00                       CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 357(ENE)                                                                    
01 "An Act establishing the sustainable energy transmission and supply development                                         
02 program in the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority; and relating to                                      
03 the interest rates of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority."                                          
04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
05    * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section                          
06 to read:                                                                                                                
07       SHORT TITLE. This Act may be known as the Alaska Sustainable Strategy for                                         
08 Energy Transmission and Supply (ASSETS) Act.                                                                            
09    * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to                          
10 read:                                                                                                                   
11       LEGISLATIVE INTENT. The legislature intends to appropriate, during fiscal years                                   
12 2013 and 2014, amounts that total $250,000,000 to carry out the purposes of this Act.                                   
13    * Sec. 3. AS 44.88.010(a) is amended to read:                                                                      
14            (a)  The legislature finds, determines, and declares that                                                    
01                 (1)  there exist areas of the state in which seasonal and nonseasonal                                   
02       unemployment exist;                                                                                               
03                 (2)  this unemployment is a serious menace to the health, safety, and                                   
04       general welfare, not only to the people in those areas, but also to the people of the                             
05       entire state;                                                                                                     
06                 (3)  the state lacks the basic manufacturing, industrial, energy, export,                           
07       small business, and business enterprises and the other facilities referred to in this                             
08       subsection necessary to permit adequate development of its natural resources and the                              
09       balanced growth of its economy;                                                                                   
10                 (4)  the establishment and expansion of industrial, manufacturing,                                      
11       energy, export, small business, and business enterprises in the state [ALASKA] and                        
12       the other facilities referred to in this subsection are essential to the development of the                       
13       natural resources and the long-term economic growth of the state, and will directly and                           
14       indirectly alleviate unemployment in the state;                                                                   
15                 (5)  the expansion of export trade is vital to the health and growth of the                             
16       state's economy;                                                                                                  
17                 (6)  many state [ALASKA] businesses could benefit from additional                                   
18       financial and technical assistance with respect to the exportation of their products and                          
19       services;                                                                                                         
20                 (7)  the [UNITED STATES] Export-Import Bank of the United States                                    
21       has been mandated by the Export-Import Bank Act Amendments of 1983 to provide                                     
22       technical assistance and export financing support to small businesses in cooperation                              
23       with state export finance agencies;                                                                               
24                 (8)  Alaska-based exporters can be effectively assisted through the                                     
25       establishment, as part of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, of                              
26       an export financing program designed to work with the [U.S.] Export-Import Bank of                            
27       the United States and other federal, state, and private institutions;                                         
28                 (9)  the achievement of the goal of full employment, and of                                             
29       establishment and continuing operation and development of industrial, manufacturing,                              
30       energy, export, small business, and business enterprises in the state will be accelerated                     
31       and facilitated by the creation of an instrumentality of the state with powers to incur                           
01       debt, to own and operate facilities, to make and insure loans to finance and to assist                            
02       private lenders to make loans to finance the establishment, operation, and development                            
03       of industrial, manufacturing, energy, export, small business, and business enterprises;                       
04                 (10)  it is in the public interest to promote the prosperity and general                                
05       welfare of all citizens of the state by                                                                           
06                      (A)  stimulating commercial and industrial growth and                                              
07            expansion by encouraging an increase of private investment by banks,                                         
08            investment houses, insurance companies, and other financial institutions,                                    
09            including pension and retirement funds, to help satisfy the need for economic                                
10            expansion;                                                                                                   
11                      (B)  encouraging the production of raw materials and goods for                                     
12            export, the expansion of exports and raw materials and goods, and the                                        
13            rendering of services abroad by residents of the state through the establishment                             
14            of a program that provides financial assistance in cooperation with federal,                                 
15            state, and private institutions for these purposes in the form provided in this                              
16            chapter;                                                                                                     
17                      (C)  creating the Alaska Industrial Development and Export                                         
18            Authority with the powers necessary to accomplish the objectives stated in this                              
19            paragraph, including the power to issue taxable and tax-exempt bonds and to                                  
20            acquire ownership interests in projects as provided in this chapter;                                         
21                 (11)  it is in the state's interest to import private capital to create new                             
22       economic activity which would not otherwise take place in the state.                                              
23    * Sec. 4. AS 44.88.010(b) is amended to read:                                                                      
24            (b)  It is declared to be the policy of the state, in the interests of promoting the                         
25       health, security, and general welfare of all the people of the state, and a public                                
26       purpose, to increase job opportunities and otherwise to encourage the economic                                    
27       growth of the state, including the development of its natural resources, through the                              
28       establishment and expansion of manufacturing, industrial, energy, export, small                               
29       business, and business enterprises and the other facilities referred to in (a) of this                            
30       section by creating the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority with the                               
31       powers, duties, and functions as provided in this chapter.                                                        
01    * Sec. 5. AS 44.88.155(d) is amended to read:                                                                      
02            (d)  A loan participation purchased by the authority with assets of the                                      
03       enterprise development account or with proceeds of bonds secured by assets of the                                 
04       enterprise development account                                                                                    
05                 (1)  may not exceed $20,000,000; however, in the case of a loan                                         
06       participation for qualified energy development [A POWER TRANSMISSION                                          
07       INTERTIE], the loan participation may exceed $20,000,000 with legislative approval;                               
08                 (2)  may not be purchased unless                                                                        
09                      (A)  the project applicant is not, or, if the applicant is not a                                   
10            single proprietorship, all members of the business enterprise or enterprises                                 
11            constituting the project applicant are not, in default on another loan made by                               
12            the state or by a public corporation of the state; and                                                       
13                      (B)  at least 10 percent of the principal amount of the loan is                                    
14            retained by the loan originator, or the loan is for financing improvements in                            
15            energy efficiency;                                                                                       
16                 (3)  may not be purchased if the loan to be purchased exceeds 75                                        
17       percent of the appraised value of the collateral offered as security for the loan unless                          
18       the amount of the loan in excess of this limit is federally insured or guaranteed or is                           
19       insured by a qualified mortgage insurance company, except that the loan to be                                     
20       purchased under this paragraph may not exceed the total of loan proceeds used to                                  
21       refinance an existing debt plus the cost of new construction, expansion, or acquisition                           
22       unless the proceeds from the additional amounts of the loan to be purchased are                                   
23       restricted to uses approved by the authority to finance commercial activity in the state                          
24       by a business enterprise;                                                                                         
25                 (4)  may not be purchased if the participation in the loan to be                                        
26       purchased is for a term longer than the following, except that a loan under (A) or (C)                            
27       of this paragraph may not have a term longer than three-quarters of the authority's                               
28       estimate of the life of the collateral offered as security for the loan:                                          
29                      (A)  40 years from the date the loan is made in the case of a                                      
30            loan participation for a project described in AS 44.88.900(9)(E);                                            
31                      (B)  50 years from the date the loan is made in the case of a loan                                 
01            participation for qualified energy development [A POWER                                                  
02            TRANSMISSION INTERTIE];                                                                                      
03                      (C)  25 years from the date the loan is made in the case of a loan                                 
04            participation for other projects;                                                                            
05                 (5)  may be made only if the participation in the loan to be purchased                                  
06       contains amortization provisions; the amortization provisions                                                     
07                      (A)  must be complete and satisfactory to the authority and                                        
08            require periodic payments by the borrower;                                                                   
09                      (B)  may allow the loan originator to amortize the portion of the                                  
10            loan retained by the loan originator using a shorter amortization schedule than                              
11            the amortization schedule for the portion of the loan held by the authority if                               
12                           (i)  in the authority's opinion, the project financed can                                     
13                 support the increased debt service; and                                                                 
14                           (ii)  the accelerated amortization schedule is required to                                    
15                 induce the originator to make the loan;                                                                 
16                 (6)  may be made only if the participation in the loan to be purchased is                               
17       in the form and contains the terms and provisions with respect to insurance, repairs,                             
18       alterations, payment of taxes and assessments, default reserves, delinquency charges,                             
19       default remedies, acceleration of maturity, secondary liens, and other matters the                                
20       authority prescribes; and                                                                                         
21                 (7)  may be made only if the participation in the loan to be purchased is                               
22       secured as to repayment by a mortgage or other security instrument in the manner the                              
23       authority determines is feasible to assure timely repayment under the loan documents                              
24       entered into with the borrower.                                                                                   
25    * Sec. 6. AS 44.88.155(g) is amended to read:                                                                      
26            (g)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the authority may                                  
27       waive or modify the requirements of this section as it considers appropriate and                                  
28       prudent in order to finance a project if the authority intends to own the project or in                           
29       order to finance qualified energy development [A POWER TRANSMISSION                                           
30       INTERTIE PROJECT].                                                                                                
31    * Sec. 7. AS 44.88.159(a) is amended to read:                                                                      
01            (a)  The interest rate on a loan purchased from the proceeds of tax-exempt                               
02       bonds secured by the sustainable energy transmission and supply development                                   
03       fund (AS 44.88.710) under AS 44.88.700 - 44.88.740 or a loan participation                                    
04       purchased from the proceeds of tax-exempt bonds or expected by the authority to be                                
05       purchased from the proceeds of tax-exempt bonds under AS 44.88.155 shall be                                   
06       determined under the regulations adopted by the authority under                                                   
07       AS 44.88.085(g)(2)(C) and shall be not less than the cost of funds to the authority. In                           
08       this subsection, "cost of funds" means the true interest cost expressed as a rate on tax-                         
09       exempt bonds of the authority plus an additional percentage as determined by the                                  
10       authority to represent the allocable expenses of operation, costs of issuance, and loan                           
11       servicing costs.                                                                                                  
12    * Sec. 8. AS 44.88.159(b) is amended to read:                                                                      
13            (b)  The interest rate on a loan purchased from the proceeds of taxable                                  
14       bonds secured by the sustainable energy transmission and supply development                                   
15       fund (AS 44.88.710) under AS 44.88.700 - 44.88.740 or a loan participation                                    
16       purchased from the proceeds of taxable bonds under AS 44.88.155 or expected by the                            
17       authority to be purchased from the proceeds of taxable bonds under AS 44.88.155                               
18       shall be determined under the regulations adopted by the authority under                                          
19       AS 44.88.085(g)(2)(C) and shall be not less than the cost of funds to the authority. In                           
20       this subsection, "cost of funds" means the true interest cost expressed as a rate on                              
21       taxable bonds, plus an additional percentage as determined by the authority to                                    
22       represent the allocable expenses of operation, costs of issuance, and loan servicing                              
23       costs.                                                                                                            
24    * Sec. 9. AS 44.88.159(d) is amended to read:                                                                      
25            (d)  The provisions of this section apply only to a loan participation purchased                             
26       under AS 44.88.155 - 44.88.159 or to a loan made under AS 44.88.700 - 44.88.740.                              
27    * Sec. 10. AS 44.88.159(e) is amended to read:                                                                     
28            (e)  The interest rate on a loan made under AS 44.88.700 - 44.88.740 or a                                
29       loan participation purchased directly from the assets of the authority shall be                                   
30       determined under the regulations adopted by the authority under                                                   
31       AS 44.88.085(g)(2)(C) and shall be not less than the total of a percentage as                                     
01       determined by the authority to represent the allocable expenses of operation and costs                            
02       of loan origination and servicing, plus the cost of funds. In this subsection,                                    
03                 (1)  "comparable financial security" means a type or category of                                        
04       financial security the authority identifies in the regulations adopted by the authority                           
05       under AS 44.88.085(g)(2)(C) that has a term and financial conditions comparable to                                
06       the term and financial conditions of a loan participation or a loan made under                                
07       AS 44.88.700 - 44.88.740 and for which a regularly published, nationally recognized                           
08       market index is available;                                                                                        
09                 (2)  "cost of funds" means the earnings, expressed as an annual interest                                
10       rate, the authority would receive on a comparable financial security, and, for a loan                             
11       participation or a loan made under AS 44.88.700 - 44.88.740 with a fixed interest                             
12       rate, the cost of funds must equal or exceed the minimum interest rate;                                           
13                 (3)  "minimum interest rate" means the five-year return on investment                                   
14       funds of the authority, expressed as an annual interest rate, achieved by all internal and                        
15       external investment managers of the authority combined.                                                           
16    * Sec. 11. AS 44.88.159(f) is amended to read:                                                                     
17            (f)  In determining an interest rate under the regulations adopted by the                                    
18       authority under AS 44.88.085(g)(2)(C), the authority may determine to disregard the                               
19       minimum interest rate required under (a), (b), or (e) of this section for a loan                                  
20       participation purchased by the authority or a loan made under AS 44.88.700 -                                  
21       44.88.740 to resolve lending limits or reserve restrictions imposed on the financial                          
22       institution and may instead determine to retain the interest rate existing at the time the                        
23       authority makes the loan or purchases the authority's loan participation [A                               
24       PORTION OF THE LOAN].                                                                                           
25    * Sec. 12. AS 44.88.159(g) is amended to read:                                                                     
26            (g)  The authority may, in the regulations adopted by the authority under                                    
27       AS 44.88.085(g)(2)(C), establish a program to pay to borrowers of loan participations                             
28       determined by the authority to meet sufficient job creation, rural development,                                   
29       renewable energy development, or other economic development criteria incentive                                
30       rate rebates of not more than one percent of the interest rate charged on the authority's                         
31       portion of a loan participation. The following standards apply to the program:                                    
01                 (1)  the payment of an incentive rate rebate may reduce the interest rate                               
02       to a rate that is less than the minimum interest rate required under (a), (b), or (e) of this                     
03       section;                                                                                                          
04                 (2)  the authority may not commit to pay an incentive rate rebate for a                                 
05       proposed loan participation if the total of the amount of the proposed loan                                       
06       participation plus the combined outstanding balance of all loan participations for                                
07       which the authority has committed to pay incentive rate rebates would exceed five                                 
08       percent of the total of the amount of the proposed loan participation plus the combined                           
09       outstanding balance of all loan participations of the authority;                                                  
10                 (3)  an incentive rate rebate may not accrue for more than five years                                   
11       after the date the loan participation is purchased;                                                               
12                 (4)  the authority may establish a separate account for the incentive rate                              
13       rebate program.                                                                                                   
14    * Sec. 13. AS 44.88 is amended by adding new sections to read:                                                     
15             Article 7A. Sustainable Energy Transmission and Supply.                                                   
16            Sec. 44.88.700. Sustainable energy transmission and supply development                                     
17       program. The sustainable energy transmission and supply development program is                                  
18       created in the authority to promote and provide financing for qualified energy                                    
19       development in the state to alleviate unemployment and contribute to the state's                                  
20       economic welfare, economic diversity, and economic development.                                                   
21            Sec. 44.88.710. Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority                                         
22       sustainable energy transmission and supply development fund. The Alaska                                         
23       Industrial Development and Export Authority sustainable energy transmission and                                   
24       supply development fund is established in the authority. The development fund                                     
25       consists of appropriations made to the development fund by the legislature, money or                              
26       other assets transferred to the development fund by the authority, and unrestricted loan                          
27       repayments, interest, or other income earned on loans, investments, or assets of the                              
28       development fund. The development fund is not an account in the revolving loan fund                               
29       established in AS 44.88.060, and the authority shall account for the development fund                             
30       separately from the revolving fund. The authority may create additional accounts in                               
31       the development fund. Subject to agreements made with the holders of the authority's                              
01       bonds or with other persons, the authority may transfer amounts in an account in the                              
02       development fund to another account in the development fund. Amounts deposited in                                 
03       the development fund may be pledged to the payment of bonds of the authority or                                   
04       expended for the purposes of AS 44.88.700 - 44.88.740. The authority has the powers                               
05       and responsibilities established in AS 37.10.071 with respect to the investment of                                
06       amounts held in the development fund.                                                                             
07            Sec. 44.88.720. Use of fund balance. Subject to the requirements of                                        
08       AS 44.88.710 - 44.88.740, the authority may use money in the Alaska Industrial                                    
09       Development and Export Authority sustainable energy transmission and supply                                       
10       development fund to assist in the construction, improvement, rehabilitation, and                                  
11       expansion of qualified energy development.                                                                        
12            Sec. 44.88.730. Qualified energy development; powers and duties of the                                     
13       authority. (a) Subject to the limitations of AS 44.88.740, for qualified energy                                 
14       development the authority may                                                                                     
15                 (1)  use the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority                                         
16       sustainable energy transmission and supply development fund to finance qualified                                  
17       energy development, insure project obligations, guarantee loans or bonds, and                                     
18       establish reserves;                                                                                               
19                 (2)  acquire real or personal property by purchase, transfer, or                                        
20       foreclosure when the acquisition is necessary to protect the authority's interest in                              
21       financing;                                                                                                        
22                 (3)  defer principal payments or capitalize interest on qualified energy                                
23       development financing;                                                                                            
24                 (4)  subject to AS 36.30.085(e), enter into lease agreements, sales-                                    
25       lease-back agreements, build-operate-transfer, and operate-transfer agreements, or any                            
26       similar project financing agreement for a qualified energy development;                                           
27                 (5)  enter into agreements with government entities for the transfer and                                
28       control of infrastructure, facilities, rights-of-way, and studies;                                                
29                 (6)  contract for services with a professional advisor, including an                                    
30       attorney, bond counsel, engineer, or other technical expert necessary to fulfill the                              
31       purposes of the program; and                                                                                      
01                 (7)  subject to AS 44.88.090, borrow money and issue bonds.                                             
02            (b)  The authority shall adopt regulations to implement AS 44.88.700 -                                       
03       44.88.740, including                                                                                              
04                 (1)  an application process for acquiring financing under this section;                                 
05                 (2)  qualifications for qualified energy development projects applying                                  
06       for financing under this section; and                                                                             
07                 (3)  fiscal controls and accounting procedures for the development                                      
08       fund.                                                                                                             
09            Sec. 44.88.740. Limitations on financing. (a) Unless the authority has                                     
10       obtained legislative approval by law, the authority may not finance or participate in                             
11       financing of                                                                                                      
12                 (1)  more than one-third of the capital cost of qualified energy                                        
13       development; or                                                                                                   
14                 (2)  a loan guarantee that exceeds $20,000,000.                                                         
15            (b)  Financing under AS 44.88.730 is limited to the life of qualified energy                                 
16       development, which may not be more than                                                                           
17                 (1)  30 years; or                                                                                       
18                 (2)  50 years for a transmission line or hydroelectric qualified energy                                 
19       development.                                                                                                      
20    * Sec. 14. AS 44.88.900 is amended by adding new paragraphs to read:                                               
21                 (15)  "development fund" means the sustainable energy transmission                                      
22       and supply development fund created in AS 44.88.710;                                                              
23                 (16)  "qualified energy development" means a project in the state that                                  
24       involves                                                                                                          
25                      (A)  transmission, generation, conservation, storage, or                                           
26            distribution of heat or electricity;                                                                         
27                      (B)  liquefaction, regasification, distribution, storage, or use of                                
28            natural gas;                                                                                                 
29                      (C)  the chemical, catalytic, or biological upgrade or conversion                                  
30            of natural gas, coal, or biomass to hydrocarbon liquids;                                                     
31                      (D)  processing, refining, or upgrading of oil;                                                    
01                      (E)  distribution or storage of refined petroleum products;                                        
02                      (F)  enhanced oil recovery or carbon sequestration;                                                
03                      (G)  gasification of coal or biomass into synthesis gas;                                           
04                      (H)  the chemical, catalytic, or biological upgrade of synthesis                                   
05            gas into methane; or                                                                                         
06                      (I)  the manufacture of hydrogen from any feedstock, excluding                                     
07            the mechanical separation from air.                                                                          
08    * Sec. 15. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to                         
09 read:                                                                                                                   
10 REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION. References to "this chapter" in AS 44.88 apply to sec. 13 of                                     
11 this Act and so should not be changed.