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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 161A.80 BLUFFLANDS PROTECTION
1 2 PROGRAM – REVOLVING FUND.
1 3 1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise
1 4 requires:
1 5 a. "Bluffland" means a cliff, headland, or hill with a
1 6 broad steep face along the channel or floodplain of a river
1 7 and its tributaries.
1 8 b. "Conservation organization" means a nonprofit
1 9 corporation incorporated in Iowa or an entity organized and
1 10 operated primarily to enhance and protect natural resources in
1 11 this state.
1 12 2. A blufflands protection revolving fund is created in
1 13 the state treasury. The proceeds of the revolving fund are
1 14 appropriated to make loans to conservation organizations which
1 15 agree to purchase conservation easements on blufflands in this
1 16 state or to purchase blufflands in this state for resale with
1 17 restrictive covenants attached to the property. The
1 18 administrative director of the division of soil conservation
1 19 shall administer the revolving fund. Notwithstanding section
1 20 12C.7, interest or earnings on investments made pursuant to
1 21 this section or as provided in section 12B.10 shall be
1 22 credited to the blufflands protection revolving fund.
1 23 Notwithstanding section 8.33, unobligated or unencumbered
1 24 funds credited to the blufflands protection revolving fund
1 25 shall not revert at the close of a fiscal year. However, the
1 26 maximum balance in the blufflands protection fund shall not
1 27 exceed two million five hundred thousand dollars. Any funds
1 28 in excess of two million five hundred thousand dollars shall
1 29 be credited to the general fund of the state.
1 30 3. The administrative director of the division shall
1 31 establish a blufflands protection program to demonstrate
1 32 creative land protection techniques and encourage private
1 33 landowners to protect the natural beauty of the blufflands in
1 34 this state. The commissioners of each soil and water
1 35 conservation district which includes blufflands shall
2 1 cooperate with and assist the director in administering the
2 2 blufflands protection program within their respective
2 3 districts. The director shall provide, by rule, for a uniform
2 4 application form, the content of the form, provisions for a
2 5 loan agreement model conservation easement and restrictive
2 6 covenant requirements for blufflands, and minimum
2 7 qualifications of conservation organizations which are
2 8 eligible to participate in the blufflands protection program.
2 9 The administrative director shall specify the eligible
2 10 purposes for which a loan authorized under this section can be
2 11 expended including, but not limited to, the purchase of
2 12 blufflands, the acquisition of conservation easements on
2 13 blufflands, the establishment of landowner associations,
2 14 payment for loss of land value due to restrictive covenants,
2 15 and payment for legal costs. The payment of administrative
2 16 costs is not an eligible purpose.
2 17 4. An applicant for a loan from the blufflands protection
2 18 revolving fund shall apply to the soil and water conservation
2 19 district of the county in which the bluffland is located. The
2 20 application shall be on forms prepared by the division and
2 21 shall include the information required by rule of the
2 22 division. Each conservation organization which applies for a
2 23 loan under this section shall demonstrate its financial
2 24 capability to qualify for a loan to the commissioners and its
2 25 commitment to natural resource protection and appropriate
2 26 development. The application shall be reviewed and
2 27 feasibility of the proposed project shall be investigated by
2 28 the commissioners of the district and its report and
2 29 recommendation shall be sent to the administrative director
2 30 and the committee for approval.
2 31 5. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, each
2 32 loan made under this section shall be for a period not to
2 33 exceed five years, shall bear no interest for the first year,
2 34 and shall be repayable to the blufflands protection revolving
2 35 fund. After the first year and for each subsequent year that
3 1 the principal remains unpaid, interest shall be charged
3 2 against any unpaid balance of the loan. The interest rate
3 3 shall be set at the prevailing market rate for similar real
3 4 estate in the county as determined by the director. All
3 5 interest payments shall be credited to the blufflands
3 6 protection revolving fund. Each loan shall be repaid as
3 7 provided in the loan agreement. However, interest on the
3 8 principal of a loan shall be due and payable thirty days after
3 9 the conclusion of the second year and each subsequent year
3 10 that the principal or a part of the principal remains unpaid.
3 11 A loan may be extended annually beyond the original five years
3 12 with the approval of the district commissioners and the
3 13 administrative director.
3 14 6. The administrative director may:
3 15 a. Contract, sue and be sued, and adopt administrative
3 16 rules pursuant to chapter 17A and approved by the committee,
3 17 necessary to carry out this section, but the administrative
3 18 director, the committee, or the district commissioners shall
3 19 not directly or indirectly pledge the credit of the state of
3 20 Iowa.
3 21 b. Authorize payment from the blufflands protection
3 22 revolving fund from moneys received under section 99F.11,
3 23 subsection 4, and from any income received by investments of
3 24 any money in the fund for costs, commissions, attorney fees,
3 25 and other reasonable expenses related to and necessary for the
3 26 making and protecting of direct loans under this section, and
3 27 for recovery of moneys loaned or the management of property
3 28 acquired in connection with the loans.
3 29 7. This section is repealed on July 1, 2017.
3 30 Sec. 2. Section 99F.11, subsection 4, Code 1997, is
3 31 amended to read as follows:
3 32 4. The remaining amount of the adjusted gross receipts tax
3 33 shall be credited to the general fund of the state. However,
3 34 of the remaining amount of adjusted gross receipts tax
3 35 available under this subsection, and notwithstanding
4 1 provisions to the contrary in section 8.57, for the fiscal
4 2 period beginning July 1, 1997, and ending June 30, 2017, the
4 3 first one million dollars collected each fiscal year shall be
4 4 credited to the blufflands protection revolving fund.
4 5 Sec. 3. OUTSTANDING BLUFFLANDS PROTECTION LOANS. The
4 6 principal and interest from any blufflands protection loans
4 7 outstanding on July 1, 2017, and payable to the blufflands
4 8 protection revolving fund, shall be paid to the administrative
4 9 director of the division of soil conservation on or after July
4 10 1, 2017, pursuant to the terms of the loan agreement and shall
4 11 be credited to the general fund of the state.
4 12 EXPLANATION
4 13 This bill creates a blufflands protection revolving fund in
4 14 the state treasury to be used to make loans to nonprofit
4 15 conservation organizations which are interested in preserving
4 16 blufflands in this state. The administrative director of the
4 17 division of soil conservation of the department of agriculture
4 18 and land stewardship is directed to establish a blufflands
4 19 protection program to be administered by the director and the
4 20 commissioners of the soil and water conservation districts.
4 21 The program will offer loans to conservation organizations
4 22 which wish to purchase blufflands for the purpose of
4 23 development and resale with appropriate restrictive convenants
4 24 or the purchase of conservation easements.
4 25 The loans are without interest for the first year and at
4 26 the prevailing interest rate for similar real estate for each
4 27 year thereafter. The loans are to be repaid in five years,
4 28 but annual extensions are authorized. Repayment plans are
4 29 subject to contractual agreements, but annual interest
4 30 payments are required at a minimum after the second year of a
4 31 loan. All principal and interest payments or earnings are to
4 32 be credited to the revolving fund.
4 33 The loan program is funded by crediting $1 million each
4 34 year from the remaining amount of the adjusted gross receipts
4 35 tax from excursion boat gambling operations which would
5 1 otherwise be credited to the state general fund or the
5 2 infrastructure fund. The maximum balance in the blufflands
5 3 protection revolving fund is set at $2.5 million.
5 4 The blufflands protection program is repealed as of July 1,
5 5 2017.
5 6 LSB 1164SV 77
5 7 tj/sc/14
Text: SF00487 Text: SF00489 Text: SF00400 - SF00499 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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