BILL NUMBER: SB 1484INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Pavley FEBRUARY 24, 2012 An act to amend Sections 63000 and 63010 of the Government Code, relating to infrastructure finance. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1484, as introduced, Pavley. California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank: clean energy technology. The Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act establishes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Fund for the purpose of funding specified types of infrastructure development projects. Existing law makes several legislative findings and declarations relating to the need for providing greater access to capital in specified industries and defines terms for purposes of the act. This bill would modify one of the legislative findings and declarations relating to the need for providing greater access to capital in specified industries and define the term "clean energy technology." Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 63000 of the Government Code is amended to read: 63000. The Legislature finds and declares the following: (a) Economic revitalization, future development, and a healthy climate for jobs in California will depend upon a well-conceived system of public improvements that are essential to the economic well-being of the citizens of the state and are necessary to maintain, as well as create, employment within the state for business. (b) It is necessary for public policy to support the efforts of businesses attempting to expand, businesses seeking to locate in California, and local economic development organizations, public agencies, and new entrepreneurs by dedicating public fiscal resources to confront obstacles and barriers that impede economic growth. (c) Existing mechanisms that coordinate federal, state, local, and private financial resources are inadequate to attract and sustain that level of private investment that is essential to a growth economy. (d) In order to secure and enhance the economic well-being of Californians, promote economic development in the state, and provide a healthy climate for the creation of jobs, it is necessary for public policy to support the efforts of expanding businesses, businesses seeking to locate in California, local development organizations, public bodies, and new entrepreneurs to gain access to capital through current and potential operations of financial markets. (e) The high cost and the lack of availability of industrial loans for small- and medium-size businesses is making it difficult for thousands of these enterprises to get established, to maintain their present employment levels, or to expand employment. (f) The problem of access to capital is acute in the high technology industry clusters because companies must often finance large capital expenditures early in their development cycle, and cannot obtain financing sufficient to cover the cost of those expenditures. Consideration should be given to industry clusters that may include the following: (1) Health care technology. (2) Multimedia. (3) Environmental technology. (4) Information technology. (5) Clean energy technology. (g) The high cost and limited availability of loans and capital has led a number of states to take action to remedy these conditions through concerted public and private investment programs that include efforts to do the following: (1) Use the state's access to capital markets more effectively for economic development. (2) Create financing pools to access national capital markets or help government sponsors and public-private economic development organizations obtain credit enhancement on their own. (3) Facilitate credit enhancement for selected specific projects. (4) Provide or arrange for loan insurance. (5) Create and support secondary markets for loan portfolios of urban and rural economic development corporations and others. (6) Improve access to international capital markets. (7) Provide opportunities for public pension funds and other institutional investors to play a larger role in state economic development. (8) Arrange for or provide subordinated debt for selected projects. (9) Increase support for local infrastructure development. (h) Local governments in California bear a primary responsibility for the business of promoting job creation and economic development efforts. California's continued reliance on autonomous local entities often fails to adequately consider regional impacts of business expansion. Projects of a regional nature need the benefit of a state coordinating function to augment and enhance local economic development and environmental efforts. (i) The State of California has not embarked on a major infrastructure financing effort since the decade of the 1960's, despite persistent unemployment and soaring population growth. (j) California's ability to compete in a global economy depends upon its capacity to implement policies that take maximum advantage of public and private resources at the local, regional, state, and national levels. These policies should be coordinated with any future legislative plan involving growth management strategies designed to make economic growth compatible with environmental protections. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to create a mechanism to finance projects needed to implement economic development and job creation and growth management strategies, and to provide a secure and stable funding source for implementation of this act in order to meet critical economic, social, and environmental concerns. (k) The State of California needs a financing entity structured with broad authority to issue bonds, provide guarantees, and leverage state and federal funds using techniques that will target public investment to facilitate economic development. The goal is to produce more private sector jobs with less public sector investment. ( l ) The mechanisms for financing public improvements and private job creation strategies provided for in this act are in the public interest, serve a public purpose, and will promote the health, welfare, and safety of the citizens of the state. (m) The public policies and responsibilities of the state, including all of the above purposes and functions, cannot be fully obtained without the use of financing assistance and can be most effectively furthered by the creation of the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank. SEC. 2. Section 63010 of the Government Code is amended to read: 63010. For purposes of this division, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates or requires another or different meaning or intent: (a) "Act" means the Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act. (b) "Bank" means the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank. (c) "Board" or "bank board" means the Board of Directors of the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank. (d) "Bond purchase agreement" means a contractual agreement executed between the bank and a sponsor, or a special purpose trust authorized by the bank or a sponsor, or both, whereby the bank or special purpose trust authorized by the bank agrees to purchase bonds of the sponsor for retention or sale. (e) "Bonds" means bonds, including structured, senior, and subordinated bonds or other securities; loans; notes, including bond, revenue, tax or grant anticipation notes; commercial paper; floating rate and variable maturity securities; and any other evidences of indebtedness or ownership, including certificates of participation or beneficial interest, asset backed certificates, or lease-purchase or installment purchase agreements, whether taxable or excludable from gross income for federal income taxation purposes. (f) "Cost," as applied to a project or portion thereof financed under this division, means all or any part of the cost of construction, renovation, and acquisition of all lands, structures, real or personal property, rights, rights-of-way, franchises, licenses, easements, and interests acquired or used for a project; the cost of demolishing or removing any buildings or structures on land so acquired, including the cost of acquiring any lands to which the buildings or structures may be moved; the cost of all machinery, equipment, and financing charges; interest prior to, during, and for a period after completion of construction, renovation, or acquisition, as determined by the bank; provisions for working capital; reserves for principal and interest and for extensions, enlargements, additions, replacements, renovations, and improvements; and the cost of architectural, engineering, financial and legal services, plans, specifications, estimates, administrative expenses, and other expenses necessary or incidental to determining the feasibility of any project or incidental to the construction, acquisition, or financing of any project, and transition costs in the case of an electrical corporation. (g) "Economic development facilities" means real and personal property, structures, buildings, equipment, and supporting components thereof that are used to provide industrial, recreational, research, commercial, utility, or service enterprise facilities, community, educational, cultural, or social welfare facilities and any parts or combinations thereof, and all facilities or infrastructure necessary or desirable in connection therewith, including provision for working capital, but shall not include any housing. (h) "Electrical corporation" has the meaning set forth in Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code. (i) "Executive director" means the Executive Director of the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank appointed pursuant to Section 63021. (j) "Financial assistance" in connection with a project, includes, but is not limited to, any combination of grants, loans, the proceeds of bonds issued by the bank or special purpose trust, insurance, guarantees or other credit enhancements or liquidity facilities, and contributions of money, property, labor, or other things of value, as may be approved by resolution of the board or the sponsor, or both; the purchase or retention of bank bonds, the bonds of a sponsor for their retention or for sale by the bank, or the issuance of bank bonds or the bonds of a special purpose trust used to fund the cost of a project for which a sponsor is directly or indirectly liable, including, but not limited to, bonds, the security for which is provided in whole or in part pursuant to the powers granted by Section 63025; bonds for which the bank has provided a guarantee or enhancement, including, but not limited to, the purchase of the subordinated bonds of the sponsor, the subordinated bonds of a special purpose trust, or the retention of the subordinated bonds of the bank pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 63060); or any other type of assistance deemed appropriate by the bank or the sponsor, except that no direct loans shall be made to nonpublic entities other than in connection with the issuance of rate reduction bonds pursuant to a financing order or in connection with a financing for an economic development facility. For purposes of this subdivision, "grant" does not include grants made by the bank except when acting as an agent or intermediary for the distribution or packaging of financing available from federal, private, or other public sources. (k) "Financing order" has the meaning set forth in Section 840 of the Public Utilities Code. ( l ) "Guarantee trust fund" means the California Infrastructure Guarantee Trust Fund. (m) "Infrastructure bank fund" means the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Fund. (n) "Loan agreement" means a contractual agreement executed between the bank or a special purpose trust and a sponsor that provides that the bank or special purpose trust will loan funds to the sponsor and that the sponsor will repay the principal and pay the interest and redemption premium, if any, on the loan. (o) "Participating party" means any person, company, corporation, association, state or municipal governmental entity, partnership, firm, or other entity or group of entities, whether organized for profit or not for profit, engaged in business or operations within the state and that applies for financing from the bank in conjunction with a sponsor for the purpose of implementing a project. However, in the case of a project relating to the financing of transition costs or the acquisition of transition property, or both, on the request of an electrical corporation, or in connection with a financing for an economic development facility, or for the financing of insurance claims, the participating party shall be deemed to be the same entity as the sponsor for the financing. (p) "Project" means designing, acquiring, planning, permitting, entitling, constructing, improving, extending, restoring, financing, and generally developing public development facilities or economic development facilities within the state or financing transition costs or the acquisition of transition property, or both, upon approval of a financing order by the Public Utilities Commission, as provided in Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 840) of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code. (q) "Public development facilities" means real and personal property, structures, conveyances, equipment, thoroughfares, buildings, and supporting components thereof, excluding any housing, that are directly related to providing the following: (1) "City streets" including any street, avenue, boulevard, road, parkway, drive, or other way that is any of the following: (A) An existing municipal roadway. (B) Is shown upon a plat approved pursuant to law and includes the land between the street lines, whether improved or unimproved, and may comprise pavement, bridges, shoulders, gutters, curbs, guardrails, sidewalks, parking areas, benches, fountains, plantings, lighting systems, and other areas within the street lines, as well as equipment and facilities used in the cleaning, grading, clearance, maintenance, and upkeep thereof. (2) "County highways" including any county highway as defined in Section 25 of the Streets and Highways Code, that includes the land between the highway lines, whether improved or unimproved, and may comprise pavement, bridges, shoulders, gutters, curbs, guardrails, sidewalks, parking areas, benches, fountains, plantings, lighting systems, and other areas within the street lines, as well as equipment and facilities used in the cleaning, grading, clearance, maintenance, and upkeep thereof. (3) "Drainage, water supply, and flood control" including, but not limited to, ditches, canals, levees, pumps, dams, conduits, pipes, storm sewers, and dikes necessary to keep or direct water away from people, equipment, buildings, and other protected areas as may be established by lawful authority, as well as the acquisition, improvement, maintenance, and management of floodplain areas and all equipment used in the maintenance and operation of the foregoing. (4) "Educational facilities" including libraries, child care facilities, including, but not limited to, day care facilities, and employment training facilities. (5) "Environmental mitigation measures" including required construction or modification of public infrastructure and purchase and installation of pollution control and noise abatement equipment. (6) "Parks and recreational facilities" including local parks, recreational property and equipment, parkways and property. (7) "Port facilities" including docks, harbors, ports of entry, piers, ships, small boat harbors and marinas, and any other facilities, additions, or improvements in connection therewith. (8) "Power and communications" including facilities for the transmission or distribution of electrical energy, natural gas, and telephone and telecommunications service. (9) "Public transit" including air and rail transport of goods, airports, guideways, vehicles, rights-of-way, passenger stations, maintenance and storage yards, and related structures, including public parking facilities, equipment used to provide or enhance transportation by bus, rail, ferry, or other conveyance, either publicly or privately owned, that provides to the public general or special service on a regular and continuing basis. (10) "Sewage collection and treatment" including pipes, pumps, and conduits that collect wastewater from residential, manufacturing, and commercial establishments, the equipment, structures, and facilities used in treating wastewater to reduce or eliminate impurities or contaminants, and the facilities used in disposing of, or transporting, remaining sludge, as well as all equipment used in the maintenance and operation of the foregoing. (11) "Solid waste collection and disposal" including vehicles, vehicle-compatible waste receptacles, transfer stations, recycling centers, sanitary landfills, and waste conversion facilities necessary to remove solid waste, except that which is hazardous as defined by law, from its point of origin. (12) "Water treatment and distribution" including facilities in which water is purified and otherwise treated to meet residential, manufacturing, or commercial purposes and the conduits, pipes, and pumps that transport it to places of use. (13) "Defense conversion" including, but not limited to, facilities necessary for successfully converting military bases consistent with an adopted base reuse plan. (14) "Public safety facilities" including, but not limited to, police stations, fire stations, court buildings, jails, juvenile halls, and juvenile detention facilities. (15) "State highways" including any state highway as described in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 230) of Division 1 of the Streets and Highways Code, and the related components necessary for safe operation of the highway. (16) (A) Military infrastructure, including, but not limited to, facilities on or near a military installation, that enhance the military operations and mission of one or more military installations in this state. To be eligible for funding, the project shall be endorsed by the Office of Military and Aerospace Support established pursuant to Section 13998.2. (B) For purposes of this subdivision, "military installation" means any facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense, as defined in paragraph (1) of subsection (e) of Section 2687 of Title 10 of the United States Code. (r) "Rate reduction bonds" has the meaning set forth in Section 840 of the Public Utilities Code. (s) "Revenues" means all receipts, purchase payments, loan repayments, lease payments, and all other income or receipts derived by the bank or a sponsor from the sale, lease, or other financing arrangement undertaken by the bank, a sponsor or a participating party, including, but not limited to, all receipts from a bond purchase agreement, and any income or revenue derived from the investment of any money in any fund or account of the bank or a sponsor and any receipts derived from transition property. Revenues shall not include moneys in the General Fund of the state. (t) "Special purpose trust" means a trust, partnership, limited partnership, association, corporation, nonprofit corporation, or other entity authorized under the laws of the state to serve as an instrumentality of the state to accomplish public purposes and authorized by the bank to acquire, by purchase or otherwise, for retention or sale, the bonds of a sponsor or of the bank made or entered into pursuant to this division and to issue special purpose trust bonds or other obligations secured by these bonds or other sources of public or private revenues. Special purpose trust also means any entity authorized by the bank to acquire transition property or to issue rate reduction bonds, or both, subject to the approvals by the bank and powers of the bank as are provided by the bank in its resolution authorizing the entity to issue rate reduction bonds. (u) "Sponsor" means any subdivision of the state or local government including departments, agencies, commissions, cities, counties, nonprofit corporations formed on behalf of a sponsor, special districts, assessment districts, and joint powers authorities within the state or any combination of these subdivisions that makes an application to the bank for financial assistance in connection with a project in a manner prescribed by the bank. This definition shall not be construed to require that an applicant have an ownership interest in the project. In addition, an electrical corporation shall be deemed to be the sponsor as well as the participating party for any project relating to the financing of transition costs and the acquisition of transition property on the request of the electrical corporation and any person, company, corporation, partnership, firm, or other entity or group engaged in business or operation within the state that applies for financing of any economic development facility, shall be deemed to be the sponsor as well as the participating party for the project relating to the financing of that economic development facility. (v) "State" means the State of California. (w) "Transition costs" has the meaning set forth in Section 840 of the Public Utilities Code. (x) "Transition property" has the meaning set forth in Section 840 of the Public Utilities Code. (y) "Clean energy technology" means technologies that reduce substantially greenhouse gas emissions, including, but not limited to, energy efficiency, renewable energy, alternative fuels, advanced vehicles and related infrastructure, distributed generation, energy storage, combined heat and power, and integrated demand-side management, and the essential components of those technologies.