20 ILCS 3501/830-45

(20 ILCS 3501/830-45)

Sec. 830-45. Young Farmer Loan Guarantee Program.

(a) The Authority is authorized to issue State Guarantees to lenders for loans to finance or refinance debts of young farmers. For the purposes of this Section, a young farmer is a resident of Illinois who is at least 18 years of age and who is a principal operator of a farm or land, who derives at least 50% of annual gross income from farming, whose net worth is not less than $10,000 and whose debt to asset ratio is not less than 40%. For the purposes of this Section, debt to asset ratio means current outstanding liabilities, including any debt to be financed or refinanced under this Section 830-45, divided by current outstanding assets. The Authority shall establish the maximum permissible debt to asset ratio based on criteria established by the Authority. Lenders shall apply for the State Guarantees on forms provided by the Authority and certify that the application and any other documents submitted are true and correct. The lender or borrower, or both in combination, shall pay an administrative fee as determined by the Authority. The applicant shall be responsible for paying any fee or charge involved in recording mortgages, releases, financing statements, insurance for secondary market issues, and any other similar fee or charge that the Authority may require. The application shall at a minimum contain the young farmer's name, address, present credit and financial information, including cash flow statements, financial statements, balance sheets, and any other information pertinent to the application, and the collateral to be used to secure the State Guarantee. In addition, the borrower must certify to the Authority that, at the time the State Guarantee is provided, the borrower will not be delinquent in the repayment of any debt. The lender must agree to charge a fixed or adjustable interest rate that the Authority determines to be below the market rate of interest generally available to the borrower. If both the lender and applicant agree, the interest rate on the State guaranteed loan can be converted to a fixed interest rate at any time during the term of the loan. State Guarantees provided under this Section (i) shall not exceed $500,000 per young farmer, (ii) shall be set up on a payment schedule not to exceed 30 years, but shall be no longer than 15 years in duration, and (iii) shall be subject to an annual review and renewal by the lender and the Authority. A young farmer may use this program more than once provided the aggregate principal amount of State Guarantees under this Section to that young farmer does not exceed $500,000. No State Guarantee shall be revoked by the Authority without a 90-day notice, in writing, to all parties.

(b) The Authority shall provide or renew a State Guarantee to a lender if:

(i) The lender pays a fee equal to 25 basis points on the loan to the Authority on an annual basis.

(ii) The application provides collateral acceptable to the Authority that is at least equal to the State Guarantee.

(iii) The lender assumes all responsibility and costs for pursuing legal action on collecting any loan that is delinquent or in default.

(iv) The lender is at risk for the first 15% of the outstanding principal of the note for which the State Guarantee is provided.

(c) The Illinois Agricultural Loan Guarantee Fund, the Illinois Farmer and Agribusiness Loan Guarantee Fund, and the Industrial Project Insurance Fund may be used to secure State Guarantees issued under this Section as provided in Section 830-30, Section 830-35, and subsection (j) of Section 805-20, respectively. All payments by the Authority to satisfy claims against the State Guarantee shall be made, in whole or in part, from any of the following funds in such order and in such amounts as the Authority shall determine: (1) the Industrial Project Insurance Fund (if the Authority exercises its discretion under subsection (j) of Section 805-20); (2) the Illinois Agricultural Loan Guarantee Fund; or (3) the Illinois Farmer and Agribusiness Loan Guarantee Fund.

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 830-45 with respect to the young farmers and lenders who may obtain State Guarantees, the Authority may promulgate rules establishing the eligibility of young farmers and lenders to participate in the State Guarantee program and the terms, standards, and procedures that will apply, when the Authority finds that emergency conditions in Illinois agriculture have created the need for State Guarantees pursuant to terms, standards, and procedures other than those specified in this Section.

(Source: P.A. 99-509, eff. 6-24-16.)