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California Pollution Control Financing Authority

Tax-Exempt Bond Financing Program

Program Summary

The Pollution Control Tax-Exempt Bond Financing Program provides private activity tax-exempt bond financing to California businesses for the acquisition, construction, or installation of qualified pollution control, waste disposal, waste recovery facilities, and the acquisition and installation of new equipment.

Financing is performed in conjunction with allocation from the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC). The allocation is required by federal tax law for private activity tax-exempt bonds to be issued.

Tax-exempt bond financing provides qualified borrowers with lower interest costs than are available through conventional financing mechanisms.

Eligibility & Requirements

Eligible Facilities

The following types of projects are eligible for financing:

  • Large Business: Provides financing to California business, irrespective of company size, for the acquisition, construction or installation or qualified pollution control, waste disposal, and resource recovery facilities
  • Small Business: Provides financing to California businesses that meet the size standards set forth in Title 13 of the Code of Federal Regulations or are an eligible small business, which is defined as 500 employees or less, including affiliates, for the acquisition, construction or installation of qualified pollution control, waste disposal, and resource recovery facilities.
  • Final determination of eligibility is based upon opinion of Bond Counsel and Tax Counsel pursuant to Federal Tax Laws.

Small Business Assistance Fund (SBAF)

CPCFA uses its SBAF to help pay for the costs of issuance of tax-exempt bonds issued on behalf of small businesses. The SBAF may be used to pay for costs such as letter of credit fees, transaction fees and other costs associated with the issuance of bonds. This assistance reduces the net cost of financing to the small business. Please see the SBAF Policy for eligibility details.

For further information on SBAF contact CPCFA.

Potential Projects

The project can involve acquisition of land, construction of a new facility, expansion of an existing facility, rehabilitation or replacement of all or part of an existing facility, or acquisition and installation of new equipment.

Types of projects, which may qualify for tax-exempt bond financing, include:

  • Curbside collection facilities
  • Recycling facilities
  • Composting facilities
  • Materials recovery facilities
  • Transfer station
  • Landfills
  • Waste-to-energy facilities
  • Qualified solid waste or hazardous waste disposal projects
  • Waste recovery facilities
  • Purchase of collection vehicles and residential waste containers
  • Water Furnishing Facilities
  • Wastewater Treatment Facilities

Potential Uses of Bond Proceeds

  • Buildings and equipment
  • Machinery and furnishings
  • Land
  • Costs of architects, engineers, attorneys and permits
  • Costs of bond issuance

Federal Eligibility Requirements

Restrictions on use of proceeds:

  • 95% of proceeds must be used for the defined project
  • 2% of bond proceeds can be used for costs of issuance
  • 25% of bond proceeds can be used for land costs in certain cases
  • A public Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) hearing must be held before the bonds are issued
  • To acquire an existing building, a minimum of 15% of the bond proceeds must be used to renovate the building
  • The average life of the bond issue cannot exceed 120% of the weighted average of the estimated useful life of the assets being financed

The Financing and Issuance Process

  • Potential Borrowers submit an application for Initial Resolution which is reviewed for tax-exempt bond financing eligibility. CPCFA works directly with the applicants in this process and throughout the entire process if the project is eligible.
  • Qualified projects will receive approval of an Initial Resolution (IR) from the Executive Director of CPCFA. The IR is a preliminary action that, if bonds are issued, allows a borrower to be reimbursed for eligible project expenditures incurred 60 days before resolution and for the period after resolution up to the issuance date. It is not a commitment by CPCFA that bonds will be issued.
  • A Final Resolution (FR) authorizes a bond sale for a project within a certain period (usually 180 days). An FR is approved by CPCFA only after a detailed examination of final project plans (technical and financial) and the applicant has obtained any and all appropriate certificates from affected environmental agencies and submitted all such certificates to the Authority (if appropriate, a statement must be submitted stating why any approval or certificate has not been obtained or is unnecessary).
  • In addition to FR approval, potential borrowers, via CPCFA, request "allocation" from the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee. The allocation is required by federal tax law before private activity tax-exempt bonds can be issued. Since many projects compete for a limited amount of allocation, there is no guarantee that CDLAC will award an allocation. CDLAC allocation remains valid for 90 days, and that can be extended by the Executive Director of CDLAC for an additional 90 days.
  • Once projects receive allocation and FR approval the Office of the State Treasurer schedules the bonds for sale. CPCFA utilizes a Bond Trustee to distribute the bond proceeds to the borrower and, on behalf of bondholders, to collect and disburse bond payments.

Inquiries may be directed to CPCFA, attention Deanna Hamelin, Program Manager

The California Pollution Control Financing Authority complies with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). If you need additional information or assistance, please contact the Authority at (916) 654-5610 or TDD (916) 654-9922.