Bill Text: IL SB1498 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Finance Authority Act. Provides that the Authority may (now shall) administer an emerald ash borer revolving loan program. Provides that certain reports are to be filed at the end of the fiscal year (now the 15th of each month). Provides that the Authority may (now shall) establish a Farm Debt Relief Program. Provides that that the Authority may (now shall) establish an interest-buy-back program to subsidize loans to Illinois farmers. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2015-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB1498 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-SB1498-Engrossed.html

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

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

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

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(iv) "ARRA implementing regulations" means the
regulations promulgated by the Authority as further
described in subdivision (c)(iv) of this Section to
implement the provisions of this Section.
(v) "Code" means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended.
(vi) "Qualified energy conservation bond" means any
qualified energy conservation bond issued pursuant to
Section 54D of the Code.
(vii) "Qualified energy conservation bond allocation"
means an allocation of authority to issue qualified energy
conservation bonds granted pursuant to Section 54D of the
Code.
(viii) "Regional authority" means the Central Illinois
Economic Development Authority, Eastern Illinois Economic
Development Authority, Joliet Arsenal Development
Authority, Quad Cities Regional Economic Development
Authority, Riverdale Development Authority, Southeastern
Illinois Economic Development Authority, Southern Illinois
Development Authority, Southwestern Illinois Development
Authority, Tri-County River Valley Development Authority,
Upper Illinois River Valley Development Authority,
Illinois Urban Development Authority, Western Illinois
Economic Development Authority, or Will-Kankakee Regional
Development Authority.
(ix) "Sub-allocation" means the portion of the

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

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

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deemed waived to the Authority for reallocation by the
Authority to qualifying projects; and (3) the proceeds
of the qualified energy conservation bonds must be used
for qualified projects within the jurisdiction of the
applicable regional authority;
(B) at the Authority's sole discretion, the power
to reallocate any sub-allocation deemed waived to the
Authority pursuant to subsection (c)(i)(A)(2) back to
the Regional Authority that had the sub-allocation;
(C) the power to enter into waiver agreements with
affected local governments to provide for the
reallocation, in whole or in part, of their
sub-allocations, to receive waived qualified energy
conservation bond allocations from those affected
local governments, and to use those waived qualified
energy conservation bond allocations, in whole or in
part, to issue qualified energy conservation bonds of
the Authority for qualifying projects or to reallocate
those qualified energy conservation bond allocations,
in whole or in part, to a county or municipality to
issue its own energy conservation bonds for qualifying
projects; and
(D) the power to issue qualified energy
conservation bonds for any project authorized to be
financed with proceeds thereof under the applicable
provisions of ARRA.

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

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

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

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

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

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