Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 15 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (§§ 15-1-101 — 15-76-324) › Subtitle 1 - DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC AND NATURAL RESOURCES GENERALLY (§§ 15-1-101 — 15-14-108) › Chapter 5 - ARKANSAS DEVELOPMENT FINANCE AUTHORITY (§§ 15-5-101 — 15-5-1908) › Subchapter 1 - ARKANSAS DEVELOPMENT FINANCE AUTHORITY ACT - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 15-5-101 — 15-5-106) › Section 15-5-103 - Definitions

As used in this subchapter, §§
15-5-201
-
15-5-211
,
15-5-213
,
15-5-301
-
15-5-316
, the Arkansas Development Finance Authority Bond Guaranty Act of 1985, §
15-5-401
et seq., and the Arkansas Development Finance Authority Small Business Act of 1989, §
15-5-701
et seq.:
(1)
"Aggregate security value of the contract" means the amount determined by the party identified in and in the manner identified in an interest rate exchange agreement or similar agreement or contract that a proposed assignee would pay in United States currency to the Arkansas Development Finance Authority to assume the obligations of the authority under the interest rate exchange agreement or similar agreement or contract;
(2)
"Agricultural business enterprises" means facilities and operations supporting farms, ranches, and other agricultural or silvicultural commodity producers, such as aquaculture, fish hatchery operations and fish farms, and related businesses and industries, including, but not limited to, grain elevators, shipping heads, livestock pens, warehouses and other storage facilities, related transportation facilities, drainage facilities, and any related facilities and operations thereto;
(3)
"Authority" means the Arkansas Development Finance Authority created by §
15-5-201
;
(4)
"Board of directors" means the Board of Directors of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority created in §
15-5-202
;
(5)
"Bonds" means any bonds, notes, debentures, interim certificates, grant and revenue anticipation notes, commercial paper or other notes with maturities of one (1) year or less, interest in a lease, and lease certificates of participation or other evidences of indebtedness, whether or not the interest on them is subject to federal income taxation, issued by the authority;
(6)
"Capital improvements" means, whether obtained by purchase, lease, construction, reconstruction, restoration, improvement, alteration, repair, or other means:
(A)
Any physical public betterment or improvement or any preliminary plans, studies, or surveys relative thereto;
(B)
Land or rights in land, including without limitation leases, air rights, easements, rights-of-way, or licenses; and
(C)
Any furnishings, machinery, vehicles, apparatus, or equipment for any public betterment or improvement, which shall include without limiting the generality of the foregoing definition the following:
(i)
Any and all facilities for state agencies, city or town halls, courthouses, and other administrative, executive, or public offices;
(ii)
Court facilities;
(iii)
Jails;
(iv)
Firefighting facilities and apparatus;
(v)
Parking garages or other facilities;
(vi)
Educational and training facilities for public employees;
(vii)
Auditoriums, stadiums, convention halls, and similar public meeting or entertainment facilities;
(viii)
Civil defense facilities;
(ix)
Air and water pollution control facilities;
(x)
Drainage and flood control facilities;
(xi)
Storm sewers;
(xii)
Arts and crafts centers;
(xiii)
Museums;
(xiv)
Libraries;
(xv)
Public parks, playgrounds, or other public open space;
(xvi)
Marinas;
(xvii)
Swimming pools, tennis courts, golf courses, camping facilities, gymnasiums, and other recreational facilities;
(xviii)
Tourist information and assistance centers;
(xix)
Historical, cultural, natural, or folklore sites;
(xx)
Fair and exhibition facilities;
(xxi)
Streets and street lighting, alleys, sidewalks, roads, bridges, and viaducts;
(xxii)
Airports, passenger or freight terminals, hangars, and related facilities;
(xxiii)
Barge terminals, ports, harbors, ferries, wharves, docks, and similar marine services;
(xxiv)
Slack water harbors, water resource facilities, waterfront development facilities, and navigation facilities;
(xxv)
Public transportation facilities;
(xxvi)
Public water systems and related transmission and distribution facilities, storage facilities, wells, impounding reservoirs, treatment plants, lakes, dams, watercourses, and water rights;
(xxvii)
Sewage collection systems and treatment plants;
(xxviii)
Maintenance and storage buildings and facilities;
(xxix)
Police and sheriffs' stations, apparatus, and training facilities;
(xxx)
Incinerators;
(xxxi)
Garbage and solid waste disposal and compacting and recycling facilities of every kind; and
(xxxii)
Social and rehabilitative facilities;
(7)
"Construct" means to acquire or build, in whole or in part, in such manner and by such method, including contracting therefor, and if the latter, by negotiation or bidding upon such terms and pursuant to such advertising as the authority shall determine to be in the public interest and necessary under the circumstances existing at the time to accomplish the purposes of and authority set forth in this subchapter;
(8)
"Counterparty" means the party entering into the interest rate exchange agreement or similar agreement or contract with the authority;
(9)
"Educational facilities" means real, personal, and mixed property of any and every kind intended by an educational institution in furtherance of its educational program, including, but not limited to, dormitories, classrooms, laboratories, athletic fields, administrative buildings, equipment, and other property for use therein or thereon;
(10)
"Energy efficiency project" means the same as defined under the State Entity Energy Efficiency Project Bond Act, §
15-5-1801
et seq.;
(11)
"Facilities" means any real property, personal property, or mixed property of every kind, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, rights-of-way, roads, streets, pipes, pipelines, reservoirs, utilities, materials, equipment, fixtures, machinery, furniture, furnishings, instrumentalities, and other real, personal, or mixed property of every kind or any preliminary studies and surveys relative thereto;
(12)
"Healthcare facilities" means facilities for furnishing physical or mental health care, including, without limitation:
(A)
Hospitals, other facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of any illness or disease, offices and clinics of doctors of medicine, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, chiropractors, and related facilities, and nursing homes and related facilities;
(B)
Long-term care or life-care facilities for the elderly or disabled, including facilities used to furnish emergency medical health care and emergency medical services, including, but not limited to, ambulances or vehicles specifically designed, equipped, and licensed for transporting the sick or injured;
(C)
Laboratories and other facilities for conducting healthcare-related research, including buildings and other facilities to support and sustain these activities;
(D)
Equipment of every nature and kind related to health care, whether for diagnostic purposes, medical treatment, or research;
(E)
Emergency medical equipment and supplies;
(F)
Dispatching or other communication systems;
(G)
Computers for billing, collections, and system design and control;
(H)
Training and administrative facilities; and
(I)
Healthcare project costs as defined in subdivision (13) of this section;
(13)
(A)
(i)
"Healthcare project costs" specifically includes the refinancing of any existing debt of a healthcare facility necessary in order to permit the healthcare facility to borrow from the authority and give adequate security for the healthcare facility loan.
(ii)
The determination of the authority with respect to the necessity of refinancing and adequate security for a healthcare facility loan is conclusive.
(B)
(i)
"Healthcare project costs" also includes the financing of working capital.
(ii)
However, any healthcare facility loan to a healthcare facility located outside the state to finance working capital shall be made only if necessary to a program of working capital financing, including a healthcare facility loan to a healthcare facility located within the state.
(C)
The determination of the authority with respect to the necessity of these healthcare facility loans to healthcare facilities located outside the state is conclusive.
(D)
Pooled or Consolidated Financings of a Number of Loans for Healthcare Facilities.
(i)
The authority may make loans for healthcare facilities located outside the state, provided:
(a)
Loans under the same pooled or consolidated financing program are made under similar terms to healthcare facilities located within the state; and
(b)
The authority's fees or charges, after deducting all appropriate expenses for providing the aggregated or pooled financings of healthcare facilities, are primarily dedicated to furthering the delivery of health care within the state.
(ii)
The determination of the authority with respect to the necessity and appropriateness of the healthcare facility loans to healthcare facilities located either within or outside the state is conclusive.
(iii)
The General Assembly declares that the authority acting as authorized under this section in making healthcare loans under the terms hereof is within the legislative findings and declaration of public necessity as set forth in §
15-5-102(b)(7)
.
(iv)
Bonds issued by the authority under this subdivision (13)(D) shall not be exempt from taxes of the State of Arkansas;
(14)
(A)
"Housing development" means any work or undertaking, whether new construction or rehabilitation, that is designed and financed pursuant to the provisions of this subchapter for the primary purpose of providing sanitary, decent, and safe dwelling accommodations for elderly persons and families of low or moderate income in need of housing.
(B)
Such an undertaking may include any buildings, land, equipment, facilities, or other real or personal properties that are necessary, convenient, or desirable appurtenances, such as, but not limited to, site preparation, landscaping, and other nonhousing facilities such as community and recreational facilities as the authority determines to be necessary, convenient, or desirable appurtenances, retirement homes, centers, and related facilities, nursing homes and related facilities, and long-term care or life-care facilities for the elderly or disabled;
(15)
(A)
"Industrial enterprise" means, but is not limited to, facilities and operations for manufacturing, producing, processing, assembling, repairing, extracting, warehousing, distributing, communications, computer services, the production of motion pictures and like products, technology-based enterprises, tourism enterprises, transportation, corporate and management offices, and services provided in connection with any of the foregoing, in isolation or in any combination, that involve the creation of new or additional employment or the retention of existing employment, and industrial parks.
(B)
However, a shopping center, retail store or shop, or other similar undertaking that is solely or predominantly of a commercial retail nature shall not be an industrial enterprise for the purposes of this subchapter;
(16)
"Interest rate exchange agreement or similar agreement or contract" means a written contract entered into by the authority with one (1) or more counterparties that:
(A)
Is related to the issuance of bonds by the authority or to bonds previously issued by the authority that are outstanding on the date of execution of the contract;
(B)
Provides for an exchange of payments, denominated in United States currency, that is based upon fixed or variable interest rates; and
(C)
Includes contracts and options related to any exchange of payments as determined by the authority under its rulemaking authority under §
15-5-317
;
(17)
"Loans" means loans made for the purposes of financing any of the activities authorized within this subchapter, including:
(A)
Working capital and the acquisition of accounts, as "account" is defined in §
4-9-102
, to finance working capital;
(B)
Loans made to financial institutions for the purpose of funding or as security for loans made for the purpose of accomplishing any of the purposes of this subdivision (17);
(C)
Loans made to nonprofit corporations and affiliated organizations for the purpose of such entities' providing funds and loans for healthcare project costs as defined in this section; and
(D)
Reserves and expenses appropriate or incidental to all such loans described in this subdivision (17);
(18)
"Operations" means any and all matters deemed necessary or desirable to the promotion of agricultural business and industrial enterprises, including, but not limited to, the provision of labor and services of any nature and all transactions pertaining to receivables, accounts, inventory, loans, lines of credit, and working capital, designed to promote, restore, revitalize, or develop existing agricultural business or industrial enterprises, or the establishment of new agricultural business or industrial enterprises;
(19)
"Political subdivision" means a city of the first class, a city of the second class, an incorporated town, a county, or an improvement district, or any agency, board, commission, public corporation, or instrumentality of the above;
(20)
"Scientific and technical services business" means a business:
(A)
Primarily engaged in performing scientific and technical activities for others, including:
(i)
Architectural and engineering design;
(ii)
Computer programming and computer systems design; and
(iii)
Scientific research and development in physical, biological, and engineering sciences;
(B)
Selling expertise;
(C)
Having production processes that are almost wholly dependent upon worker skills;
(D)
Deriving at least seventy-five percent (75%) of its revenue from out-of-state sales; and
(E)
Paying average hourly wages that exceed one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the county or state average wage, whichever is less;
(21)
"Short-term advance funding" means the financing of temporary cash shortfalls of local governments based on the local government's projected monthly incomes and expenditures and its surplus at the beginning of each fiscal year, and the shortfall is the result of the local government's projected income's being insufficient to meet the needs of its estimated expenditures, even though the aggregate income will exceed the aggregate expenditures for the fiscal year;
(22)
"State" means the State of Arkansas;
(23)
"State agency" means any office, department, board, commission, bureau, division, public corporation, agency, or instrumentality of this state;
(24)
"Technology-based enterprises" means:
(A)
(i)
A grouping of growing business sectors, identified as targeted businesses, that includes the following:
(a)
Advanced materials and manufacturing systems;
(b)
Agriculture, food, and environmental sciences;
(c)
Biotechnology, bioengineering, and life sciences;
(d)
Information technology;
(e)
Transportation logistics; and
(f)
Bio-based products.
(ii)
In order to receive benefits as a targeted business, the business must pay not less than one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the lesser of the county or state average wage;
(B)
A scientific and technical services business; or
(C)
A corporation, partnership, limited liability company, sole proprietorship, or other legal entity whose primary business directly involves commercializing the results of research conducted in one (1) of the six (6) growing business sectors identified as targeted businesses; and
(25)
"Tourism enterprise" means:
(A)
Cultural and historic sites, recreational and entertainment facilities, areas of natural phenomena or scenic beauty, theme parks, amusement or entertainment parks, indoor or outdoor theatrical productions, botanical gardens, and cultural or educational centers; and
(B)
Lodging facilities that are an integrated part of any of the enterprises listed in this subdivision (25).
Amended by Act 2017, No. 374,§ 15, eff. 8/1/2017.
Amended by Act 2013, No. 1252,§ 2, eff. 8/16/2013.
Acts 1985, No. 1062, § 3.00; A.S.A. 1947, § 13-2903; Acts 1987, No. 780, § 1; 1989, No. 836, §§ 1-3; 1995, No. 1117, § 1; 1999, No. 429, §§ 1, 2; 2001, No. 1734, §§ 1-3; 2001, No. 1791, § 10; 2003, No. 494, § 1; 2005, No. 1232, § 6.