reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1109 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 21 - Economic Development Authority|§ 1109. Moneys and accounts of Authority

 (a)  (1) All moneys of the Authority shall be deposited in qualified depositories for funds of the Government of the Virgin Islands, but they shall be kept in separate accounts in the name of the Authority. The disbursements shall be made by it pursuant to regulations and budgets approved by the Board. (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) the Authority may contract with the Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority pursuant to 29 V.I.C., section 919 THIRD (E), to manage its investments for a period not exceeding four years. (b) The Authority shall account to the Government of the Virgin Islands in accordance with applicable law for all funds, which the Government may furnish to the Authority, by loan or grant. The Authority shall also account to any Federal agency, if and in the manner required, for any funds that it may have received from any such agency. (c) The Authority shall establish an accounting system for the proper statistical control and record of all expenses and income belonging to or managed or controlled by the Authority. Subject to agreements with bondholders, said system shall, insofar as advisable, segregate the accounts for different classes of operations, facilities, and activities of the Authority; provided, that from time to time the Authority shall have its accounts and books, including its receipts, disbursements, contracts, leases, sinking funds, investments and any other matters which relate to its financial condition examined by an independent accountant who shall report thereon to the Board of the Authority and to the Governor and Legislature.
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1110 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 21 - Economic Development Authority|§ 1110. Financial assistance; guarantees and purchases of bonds of Authority; loans and grants

 (a) For the purpose of assisting the Authority with its financing, the Government of the Virgin Islands, to the extent permitted by the Revised Organic Act of 1954, as amended, or any other applicable Federal law, may — (1) guarantee payment of the bonds of the Authority, both as to principal and interest; (2) employ its funds in the purchase of the bonds of the Authority, notwithstanding any provision of any law to the contrary. (b) For the purpose of raising funds to be granted or loaned to the Authority to construct, improve, extend, better, repair, reconstruct, acquire and equip any capital project or other authorized function of the Authority, the Government of the Virgin Islands may— (1) borrow money, make and issue bonds or other evidence of indebtedness, and secure such bonds or other obligations by pledge of the Government's credit and taxing power, as provided for in section 8 of the Revised Organic Act of 1954 as amended; and (2) make or issue bonds for the purpose of funding, refunding, purchasing, paying, or discharging any of the outstanding bonds or obligations issued, granted or assumed by it in pursuance of this section.
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1111 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 21 - Economic Development Authority|§ 1111. Injunctions

 An injunction shall not be granted to prevent the application of this chapter or any part thereof.
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1112 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 21 - Economic Development Authority|§ 1112. Lack of jurisdiction of other agencies

 No officer, board, commission, department or other agency or political subdivision of the Virgin Islands shall have jurisdiction over the Authority in the management and control of its properties and facilities, or any power over the regulation of rates, fees, rentals and other charges to be fixed, revised and collected by the Authority, or any power to require any certificate of convenience or necessity, license, consent, or other authorization in order that the Authority may acquire, lease, own, operate, construct, maintain, improve, extend or enlarge any facility.
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1113 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 21 - Economic Development Authority|§ 1113. Applicability of other laws

 Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as exempting the Authority from any law made specifically applicable thereto or generally applicable to independent instrumentalities of the Government of the Virgin Islands, whether such law was enacted before, on or after the creation of the Authority or any of its subsidiaries.
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1114 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 21 - Economic Development Authority|§ 1114. Separability of provisions

 If any provisions of this chapter or the application of such provisions to any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the remainder of the chapter and the application of such provisions to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it shall have been held invalid shall not be affected thereby.
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1115 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 21 - Economic Development Authority|§ 1115. Establishment of committees and subcommittees

 (a) The Board of Directors of the Authority shall administer the business of its subsidiary entities, the Economic Development Commission (EDC), Government Development Bank (GDB), Small Business Development Agency (SBDA), Industrial Development Park Corporation (IDPC) and the Enterprise Zone Commission (EZ). Each subsidiary may act with authority to determine matters concerning personnel, hiring, discipline and discharge and such other administrative matters as may be expressly set forth by the Board; and any matter regarding the policy or the granting, denial, suspension, revocation or alteration of benefits, loans, financing or other substantive functions. (b) The Board may establish such other committees and subcommittees as it determines necessary or convenient for the performance of its duties and functions. (c) All contracts entered into by the GDB, SBDA, EDC, or IPDC are hereby transferred to the Economic Development Authority and shall be enforceable by or against the Authority to the same extent it could have been enforced by or against the predecessor in interest. (d) Deleted.
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1116 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 21 - Economic Development Authority|§ 1116. Economic Development Fund

 (a) There is established in the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands a fund to be known as the “Economic Development Fund” (hereinafter the “Fund”). The Governing Board of the Authority shall provide for the administration of the Fund, and no amounts therein shall be available for expenditures except as provided under this section. (b) The fund shall consist of the following: (1) Notwithstanding any other law, all funds currently existing in the Insurance Guaranty Fund as established under title 33, section 3061 of this Code as of the enactment date of this Act up to $30,000,000 which amount shall be substituted in the Insurance Guaranty Fund with a financial instrument of equivalent value including a standby letter of credit, surety bond, re-insurance certificate or any other such instrument as deemed appropriate by the Governor; (2) Any amounts transferred as a result of the authorization that is hereby given for the Governor to seek federal approval of a one-time transfer of up to $10,000,000 from the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, as established under title 24, section 310, of this Code; (3) Low-interest loans of up to $50,000,000 attained through the authorization that is hereby given to the governing board to secure from the United States Department of Commerce and the United States Department of Agriculture; (4) The proceeds from the refinancing and refunding of the 1999 series A revenue bonds in the amount of $300,000,000 for working capital or advance interest rate swap as contemplated through the authorization that is hereby granted to the Governor; (5) As much as permitted by law, Community Development Block Grant funds; (6) Any money appropriated thereto, from time to time, by the Legislature; and (7) gifts and contributions. (c) Money in the Fund shall be leveraged and utilized for the following purposes: promoting the economic development of the Virgin Islands as provided for and is within the authority of the Economic Development Authority as provided under this Code. The Authority shall also provide a guarantee for project financing of not more than $10,000,000 to establish an airline hub on St. Croix. For the purposes of this section leveraging shall mean increasing the value of the principal amount to finance debt. (d) The maximum amount of the debt to be guaranteed shall not exceed $600,000,000. (e) The Fund should be rated by a nationally recognized rating entity such as; Moody's, Standard and Poor's or Fitch. (f) The Authority shall make available to the Legislature and the Governor at least twice a year, a detailed description of the expenditures and money available in the Fund.
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1117 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 21 - Economic Development Authority|§ 1117. Economic Hardship Package

 (a) There is established under the control of the Economic Development Authority the “Economic Hardship Package” to provide low interest loans to small businesses to help secure their financial viability. (b) Loans shall be provided at a 3% interest rate to qualifying businesses. (c) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary or the provisions of §  1116, funds shall be made available to finance these loans from the Economic Development Fund. (d) The Authority shall promulgate rules and regulations to establish qualification guidelines and any other rules and regulations it deems necessary for the implementation of this measure within six months of enactment of this Act.
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1202 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 22 - Tax Incremental Financing|§ 1202. Parameters of TIF Program

 (a) The TIF Program: (1) may use tax incremental financing for the financing of capital improvements in areas where a finding has been made by the Authority, and approved by the Legislature where the need for tax increment financing has been documented to be significant in enhancing the economic viability of the project, but may not be used to supplant existing private investment or government funds for such projects. (2) must, to the extent practicable, work in conjunction with existing programs and efforts such as Virgin Islands Enterprise Zone Act, historic preservation and other economic development efforts; (3) must address the need for residential and neighborhood treatment, capital improvements to neighborhood public schools, as well as commercial and industrial development; (4) must, to the maximum extent feasible, allow full, public knowledge and participation in the decision making under this chapter; (5) must promote conservation, preservation, environmental protection and rehabilitation while demolition, clearance and relocation must be minimized where possible; and (6) must develop and apply clear standards, criteria and threshold limits that are applicable to all similar property and areas. (b) TIF may not be used in violation of the standards established in subsection (a).
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1203a (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 22 - Tax Incremental Financing|§ 1203a. Powers of the PFA

 The PFA have the following powers with respect to tax increment financing: (i) To make contracts, incur liabilities, borrow money at such rates of interest, maturities and on such other terms and conditions as the PFA, in consultation with the Authority, may determine, issue its notes, bonds and other obligations, as authorized by Section 922, title 29, chapter 15 of the Virgin Islands Code and secure any such obligations by mortgage, deed, of trust, security agreement or other pledge of all or any of its real or personal property or any interest therein, whether then owned or thereafter acquired, and to pledge the revenues and receipts from all or any of such real or personal property and to assign or pledge the income received by virtue of the lease or leases and, subject to the provisions of any contract with noteholders, bondholders, or guarantors, to consent to the modification, with respect to rate of interest, time of payment of any installment of principal or interest secured or any other term, of any mortgage, mortgage loan, mortgage loan commitment, contract, or agreement of any kind to which the PFA is a party; (ii) In connection with any property on which it has made a mortgage loan or otherwise holds a lien or security interest, to foreclose on any such property or commence any action or protect or enforce any right conferred upon it by any law, mortgage, security agreement or other agreement and to bid for and purchase such property at any foreclosure or at any other sale or otherwise acquire or take possession of any such property; and in such event the PFA, may complete, administer, pay the principal of and interest on any obligations incurred in connection with such property, dispose of and otherwise deal with such property in such manner as may be necessary or desirable to protect the interest of the PFA therein; (iii) To make available to the federal government, the Government of the Virgin Islands, or any appropriate department, agency or instrumentality, the recommendations of the PFA affecting any TIF area or property therein, which it may deem likely to promote the public health, morals, safety, or welfare; and (iv) To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of this chapter and exercise the powers given and granted in this chapter.
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1205 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 22 - Tax Incremental Financing|§ 1205. Public hearing

 (a) Following the submission to the Authority of an application for tax increment financing under section 1204(a), the Authority shall call a public hearing concerning the suitability of the proposed project for TIF area. The hearing must be held within the District in which the project is proposed to be located. (b) The Authority shall publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the District in which the project is to be located at least 14 days before the day on which the hearing is to be held. (c) The notice must describe the time, date, place and purpose of the hearing, must generally identify the area covered by the plan, and must outline the general scope of the proposed project. (d) If at the hearing the Authority certifies the project, the Authority shall adopt a resolution setting forth its decision, and transmit a copy of the resolution to the Governor and the Legislature. (e) A certificate setting forth the findings by the Authority and designating an area a TIF area, including the metes and bounds of the area within which the project is to be located, must be signed by the Chairperson of the Authority and filed in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds for the district in which the property is located and there remain of record.
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1209 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 22 - Tax Incremental Financing|§ 1209. TIF bond authorization

 (a) The real property tax increment revenues and the gross receipts tax increment revenues that are declared to be dedicated pursuant to this chapter to the payment of debt service on TIF bonds, the provision and maintenance of reserves, and the payment of development costs constitute increment revenues as defined in section 1202 of this chapter. (b) The PFA may issue TIF bonds to finance development costs of eligible projects approved pursuant to this chapter. TIF bonds may be issued to refund other TIF bonds issued pursuant to this chapter. TIF bonds may not be issued in an amount exceeding the total costs of implementing the tax increment financing plan for which they were issued. (c) The PFA may execute such financing documents as may be necessary or appropriate for the issuance, security, and administration of TIF bonds, investment of proceeds and moneys in the accounts provided for in, or pursuant to this chapter, and the application of the proceeds of the TIF bonds and the moneys and investments in such accounts, and for the purposes set forth in Section 1204 of this chapter, including financing documents with development sponsors. (d) To secure the full timely payment of Hotel Development Notes issued under this chapter in accordance with their respective terms, all such Hotel Development Notes must be secured by a statutory lien on all Designated Hotel Room Tax and Designated Casino Taxes on Gross Revenue that have been pledged as security therefor. The lien rises solely by force of this chapter specifically upon the issuance of any Hotel Development Notes issued after the effective date of this subsection and automatically attaches without further action or authorization by the Government, the Note Issuer or the PFA. The Lien is valid and binding from the time the Designated Hotel Room Occupancy Tax and Designated Casino Taxes on Gross Revenue are received by or for the account of the Government, and the lien immediately attaches to such Designated Hotel Occupancy Tax and Designated Casino Taxes and are effective, binding, and enforceable against the Government or the PFA, as applicable, their respective successors, transferees, or creditors, and all others asserting rights therein, irrespective of whether those parties have notice of the lien and without the need for any physical delivery, recordation, filing, or further act. (e) The Government shall covenant and agree for the benefit of the holders of the Hotel Development Notes outstanding from time to time that for so long as any Hotel Development Notes remain unpaid, the Government shall defend, preserve and protect such statutory lien against all claims and demands of third parties, and not revoke, terminate or amend such statutory lien in any way that materially adversely affects the rights of any holder of Hotel Development Notes.
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1210 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 22 - Tax Incremental Financing|§ 1210. Approval by the Legislature of the Virgin Islands

 (a) Upon completion of negotiations with the development sponsor and holding of the required public hearing, the Authority shall submit the certified tax increment development plan to the Legislature of the Virgin Islands for its approval. The submission must include a description of the project, a listing of the public benefits to be derived from the project, the portion of real property tax increment or gross receipts tax increment to be allocated to the project, a summary of the terms of the TIF bonds to be issued with respect to the project and a copy of the TIF development plan. (b) No TIF area or TIF project may be established or financed under this chapter unless the Legislature enacts legislation establishing the metes and bounds of the TIF area, approving the TIF project and establishing the maximum principal amount of the TIF bonds, the maximum interest rate, the date of maturity of the bonds, maximum duration of the TIF area and the scope of the development.
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1212 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 22 - Tax Incremental Financing|§ 1212. Default

 If there is a default in the payment of the principal of or interest on any TIF bonds of a series after the principal or interest becomes due and payable, whether at maturity or upon call for redemption, or if the PFA or the Government of the Virgin Islands fails or refuses to carry out and perform the terms of any agreement with the holders of any of the TIF bonds; then the holders of the TIF bonds, or the trustee appointed to act on behalf of the holders, may, subject to the provisions of the financing documents, do the following: (a) By action, writ, or other proceeding enforce all rights of the holders of the TIF bonds, including the right to require the PFA to carry out and perform the terms of any agreement with the holders of the TIF bonds or its duties under this chapter; (b) By action, petition to enjoin any acts or things that may be unlawful or in violation of the rights of the holders of the TIF bonds; and (c) Declare all TIF bonds due and payable, whether or not in advance of maturity and, if all the defaults be made good, annul the declaration and its consequences.
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1213 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 22 - Tax Incremental Financing|§ 1213. Limitation of liability

 (a) Neither the Directors of PFA nor any persons executing TIF bonds issued pursuant to this chapter are liable personally on the TIF bonds by reason of the issuance of the TIF bonds. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, TIF bonds issued pursuant to this chapter are not general obligations of PFA or the Government of the Virgin Islands and are not in any way a debt or liability of the Government of the Virgin Islands within the meaning of any debt or other limit prescribed by law. Neither the full faith and credit nor the taxing power of the Government of the Virgin Islands, other than increment revenues, may be pledged to secure the payment of any TIF bonds issued pursuant to this chapter.
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1301 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 23 - Hotel Development Program|§ 1301. Short title

 This chapter may be cited as the Hotel Development Act.
V.I. Code tit. 29, § 1302 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 29 - Public Planning and Development|Chapter 23 - Hotel Development Program|§ 1302. Legislative findings

 The Legislature finds and declares that: (a) The tourist, hotel and resort industry constitutes a major element of the Territorial economic structure; (b) Additional hotel accommodations and tourist facilities and services are essential to the further development of the Territory's tourism industry; (c) Additional hotel accommodations and tourist facilities have a direct impact on the local economy through construction, wages, and other benefits and will grow the economy of the Virgin Islands; (d) The provision of such additional accommodations and facilities, particularly on the island of St. Croix, is declared for the purpose of assisting in the economic growth, restoration, and revitalization of certain underdeveloped areas; (e) In order to promote the tourism industry of the Virgin Islands, it is essential to provide, for the planning, financing, acquisition, construction, improvement, maintenance and operation of new hotels in the Territory; (f) The development of additional hotel accommodations and facilities is calculated to result in a significant contribution to the general public welfare and prosperity of the Virgin Islands; and (g) Using future gains in taxes to assist in the development of areas which would not otherwise happen solely through private investment in the reasonably foreseeable future has been proven to have a positive economic impact in their areas of operation.