§ 212. Definitions

As used in this chapter:

(1) “Authority” means the Vermont Economic Development Authority established under section 213 of this title.

(2) “Bond” means a note, bond, debenture, or any other evidence of indebtedness issued by a municipality or by the State of Vermont under subchapter 4 of this chapter to finance a project in whole or in part or to refund indebtedness incurred for that purpose.

(3) “Debt service,” as used in subchapter 4 of this chapter, means the amounts required to pay bonds according to their terms and shall include amounts representing principal, premium, and interest, including interest on overdue payments.

(4) “Financing document,” as used in subchapter 4 of this chapter, means a written instrument establishing the rights and responsibilities of a municipality or the Authority and the user with respect to an eligible facility financed by the issue of bonds. A financing document may be in the nature of a sale and leaseback, a lease purchase, a conditional sale, an installment sale, a secured or unsecured loan, a loan and mortgage, or other similar transaction, may bear any appropriate title and may involve property in addition to the property financed by the bonds. The municipality’s or Authority’s ownership or possessory interest in the eligible facility under a financing document may be that of owner, lessor, lessee, conditional or installment vendor, mortgagor, mortgagee, or otherwise, but the municipality or the Authority need not have any ownership or possessory interest in the facility.

(5) “Governing body” means the board of aldermen or city council of a city, the board of selectboard members of a town, and the trustees of an incorporated village.

(6) “Eligible facility” or “eligible project” means any industrial, commercial, or agricultural enterprise or endeavor approved by the Authority that meets the criteria established in the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Strategy adopted by the Governor under section 280b of this title, including land and rights in land, air, or water; buildings; structures; machinery; and equipment of such eligible facilities or eligible projects, except that an eligible facility or project shall not include the portion of an enterprise or endeavor relating to the sale of goods at retail where such goods are manufactured primarily out of State, and except further that an eligible facility or project shall not include the portion of an enterprise or endeavor relating to housing unless otherwise authorized in this chapter. Such enterprises or endeavors may include:

(A) Quarrying; mining; manufacturing; processing, including the further processing of agricultural products; assembling ; or warehousing of goods or materials for sale or distribution or the maintenance of safety standards in connection therewith, and including Vermont-based manufacturers that are adversely impacted by the State’s regulation or ban of products as they transition from the manufacture of the regulated or banned products to the design and manufacture of environmentally sound substitutes.

(B) The conduct of research and development activities, including research and development of computer software and telecommunications equipment.

(C) Use as the national or regional headquarters for a multistate business enterprise or use as the national headquarters of a nonprofit organization whose purpose is the promotion of business, industry, or agriculture, including the registry of animal breeds.

(D) Collecting or processing any kind of waste material for reuse or disposal.

(E) Reducing, mitigating, or eliminating pollution of land, air, or water by substances, heat, or sound.

(F) For the purposes of subchapter 4 of this chapter only, in addition to the foregoing, the conduct of any trade or business that is eligible for tax-exempt financing under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

(G) For purposes of subchapter 4 of this chapter only, transporting of goods, materials, or agricultural products for sale or distribution or the maintenance of safety standards in connection therewith, including railroad terminals, trucking terminals, and airport facilities.

(H) Use as a small business incubator facility.

(I) Processing or converting post-consumer materials into industrial feed stocks or manufacturing products from these feed stocks, or both, excluding the converting of recyclable materials into a fuel or fuel product. As used in this subdivision, “post-consumer materials” means only those products generated by a business or a consumer that have served their intended end uses and that have been separated or diverted from solid waste.

(J) Travel and tourism projects and enterprises, and related recreational activities, provided that the project or enterprise will maintain a reasonable level of full-time employment throughout the year consistent with the size and nature of the business and general business custom in the industry.

(K) The business of information technology or the collection, processing, or management of data, documents, or records.

(L) A captive or commercial insurance underwriter; a mortgage, commercial, or consumer credit provider; or an entity engaged in underwriting or brokering services.

(M) A renewable energy plant, as defined in 30 V.S.A. § 8002, if the construction of the plant requires a certificate of public good under 30 V.S.A. § 248 and all or part of the electricity generated by the plant will be under contract to a Vermont electric distribution utility.

(N) Industrial park planning, development, or improvement.

(O) For purposes of subchapter 5 of this chapter, a telecommunications plant, as defined in 24 V.S.A. § 1911(2), owned by a municipality individually or in concert with one or more other municipalities as a communications union district established under 30 Vt. Stat. Ann. chapter 82.

(P) Any combination of the activities, uses, or purposes specified in this subdivision (6). An eligible facility may include structures, appurtenances incidental to an eligible project, such as utility lines, storage accommodations, offices, dependent care facilities, or transportation facilities.

(Q) Businesses providing intangible products and services, excluding the following:

(i) businesses engaged in pyramid sale distribution plans, where a participant’s primary incentive is based on the sales made by an ever- increasing number of participants;

(ii) businesses deriving more than one-third of their gross annual revenue from legal gambling activities;

(iii) private clubs and businesses that limit the number of memberships for reasons other than capacity; and

(iv) businesses principally engaged in teaching, instructing, counseling, or indoctrinating religion or religious beliefs, whether in a religious or secular setting.

(R) Mixed-use properties, provided that not less than 50 percent of the total square footage is dedicated for commercial use.

(S) After consultation with and deference to the Vermont Housing Finance Agency on applications that are eligible for financing from both the Authority and the Agency, financing for one or more of the following types of long-term care facilities licensed by the State pursuant to 33 Vt. Stat. Ann. chapter 71 and other applicable law, and any independent living facility, as defined in 32 V.S.A. § 9202(18), associated with the licensed facility:

(i) an assisted living residence;

(ii) a home for the terminally ill;

(iii) a nursing home;

(iv) a residential care home; and

(v) a therapeutic community residence.

(7) “Industrial park” means an area of land planned and designed as a location for one or more industrial buildings, including adequate access roads, utilities, and other services necessary for eligible facilities.

(8) “Industrial park planning and development” means the basic architectural and engineering services needed to determine site and land use feasibility, and the planning and carrying out of land improvements necessary to make industrial land usable.

(9) “Insurance contract” means a contract insuring mortgage payments under subchapter 2 of this chapter.

(10) “Local development corporation” means any nonprofit organization incorporated in the State for the purpose of fostering, encouraging, and assisting the physical location of business enterprises within the State and having as its principal purpose the industrial and economic development of one or more political subdivisions, and shall include the Northeastern Vermont Development Association and any State development company organized under subdivision 216(13) of this title; however, in addition to the foregoing, for the purpose of providing assistance to small business incubator facilities, any nonprofit organization that enters into a written agreement with the Authority to establish, operate, and administer a small business incubator facility, including municipalities, local or regional nonprofit development corporations, and higher educational institutions, shall have the rights and obligations of a local development corporation under this chapter.

(11) “Maturity date,” as used in subchapter 2 of this chapter, means the date upon which the note or other evidence of indebtedness secured by a mortgage would be extinguished if paid in accordance with the mortgage payments.

(12) “Mortgage,” as used in subchapter 2 of this chapter, means a first mortgage upon an eligible facility given by a mortgagor, as herein defined, to secure the repayment of amounts borrowed to pay costs of a project.

(13) “Mortgage payments,” as used in subchapter 2 of this chapter, means the periodic payments called for by a mortgage that shall cover lease land rentals, if any, mortgage insurance premiums, interest, installments of principal, taxes and assessments, hazard insurance payments, and any other payments called for in the mortgage.

(14) “Mortgagee,” as used in subchapter 2 of this chapter, means the original lender under a mortgage and its successors and assigns, if approved by the Authority.

(15) “Mortgagor,” as used in subchapter 2 of this chapter, means the original borrower under a mortgage or a security agreement and its successors and assigns, if approved by the Authority.

(16) “Municipality” means a city, town, or incorporated village.

(17) “Political subdivision” means a city, town, incorporated village, or county.

(18) “Project” or “eligible facility” means the creation, establishment, acquisition, construction, expansion, improvement, reclamation, or renovation of an eligible facility.

(19) “Project costs” means any costs or expenses reasonably incidental to a project and may without limitation include the costs of:

(A) issuing bonds under subchapter 4 of this chapter to finance a project;

(B) acquiring land, buildings, structures, and facilities, whether by lease, purchase, construction, or otherwise;

(C) acquiring rights in or over land, air, or water;

(D) improving land and improving buildings, structures, and facilities by remodeling, reconstruction, replacement, or enlargement;

(E) acquiring and installing machinery and equipment;

(F) obtaining professional or advisory services;

(G) interest prior to and during construction and until one year after the completion of a project;

(H) creating reserves in connection with the issue of bonds under subchapter 4 of this chapter; and

(I) acquiring or committing to acquire any federally guaranteed security and pledging the proceeds thereof to secure the payment of bonds.

(20) “Security document,” as used in subchapter 4 of this chapter, means a written instrument establishing the rights and responsibilities of a municipality or the Authority and the holders of bonds issued to finance an eligible facility and may provide for a trustee for the benefit of those bondholders. A security document may contain an assignment, pledge, mortgage, or other encumbrance of all or part of the municipality’s or Authority’s interest in, or right to receive payments with respect to, an eligible facility under a financing document and may bear any appropriate title. A financing document and a security document may be combined as one instrument.

(21) “Speculative building” means a basic structure of flexible design erected by a local development corporation for eventual sale or lease to a purchaser or tenant requiring eligible facilities.

(22) “Tenant” means the tenant or occupier of an eligible facility or small business incubator facility.

(23) “User,” as used in subchapter 4 of this chapter, means the person or local development corporation that is:

(A) entitled to the use or occupancy of an eligible facility or is lessor to the person entitled to the use or occupancy of an eligible facility; and

(B) primarily responsible for making payments sufficient to meet debt service on the bonds issued to finance the facility.

(24) “Processing” means to subject a product to a particular method, system, or technique of preparation, handling, or other treatment designed to effect a particular result.

(25) “Federally guaranteed security” means any security, investment, or evidence of indebtedness that is either directly or indirectly insured, or guaranteed, in whole or in part, as to the repayment of principal or interest, or both, by the United States or any instrumentality thereof.

(26) “Federally insured project loan” means any loan to finance or refinance the cost of a project that is either directly or indirectly insured or guaranteed, in whole or in part, as to the repayment of principal or interest, or both, by the United States or any instrumentality thereof, or any commitment by the United States or any instrumentality thereof to so insure or guarantee such a loan.

(27) “Small business incubator facility” means a building, group of buildings, or part of a building where small and growing businesses may obtain small units of space available for purchase or lease at below-market rates or on flexible terms, shared office support services, and financial and general business management advice and assistance.

(28) “Loan,” for the purposes of subchapters 5, 7, and 10 of this chapter, means a loan or a financing lease, provided that such lease transfers the ownership of the leased property to the lessee following the payment of all required lease payments as specified in the lease agreement. (Added 1973, No. 197 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1975, No. 18, § 1, eff. March 27, 1975; 1975, No. 187 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1975, No. 217 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 5, 7; 1977, No. 52, § 1, eff. April 22, 1977; 1981, No. 37, § 1; 1981, No. 54, §§ 1, 6, 7, 12, eff. April 28, 1981; 1983, No. 33, § 1, eff. April 22, 1983; 1983, No. 38, § 1; 1983, No. 159 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 14, 1984; 1985, No. 136 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 2-5, eff. April 24, 1986; 1989, No. 237 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1991, No. 202 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. May 27, 1992; 1991, No. 212 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 1-3, eff. May 27, 1992; 1993, No. 89, §§ 2, 3, eff. June 15, 1993; 1995, No. 46, §§ 2, 3; 1995, No. 184 (Act. Sess.), § 5; 2005, No. 61, § 5; 2013, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 72; 2013, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 36; 2015, No. 41, § 22, eff. June 1, 2015; 2015, No. 51, § E.2, eff. June 3, 2015; 2015, No. 56, § 14; 2021, No. 91 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 20, 2022.)