Full Text of HB3559 99th General Assembly
HB3559 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016 HB3559 Introduced , by Rep. Sheri L Jesiel SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: | | 415 ILCS 5/19.1 | from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1019.1 | 415 ILCS 5/19.3 | from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1019.3 | 415 ILCS 5/19.4 | from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1019.4 |
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Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that local taxing authorities may receive grants under the Water Pollution Control Loan Program. Effective immediately.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning safety.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by | 5 | | changing Sections 19.1, 19.3, and 19.4 as follows:
| 6 | | (415 ILCS 5/19.1) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1019.1)
| 7 | | Sec. 19.1. Legislative findings. The General Assembly | 8 | | finds:
| 9 | | (a) that local government units and local taxing | 10 | | authorities require assistance in financing the
| 11 | | construction of water treatment works and projects in order | 12 | | to comply with the
State's program of environmental | 13 | | protection and federally mandated
requirements;
| 14 | | (b) that the federal Water Quality Act of 1987 provides | 15 | | an important
source of grant awards to the State for | 16 | | providing assistance to local
government units and local | 17 | | taxing authorities through the Water Pollution Control | 18 | | Loan Program;
| 19 | | (c) that local government units , local taxing | 20 | | authorities, and privately owned community water
supplies | 21 | | require assistance in financing the construction of their | 22 | | public
water supplies to comply with State and federal | 23 | | drinking water laws and
regulations;
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| 1 | | (d) that the federal Safe Drinking Water Act ("SDWA"), | 2 | | P.L. 93-523, as now or hereafter amended, provides an | 3 | | important source of
capitalization grant awards to the | 4 | | State to provide assistance to local
government units , | 5 | | local taxing authorities, and privately owned community | 6 | | water supplies through the
Public Water Supply Loan | 7 | | Program;
| 8 | | (e) that violations of State and federal drinking water | 9 | | standards
threaten the public interest, safety, and | 10 | | welfare, which demands that
the Illinois Environmental | 11 | | Protection Agency expeditiously adopt
emergency rules to | 12 | | administer the Public Water Supply Loan Program;
| 13 | | (f) that the General Assembly agrees with the | 14 | | conclusions and
recommendations of the "Report to the | 15 | | Illinois General Assembly on the Issue
of Expanding Public | 16 | | Water Supply Loan Eligibility to Privately Owned Community
| 17 | | Water Supplies", dated August 1998, including the stated | 18 | | access to the Public
Water Supply Loan Program by the | 19 | | privately owned public water supplies so that
the long term | 20 | | integrity and viability of the corpus of the Fund will be
| 21 | | assured;
| 22 | | (g) that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of | 23 | | 2009 provides a source of capitalization grant awards to | 24 | | the State to provide loans and additional subsidization, | 25 | | including, but not limited to, forgiveness of principal, | 26 | | negative interest loans, and grants, to local government |
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| 1 | | units and local taxing authorities through the Water | 2 | | Pollution Control Loan Program and to local government | 3 | | units , local taxing authorities, and privately owned | 4 | | community water supplies through the Public Water Supply | 5 | | Loan Program; | 6 | | (h) that expanding eligibility to include publicly | 7 | | owned municipal storm water projects eligible for | 8 | | financing as treatment works, as defined under Section 212 | 9 | | of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, will provide | 10 | | the Agency with the statutory authority to use moneys in | 11 | | the Water Pollution Control Loan Program to provide | 12 | | financial assistance for eligible projects, including | 13 | | those that encourage green infrastructure, that manage and | 14 | | treat storm water, and that maintain and restore natural | 15 | | hydrology by infiltrating, evapotranspiring, and capturing | 16 | | and using storm water; | 17 | | (i) that in planning projects for which financing will | 18 | | be sought from the Water Pollution Control Loan Program, | 19 | | municipalities may benefit from efforts to consider a | 20 | | project's lifetime costs; the availability of long-term | 21 | | funding for the construction, operation, maintenance, and | 22 | | replacement of the project; the resilience of the project | 23 | | to the effects of climate change; the project's ability to | 24 | | increase water efficiency; the capacity of the project to | 25 | | restore natural hydrology or to preserve or restore | 26 | | landscape features; the cost-effectiveness of the project; |
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| 1 | | and the overall environmental innovativeness of the | 2 | | project; and | 3 | | (j) that projects implementing a management program | 4 | | established under Section 319 of the Federal Water | 5 | | Pollution Control Act may benefit from the creation of a | 6 | | linked deposit program that would make loans available at | 7 | | or below market interest rates through private lenders. | 8 | | (Source: P.A. 98-782, eff. 7-23-14.)
| 9 | | (415 ILCS 5/19.3) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1019.3)
| 10 | | Sec. 19.3. Water Revolving Fund.
| 11 | | (a) There is hereby created within the State Treasury a | 12 | | Water Revolving
Fund, consisting of 3 interest-bearing special | 13 | | programs to be known as the
Water Pollution Control Loan | 14 | | Program, the Public Water Supply Loan Program, and
the Loan | 15 | | Support Program, which shall be used and administered by the | 16 | | Agency.
| 17 | | (b) The Water Pollution Control Loan Program shall be used | 18 | | and administered
by the Agency to provide assistance for the | 19 | | following purposes:
| 20 | | (1) to accept and retain funds from grant awards, | 21 | | appropriations,
transfers, and payments of interest and | 22 | | principal;
| 23 | | (2) to make direct loans at or below market interest | 24 | | rates and to provide additional subsidization, including, | 25 | | but not limited to, forgiveness of principal, negative |
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| 1 | | interest rates, and grants, to any
eligible local | 2 | | government unit or local taxing authority to finance the | 3 | | construction of
treatments works, including storm water | 4 | | treatment systems that are treatment works, and projects | 5 | | that fulfill federal State Revolving Fund grant | 6 | | requirements for a green project reserve;
| 7 | | (2.5) with respect to funds provided under the American | 8 | | Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: | 9 | | (A) to make direct loans at or below market | 10 | | interest rates to any eligible local government unit or | 11 | | local taxing authority and to provide additional | 12 | | subsidization to any eligible local government unit or | 13 | | local taxing authority , including, but not limited to, | 14 | | forgiveness of principal, negative interest rates, and | 15 | | grants; | 16 | | (B) to make direct loans at or below market | 17 | | interest rates to any eligible local government unit or | 18 | | local taxing authority to buy or refinance debt | 19 | | obligations for treatment works incurred on or after | 20 | | October 1, 2008; and | 21 | | (C) to provide additional subsidization, | 22 | | including, but not limited to, forgiveness of | 23 | | principal, negative interest rates, and grants for | 24 | | treatment works incurred on or after October 1, 2008; | 25 | | (3) to make direct loans at or below market interest | 26 | | rates and to provide additional subsidization, including, |
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| 1 | | but not limited to, forgiveness of principal, negative | 2 | | interest rates, and grants, to any
eligible local | 3 | | government unit or local taxing authority to buy or | 4 | | refinance debt obligations for costs
incurred after March | 5 | | 7, 1985, for the construction of treatment works, including | 6 | | storm water treatment systems that are treatment works, and | 7 | | projects that fulfill federal State Revolving Fund grant | 8 | | requirements for a green project reserve;
| 9 | | (3.5) to make loans, including, but not limited to, | 10 | | loans through a linked deposit program, at or below market | 11 | | interest rates for the
implementation of a management | 12 | | program established under Section 319 of the
Federal Water | 13 | | Pollution Control Act, as amended;
| 14 | | (4) to guarantee or purchase insurance for local | 15 | | obligations
where such action would improve credit market | 16 | | access or reduce interest rates;
| 17 | | (5) as a source of revenue or security for the payment | 18 | | of principal and
interest on revenue or general obligation | 19 | | bonds issued by the State or any
political subdivision or | 20 | | instrumentality thereof, if the proceeds of such
bonds will | 21 | | be deposited in the Fund;
| 22 | | (6) to finance the reasonable costs incurred by the | 23 | | Agency in the
administration of the Fund;
| 24 | | (7) to transfer funds to the Public Water Supply Loan | 25 | | Program; and
| 26 | | (8) notwithstanding any other provision of this |
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| 1 | | subsection (b), to provide, in accordance with rules | 2 | | adopted under this Title, any financial assistance that may | 3 | | be provided under Section 603 of the Federal Water | 4 | | Pollution Control Act for any projects eligible for | 5 | | assistance under subsections (c)(1) or (c)(2) of that | 6 | | Section or federal rules adopted under those subsections. | 7 | | (c) The Loan Support Program shall be used and administered | 8 | | by the Agency
for the following purposes:
| 9 | | (1) to accept and retain funds from grant awards and | 10 | | appropriations;
| 11 | | (2) to finance the reasonable costs incurred by the | 12 | | Agency in the
administration of the Fund, including | 13 | | activities under Title III of this
Act, including the | 14 | | administration of the State
construction grant program;
| 15 | | (3) to transfer funds to the Water Pollution Control | 16 | | Loan
Program and the Public Water Supply Loan Program;
| 17 | | (4) to accept and retain a portion of the loan | 18 | | repayments;
| 19 | | (5) to finance the development of the low interest loan
| 20 | | programs for water pollution control and public water | 21 | | supply projects;
| 22 | | (6) to finance the reasonable costs incurred by the | 23 | | Agency to provide
technical assistance for public water | 24 | | supplies; and
| 25 | | (7) to finance the reasonable costs incurred by the | 26 | | Agency for
public water system supervision programs, to |
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| 1 | | administer or provide for
technical assistance through | 2 | | source water protection programs, to develop and
implement | 3 | | a capacity development strategy, to delineate and assess | 4 | | source water
protection areas, and for an operator | 5 | | certification program in accordance with
Section 1452 of | 6 | | the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
| 7 | | (d) The Public Water Supply Loan Program shall be used and | 8 | | administered by
the Agency to provide assistance to local | 9 | | government units , local taxing authority, and privately owned
| 10 | | community water supplies for public water
supplies for the | 11 | | following public purposes:
| 12 | | (1) to accept and retain funds from grant awards, | 13 | | appropriations,
transfers, and payments of interest and | 14 | | principal;
| 15 | | (2) to make direct loans at or below market interest | 16 | | rates and to provide additional subsidization, including, | 17 | | but not limited to, forgiveness of principal, negative | 18 | | interest rates, and grants, to any eligible
local | 19 | | government unit , eligible local taxing authority, or to any | 20 | | eligible privately owned community water supply
to finance | 21 | | the construction of water supplies and projects that | 22 | | fulfill federal State Revolving Fund grant requirements | 23 | | for a green project reserve;
| 24 | | (2.5) with respect to funds provided under the American | 25 | | Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: | 26 | | (A) to make direct loans at or below market |
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| 1 | | interest rates to any eligible local government unit , | 2 | | eligible local taxing authority, or to any eligible | 3 | | privately owned community water supply, and to provide | 4 | | additional subsidization to any eligible local | 5 | | government unit , eligible local taxing authority, or | 6 | | to any eligible privately owned community water | 7 | | supply, including, but not limited to, forgiveness of | 8 | | principal, negative interest rates, and grants; | 9 | | (B) to buy or refinance the debt obligation of a | 10 | | local government unit or local taxing authority for | 11 | | costs incurred on or after October 1, 2008; and
| 12 | | (C) to provide additional subsidization, | 13 | | including, but not limited to, forgiveness of | 14 | | principal, negative interest rates, and grants for a | 15 | | local government unit or local taxing authority for | 16 | | costs incurred on or after October 1, 2008; | 17 | | (3) to make direct loans at or below market interest | 18 | | rates and to provide additional subsidization, including, | 19 | | but not limited to, forgiveness of principal, negative | 20 | | interest rates, and grants, to any eligible local | 21 | | government unit , eligible local taxing authority, or to any | 22 | | eligible privately owned community water supply to buy or | 23 | | refinance debt obligations for
costs incurred on or after | 24 | | July 17, 1997, for the construction of water supplies and | 25 | | projects that fulfill federal State Revolving Fund | 26 | | requirements for a green project reserve;
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| 1 | | (4) to guarantee local obligations where such action | 2 | | would improve credit
market access or reduce interest | 3 | | rates;
| 4 | | (5) as a source of revenue or security for the payment | 5 | | of principal and
interest on revenue or general obligation | 6 | | bonds issued by the State or any
political subdivision or | 7 | | instrumentality thereof, if the proceeds of such
bonds will | 8 | | be deposited into the Fund; and
| 9 | | (6) to transfer funds to the Water Pollution Control | 10 | | Loan Program.
| 11 | | (e) The Agency is designated as the administering agency of | 12 | | the Fund.
The Agency shall submit to the Regional Administrator | 13 | | of the United States
Environmental Protection Agency an | 14 | | intended use plan which outlines the
proposed use of funds | 15 | | available to the State. The Agency shall take all
actions | 16 | | necessary to secure to the State the benefits of the federal
| 17 | | Water Pollution Control Act and the federal Safe Drinking Water | 18 | | Act, as now
or hereafter amended.
| 19 | | (f) The Agency shall have the power to enter into | 20 | | intergovernmental
agreements with the federal government or | 21 | | the State, or any instrumentality
thereof, for purposes of | 22 | | capitalizing the Water Revolving Fund.
Moneys on deposit in the | 23 | | Water Revolving Fund may be used for the
creation of reserve | 24 | | funds or pledged funds that secure the obligations
of repayment | 25 | | of loans made pursuant to this Section. For the purpose
of | 26 | | obtaining capital for deposit into the Water Revolving Fund, |
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| 1 | | the
Agency may also enter into agreements with financial | 2 | | institutions and other
persons for the purpose of selling loans | 3 | | and developing a secondary market
for such loans. The Agency | 4 | | shall have the power to create and establish such
reserve funds | 5 | | and accounts as may be necessary or desirable to accomplish its
| 6 | | purposes under this subsection and to allocate its available | 7 | | moneys into such
funds and accounts. Investment earnings on | 8 | | moneys held in the Water Revolving
Fund, including any reserve | 9 | | fund or pledged fund, shall be deposited into the
Water | 10 | | Revolving Fund.
| 11 | | (Source: P.A. 98-782, eff. 7-23-14.)
| 12 | | (415 ILCS 5/19.4) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1019.4)
| 13 | | Sec. 19.4. Regulations; priorities.
| 14 | | (a) The Agency shall have the authority to promulgate
| 15 | | regulations for the administration of this Title, including, | 16 | | but not limited to, rules setting forth procedures and criteria | 17 | | concerning loan
applications and the issuance of loans. For | 18 | | loans to units of local government and local taxing | 19 | | authorities , the regulations shall
include, but need not be | 20 | | limited to, the following elements:
| 21 | | (1) loan application requirements;
| 22 | | (2) determination of credit worthiness of the loan | 23 | | applicant;
| 24 | | (3) special loan terms, as necessary, for securing the | 25 | | repayment of the
loan;
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| 1 | | (4) assurance of payment;
| 2 | | (5) interest rates;
| 3 | | (6) loan support rates;
| 4 | | (7) impact on user charges;
| 5 | | (8) eligibility of proposed construction;
| 6 | | (9) priority of needs;
| 7 | | (10) special loan terms for disadvantaged communities;
| 8 | | (11) maximum limits on annual distributions of funds to | 9 | | applicants
or groups of applicants;
| 10 | | (12) penalties for noncompliance with loan | 11 | | requirements and conditions,
including stop-work orders, | 12 | | termination, and recovery of loan funds; and
| 13 | | (13) indemnification of the State of Illinois and the | 14 | | Agency by the loan
recipient.
| 15 | | (b) The Agency shall have the authority to promulgate | 16 | | regulations to set
forth procedures and criteria concerning | 17 | | loan applications for loan recipients
other than units of local | 18 | | government. In addition to all of the elements
required for | 19 | | units of local government under subsection (a), the regulations
| 20 | | shall include, but need not be limited to, the following | 21 | | elements:
| 22 | | (1) types of security required for the loan;
| 23 | | (2) types of collateral, as necessary, that can be | 24 | | pledged for the loan;
and
| 25 | | (3) staged access to fund privately owned community | 26 | | water supplies.
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| 1 | | (c) Rules adopted under this Title shall also include, but | 2 | | shall not be limited to, criteria for prioritizing the issuance | 3 | | of loans under this Title according to applicant need.
Priority | 4 | | in making loans from the Public Water Supply Loan Program must | 5 | | first
be given to local government units , local taxing | 6 | | authorities, and privately owned community water supplies
that | 7 | | need to make capital improvements to
protect human health and | 8 | | to achieve compliance with the State and federal
primary | 9 | | drinking water standards adopted pursuant to this Act and the | 10 | | federal
Safe Drinking Water Act, as now and hereafter amended. | 11 | | Rules for prioritizing loans from the Water Pollution Control | 12 | | Loan Program may include, but shall not be limited to, criteria | 13 | | designed to encourage green infrastructure, water efficiency, | 14 | | environmentally innovative projects, and nutrient pollution | 15 | | removal. | 16 | | (d) The Agency shall have the authority to promulgate | 17 | | regulations to set forth procedures and criteria concerning | 18 | | loan applications for funds provided under the American | 19 | | Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In addition, due to time | 20 | | constraints in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of | 21 | | 2009, the Agency shall adopt emergency rules as necessary to | 22 | | allow the timely administration of funds provided under the | 23 | | American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Emergency rules | 24 | | adopted under this subsection (d) shall be adopted in | 25 | | accordance with Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative | 26 | | Procedure Act. |
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| 1 | | (e) The Agency may adopt rules to create a linked deposit | 2 | | loan program through which loans made pursuant to paragraph | 3 | | (3.5) of subsection (b) of Section 19.3 may be made through | 4 | | private lenders. Rules adopted under this subsection (e) shall | 5 | | include, but shall not be limited to, provisions requiring | 6 | | private lenders, prior to disbursing loan proceeds through the | 7 | | linked deposit loan program, to verify that the loan recipients | 8 | | have been approved by the Agency for financing under paragraph | 9 | | (3.5) of subsection (b) of Section 19.3. | 10 | | (Source: P.A. 98-782, eff. 7-23-14.)
| 11 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 12 | | becoming law.
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