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.
Last modified: February 3, 2019