BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                     SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE
                            Senator Lois Wolk, Chair
          

          BILL NO:  SB 1463                     HEARING:  4/24/14
          AUTHOR:  Committee on G&F             FISCAL:  Yes
          VERSION:  3/13/14                     TAX LEVY:  No
          CONSULTANT:  Grinnell                 

                 CALIFORNIA HEALTH FACILITY FINANCING AUTHORITY
          

           Makes technical, clarifying changes to CHFFA's authorizing  
                             act and bond statutes.


                           Background and Existing Law  

          Housed in the State Treasurer's Office, the California  
          Health Facilities Financing Authority (CHHFA) grants  
          financial assistance in the form of loans, conduit bond  
          issuance, and other financial assistance such as equipment  
          financing to public and non-profit hospitals.  Bonds pay  
          for construction/renovation projects, land acquisition for  
          future projects, acquisition of existing health facilities,  
          refinancing of existing debt, and provide working capital  
          for start-up facilities.

          CHFFA served as the issuer for $30.7 billion in conduit  
          revenue bonds, $1.5 billion in 2013.  Sutter Health, Kaiser  
          Permanente, and Catholic Healthcare West are the largest  
          users of the program.  CHFFA's Board includes:
                 State Treasurer, who serves as chair, 
                 The State Controller,
                 The Director of Finance, 
                 Two members appointed by the Senate Rules  
               Committee, one member of which must be a licensed  
               physician and surgeon, and the other must serve or  
               have served in an executive capacity to a health  
               facility,
                 Two members appointed by the Speaker of the  
               Assembly, one member must be a person qualified by  
               training and experience in the field of investment or  
               finance, and the other representative of the general  
               public,
                 Two members appointed by the Governor subject to  
               confirmation by the Senate, to represent the general  
               public. 




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          Currently, CHFFA has the authority to receive loans from  
          and to issue loans to participating health institutions to  
          finance projects or refinance debt.  However, several  
          sections in CHFFA's Act require minor grammatical  
          modifications according to a recent review of CHFFA's  
          statute performed by the Office of the Attorney General.


                                   Proposed Law
                                         
          Senate Bill 1463 makes several technical, clarifying  
          changes to CHFFA's authorizing act, and provisions  
          authorizing conduit bond issuance, such as:
                 Replaces "any" with "a," 
                 Clarifies references to apply to both "bonds" and  
               "revenue bonds," 
                 Distinguishes between negotiable and revenue bonds,  
                
                 Allows CHFFA to include in the bond with the same  
               effect any provision currently in a trust agreement,  
               indenture, or resolution, and
                 Other grammatical and conforming changes.

                                         
                              State Revenue Impact
           
          No estimate.


                                     Comments  

          1.   Purpose of the bill  .  SB 1463 makes technical,  
          noncontroversial changes to CHHFA's authorizing act, and  
          statutes allowing for conduit bond issuance.  The bill is a  
          consensus project: should anyone object to any provision of  
          the bill, it's removed.


                         Support and Opposition  (4/21/14)

           Support  :  State Treasurer Bill Lockyer.

          Opposition  :  None received.   







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