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                             ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 1647

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State of Washington              52nd Legislature             1991 Regular Session

By Representatives Locke, Jones, Rasmussen, Bowman and Wynne; by request of Department of Community Development and Office of Financial Management.

Read first time February 5, 1991.  Referred to Committee on Trade & Economic Development\Capital Facilities & Financing.

Authorizing public works loans to local governments in timber impact areas.

     AN ACT Relating to the public works board; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.      (1) For the period beginning July 1, 1991 and ending June 30, 1993, in those areas designated by the department of community development as timber impact areas, the public works board may award low-interest or interest-free loans to local governments for construction of new public works facilities that stimulate economic growth or diversification.

     (2) For the purposes of this act, "public facilities" means bridge, road and street, domestic water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer systems.

     (3) The loans may have a deferred payment of up to five years but shall be repaid within twenty years. The board may require other terms and conditions and may charge such rates of interest on its loans as it deems appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section. Repayments shall be made to the public works assistance account.

     (4) The board may make such loans irrespective of the annual loan cycle and reporting required in RCW 43.155.070.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.      (1) As authorized by section 1 of this act, the board shall establish criteria for awarding loans to local governments including, but not limited to, the following:

     (a) If a county or city, the local government must be imposing the tax authorized by chapter 82.46 RCW at a rate of at least one-quarter of one percent;

     (b) The local government must have in place a capital improvement plan meeting standards established by the board and an economic development plan meeting standards established by the department;

     (c) The local economy must have experienced or be about to experience employment losses due to the timber economy;

     (d) The proposed project must provide an opportunity to create or retain jobs within the local economy.  Priority may be given to those projects that provide an opportunity to retain or create jobs for the pool of local workers affected by the timber economy;

     (e) The local government must provide reasonable assurances of its ability to repay the debt; and

     (f) The local government must meet any additional guidelines and criteria established by the board for awarding loan funds.

     (2) Existing debt or other financial obligations of the local government shall not be refinanced under this act.

     (3) The board shall award loans only to those projects that meet the criteria and will fulfill the purpose of this act. Any funds not obligated at the close of the biennium shall be returned to the public works assistance account.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.      The public works board shall provide to the office of financial management and the legislative fiscal committees quarterly reports on loan applications under consideration and loans awarded by the board and a report by January 15, 1994, on the loans awarded through the biennium ending June 30, 1993.  The board shall provide to the legislative fiscal committees a report on January 15, 1995, and January 15, 1996, indentifying by county the economic growth and/or economic diversification attributable to the loan awards authorized by this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.      Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall expire on June 30, 1993.