Virginia Code 33.2-1502: Creation of the Virginia Transportation Infrastructure Bank.
A. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting, revolving loan fund, known as the Virginia Transportation Infrastructure Bank, that is a subfund of the Transportation Trust Fund established pursuant to § 33.2-1524.1. The Bank shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. The Bank shall be capitalized with (i) funds pursuant to subdivision B 3 of § 33.2-1524 and (ii) moneys appropriated by the General Assembly and credited to the Bank. Disbursements from the Bank shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by the Commissioner of Highways or his designee. Payments on project obligations and interest earned on the moneys in the Bank shall be credited to the Bank. Any moneys remaining in the Bank, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Bank. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in this article or in the management agreement, the Board will have the right to determine the projects for which loans or other financial assistance may be provided by the Bank. Moneys in the Bank shall be used solely for the purposes enumerated in subsection C.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 33.2-1502
- Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
- Bank: means the Virginia Transportation Infrastructure Bank created in § Virginia Code 33.2-1501
- Board: means the Commonwealth Transportation Board. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
- Commissioner of Highways: means the individual who serves as the chief executive officer of the Department of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
- Creditworthiness: means attributes such as revenue stability, debt service coverage, reserves, and other factors commonly considered in assessing the strength of the security for indebtedness. See Virginia Code 33.2-1501
- Department: means the Department of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
- Eligible borrower: means any (i) private entity; (ii) governmental entity; (iii) instrumentality, corporation, or entity established by any of the foregoing pursuant to § Virginia Code 33.2-1501
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Loan: means an obligation subject to repayment that is provided by the Bank to an eligible borrower to finance all or a part of the eligible cost of a project incurred by the eligible borrower or other project sponsor. See Virginia Code 33.2-1501
- Management agreement: means the memorandum of understanding or interagency agreement among the manager, the Secretary of Finance, and the Board as authorized under subsection B of § Virginia Code 33.2-1501
- Manager: means the Virginia Resources Authority serving as the manager, administrator, and trustee of funds disbursed from the Bank in accordance with the provisions of this article and the management agreement. See Virginia Code 33.2-1501
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Other financial assistance: includes capital or debt reserves for bonds or debt instrument financing, provision of letters of credit and other forms of credit enhancement, and other lawful forms of financing and methods of leveraging funds that are approved by the manager. See Virginia Code 33.2-1501
- Project: means (i) the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of any interstate, state highway, toll road, tunnel, local street or road, or bridge; (ii) the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of any (a) mass transit, (b) commuter, passenger, or freight rail, (c) port, (d) airport, or (e) commercial space flight facility; or (iii) the acquisition of any rolling stock, vehicle, or equipment to be used in conjunction with clause (i) or (ii). See Virginia Code 33.2-1501
- Project obligation: means any bond, note, debenture, interim certificate, grant or revenue anticipation note, lease or lease-purchase or installment sales agreement, or credit enhancements issued, incurred, or entered into by an eligible borrower to evidence a loan, or any financing agreements, reimbursement agreements, guarantees, or other evidences of an obligation of an eligible borrower or other project sponsor to pay or guarantee a loan. See Virginia Code 33.2-1501
- Secretary: means the Secretary of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
- State: includes District of Columbia;
(f) "Transit facilities" means all real and personal property located in the Zone, necessary or useful in rendering transit service between points within the Zone, by means of rail, bus, water or air and any other mode of travel, including, without limitation, tracks, rights-of-way, bridges, tunnels, subways, rolling stock for rail, motor vehicle, marine and air transportation, stations, terminals and ports, areas for parking and all equipment, fixtures, buildings and structures and services incidental to or required in connection with the performance of transit service;
(g) "Transit services" means the transportation of persons and their packages and baggage by means of transit facilities between points within the Zone including the transportation of newspapers, express and mail between such points, and charter service which originates within the Zone but does not include taxicab service or individual-ticket-sales sightseeing operations;
(h) "Transit Zone" or "Zone" means the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Zone created and described in Section 3 as well as any additional area that may be added pursuant to Section 83(a) of this Compact; and
(i) "WMATC" means Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission. See Virginia Code 33.2-3100
- Substantial project completion: means the opening of a project for vehicular or passenger traffic or the handling of cargo and freight. See Virginia Code 33.2-1501
- United States: includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-255
B. The Board, the manager, and the Secretary of Finance are authorized to enter into a management agreement which may include provisions (i) setting forth the terms and conditions under which the manager will advise the Board on the financial propriety of providing particular loans or other financial assistance; (ii) setting forth the terms and conditions under which the substantive requirements of subsections C, D, and E and § 33.2-1505 will be applied and administered; and (iii) authorizing the manager to request the Board to disburse from the moneys in the Bank the reasonable costs and expenses the manager may incur in the management and administration of the Bank and a reasonable fee to be approved by the Board for the manager’s management and administrative services.
C. 1. Moneys deposited in the Bank shall be used for the purpose of making loans and other financial assistance to finance projects.
2. Each project obligation shall be payable, in whole or in part, from reliable repayment sources pledged for such purpose.
3. The interest rate on a project obligation shall be determined by reference to the current market rates for comparable obligations, the nature of the project and the financing structure therefor, and the creditworthiness of the eligible borrower and other project sponsors.
4. The repayment schedule for each project obligation shall require (i) the amortization of principal beginning within five years following the later of substantial project completion or the date of incurrence of the project obligation and (ii) a final maturity date of not more than 35 years following substantial project completion.
D. The pledge of reliable repayment sources and other property securing any project obligation may be subordinate to the pledge securing any other senior debt obligations incurred to finance the project.
E. Notwithstanding subdivision C 4, the manager may at any time following substantial project completion defer payments on a project obligation if the project is unable to generate sufficient revenues to pay the scheduled payments.
F. No loan or other financial assistance may be provided or committed to be provided by the Bank in a manner that would cause such loan or other financial assistance to be tax-supported debt within the meaning of § 2.2-2713 or be deemed to constitute a debt of the Commonwealth or a pledge of the full faith and credit of the Commonwealth but shall be payable solely from legally available moneys held by the Bank.
G. Neither the Bank nor the manager is authorized or empowered to be or to constitute (i) a bank or trust company within the jurisdiction or under the control of the Commonwealth or an agency thereof or the Comptroller of Currency of the U.S. Treasury Department or (ii) a bank, banker, or dealer in securities within the meaning of, or subject to the provisions of, any securities, securities exchange, or securities dealers law of the United States or of the Commonwealth.
H. The Board or the manager may establish or direct the establishment of federal and state accounts or subaccounts as may be necessary to meet any applicable federal law requirements or desirable for the efficient administration of the Bank in accordance with this article.
2011, cc. 830, 868, § 33.1-23.8; 2014, c. 805; 2015, c. 684; 2020, cc. 1230, 1275.