44526
. The authority is authorized to do any of the following:
(a) To determine the location and character of any project to be
financed under the provisions of this division, to lend financial
assistance to any participating party, to construct, reconstruct,
renovate, replace, lease, as lessor or lessee, and regulate the same,
and to enter into contracts for the sale of any pollution control
facilities, including installment sales or sales under conditional
sales contracts, and to make loans to participating parties to lend
financial assistance in the acquisition, construction, or
installation of a project.
(b) To issue bonds, notes, bond anticipation notes, and other
obligations of the authority for any of its corporate purposes, and
to fund or refund the same, all as provided in this division.
(c) To fix fees and charges for pollution control facilities, or
for the loan of moneys to finance pollution control facilities, and
to revise from time to time those fees and charges, and to collect
rates, rents, fees, loan repayments, and charges for the use of and
for any facilities or services furnished, or to be furnished, by a
project or any part thereof and to contract with any person,
partnership, association, corporation, or public agency with respect
thereto, and to fix the terms and conditions upon which any pollution
control facilities may be sold or disposed of, whether upon
installment sales contracts or otherwise.
(d) To employ and fix the compensation of bond counsel, financial
consultants, and advisers as may be necessary in its judgment in
connection with the issuance and sale of any bonds, notes, bond
anticipation notes, or other obligations of the authority; to
contract for engineering, architectural, accounting, or other
services of appropriate agencies as may be necessary in the judgment
of the authority for the successful development of any project; and
to pay the reasonable costs of consulting engineers, architects,
accountants, and construction experts employed by any participating
party if, in the judgment of the authority, those services are
necessary to the successful development of any project, and those
services are not obtainable from any public agency.
(e) To receive and accept loans, contributions, or grants, of
money, property, labor, or other things of value, for, or in aid of,
the authority in carrying out the purposes of this division, from any
source, including, but not limited to, the federal government, the
state, or any agency of the state, any local government or agency
thereof, or any nonprofit or for-profit private entity or individual.
(f) To apply for, and accept, subventions, grants, loans,
advances, and contributions from any source, of money, property,
labor, or other things of value. The sources may include, but are not
limited to, bond proceeds, dedicated taxes, state appropriations,
federal appropriations, federal grant and loan funds, public and
private sector retirement system funds, and proceeds of loans from
the Pooled Money Investment Account.
(g) To provide grants and loans to any city or county deemed
eligible by the authority. The grants and loans shall be used to
assist California neighborhoods suffering from high poverty or
unemployment levels, or from low-income levels, to assist cities and
counties in developing and implementing growth policies and programs
that reduce pollution hazards and the degradation of the environment,
or to promote infill development to revitalize these communities.
The grants and loans may be used to employ the technical expertise
necessary to identify, assess, and complete applications for state,
federal, and private economic assistance programs that develop and
implement sustainable development and sound environmental policies
and programs. Priority shall be given to applicants lacking the
resources to identify, assess, and complete applications to economic
assistance, and for those lacking the resources to develop and
implement sustainable growth and other sound environmental policies
and programs. The authority shall fund these grants and loans from
any funds available to the authority or set aside for the authority's
administrative expenses. The authority may not award more than seven
million five hundred thousand dollars ($7,500,000) in grants and
loans pursuant to this subdivision. This subdivision shall remain
operative only until January 1, 2012.
(h) (1) To provide a loan directly, or indirectly through one or
more public or private sector intermediaries, to any city, county,
school district, redevelopment agency, financial institution, as
defined in subdivision (d) of Section 44559.1, for-profit or
not-for-profit organization, or participating party, as defined in
Section 44506, to assist in financing, among other things, the costs
of performing or obtaining brownfield site assessments, remedial
action plans and reports, technical assistance, the cleanup,
remediation, or development of brownfield sites, or any other similar
or related costs, subject to all applicable federal, state, and
local laws, procedures, and regulations.
(2) The authority shall establish standards and criteria to ensure
that a recipient of direct or indirect financing for cleanup or
remediation pursuant to this subdivision has the necessary financial
resources and expertise to successfully and appropriately complete
the cleanup or remediation of the property.
(3) The authority may pay all, or a portion, of the associated
program development and implementation costs of any public or private
sector intermediaries through which a loan is made. A loan
authorized by this subdivision is subject to both of the following:
(A) A loan may be used in connection with a brownfield site prior
to a determination of whether the site has a reasonable potential for
economically beneficial reuse.
(B) A loan may be made upon the terms determined by the authority
and may provide for any rate of interest or no interest.
(4) The authority shall fund a loan made pursuant to this
subdivision from any funds available to it, from any funds set aside
for the authority's administrative expenses, or from any small
business assistance fund established for these purposes pursuant to
Section 44548.
(5) The authority may waive repayment of all, or a portion, of any
loan made pursuant to this subdivision upon conditions to be
determined by the authority, and the amount so waived shall be deemed
a grant to the recipient.
(i) To do all things generally necessary or convenient to carry
out the purposes of this division.