Bill Text: AZ SB1233 | 2014 | Fifty-first Legislature 2nd Regular | Introduced
Bill Title: Infrastructure financing authority; transportation projects
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-29 - Referred to Senate TRANS Committee [SB1233 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2014-SB1233-Introduced.html
|
REFERENCE TITLE: infrastructure financing authority; transportation projects |
|
State of Arizona Senate Fifty-first Legislature Second Regular Session 2014
|
|
SB 1233 |
|
|
|
Introduced by Senator Farley
|
AN ACT
amending title 28, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding chapter 30; making an appropriation; relating to the arizona infrastructure financing authority.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 28, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding chapter 30, to read:
CHAPTER 30
ARIZONA INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCING AUTHORITY
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
28-9451. Definitions
In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Authority" means the Arizona infrastructure financing authority.
2. "Board" means the authority's board of directors.
3. "Eligible entity" means a municipality, a county, a district or other nonfederal governmental entity, including a political subdivision, or any other instrumentality of this state.
4. "Infrastructure projects" means the construction, consolidation, alteration or repair projects across a group of transportation subsectors that are enumerated in a proposal and includes projects that facilitate intermodal transit.
5. "Rural area" means either:
(a) A county with a population of less than seven hundred fifty thousand persons.
(b) A census county division with less than fifty thousand persons in a county with a population of seven hundred fifty thousand or more persons.
6. "Transportation subsectors" means:
(a) Streets or Highways.
(b) Bridges.
(c) Mass transit.
(d) Commercial ports.
(e) Airports.
(f) Air traffic control systems.
(g) Passenger rail, including high‑speed rail.
28-9452. Arizona infrastructure financing authority; board
A. The Arizona infrastructure financing authority is established to provide direct loans and loan guarantees to facilitate infrastructure projects that are both economically viable and of local or statewide significance.
B. A board of directors shall govern the authority. The board of directors consists of the following:
1. The chief executive officer of the authority who is appointed by the governor pursuant to section 38‑211 and who serves a term of six years. The chief executive officer is a nonvoting member of the board.
2. Seven voting members who are appointed by the governor pursuant to section 38-211, not more than four of whom are members of the same political party. each voting member serves for a term of four years.
C. The governor with the consent of the senate may remove Any board member from the board.
D. Vacancies occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled in the same manner for the remainder of the unexpired term.
E. The initial board members shall organize the board for the transaction of business and shall adopt rules to implement this chapter.
28-9453. Loans and loan guarantees; limitations; interest rate; maturity date
A. Funding pursuant to this chapter is limited to eligible infrastructure projects with reasonably anticipated costs of at least five million dollars or at least two million five hundred thousand dollars in rural areas.
B. The board shall establish a maximum annual loan and loan guarantee volume.
C. The loan or loan guarantee shall not:
1. Finance more than fifty per cent of the infrastructure project's cost.
2. Exceed:
(a) seventy‑five MILLION dollars FOR THE FIRST TWO FISCAL YEARS of the loan.
(b) One hundred fifty MILLION dollars FOR the third through ninth FISCAL YEARs of the loan.
(c) Three hundred million dollars for any fiscal year after the ninth fiscal year of the loan.
D. A loan or loan guarantee shall be payable in whole or in part from tolls, user fees, impact fees, tax increments or other dedicated revenue sources.
E. The base interest rate on a loan shall be at least the rate on united states treasury debt with a similar maturity.
F. The final maturity date of a loan or loan guarantee shall not exceed thirty‑five years.
G. No more than five per cent of monies that the authority provides to an eligible entity may be used to offset subsidy costs associated with rural infrastructure projects.
28-9454. Applications
The board shall:
1. Establish criteria for applications for direct loans and loan guarantees except that:
(a) An infrastructure project is not eligible for funding if the project's purpose is private and the project does not create any public benefit.
(b) Funding may not be provided to refinance existing infrastructure projects.
(c) An applicant must be an eligible entity.
(d) The board and the applicant must agree to a specified source of revenue that the applicant will use to repay the loan or the loan guarantee.
2. Establish requirements on the timing and manner in which an application is to be submitted and shall determine what information must be contained in the application.
3. Continuously review Applications for assistance.
4. Take into consideration all of the following when reviewing an application for funding:
(a) The economic, financial, technical, environmental and public benefits and costs of each infrastructure project. An infrastructure project shall receive priority if the project contributes to local or statewide economic growth, offers value for money to taxpayers, demonstrates a clear and significant public benefit, leads to job creation and mitigates environmental concerns.
(b) How the infrastructure project is being financed, including the terms, conditions and structure of the proposed financing, the credit worthiness and standing of the infrastructure project sponsors, the providers of equity and cofinanciers, the financial assumptions and projections on which the infrastructure project is based and whether there is sufficient state or municipal political support for the successful completion of the infrastructure project.
(c) The likelihood that the authority's assistance will cause the development to proceed more promptly and with lower costs than without the assistance.
(d) The extent to which the provision of assistance maximizes the level of private investment in the infrastructure project or supports a public-private partnership while providing a significant public benefit.
(e) The extent to which the provision of assistance can mobilize the participation of other financing partners in the infrastructure project.
(f) the technical and operational viability of the infrastructure project.
(g) The proportion of financial assistance from the authority.
(h) The geographic location of the infrastructure project, in an effort to have geographic diversity of projects funded by the authority.
(i) The size of the project and its impact on the resources of the authority.
(j) The infrastructure sector of the project, in an effort to have projects from more than one sector funded by the authority.
(k) The extent to which the infrastructure project encourages use of innovative procurement, asset management or financing to minimize the all‑in‑life-cycle cost and to improve the cost-effectiveness of the infrastructure project.
28-9455. Fees; funding
A. The authority may charge and collect a fee in an amount determined by the board from an eligible entity that applies for a loan or a loan guarantee. The fee may be in the form of an application or a transaction fee or in another form established by the chief executive officer of the authority. The fee may be based on the risk premium associated with the loan or loan guarantee, taking into consideration factors such as the price of United States Treasury obligations of a similar maturity, prevailing market conditions, the ability of the infrastructure project to support the loan or loan guarantee and the total amount of the loan or loan guarantee.
B. In establishing fees and risk premiums on loans and loan guarantees, The Chief executive officer of the authority shall try to minimize the risk and cost to the taxpayer of the authority's activities while supporting the authority's objectives.
C. The authority may solicit and accept grants from any source to add working capital to implement this chapter.
28-9456. Arizona infrastructure financing authority fund
A. The Arizona infrastructure financing authority fund is established consisting of:
1. Fees collected pursuant to this chapter.
2. Grants.
3. Monies appropriated by the legislature.
B. The authority shall administer the fund. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated.
28-9457. Infrastructure projects; permits; approvals
Infrastructure projects that receive funding through the authority must still obtain state and local permits and approvals required for the project.
Sec. 2. Initial terms of members of the board of directors of the Arizona infrastructure financing authority
A. Notwithstanding section 28‑9452, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, the initial terms of voting members of the board of directors of the Arizona infrastructure financing authority are:
1. One term ending on the third Monday in January, 2015.
2. Two terms ending on the third Monday in January, 2016.
3. Two terms ending on the third Monday in January, 2017.
4. Two terms ending on the third Monday in January, 2018.
B. The governor shall make all subsequent appointments as prescribed by statute.
Sec. 3. Appropriation; Arizona infrastructure financing authority; exemption
A. The sum of $100,000,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2014-2015 to the Arizona infrastructure financing authority for deposit in the Arizona infrastructure financing authority fund established by section 28‑9456, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, for the purpose of providing loans and loan guarantees to eligible entities as defined in section 28-9451, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act. In fiscal year 2014‑2015, $5,000,000 may be spent for the administrative costs of the Arizona infrastructure financing authority and in fiscal year 2015‑2016, $8,000,000 may be spent for the administrative costs of the Arizona infrastructure financing authority.
B. The appropriation made in subsection A of this section is exempt from the provisions of section 35-190, Arizona Revised Statutes, relating to lapsing of appropriations.
