BILL REQ. #:  H-3253.1 

Read first time 01/11/2006.   Referred to Committee on Economic Development, Agriculture & Trade.

     AN ACT Relating to the community economic revitalization board's funding of public facility construction projects; and amending RCW 43.160.200.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 43.160.200 and 2004 c 252 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The economic development account is created within the public facilities construction loan revolving fund under RCW 43.160.080. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used only for the purposes of RCW 43.160.010(5) and this section. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW.
     (2) Applications under this section for assistance from the economic development account are subject to all of the applicable criteria set forth under this chapter, as well as procedures and criteria established by the board, except as otherwise provided.
     (3) Eligible applicants under this section are limited to political subdivisions of the state and federally recognized Indian tribes in rural natural resources impact areas and rural counties.
     (4) Applicants must demonstrate that their request is part of an economic development plan consistent with applicable state planning requirements. Applicants must demonstrate that tourism projects have been approved by the local government or federally recognized Indian tribe. Industrial projects must be approved by the local government and the associate development organization, or by the federally recognized Indian tribe.
     (5) Publicly owned projects may be financed under this section upon proof by the applicant that the public project is a necessary component of, or constitutes in whole, a tourism project.
     (6) Applications must demonstrate local match and participation. Such match may include: Land donation, other public or private funds or both, or other means of local commitment to the project.
     (7) Board financing for project-specific environmental, capital facilities, land use, permitting, feasibility, and marketing studies and plans; project engineering, design, and site planning and analysis; and project debt and revenue impact analysis shall not exceed fifty thousand dollars per study. Board funds for these purposes may be provided as a grant and require a match.
     (8) Board financing for tourism projects shall not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars. Other public facility construction projects under this section shall not exceed one million five hundred thousand dollars. Loans with flexible terms and conditions to meet the needs of the applicants shall be provided. Grants may also be authorized, but only when, and to the extent that, a loan is not reasonably possible, given the limited resources of the political subdivision or the federally recognized Indian tribe.
     (9) The board shall develop guidelines for allowable local match and planning and predevelopment activities.
     (10) The board may allow de minimis general system improvements to be funded if they are critically linked to the viability of the economic development project assisted under this section.
     (11) Applications under this section need not demonstrate evidence that specific private development or expansion is ready to occur or will occur if funds are provided.
     (12) The board shall establish guidelines for providing financial assistance under this section to ensure that the requirements of this chapter are complied with. The guidelines shall include:
     (a) A process to equitably compare and evaluate applications from competing communities.
     (b) Criteria to ensure that approved projects will have a high probability of success and are likely to provide long-term economic benefits to the community. The criteria shall include: (i) A minimum amount of local participation, determined by the board per application, to verify community support for the project; (ii) an analysis that establishes the project is feasible using standard economic principles; and (iii) an explanation from the applicant regarding how the project is consistent with the communities' economic strategy and goals.
     (c) A method of evaluating the impact of the financial assistance on the economy of the community and whether the financial assistance achieved its purpose.