California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1393

Introduced by Assembly Member Burke

February 27, 2015

An act to amend Sections 44520, 44525, 44526, 44559.3, and 44559.11 of, and to repeal Section 44525.7 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to the California Pollution Control Financing Authority.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1393, as introduced, Burke. California Pollution Control Financing Authority.

The California Pollution Control Financing Authority Act establishes the California Pollution Control Financing Authority, with specified powers and duties, and authorizes the authority to approve financing for projects or pollution control facilities to prevent or reduce environmental pollution.

This bill would authorize the authority to lend financial assistance, including, but not limited to, grants, loans, credit enhancements, and other incentives. The bill also would authorize the authority to establish alternate provisions as necessary to enable the authority to participate in an alternative funding source program, including, but not limited to, implementing loan loss reserve programs to benefit any person, company, corporation, public agency, partnership, or firm engaged in activities in the state that require financing, and to adopt the policies of those alternative funding sources. The bill also would make conforming changes.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 44520 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

44520.  

(a)  The authority shall, in accordance with Chapter
3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of
Title 2 of the Government Code, adopt all necessary rules and
regulations to carry out its powers and duties under this division.
The authority may call upon any board or department of the state
government for aid and assistance in the preparation of plans and
specifications and in the development of technology necessary to
effectively control pollution.

(b)  Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the authority, or any other
agency implementing a small business or brownfield site financing
assistance program pursuant to an interagency agreement with the
authority, may adopt regulations relating to small business or
brownfield site financing as emergency regulations in accordance
with begin delete Chapter end delete begin insert the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter end insert 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title
2 of the Government begin delete Code. end delete begin insert Code). end insert For purposes of begin delete that Chapter
3.5, end delete begin insert the Administrative Procedure Act, end insert including Section 11349.6
of the Government Code, the adoption of the regulations shall be
considered by the Office of Administrative Law to be necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and
safety, and general welfare. The regulations shall be repealed 180
days after their effective date, unless the adopting authority or
agency complies with that Chapter 3.5.

begin delete

(c)  Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the authority, or any other
agency implementing a loan program pursuant to an interagency
agreement with the authority, may adopt regulations relating to
the loans and grants authorized under subdivision (g) of Section
44526 as emergency regulations in accordance with Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title
2 of the Government Code. For purposes of that Chapter 3.5,
including Section 11349.6 of the Government Code, the adoption
of the regulations shall be considered by the Office of
Administrative Law to be necessary for the immediate preservation
of the public peace, health and safety, and general welfare. The
regulations shall be repealed 180 days after their effective date,
unless the adopting authority or agency complies with that Chapter
3.5.

end delete

SEC. 2.  

Section 44525 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

44525.  

The authority may charge reasonable application and
project fees to reimburse the authority for costs incurred in
administering applications for financing pursuant to this division
and to support authority programs, including, but not limited to,
the Capital Access Loan Program authorized by Article 8
(commencing with Section 44559), and grants and loans as
authorized by begin delete subdivisions end delete begin insert subdivision end insert (h) begin delete and (g) end delete of Section
44526.

SEC. 3.  

Section 44525.7 of the Health and Safety Code, as
added by Section 7 of Chapter 915 of the Statutes of 2000, is
repealed.

begin delete

44525.7.  

(a) Commencing in 2002, and annually thereafter,
the authority shall submit a report to the Legislature regarding the
loan program described in subdivision (g) of Section 44526.

(b) This section shall not become operative if Assembly Bill
779 of the 1999-2000 Regular Session is enacted.

end delete

SEC. 4.  

Section 44526 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

44526.  

The authority begin delete is authorized to end delete begin insert may end insert do any of the
following:

(a)  begin delete To determine end delete begin insert Determine end insert the location and character of any
project to be financed under the provisions of this division, begin delete to end delete lend
financial begin delete assistance end delete begin insert assistance, including, but not limited to, grants,
loans, credit enhancements, and other incentives, end insert to any
participating party, begin delete to end delete construct, reconstruct, renovate, replace,
lease, as lessor or lessee, and regulate the same, and begin delete to end delete enter into
contracts for the sale of any pollution control facilities, including
installment sales or sales under conditional sales contracts, and begin delete to end delete
make loans to participating parties to lend financial assistance in
the acquisition, construction, or installation of a project.

(b)  begin delete To issue end delete begin insert Issue end insert bonds, notes, bond anticipation notes, and
other obligations of the authority for any of its corporate purposes,
and begin delete to end delete fund or refund the same, all as provided in this division.

(c)  begin delete To fix end delete begin insert Fix end insert fees and charges for pollution control facilities,
or for the loan of moneys to finance pollution control facilities,
and to revise from time to time those fees and charges, and begin delete to end delete
collect rates, rents, fees, loan repayments, and charges for the use
of and for any facilities or services furnished, or to be furnished,
by a project or any part begin delete thereof end delete begin insert of a project end insert and begin delete to end delete contract with
any person, partnership, association, corporation, or public agency
with respect begin delete thereto end delete begin insert to these matters end insert , and to fix the terms and
conditions upon which any pollution control facilities may be sold
or disposed of, whether upon installment sales contracts or
otherwise.

(d)  begin delete To employ end delete begin insert Employ end insert and fix the compensation of bond
counsel, financial consultants, and advisers as may be necessary
in its judgment in connection with the issuance and sale of any
bonds, notes, bond anticipation notes, or other obligations of the
authority; begin delete to end delete contract for engineering, architectural, accounting,
or other services of appropriate agencies as may be necessary in
the judgment of the authority for the successful development of
any project; and begin delete to end delete pay the reasonable costs of consulting engineers,
architects, accountants, and construction experts employed by any
participating party if, in the judgment of the authority, those
services are necessary to the successful development of any project,
and those services are not obtainable from any public agency.

(e)  begin delete To receive end delete begin insert Receive end insert and accept loans, contributions, or grants,
of money, property, labor, or other things of value, for, or in aid
of, the authority in carrying out the purposes of this division, from
any source, including, but not limited to, the federal government,
the state, or any agency of the state, any local government or
agency thereof, or any nonprofit or for-profit private entity or
individual.

(f)  begin delete To apply end delete begin insert Apply end insert for, and accept, subventions, grants, loans,
advances, and contributions from any source, of money, property,
labor, or other things of value. The sources may include, but are
not limited to, bond proceeds, dedicated taxes, state appropriations,
federal appropriations, federal grant and loan funds, public and
private sector retirement system funds, and proceeds of loans from
the Pooled Money Investment Account.

begin delete

(g) To provide grants and loans to any city or county deemed
eligible by the authority. The grants and loans shall be used to
assist California neighborhoods suffering from high poverty or
unemployment levels, or from low-income levels, to assist cities
and counties in developing and implementing growth policies and
programs that reduce pollution hazards and the degradation of the
environment, or to promote infill development to revitalize these
communities. The grants and loans may be used to employ the
technical expertise necessary to identify, assess, and complete
applications for state, federal, and private economic assistance
programs that develop and implement sustainable development
and sound environmental policies and programs. Priority shall be
given to applicants lacking the resources to identify, assess, and
complete applications to economic assistance, and for those lacking
the resources to develop and implement sustainable growth and
other sound environmental policies and programs. The authority
shall fund these grants and loans from any funds available to the
authority or set aside for the authority’s administrative expenses.
The authority may not award more than seven million five hundred
thousand dollars ($7,500,000) in grants and loans pursuant to this
subdivision. This subdivision shall remain operative only until
January 1, 2012.

end delete begin insert

(g) [Reserved]

end insert

(h) (1)  begin delete To provide end delete begin insert Provide end insert a loan directly, or indirectly through
one or more public or private sector intermediaries, to any city,
county, school district, redevelopment agency, financial institution,
as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 44559.1, for-profit or
not-for-profit organization, or participating party, as defined in
Section 44506, to assist in financing, among other things, the costs
of performing or obtaining brownfield site assessments, remedial
action plans and reports, technical assistance, the cleanup,
remediation, or development of brownfield sites, or any other
similar or related costs, subject to all applicable federal, state, and
local laws, procedures, and regulations.

(2) The authority shall establish standards and criteria to ensure
that a recipient of direct or indirect financing for cleanup or
remediation pursuant to this subdivision has the necessary financial
resources and expertise to successfully and appropriately complete
the cleanup or remediation of the property.

(3) The authority may pay all, or a portion, of the associated
program development and implementation costs of any public or
private sector intermediaries through which a loan is made. A loan
authorized by this subdivision is subject to both of the following:

(A) A loan may be used in connection with a brownfield site
prior to a determination of whether the site has a reasonable
potential for economically beneficial reuse.

(B) A loan may be made upon the terms determined by the
authority and may provide for any rate of interest or no interest.

(4) The authority shall fund a loan made pursuant to this
subdivision from any funds available to it, from any funds set aside
for the authority’s administrative expenses, or from any small
business assistance fund established for these purposes pursuant
to Section 44548.

(5) The authority may waive repayment of all, or a portion, of
any loan made pursuant to this subdivision upon conditions to be
determined by the authority, and the amount so waived shall be
deemed a grant to the recipient.

(i)  begin delete To do end delete begin insert Do end insert all things generally necessary or convenient to
carry out the purposes of this division.

SEC. 5.  

Section 44559.3 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

44559.3.  

(a)  The authority shall establish a loss reserve
account for each financial institution with which the authority
makes a contract.

(b) The loss reserve account for a financial institution shall
consist of moneys paid as fees by borrowers and the financial
institution, moneys transferred to the account from a small business
assistance fund, any matching federal moneys, and any other
moneys provided by the authority or other source.

(c) Notwithstanding any other law, the authority may establish
and maintain loss reserve accounts with any financial institution
under any policies the authority may begin delete adopt. end delete begin insert adopt, including the
policies of other funding sources, pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 44559.11. end insert

(d) All moneys in a loss reserve account established pursuant
to this article are the exclusive property of, and solely controlled
by, the authority. Interest or income earned on moneys credited to
the loss reserve account shall be deemed to be part of the loss
reserve account. The authority may withdraw from the loss reserve
account all, or a portion of, the interest or other income that has
been credited to the loss reserve account. Any withdrawal made
pursuant to this subdivision may be made prior to paying any claim
and shall be used for the sole purpose of offsetting costs associated
with carrying out the program, including administrative costs and
loss reserve account contributions.

(e) The combined amount to be deposited by the participating
financial institution into any individual loss reserve account over
a three-year period, in connection with any single borrower or any
group of borrowers among which a common enterprise exists, shall
be not more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).

SEC. 6.  

Section 44559.11 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

44559.11.  

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that
the state, through the authority, may make maximum, efficient use
of capital access programs enacted by all federal and state agencies,
as well as funding available from any governmental program whose
goals may be advanced by providing funding to the Capital Access
Loan Program.

(b) In furtherance of this intent, and notwithstanding any other
provision of this article, when the contributions required pursuant
to Section 44559.4 are entirely funded by a source other than the
authority, the authority may, by regulation adopted pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 44520, establish alternate provisions as
necessary to enable the authority to participate in the alternative
funding source begin delete program. end delete begin insert program, including, but not limited to,
implementing loan loss reserve programs to benefit any person,
company, corporation, public agency, partnership, or firm engaged
in activities in the state that require financing. end insert