ORIGINAL HOUSE ENGROSSED
BILL NO. 0301
ENROLLED ACT NO.
87, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FIFTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE
OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2001
GENERAL SESSION
AN ACT relating to
investment of state funds; increasing
the amount and
duration of time for the state treasurer to
invest in small
business loans under this section; allowing
the state
treasurer to purchase bonds for industrial
development
projects; modifying the conditions for the
state treasurer
to invest in industrial development bonds;
amending the
purpose for which such bonds may be utilized;
and providing for
an effective date.
Be It Enacted
by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1. W.S. 9-4-701(e)(intro),
(q)(ii), (iii)(C),
(D) and (vi), 15-1-702(a)(intro) and (i),
16-1-104(c)(intro) and by creating a new paragraph (xii),
16-1-107(a) by creating a new paragraph (vi) and
16-1-108(a) are amended to read:
9-4-701. Permissible investments;
treasurer's rules
and
regulations.
(e) The
limitation on legislatively designated
investments under W.S.
9-4-712 applies to this investment.
To assist Wyoming's
small businesses, the state treasurer
may invest or commit
to invest and keep invested an amount
not to exceed thirty-five million dollars ($35,000,000.00) fifty-five million dollars ($55,000,000.00) of any state
permanent funds
available for investment, excluding
permanent funds
allocated for joint powers loans, farm and
ranch loans, water
development loans, or real estate
mortgages, through the
purchase of portions of Small
Business
Administration loans, Farmers Home Administration
business and industry
loans and Economic Development
Administration loans.
No new investments pursuant to this
subsection shall be
made after December 31, 2003 2006.
Investment by the
state treasurer shall be limited to the
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portion of
the loan that is guaranteed by the Small
Business
Administration, Farmers Home Administration or
Economic Development
Administration. Any assignment of
loans to the state
treasurer under this subsection shall
provide that the Small
Business Administration loan
participant, Farmers
Home Administration loan participant
or Economic Development
Administration loan participant
originating the loan
and any assignee thereof shall service
the loan and make
payments of principal and interest to the
state treasurer as
provided by rule, and in the event of
default of the loan or
the terms of the loan, be
responsible for the
collection of the debt. For the first
five (5) years of the
loan, the interest rates contained in
the loans shall be as
established by the state treasurer
but not less than the
yield of the five (5) year federal
treasury bond at the
date of commitment. Following the
first five (5) years
of the loan, the interest rate shall
be adjusted to the
then current interest rate required in
the note and loan
agreements. The state treasurer shall
promulgate rules and
regulations governing the investment
of state funds under
this subsection including the
following:
(q) The
limitation on legislatively designated
investments under W.S.
9-4-712 applies to this investment.
To promote economic
development and in addition to the
authority under
paragraph (a)(iii) of this section, the
state treasurer is
authorized to invest and keep invested
not to exceed thirty-five million dollars ($35,000,000.00) one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000.00) of any state
permanent funds
available for investment through the
purchase of industrial
development bonds issued by joint
powers boards, municipalities or counties
under W.S.
15-1-701 through 15-1-710
subject to the terms and
conditions specified under
this subsection. By December 31
of each calendar year,
the state treasurer and the Wyoming
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business
council shall each provide a report to the joint
minerals, business and
economic development committee on
the effectiveness of
the investment program authorized by
this subsection. The
reports shall include the costs
incurred by the state
to the permanent mineral trust fund,
and the revenue
received by the Wyoming business council
through fees and
businesses who utilized the program:
(ii) No investment
shall be made under this
subsection unless:
(A) The bonds
are to finance the cost of
acquisition of land or rights-of-way and the purchase,
construction, and installation of buildings, appurtenant
personal property and equipment which will add economic
value to goods,
services or resources within or outside
this state. Any
right-of-way acquired under the provisions
of this paragraph
shall follow an existing utility corridor
whenever practical.
The buildings, appurtenant personal
property and equipment
shall be used:
(I) As part of the construction of a
facility or infrastructure for manufacturing, or
processing
or
generating power, transporting oil or gas, transmitting
electricity, providing
telecommunications, or utility
services; or
(II) For commercial or business
enterprises or their infrastructure; or
(III) For reconstructing, remodeling,
modernizing or
expanding an existing facility which will or
infrastructure.
add economic value to
goods, services or resources within
this state
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(B) The Wyoming
business council shall
establish guidelines
dependent upon the type of business
concerned in each
project considered and shall set the
maximum amount of the
investment to be made by the state of
Wyoming in each project.
In setting the maximum amount of
investment the
business council shall consider the number
of jobs created or
preserved by the facility and the
economic impact to the
state which may result from the
facility. The council shall review each project considered
with the Wyoming
energy commission created pursuant to W.S.
30-6-601, provided the
project being considered involves an
area over which the
commission has been given authority;
(B)(C) The bonds bear interest at a
variable
interest rate, indexed to the prime rate as
determined by the
state treasurer pursuant to W.S.
39-14-108(c)(iv),
adjusted annually, which is reasonably
commensurate with the
risk, as recommended by the Wyoming
business council;, but the rate shall
be not less than the and
average earnings on
the fixed asset portion of the
permanent mineral
trust fund for the preceding twelve (12)
months;
(C)(D) At least twenty-five percent
(25%)
of the total cost of
the project is provided by the owner
of the facility. and not more than
fifty percent (50%) of
the total cost of the
project shall come from public
entities of the state
of Wyoming unless the investment made
by the state is in
insurance on the bonds, up to eighty
percent (80%) of the
tax exempt project cost may be insured
as an investment
governed by the same rate of return so
noted for direct bond
investment under this subsection.
(iii) No
investment shall be made under this
subsection unless the
bonds provide:
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(C) The
principal and interest are secured
by a pledge of
revenues from the operation of the facility
or
infrastructure and by a first mortgage on the
facility
or other facilities or infrastructures with a loan-to-value
ratio not exceeding
seventy-five percent (75%) of the
appraised value of the
collateral; in lieu thereof, the
pledging of collateral
of either United States treasury
zero coupon bonds with
a face value exceeding the amount of
the investment to
ensure inflation protection for the
state's permanent
funds, or a guaranteed investment
contract by a company
with substantial financial strength
as determined pursuant
to subparagraph (D) of this
paragraph, and the
pledging of the highest available
mortgage position on
the facility, and by personal
guarantees executed by
the individual borrowers and such
guarantees and pledges
of the entity owning the facility or
of the parent
corporation of that entity, if any, as the
owner or lender
extends to lenders of the remaining debt
financing. These
guarantees and pledges shall be no less
favorable to the state
of Wyoming than those granted other
lenders of the same
class. In no instance shall the owner
of the facility,
through the creation of classes of
lenders, be placed in
a superior position to the state for
repayment of an
investment;
(D) The
principal and interest are may be
secured by additional
security as required by the state
treasurer or governor,
upon recommendation of the Wyoming
business council and
with the approval as to form of the
attorney general.
(vi) No
investment shall be made under this
subsection after June
30, 2003 2006.
15-1-702. Powers of municipalities and
counties;
limitations.
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(a) In addition
to all other powers each
municipality, and county, and multi-county joint powers
board has without any other
authority the power to:
(i) Acquire one
(1) or more projects located
within the territorial
limits of the municipality or within
the territorial limits
of the county wherein the
municipality is
situated, if acquired by a municipality, or
located within the
county, if acquired by a county, or
located within
multiple counties if acquired by a joint
powers board formed
under W.S. 16-1-101 et seq.;
16-1-104. Joint powers, functions and
facilities;
city-county
airport board; eligible senior citizen centers.
(c) Specifically,
without limiting but subject to the
provisions of
subsection (a) of this section, two (2) or
more agencies may
jointly plan, own, lease, assign, sell,
create, expand,
finance and operate:
(xii) Rights-of-way for
electric transmission
systems, oil and
natural gas pipelines, telecommunications
and utilities. Any
right-of-way acquired under the
provisions of this
subsection shall follow an existing
utility corridor
whenever practical.
16-1-107. Financing of joint projects.
(a) Any joint
project consisting of property or
improvements or an
interest therein to be owned by
participating agencies
or a joint powers board undertaken
pursuant to this act
may be financed:
(vi) By industrial
development project bonds
issued pursuant to
W.S. 15-1-701 et seq.
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16-1-108. Obligations and
responsibilities of
participating
agencies.
(a) No
participating agency nor any legal entity
created pursuant to
this act shall construct, operate or
maintain any facility
or improvement other than for service
to and use by the
participating agencies and their resident
customers, except for undertakings pursuant to W.S.
16-1-104(c)(xii).
Section 2. This act is effective immediately upon
completion of all acts
necessary for a bill to become law
as provided by Article
4, Section 8 of the Wyoming
Constitution.
(END)
Speaker of
the House President of
the Senate
Governor
TIME APPROVED: _________
DATE APPROVED: _________
I hereby certify that this act originated in the
House.
Chief Clerk
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