Economic and Community Development - As introduced, enacts the "Small Business Growth and Empowerment Act"; authorizes business tax credits for small businesses hiring locally or providing workforce training; creates grants for minority-owned and women-owned businesses in underserved areas. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 7 and Title 67, Chapter 4.

SB 1185, the "Small Business Growth and Empowerment Act," creates a state fund to provide grants for minority-owned and women-owned businesses in underserved areas. The bill authorizes grants for specific economic development activities like site development, training, and infrastructure, and establishes a 50% tax credit for qualifying small businesses that hire locally or provide workforce training. It directly affects minority- and women-owned businesses in communities with limited access to capital, defining "underserved areas" as rural, inner-city, or historically disadvantaged regions. The fund must be managed to ensure spending aligns with program goals, with quarterly public reporting on grant recipients and amounts. The bill amends Tennessee Code to establish this fund and the tax credit mechanism.