Bill Text: VA HB2278 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Virginia Resources Authority; economic and community development projects.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-10 - Left in Appropriations [HB2278 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2015-HB2278-Introduced.html
15101493D Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia: 1. That §§ 62.1-198 and 62.1-199 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows: §62.1-198. Legislative findings and purposes. The General Assembly finds that there exists in the
Commonwealth a critical need for additional sources of funding to finance the
present and future needs of the Commonwealth for water supply; land
conservation or land preservation including land for parks and other
recreational purposes; oyster restoration projects, including planting and
replanting with seed oysters, oyster shells, or other material that will catch,
support, and grow oysters; wastewater treatment facilities; drainage
facilities; solid waste treatment, disposal and management facilities;
recycling facilities; resource recovery facilities; energy conservation and
energy efficiency projects; professional sports facilities; certain heavy rail
transportation facilities; public safety facilities; airport facilities; the
remediation of brownfields and contaminated properties, including properties
contaminated by defective drywall; the design and construction of roads, public
parking garages and other public transportation facilities, and facilities for
public transportation by commuter rail; construction of local government
buildings, including administrative and operations systems and other local
government equipment and infrastructure; §62.1-199. Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context: "Authority" means the Virginia Resources Authority created by this chapter. "Board of Directors" means the Board of Directors of the Authority. "Bonds" means any bonds, notes, debentures, interim certificates, bond, grant or revenue anticipation notes, lease and sale-leaseback transactions or any other obligations of the Authority for the payment of money. "Capital Reserve Fund" means the reserve fund created and established by the Authority in accordance with §62.1-215. "Cost," as applied to any project financed under the provisions of this chapter, means the total of all costs incurred by the local government as reasonable and necessary for carrying out all works and undertakings necessary or incident to the accomplishment of any project. It includes, without limitation, all necessary developmental, planning and feasibility studies, surveys, plans and specifications, architectural, engineering, financial, legal or other special services, the cost of acquisition of land and any buildings and improvements thereon, including the discharge of any obligations of the sellers of such land, buildings or improvements, real estate appraisals, site preparation and development, including demolition or removal of existing structures, construction and reconstruction, labor, materials, machinery and equipment, the reasonable costs of financing incurred by the local government in the course of the development of the project, including the cost of any credit enhancements, carrying charges incurred before placing the project in service, interest on local obligations issued to finance the project to a date subsequent to the estimated date the project is to be placed in service, necessary expenses incurred in connection with placing the project in service, the funding of accounts and reserves which the Authority may require and the cost of other items which the Authority determines to be reasonable and necessary. It also includes the amount of any contribution, grant or aid which a local government may make or give to any adjoining state, the District of Columbia or any department, agency or instrumentality thereof to pay the costs incident and necessary to the accomplishment of any project, including, without limitation, the items set forth above. The term also includes interest and principal payments pursuant to any installment purchase agreement. "Credit enhancements" means surety bonds, insurance policies, letters of credit, guarantees and other forms of collateral or security. "Defective drywall" means the same as that term is defined in §36-156.1. "Federal facility" means any building or infrastructure used or to be used by the federal government, including any building or infrastructure located on lands owned by the federal government. "Federal government" means the United States of America, or any department, agency or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the United States of America. "Former federal facility" means any federal facility formerly used by the federal government or in transition from use by the federal government to a facility all or part of which is to serve any local government. "Local government" means any county, city, town, municipal corporation, authority, district, commission or political subdivision created by the General Assembly or pursuant to the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth or any combination of any two or more of the foregoing. "Local obligations" means any bonds, notes, debentures, interim certificates, bond, grant or revenue anticipation notes, leases, credit enhancements, or any other obligations of a local government for the payment of money. "Minimum capital reserve fund requirement" means, as of any particular date of computation, the amount of money designated as the minimum capital reserve fund requirement which may be established in the resolution of the Authority authorizing the issuance of, or the trust indenture securing, any outstanding issue of bonds or credit enhancement. "Project" means (i) any water supply or wastewater
treatment facility including a facility for receiving and stabilizing septage
or a soil drainage management facility and any solid waste treatment, disposal,
or management facility, recycling facility, federal facility or former federal
facility, or resource recovery facility located or to be located in the
Commonwealth, the District of Columbia or any adjoining state, all or part of
which facility serves or is to serve any local government; and (ii) any federal
facility located or to be located in the Commonwealth, provided that both the
Board of Directors of the Authority and the governing body of the local
government receiving the benefit of the loan, grant, or credit enhancement from
the Authority make a determination or finding to be embodied in a resolution or
ordinance that the undertaking and financing of such facility is necessary for
the location or retention of such facility and the related use by the federal
government in the Commonwealth. The term includes, without limitation, water
supply and intake facilities; water treatment and filtration facilities; water
storage facilities; water distribution facilities; sewage and wastewater
(including surface and ground water) collection, treatment and disposal
facilities; drainage facilities and projects; solid waste treatment, disposal
or management facilities; recycling facilities; resource recovery facilities;
related office, administrative, storage, maintenance and laboratory facilities;
and interests in land related thereto. The term also includes energy
conservation measures and facility technology infrastructure as defined in §
11-34.2 and other energy objectives as defined in §67-101. The term also means
any heavy rail transportation facilities operated by a transportation district,
created under the Transportation District Act of 1964 (§33.2-1900 et seq.),
which operates heavy rail freight service, including rolling stock, barge
loading facilities, and any related marine or rail equipment. The term also
means, without limitation, the design and construction of roads, the
construction of local government buildings, including administrative and
operations systems and other local government equipment and infrastructure,
public parking garages and other public transportation facilities, and
facilities for public transportation by commuter rail. In addition, the term
means any project as defined in §5.1-30.1 and any professional sports
facility, including a major league baseball stadium as defined in §15.2-5800,
provided that the specific professional sports facility projects have been
designated by the General Assembly as eligible for assistance from the
Authority. The term also means any equipment, facilities, and technology
infrastructure designed to provide broadband service. The term also means
facilities supporting, related to, or otherwise used for public safety
including, but not limited to, law-enforcement training facilities and
emergency response, fire, rescue and police stations. The term also means the
remediation, redevelopment and rehabilitation of property contaminated by the
release of hazardous substances, hazardous wastes, solid wastes or petroleum
where such remediation has not clearly been mandated by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Environmental Quality, or a
court pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and
Liability Act (42 U.S.C. §9601 et seq.), the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (42 U.S.C. §6901 et seq.), the Virginia Waste Management Act (§
10.1-1400 et seq.), the State Water Control Law (§62.1-44.2 et seq.), or other
applicable statutory or common law or where jurisdiction of those statutes has
been waived. The term also means any program or project for land conservation,
parks, park facilities, land for recreational purposes, or land preservation,
including but not limited to any program or project involving the acquisition
of rights or interests in land for the conservation or preservation of such
land. The term also means any oyster restoration project, including planting
and replanting with seed oysters, oyster shells, or other material that will
catch, support, and grow oysters. The term also means any program or project "Recovered gas energy facility" means a facility, located at or adjacent to (i) a solid waste management facility permitted by the Department of Environmental Quality or (ii) a sewerage system or sewage treatment work described in §62.1-44.18 that is constructed and operated for the purpose of treating sewage and wastewater for discharge to state waters, which facility or work is constructed and operated for the purpose of (a) reclaiming or collecting methane or other combustible gas from the biodegradation or decomposition of solid waste, as defined in §10.1-1400, that has been deposited in the solid waste management facility or sewerage system or sewage treatment work and (b) either using such gas to generate electric energy or upgrading the gas to pipeline quality and transmitting it off premises for sale or delivery to commercial or industrial purchasers or to a public utility or locality. |