a) The Wyoming business council shall provide a form for applying for certification as a Wyoming small business investment company.

(b) An applicant to be certified as a Wyoming small business investment company shall:

(i) File an application with the council and pay a nonrefundable fee equal to the annual certification fee provided under W.S. 9-12-1308(b);

(ii) Submit as part of the application an audited balance sheet which contains an unqualified opinion of an independent certified public accountant issued not more than sixty (60) days before the application date and includes a statement that the applicant has an equity capitalization of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) or more in the form of unencumbered cash, marketable securities or other liquid assets; and

(iii) Have at least two (2) principals or persons, employed or engaged to manage the funds who each have a minimum of five (5) years of money management experience in the venture capital or private investment industry or five (5) years of experience as an officer in a commercial bank and acceptable business qualifications as determined by the council in consultation with the Wyoming state banking commissioner.

(c) The council may certify a partnership, corporation, trust or limited liability company which is organized on a for-profit basis and submits an application to be designated as a Wyoming small business investment company if:

(i) The applicant is located, headquartered and licensed or registered to conduct business in Wyoming;

(ii) The applicant has as its primary business the activity of investing cash in qualified businesses;

(iii) After a review of the organizational documents and the business history of each applicant the council determines that the officers and the board of directors, general partners, trustees, managers or members of the applicant are acquainted with the requirements of this article; and

(iv) The applicant has complied with the requirements set forth in subsection (b) of this section for a Wyoming small business investment company and is otherwise qualified pursuant to the provisions of this article.

(d) Not more than forty-five (45) days after the receipt of an application under this section, the council shall issue a certification as a Wyoming small business investment company or refuse to issue the certification and provide to the applicant the grounds for the refusal and any information that may allow the applicant to obtain certification.

(e) The council shall begin accepting applications for certification as a Wyoming small business investment company not later than January 1, 2011.

(f) The council may contract with an independent third party to review, investigate and certify that the applications under this section and requests under W.S. 9-12-1307(j) and 9-12-1310(c) comply with the provisions of this article.