2023 New York Laws › SWC - Soil and Water Conservation Districts › Article 2 - State Soil and Water Conservation Committee, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and Other Functions › 4-A - Farm Drain Tile Revolving Loan Program.

§  4-a.  Farm  drain tile revolving loan program. (1) Definitions. (a)
"Farm drain tile project."  A  specific  work  or  improvement  that  is
undertaken   by   an  agricultural  producer  for  the  construction  or
improvement of drain tile for the purpose of enhancing farm fields.
(b) "Local loan administrator." A farm credit bureau or member of  the
farm   credit  system  or  a  banking  institution  or  non-governmental
organization with a demonstrated ability to provide financial assistance
and service to agricultural rural areas, that have entered into a master
servicing agreement prescribed  pursuant  to  subdivision  two  of  this
section.
(2)   Master  servicing  agreement.  (a)  The  state  soil  and  water
conservation committee ("committee") is hereby  authorized  to  use  the
monies  held in the farm drain tile revolving loan fund to make advances
to a local loan administrator that has entered  into  a  written  master
servicing  agreement  prescribed  by the committee pursuant to paragraph
(b) of this subdivision.
(b)  The  committee,  in  consultation  with  the  comptroller,  shall
prescribe  a  master servicing agreement to be executed by the committee
and local loan administrators. Such agreement shall  provide  that:  (i)
any advances made to a local loan administrator shall be used solely for
the purpose of providing loans to agricultural producers for undertaking
farm  drain  tile  projects;  (ii) the total amount of loans made to any
single agricultural producer shall not exceed fifty thousand dollars per
annum; (iii) the term of any loan shall not exceed ten years  and  equal
payments  of principal payable no less frequently than annually shall be
required to  be  made  on  such  loan  during  the  term  such  loan  is
outstanding  which  payments will liquidate the entire principal balance
of the loan over its term; (iv) the local loan administrator is required
to pay to the committee for deposit into the farm drain  tile  revolving
loan  fund  all repayments including interest, if any, received from any
agricultural producers on account of such loan, except for that  portion
permitted  to  be  retained  by  the  local  loan administrator as a fee
pursuant  to  the  master  servicing  agreement.  The  master  servicing
agreement  shall  also  set forth: (i) the form of any note and security
agreement to be executed by the agricultural producer in connection with
any loan; (ii) the rate of interest, if any, to be charged on any  loan;
(iii)  the  amount  of  any  fee  to  be  retained  by  the  local  loan
administrator for servicing any  loan;  (iv)  the  form  of  application
required  to  be completed by an agricultural producer for any loan; (v)
the form of requisition and certification to be required  from  a  local
loan  administrator  to  obtain  an advance of funds from the committee;
(vi) any other conditions to be imposed upon an agricultural producer as
a condition of receiving  a  loan;  (vii)  the  responsibilities  to  be
performed  by the local loan administrator in connection with reviewing,
approving and servicing the loan and the circumstances under  which  the
committee  may terminate a master servicing agreement; (viii) conditions
necessary to  insure  prompt  closing  on  loans  for  which  funds  are
advanced,  including payment of interest of funds from the time advanced
until utilized; and (ix) such other requirements as  the  committee  may
from time to time establish by rules and regulations consistent with the
purposes of this section.
(3)  (a)  The committee shall, subject to the availability of funds as
appropriated by the  legislature,  advance  from  the  farm  drain  tile
revolving  loan  fund  to a local loan administrator the amount of funds
requested in any requisition within fifteen business days after  receipt
of  all  of  the  following:  a  completed requisition for an advance of
funds; copies of any applications and any  supporting  documentation  to
which such requisition pertains; and a certification from the local loan

administrator  with respect to such requisition in addition to any other
representation  and   statement   required   by   the   committee.   The
certification  from  the  local loan administrator shall state that: (i)
the  loan administrator has performed its responsibilities in connection
with review and approval  of  applications  to  which  such  requisition
pertains,  (ii)  to the best of the local loan administrator's knowledge
the loans, to  which  the  advances  pertain,  comply  with  the  master
servicing  agreement  and  the provisions of this section, and (iii) the
borrowers  have  demonstrated  their  ability  to  make  the  repayments
required  under  the  loan. In the event that funds are not available or
the  committee  determines  that   the   requisition,   application   or
certification   is   defective,  it  shall  so  notify  the  local  loan
administrator  within  fifteen  business  days  after  receipt  of   the
requisition.
(b)  The  committee  shall  establish  criteria  for prioritizing loan
applications in  the  event  that  the  requisitions  submitted  to  the
committee  by  one  or  more local loan administrators exceed the amount
then  available  for  the  purposes  of  this  section.  In  determining
priority,  the  committee  shall take into account: (i) whether the farm
drain tile project to which the application pertains is  the  most  cost
effective  approach  to enable the agricultural producer to construct or
improve farm drain tile on  the  farm;  (ii)  whether  the  agricultural
producer  making  application lacks the financial resources to undertake
the farm drain tile project without obtaining a loan  pursuant  to  this
section;  and  (iii) such other factors as the committee deems relevant.
In applying the criteria to be  utilized  for  prioritizing  loans,  the
committee  shall be entitled to rely on the information contained in the
copies of the applications submitted with the requisition.
(4) Examination by comptroller. The comptroller, or his or her legally
authorized representative, is hereby authorized and empowered from  time
to  time  to examine the books and accounts of the committee relating to
the farm drain tile fund, and from time to time, to  examine  the  books
and accounts of any local loan administrator which has received advances
from such fund pursuant to this section, but only insofar as those books
and   accounts   relate   to   such  advances  and  to  the  local  loan
administrator's compliance with the master servicing  agreement  entered
into pursuant to this section.
(5) Establishment of fund. (a) There is hereby created and established
in  the  committee  a revolving loan fund to be known as the "farm drain
tile revolving loan fund."
(b) There shall be paid into such farm drain tile revolving loan  fund
(i)  any  moneys  appropriated  and  made available by the state for the
purposes of such fund, (ii) notwithstanding the provisions of the  state
finance  law  or  any  other  provision  of  law,  any  moneys which the
committee shall receive in repayment of advances made  from  such  fund,
and  (iii) any other moneys which may be made available to the committee
for the purpose of such fund from any other source or sources.
(c) All moneys paid into the fund from repayments of loans  authorized
by subdivision three of this section shall continue to be made available
for the purpose of providing loans pursuant to such subdivision.
(d)  Any  moneys  held in such farm drain tile revolving loan fund not
required for immediate disbursement may be invested, at  the  discretion
of  the  committee,  in  obligations  of  the state or the United States
government or obligations  the  principal  and  interest  of  which  are
guaranteed  by  the state or the United States government. Any income or
interest earned by, or increment to, such farm drain tile revolving loan
fund shall be added to the moneys held in such  fund  for  the  purposes
herein provided.
(6)  Rules  and  regulations. The committee is empowered to promulgate
such rules and regulations and to prescribe such forms as it shall  deem
necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section.