Chapter 257 |
2019 -- S 0994 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 07/15/2019 |
A N A C T |
RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION - RHODE ISLAND INFRASTRUCTURE BANK |
Introduced By: Senators DiPalma, Seveney, Euer, and Felag |
Date Introduced: June 20, 2019 |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
SECTION 1. Section 46-12.2-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-12.2 entitled "Rhode |
Island Infrastructure Bank" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
46-12.2-2. Definitions. |
As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following |
words and phrases shall have the following meanings: |
(1) "Agency" means the Rhode Island clean water finance agency, and, effective |
September 1, 2015, and thereafter, shall mean the Rhode Island infrastructure bank; |
(2) "Approved project" means any project or portion thereof that has been issued a |
certificate of approval by the department for financial assistance from the agency, and also |
includes any project approved for financial assistance from the agency in accordance with state |
law, and, furthermore, shall include water pollution abatement projects funded outside of the |
water pollution control revolving fund, the Rhode Island water pollution control revolving fund, |
or the local interest subsidy trust fund, without the requirement of the issuance of a certificate of |
approval; and, furthermore, shall include resiliency related infrastructure projects, and projects |
which may, subject to compliance with all state and federal requirements, include state and |
federal infrastructure located within the state of Rhode Island; |
(3) "Board" means board of directors of the agency; |
(4) "Bond act" means any general or special law authorizing a local governmental unit to |
incur indebtedness for all or any part of the cost of projects coming within the scope of a water |
pollution abatement project, or for other projects related to this chapter, including but not limited |
to, § 45-12-2; |
(5) "Bonds" means bonds, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness of the agency; |
(6) "Certificate of approval" means the certificate of approval contemplated by § 46-12.2- |
8; |
(7) "Chief executive officer" means the mayor in any city, the president of the town |
council in any town, and the executive director of any authority or commission, unless some other |
officer or body is designated to perform the functions of a chief executive officer under any bond |
act or under the provisions of a local charter or other law; |
(8) "Clean Water Act" or "act" means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, act of |
June 30, 1948, ch. 758, as added Oct. 18, 1972, Pub. L. No. 92-500, 86 Stat. 896, as added Dec. |
27, 1977, Pub. L. No. 95-217, 91 Stat. 1566 (codified at 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., as amended and |
as hereafter amended from time to time); |
(9) "Corporation" means any corporate person, including, but not limited to: corporations, |
societies, associations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and sole proprietorships; |
(10) "Cost" as applied to any approved project, means any or all costs, whenever |
incurred, approved by the agency in accordance with § 46-12.2-8, of planning, designing, |
acquiring, constructing, and carrying out and placing the project in operation, including, without |
limiting the generality of the foregoing, amounts for the following: planning, design, acquisition, |
construction, expansion, improvement, and rehabilitation of facilities; acquisition of real or |
personal property; demolitions and relocations; labor, materials, machinery, and equipment; |
services of architects, engineers, and environmental and financial experts and other consultants; |
feasibility studies, plans, specifications, and surveys; interest prior to and during the carrying out |
of any project and for a reasonable period thereafter; reserves for debt service or other capital or |
current expenses; costs of issuance of local governmental obligations or non-governmental |
obligations issued to finance the obligations including, without limitation, fees, charges, and |
expenses and costs of the agency relating to the loan evidenced thereby, fees of trustees and other |
depositories, legal and auditing fees, premiums and fees for insurance, letters or lines of credit or |
other credit facilities securing local governmental obligations or non-governmental obligations |
and other costs, fees, and charges in connection with the foregoing; and working capital, |
administrative expenses, legal expenses, and other expenses necessary or incidental to the |
aforesaid, to the financing of a project, and to the issuance therefor of local government |
obligations under the provisions of this chapter; |
(11) "Department" means the department of environmental management; |
(12) "Financial assistance" means any form of financial assistance provided by the |
agency to a local governmental unit, person, or corporation in accordance with this chapter for all |
or any part of the cost of an approved project, including, without limitation: grants, temporary and |
permanent loans, with or without interest, guarantees, insurance, subsidies for the payment of |
debt service on loans, lines of credit, and similar forms of financial assistance; provided, |
however, notwithstanding the foregoing, for purposes of capitalization grant awards made |
available to the agency, pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. |
111-5), or as otherwise required in connection with other capitalization grant awards made |
available to the agency, financial assistance shall also include principal forgiveness and negative |
interest loans; |
(13) "Fully marketable form" means a local governmental obligation in form satisfactory |
to the agency duly executed and accompanied by an opinion of counsel of recognized standing in |
the field of municipal law whose opinions have been and are accepted by purchasers of like |
obligations to the effect that the obligation is a valid and binding obligation of the local |
governmental unit issuing the obligation, enforceable in accordance with its terms; |
(14) "General revenues,", when used with reference to a local governmental unit, means |
revenues, receipts, assessments, and other moneys of the local governmental unit received from |
or on account of the exercise of its powers and all rights to receive the same, including without |
limitation: |
(i) Taxes; |
(ii) Wastewater system revenues; |
(iii) Assessments upon or payments received from any other local governmental unit that |
is a member or service recipient of the local governmental unit, whether by law, contract, or |
otherwise; |
(iv) Proceeds of local governmental obligations and loans and grants received by the |
local governmental unit in accordance with this chapter; |
(v) Investment earnings; |
(vi) Reserves for debt service or other capital or current expenses; |
(vii) Receipts from any tax, excise, or fee heretofore or hereafter imposed by any general |
or special law all or a part of the receipts of which are payable or distributable to or for the |
account of the local governmental unit; |
(viii) Local aid distributions; and |
(ix) Receipts, distributions, reimbursements, and other assistance received by or for the |
account of the local governmental unit from the United States or any agency, department, or |
instrumentality thereof; |
(15) "Loan" means a loan by the agency to a local governmental unit, or person, or |
corporation for costs of an approved project, including, without limitation, temporary and |
permanent loans, and lines of credit; |
(16) "Loan agreement" means any agreement entered into by the agency with a local |
governmental unit, person, or corporation pertaining to a loan, other financial assistance, local |
governmental obligations, or non-governmental obligations, including, without limitation: a loan |
agreement, trust agreement, security agreement, reimbursement agreement, guarantee agreement, |
financing lease agreement, appropriation agreement, or similar instrument; |
(17) "Local aid distributions" means receipts, distributions, reimbursements, and other |
assistance payable by the state to or for the account of a local governmental unit, except such |
receipts, distributions, reimbursements, and other assistance restricted by law to specific |
statutorily defined purposes; |
(18) "Local governmental obligations" means bonds, notes, financing lease obligations, |
appropriation obligations, and other evidences of indebtedness in fully marketable form issued by |
a local governmental unit to evidence a loan or other financial assistance, from the agency in |
accordance with this chapter or otherwise as provided herein; |
(19) "Local governmental unit" means any town, city, district, commission, agency, |
authority, board, bodies politic and corporate, public corporation, or other political subdivision or |
instrumentality of the state or of any political subdivision thereof, including the Narragansett Bay |
commission; and, for purposes of dam safety or dam maintenance projects, any person seeking |
financial assistance as a joint applicant with any of the above entities; |
(20) "Local interest subsidy trust fund" means the local interest subsidy trust fund |
established under § 46-12.2-6; |
(21) "Non-governmental obligations" means bonds, notes, or other evidences of |
indebtedness in fully marketable form issued by a person or corporation to evidence a loan, or |
other financial assistance, from the agency in accordance with this chapter or otherwise as |
provided herein; |
(22) "Person" means any natural person; |
(23) "Priority determination system" means the system by which water pollution |
abatement projects are rated on the basis of environmental benefit and other criteria for funding |
assistance pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the department as they may be |
amended from time to time; |
(24) "Projected energy efficiency savings" means, at the time a loan agreement is entered |
into between the agency and a local governmental unit, the savings projected to be derived from |
the implementation of energy efficient and renewable-energy upgrades to public buildings, as |
determined in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the Rhode Island |
infrastructure bank pursuant to this chapter; |
(25) "Qualified energy conservation bond" or "QECB" means those bonds designated by |
26 U.S.C. § 54D; |
(26) "Revenues,", when used with reference to the agency, means any receipts, fees, |
payments, moneys, revenues, or other payments received or to be received by the agency in the |
exercise of its corporate powers under this chapter, including, without limitation: loan |
repayments, payments on local governmental obligations, non-governmental obligations, grants, |
aid, appropriations, and other assistance from the state, the United States, or any agency, |
department, or instrumentality of either or of a political subdivision thereof, bond proceeds, |
investment earnings, insurance proceeds, amounts in reserves, and other funds and accounts |
established by or pursuant to this chapter or in connection with the issuance of bonds, including, |
without limitation, the water pollution control revolving fund, the Rhode Island water pollution |
control revolving fund, and the local interest subsidy fund, and any other fees, charges or other |
income received or receivable by the agency; |
(27) "Rhode Island water pollution control revolving fund" means the Rhode Island water |
pollution control revolving fund established pursuant to § 46-12.2-6; |
(28) "Trust agreement" means a trust agreement, loan agreement, security agreement, |
reimbursement agreement, currency or interest rate exchange agreement, or other security |
instrument, and a resolution, loan order, or other vote authorizing, securing, or otherwise |
providing for the issue of bonds, loans, or local governmental obligations or non-governmental |
obligations; |
(29) "Wastewater system revenues" means all rates, rents, fee assessments, charges, and |
other receipts derived or to be derived by a local governmental unit from wastewater collection |
and treatment facilities and water pollution abatement projects under its ownership or control, or |
from the services provided thereby, including, without limitation: proceeds of grants, gifts, |
appropriations, and loans, including the proceeds of loans or grants awarded by the agency or the |
department in accordance with this chapter, investment earnings, reserves for capital and current |
expenses, proceeds of insurance or condemnation, and the sale or other disposition of property; |
wastewater system revenues may also include rates, rents, fees, charges, and other receipts |
derived by the local governmental unit from any water supply of distribution facilities or other |
revenue producing facilities under its ownership or control; wastewater system revenues shall not |
include any ad valorem taxes levied directly by the local governmental unit on any real and |
personal property; |
(30) "Water pollution abatement project" or "project" means any project eligible pursuant |
to Title VI of the Clean Water Act including, but not limited to, a wastewater treatment or |
conveyance project that contributes to removal, curtailment, or mitigation of pollution of the |
surface water of the state, and conforms with any applicable comprehensive land use plan which |
has been adopted or any dam safety, removal or maintenance project; it also means a project to |
enhance the waters of the state, which the agency has been authorized by statute to participate in; |
it also means any other project to which the agency has been authorized to provide financial |
assistance; |
(31) "Water pollution control revolving fund" means the water pollution control |
revolving fund contemplated by title VI of the Water Quality Act and established under § 46- |
12.2-6; |
(32) "Water Quality Act" means the Water Quality Act of 1987, Pub. L. No. 100-4, 101 |
Stat. 7, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., as amended from time to time. |
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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LC002857/SUB A |
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