ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
greater Arizona
development authority; assistance
(NOW: assistance;
greater Arizona development authority)
Purpose
Allows the Greater Arizona Development Authority (GADA) to provide short-term financial assistance to political subdivisions, special districts and Indian tribes and modifies operating procedures within GADA.
Established in 1997, GADA provides cost-effective access for capital to assist local communities, special districts and tribal governments with the development and financing of public infrastructure projects. Housed in the Arizona Department of Commerce (DOC), GADA is a $20 million bonding authority designed to reduce local governments’ cost of borrowing by reducing transaction costs, by providing technical expertise and by “pooling” or otherwise enhancing the credit or financial capacity of individual projects. Both technical and financial assistance is available through GADA.
Currently, statute requires GADA to review applications for technical or financial support on an annual or semiannual basis. A problem has arisen where eligible applicants requesting short-term assistance from GADA in connection with the financing of infrastructure must suspend plans for development while waiting for the application for assistance to be reviewed. H.B. 2362 removes the statutory requirement that applications be reviewed on an annual or semiannual basis and allows GADA to provide short-term financial assistance upon the approval of a financial assistance application.
Statute also stipulates that the approval of financial assistance through GADA to a political subdivision must be conditioned upon the approval of its voters. H.B. 2362 modifies the voter approval requirement, so that it only applies to cities and towns with a population of more that 50,000 persons or counties with a population between 200,000 and one million persons.
According to DOC, there is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state general fund associated with this measure.
Provisions
1. Allows GADA to provide short-term assistance to political subdivisions, special districts, Indian tribes and tribal subdivisions through staff or other professional assistance.
2. Removes the requirement that the review of applications by GADA for technical and financial assistance be on an annual or semiannual basis.
3. Allows applications for short-term assistance to be solicited at times determined by GADA.
4. Expands the types of technical assistance provided by GADA to include short-term assistance.
5. Equates short-term assistance to an advance of financial assistance. Prohibits GADA from providing short-term assistance unless a political subdivision, special district or Indian tribe has an approved financial assistance application on file with GADA.
6. Requires a political subdivision, special district or Indian tribe to repay short-term assistance pursuant to a technical assistance repayment agreement.
7. Modifies the voter approval process for financial assistance through GADA, so that it only applies to cities and towns with a population of more that 50,000 persons or counties with a population between 200,000 and one million persons. (Currently, the voter approval process for financial assistance applies to political subdivisions.)
8. Stipulates that a county election is not required if voter approval has previously been received for a substantially similar project with a different financing source.
9. Defines “short-term assistance.”
10. Makes technical and conforming changes.
11. Provides for a general effective date.
3rd Read 4/08/02 50-0-10-0
Prepared by Senate Staff
April 15, 2002