§ 994. Advisory Committee

(a)(1) Creation; composition. There is created a Private Activity Bond Advisory Committee, which shall consist of the following members:

(A) the State Treasurer or his or her designee;

(B) the Secretary of Administration or his or her designee;

(C) the Secretary of Commerce and Community Development or his or her designee;

(D) two members who shall be representatives of the public, appointed by the Governor.

(2) Each public representative shall serve for a two-year term beginning February 1, or until his or her successor is appointed. The terms of the public representatives shall be staggered so that only one member's term expires in each year.

(3) The State Treasurer or designee shall serve as Chair of the Committee.

(4) The Office of the State Treasurer shall provide administrative support to the Committee.

(5) Public representatives may receive reimbursement of expenses and per diem compensation pursuant to section 1010 of this title.

(b) Committee charge.

(1) The Committee shall survey the expected need for private activity bond allocations among constituted and eligible issuing authorities empowered to issue such bonds on an annual basis.

(2)(A) The Committee shall develop guidelines for allocation of private activity bonding capacity designed to maximize the availability of tax exempt financing among various sectors of the Vermont economy with a focus on economic development, housing, education, redevelopment, public works, energy, waste management, waste and recycling collection, transportation, and other activities that the Committee determines will benefit the citizens of Vermont.

(B) The guidelines should support efforts and entities that increase the number of good-paying jobs in the State, promote economic development, support affordable housing, and affordable access to postsecondary education and training, and encourage the use of Vermont's human and natural resources in endeavors that maximize Vermont's comparative economic advantages, and be flexible enough to include new and innovative uses of private activity bonds, consistent with federal regulations and the Internal Revenue Code.

(3) The Committee shall meet at least annually and shall hold at least one public hearing prior to submitting its recommendations to the Emergency Board. The Committee shall further submit its recommendations in an annual report of its activities to the Governor and the General Assembly.

(4) On or before December 1 of each year, the Committee shall make recommendations to the Emergency Board on the allocation, including any amounts reserved for contingency allocations, of the State's private activity bond ceiling for the following calendar year to and among the constituted issuing authorities empowered to issue such bonds.

(5) On its own initiative, at the request of the Governor or at the request of the Emergency Board, the Committee may make recommendations to the Governor or Emergency Board concerning assignments or reallocation of any unused portion of the ceiling subsequent to an allocation by the Emergency Board in a given year. (Added 2011, No. 110 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 8, 2012; amended 2013, No. 1, § 98.)