Bill Text: PA HB945 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: In Local Government Capital Project Loan Fund provisions, further providing for assistance to municipalities and for ranking of local government capital project loan applications.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-03-17 - Referred to FINANCE [HB945 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HB945-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 1083
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 945 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY YUDICHAK, BRENNAN, DePASQUALE, FLECK, GEIST, GIBBONS, GRUCELA, HESS, K. SMITH, MANN, SCAVELLO, SOLOBAY, STABACK, SWANGER AND WHITE, MARCH 17, 2009
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, MARCH 17, 2009
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled,
as amended, "An act relating to the finances of the State
government; providing for the settlement, assessment,
collection, and lien of taxes, bonus, and all other accounts
due the Commonwealth, the collection and recovery of fees and
other money or property due or belonging to the Commonwealth,
or any agency thereof, including escheated property and the
proceeds of its sale, the custody and disbursement or other
disposition of funds and securities belonging to or in the
possession of the Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims
against the Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and
appeals to the courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to
the Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth
and all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
department, board, commission, and officer of the State
government, every political subdivision of the State, and
certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
Commonwealth," in Local Government Capital Project Loan Fund
provisions, further providing for assistance to
municipalities and for ranking of local government capital
project loan applications.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 1603-D of the act of April 9, 1929
(P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, amended or added
October 6, 1997 (P.L.387, No.46) and July 5, 2006 (P.L.296,
No.66), is amended to read:
Section 1603-D. Assistance to Municipalities.--(a) The
department is hereby authorized, upon application of a
municipality, to make loans to the municipality for the
following purposes and in the following amounts:
1. Purchasing equipment. The amount of a loan made for
purchasing equipment shall not exceed [twenty-five thousand
dollars ($25,000)] fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for any
single piece of equipment or fifty per centum of the total cost
of the piece of equipment, whichever is less.
2. Purchasing, constructing, renovating or rehabilitating
facilities. The amount of a loan made for purchasing,
constructing, renovating or rehabilitating facilities shall not
exceed [fifty thousand dollars ($50,000)] one hundred thousand
dollars ($100,000) for any single facility or fifty per centum
of the total cost for purchasing, constructing, renovating or
rehabilitating the facility, whichever is less.
[3. Temporary increase in loan limits. For the fiscal year
commencing July 1, 2006, loans issued pursuant to paragraph 1
shall not exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) and issued
pursuant to paragraph 2 shall not exceed one hundred thousand
dollars ($100,000).]
(b) Loans made by the department for the purchase of
equipment shall be for a period not to exceed the useful life of
the equipment and loans made for the purchase, construction,
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renovation or rehabilitation of facilities shall be for a period
of not more than [ten] fifteen years. Loans shall be subject to
the payment of interest at two per centum per annum and shall be
subject to such security as shall be determined by the
department. The total amount of interest earned by the
investment or reinvestment of all or any part of the principal
of any loan shall be returned to the department and transferred
to the fund and shall not be credited as payment of principal or
interest on the loan. The minimum amount of any loan shall be
one thousand dollars ($1,000). The municipality shall comply
with the approval requirements of 53 Pa.C.S. Ch. 80 Subch. C
(relating to procedure for securing approval of electors).
(c) Every application for a loan under this article shall be
accompanied by a financial statement of the municipality and a
financial plan to show how the loan will be repaid. Every
application shall be accompanied by evidence sufficient to show
that all costs, except the amount of the loan, will be met by
assets or revenues of the municipality, grants or loans from
other sources or in-kind contributions or services.
(d) Loans under this article shall be used for purchasing
equipment and for purchasing, constructing, renovating or
rehabilitating facilities and shall not be used for operating
expenses or for the refinancing or reduction of any debt or
obligation incurred prior to the effective date of this article.
(e) Loans made by the department shall be paid from the fund
to municipalities in accordance with rules and regulations
promulgated by the department.
(f) All payments of interest on loans and the principal
thereof shall be deposited by the department in the fund.
Section 2. Section 1606-D of the act, added October 6, 1997
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(P.L.387, No.46), is amended to read:
Section 1606-D. Ranking of Applications.--Whenever the
department determines that there will not be enough money in the
fund to make loans to all of the municipalities expected to
submit eligible applications during an application period, the
department shall rank the applications in order of priority to
determine which loans shall be made first. A system of ranking
shall be established for the purposes of this section by
regulation and shall provide for consideration of factors such
as whether the municipality has previously received a loan
pursuant to this act; the financial condition of the
municipality; and the impact of the purchase of equipment or the
purchase, construction, renovation or rehabilitation of
facilities on the health, safety or welfare of the residents of
the municipality. The department may give priority to projects
that promote municipal cooperation.
Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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