SB1498 EngrossedLRB098 08880 HLH 39011 b

1    AN ACT concerning government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Finance Authority Act is amended by
5changing Sections 825-95, 825-110, 830-10, and 830-15 as
6follows:
 
7    (20 ILCS 3501/825-95)
8    Sec. 825-95. Emerald ash borer revolving loan program.
9    (a) The Illinois Finance Authority may shall administer an
10emerald ash borer revolving loan program. The program shall
11provide low-interest or zero-interest loans to units of local
12government for the replanting of trees on public lands that are
13within emerald ash borer quarantine areas as established by the
14Illinois Department of Agriculture. The Authority shall make
15loans based on the recommendation of the Department of
16Agriculture.
17    (b) The loan funds, subject to appropriation, must be paid
18out of the Emerald Ash Borer Revolving Loan Fund, a special
19fund created in the State treasury. The moneys in the Fund
20consist of any moneys transferred or appropriated into the Fund
21as well as all repayments of loans made under this program.
22Moneys in the Fund may be used only for loans to units of local
23government for the replanting of trees within emerald ash borer

 

 

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1quarantine areas established by the Department of Agriculture
2and for no other purpose. All interest earned on moneys in the
3Fund must be deposited into the Fund.
4    (c) A loan for the replanting of trees on public lands
5within emerald ash borer quarantine areas established by the
6Department of Agriculture may not exceed $5,000,000 to any one
7unit of local government. The repayment period for the loan may
8not exceed 20 years. The unit of local government shall repay,
9each year, at least 5% of the principal amount borrowed or the
10remaining balance of the loan, whichever is less. All
11repayments of loans must be deposited into the Emerald Ash
12Borer Revolving Loan Fund.
13    (d) Any loan under this Section to a unit of local
14government may not exceed the moneys that the unit of local
15government expends or dedicates for the reforestation project
16for which the loan is made.
17    (e) The Department of Agriculture may enter into agreements
18with a unit of local government under which the unit of local
19government is authorized to assist the Department in carrying
20out its duties in a quarantined area, including inspection and
21eradication of any dangerous insect or dangerous plant disease,
22and including the transportation, processing, and disposal of
23diseased material. The Department is authorized to provide
24compensation or financial assistance to the unit of local
25government for its costs.
26    (f) The Authority, with the assistance of the Department of

 

 

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1Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources, shall
2adopt rules to administer the program under this Section.
3(Source: P.A. 95-588, eff. 9-4-07; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08.)
 
4    (20 ILCS 3501/825-110)
5    Sec. 825-110. Implementation of ARRA provisions regarding
6qualified energy conservation bonds.
 
7(a) Definitions.
8        (i) "Affected local government" means any county or
9    municipality within the State if the county or municipality
10    has a population of 100,000 or more, as defined in Section
11    54D(e)(2)(C) of the Code.
12        (ii) "Allocation amount" means the $133,846,000 amount
13    of qualified energy conservation bonds authorized under
14    ARRA for the financing of qualifying projects located
15    within the State and the sub-allocation of those amounts
16    among each affected local government.
17        (iii) "ARRA" means, collectively, the American
18    Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, including, without
19    limitation, Section 54D of the Code; the guidance provided
20    by the Internal Revenue Service applicable to qualified
21    energy conservation bonds; and any legislation
22    subsequently adopted by the United States Congress to
23    extend or expand the economic development bond financing
24    incentives authorized by ARRA.

 

 

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1        (iv) "ARRA implementing regulations" means the
2    regulations promulgated by the Authority as further
3    described in subdivision (c)(iv) of this Section to
4    implement the provisions of this Section.
5        (v) "Code" means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
6    amended.
7        (vi) "Qualified energy conservation bond" means any
8    qualified energy conservation bond issued pursuant to
9    Section 54D of the Code.
10        (vii) "Qualified energy conservation bond allocation"
11    means an allocation of authority to issue qualified energy
12    conservation bonds granted pursuant to Section 54D of the
13    Code.
14        (viii) "Regional authority" means the Central Illinois
15    Economic Development Authority, Eastern Illinois Economic
16    Development Authority, Joliet Arsenal Development
17    Authority, Quad Cities Regional Economic Development
18    Authority, Riverdale Development Authority, Southeastern
19    Illinois Economic Development Authority, Southern Illinois
20    Development Authority, Southwestern Illinois Development
21    Authority, Tri-County River Valley Development Authority,
22    Upper Illinois River Valley Development Authority,
23    Illinois Urban Development Authority, Western Illinois
24    Economic Development Authority, or Will-Kankakee Regional
25    Development Authority.
26        (ix) "Sub-allocation" means the portion of the

 

 

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1    allocation amount allocated to each affected local
2    government.
3        (x) "Waived qualified energy conservation bond
4    allocation" means the amount of the qualified energy
5    conservation bond allocation that an affected local
6    government elects to reallocate to the State pursuant to
7    Section 54D(e)(2)(B) of the Code.
8        (xi) "Waiver agreement" means an agreement between the
9    Authority and an affected local government providing for
10    the reallocation, in whole or in part, of that affected
11    local government's sub-allocation to the Authority. The
12    waiver agreement may provide for the payment of an affected
13    local government's reasonable fees and costs as determined
14    by the Authority in connection with the affected local
15    government's reallocation of its sub-allocation.
 
16(b) Findings.
17    It is found and declared that:
18        (i) it is in the public interest and for the benefit of
19    the State to maximize the use of economic development
20    incentives authorized by ARRA;
21        (ii) those incentives include the maximum use of the
22    allocation amount for the issuance of qualified energy
23    conservation bonds to promote energy conservation under
24    the applicable provisions of ARRA; and
25        (iii) those incentives also include the issuance by the

 

 

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1    Authority of qualified energy conservation bonds for the
2    purposes of financing qualifying projects to be financed
3    with proceeds of qualified energy conservation bonds.
 
4(c) Powers of Authority.
5        (i) In order to carry out the provisions of ARRA and
6    further the purposes of this Section, the Authority has:
7            (A) the power to receive from any affected local
8        government its sub-allocation that it voluntarily
9        waives to the Authority, in whole or in part, for
10        allocation by the Authority to a regional authority
11        specifically designated by that affected local
12        government, and the Authority shall reallocate that
13        waived qualified energy conservation bond allocation
14        to the regional authority specifically designated by
15        that affected local government; provided that (1) the
16        affected local government must take official action by
17        resolution or ordinance, as applicable, to waive the
18        sub-allocation to the Authority and specifically
19        designate that its waived qualified energy
20        conservation bond allocation should be reallocated to
21        a regional authority; (2) the regional authority must
22        use the sub-allocation to issue qualified energy
23        conservation bonds on or before August 16, 2010 and, if
24        qualified energy conservation bonds are not issued on
25        or before August 16, 2010, the sub-allocation shall be

 

 

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1        deemed waived to the Authority for reallocation by the
2        Authority to qualifying projects; and (3) the proceeds
3        of the qualified energy conservation bonds must be used
4        for qualified projects within the jurisdiction of the
5        applicable regional authority;
6            (B) at the Authority's sole discretion, the power
7        to reallocate any sub-allocation deemed waived to the
8        Authority pursuant to subsection (c)(i)(A)(2) back to
9        the Regional Authority that had the sub-allocation;
10            (C) the power to enter into waiver agreements with
11        affected local governments to provide for the
12        reallocation, in whole or in part, of their
13        sub-allocations, to receive waived qualified energy
14        conservation bond allocations from those affected
15        local governments, and to use those waived qualified
16        energy conservation bond allocations, in whole or in
17        part, to issue qualified energy conservation bonds of
18        the Authority for qualifying projects or to reallocate
19        those qualified energy conservation bond allocations,
20        in whole or in part, to a county or municipality to
21        issue its own energy conservation bonds for qualifying
22        projects; and
23            (D) the power to issue qualified energy
24        conservation bonds for any project authorized to be
25        financed with proceeds thereof under the applicable
26        provisions of ARRA.

 

 

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1        (ii) In addition to the powers set forth in item (i),
2    the Authority shall be the sole recipient, on behalf of the
3    State, of any waived qualified energy conservation bond
4    allocations. Qualified energy conservation bond
5    allocations can be reallocated to the Authority only by
6    voluntary waiver as provided in this Section.
7        (iii) In addition to the powers set forth in items (i)
8    and (ii), the Authority has any powers otherwise enjoyed by
9    the Authority in connection with the issuance of its bonds
10    if those powers are not in conflict with any provisions
11    with respect to qualified energy conservation bonds set
12    forth in ARRA.
13        (iv) The Authority has the power to adopt regulations
14    providing for the implementation of any of the provisions
15    contained in this Section, including the provisions
16    regarding waiver agreements and reallocation of all or any
17    portion of the allocation amount and sub-allocations and
18    the issuance of qualified energy conservation bonds;
19    except that those regulations shall not (1) provide any
20    waiver or reallocation of an affected local government's
21    sub-allocation other than a voluntary waiver as described
22    in subsection (c) or (2) be inconsistent with the
23    provisions of subsection (c)(i). Regulations adopted by
24    the Authority for determining reallocation of all or any
25    portion of a waived qualified energy conservation
26    allocation may include, but are not limited to, (1) the

 

 

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1    ability of the county or municipality to issue qualified
2    energy conservation bonds by the end of a given calendar
3    year, (2) the amount of jobs that will be retained or
4    created, or both, by the qualifying project to be financed
5    by qualified energy conservation bonds, and (3) the
6    geographical proximity of the qualifying project to be
7    financed by qualified energy conservation bonds to a
8    municipality or county that reallocated its sub-allocation
9    to the Authority.
 
10(d) Established dates for notice.
11    Any affected local government or regional authority that
12has issued qualified energy conservation bonds on or before the
13effective date of this Section must report its issuance of
14qualified energy conservation bonds to the Authority within 30
15days after the effective date of this Section. After the
16effective date of this Section, any affected local government
17or any regional authority must report its issuance of qualified
18energy conservation bonds to the Authority not less than 30
19days after those bonds are issued.
 
20(e) Reports to the General Assembly.
21    Starting 60 days after the effective date of this Section
22and ending when there is no longer any allocation amount, the
23Authority shall file a report before the end 15th day of each
24fiscal year month with the General Assembly detailing its

 

 

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1implementation of this Section, including but not limited to
2the dollar amount of the allocation amount that has been
3reallocated by the Authority pursuant to this Section, the
4qualified energy conservation bonds issued in the State as of
5the date of the report, and descriptions of the qualifying
6projects financed by those qualified energy conservation
7bonds.
8(Source: P.A. 96-1020, eff. 7-12-10.)
 
9    (20 ILCS 3501/830-10)
10    Sec. 830-10. (a) The Authority may shall establish a Farm
11Debt Relief Program to help provide eligible Illinois farmers
12with State assistance in meeting their farming-related debts.
13    (b) To be eligible for the program, a person must (1) be
14actively engaged in farming in this State, (2) have
15farming-related debts in an amount equal to at least 55% of the
16person's total assets, and (3) demonstrate that he can secure
17credit from a conventional lender for the 1986 crop year.
18    (c) An eligible person may apply to the Authority, in such
19manner as the Authority may specify, for a one-time farm debt
20relief payment of up to 2% of the person's outstanding
21farming-related debt. If the Authority determines that the
22applicant is eligible for a payment under this Section, it may
23then approve a payment to the applicant. Such payment shall
24consist of a payment made by the Authority directly to one or
25more of the applicant's farming-related creditors, to be

 

 

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1applied to the reduction of the applicant's farming-related
2debt. The applicant shall be entitled to select the creditor or
3creditors to receive the payment, unless the applicant is
4subject to the jurisdiction of a bankruptcy court, in which
5case the selection of the court shall control.
6    (d) Payments shall be made from the Farm Emergency
7Assistance Fund, which is hereby established as a special fund
8in the State treasury, from funds appropriated to the Authority
9for that purpose. No grant may exceed the lesser of (1) 2% of
10the applicant's outstanding farm-related debt, or (2) $2000.
11Not more than one grant under this Section may be made to any
12one person, or to any one household, or to any single farming
13operation.
14    (e) Payments to applicants having farming-related debts in
15an amount equal to at least 55% of the person's total assets,
16but less than 70%, shall be repaid by the applicant to the
17Authority for deposit into the Farm Emergency Assistance Fund
18within five years from the date the payment was made. Repayment
19shall be made in equal installments during the five-year period
20with no additional interest charge and may be prepaid in whole
21or in part at any time. Applicants having farming-related debts
22in an amount equal to at least 70% of the person's total assets
23shall not be required to make any repayment. Assets shall
24include, but not be limited to, the following: cash crops or
25feed on hand; livestock held for sale; breeding stock;
26marketable bonds and securities; securities not readily

 

 

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1marketable; accounts receivable; notes receivable; cash
2invested in growing crops; net cash value of life insurance;
3machinery and equipment; cars and trucks; farm and other real
4estate including life estates and personal residence; value of
5beneficial interests in trusts; government payments or grants;
6and any other assets. Debts shall include, but not be limited
7to, the following: accounts payable; notes or other
8indebtedness owed to any source; taxes; rent; amounts owed on
9real estate contracts or real estate mortgages; judgments;
10accrued interest payable; and any other liability.
11(Source: P.A. 93-205, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
12    (20 ILCS 3501/830-15)
13    Sec. 830-15. Interest-buy-back program.
14    (a) The Authority may shall establish an interest-buy-back
15program to subsidize the interest cost on certain loans to
16Illinois farmers.
17    (b) To be eligible an applicant must (i) be a resident of
18Illinois; (ii) be a principal operator of a farm or land; (iii)
19derive at least 50% of annual gross income from farming; and
20(iv) have a net worth of at least $10,000. The Authority shall
21establish minimum and maximum financial requirements, maximum
22payment amounts, starting and ending dates for the program, and
23other criteria.
24    (c) Lenders may apply on behalf of eligible applicants on
25forms provided by the Authority. Lenders may submit requests

 

 

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1for payment on forms provided by the Authority. Lenders and
2applicants shall be responsible for any fees or charges the
3Authority may require.
4    (d) The Authority shall make payments to lenders from
5available appropriations from the General Revenue Fund.
6(Source: P.A. 93-205, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
7    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
8becoming law.