Bills › 88th General Assembly
Relating to the acquisition, donation, or sale of real property for specified purposes. Effective 7-1-19
Sponsored by the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee
Topics:Environment & natural resources
Same legislation: SSB 1221
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedMarch 7, 2019
- Skipped: SubcommitteeSkipped
- Done: Senate committeeMarch 7, 2019
- Done: Passes the SenateMarch 20, 201932–17
- Done: House committeeApril 3, 2019
- Done: Passes the HouseApril 18, 2019
- Done: To the GovernorMay 3, 2019
- Done: Signed into lawMay 9, 2019
Signed into law What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
This bill relates to the acquisition, donation, or sale of real property for specified purposes. The bill prohibits water pollution control projects from including the acquisition of real property by a private entity for future donation or sale to a political subdivision, the department of natural resources, or the federal government on and after July 1, 2019. The bill also prohibits the use of moneys in the revolving loan funds under the federal Clean Water Act or Safe Drinking Water Act for the financing, subsidizing, or enabling of the acquisition of real property by a private entity on and after July 1, 2019, except that such moneys may be used to finance or subsidize an acquisition of real property by a private entity that occurred prior to July 1, 2019.
Changed since by amendments H-1242, S-3050; see Amendments.
House subcommittee
Named March 28, 2019. On April 2, 2019 it recommended passage.
- Rep. Mike Sexton R
- Rep. Jarad Klein R
- Rep. R. Smith
Three legislators hear a bill first and recommend what the committee should do; it’s the best time to weigh in. How to take part
Fiscal note
AI summary This bill prohibits private entities from using State Revolving Fund loans to buy land for water pollution control projects and prevents them from later selling or donating that land to certain government entities. The bill may result in the non-completion of two specific projects involving $10.0 million for prairie pothole closures and $13.4 million for projects at the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. The Department of Natural Resources indicates that other eligible projects will take the place of these restricted land acquisition projects.2
Read the fiscal note
Description
On or after July 1, 2019, SF 548 prohibits a private entity from acquiring land for a nonpoint source water pollution control project and then selling or donating the land to a political subdivision, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), or the federal government. Beginning July 1, 2019, the Bill also prohibits a private entity from borrowing moneys from the State Revolving Fund (SRF) to acquire land. The Bill does allow a private entity to keep any land that was purchased prior to July 1, 2019.
Background
The DNR and the Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) are jointly designated to administer the SRF. The DNR administers the environmental and permitting aspects of a project receiving a loan from the SRF. This includes engineering and design approval as well as issuing construction permits. The IFA manages the financing and works with applicants on loan approvals and disbursements.
The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) is a private nonprofit organization with the goal to protect and restore Iowa’s land, water, and wildlife. The organization is supported by member donations, and the moneys are used to implement conservation projects, which can include the purchase of land. Since 2006, the INHF has borrowed $48.0 million from the SRF to acquire land, and as of March 5, 2019, the INHF owes the SRF $9.0 million.
The purchase of land using funding from the SRF was prohibited for FY 2019 with the passage of HF 2502 (FY 2019 Standings Appropriations Act), which specified that the Environmental Protection Commission could not approve water pollution control works projects that included the purchase of land using the SRF for financing during FY 2019.
The Bill allows a private entity to borrow funding from the SRF for nonpoint source water pollution control projects as long as there is no acquisition of land. However, there are two projects in the planning phase that could utilize moneys from the SRF to buy land to implement conservation practices to improve water quality. The projects include:
- $10.0 million for a line of credit for the closure of prairie potholes. When a landowner finds a prairie pothole, moneys are borrowed from the SRF to take the land out of production and implement a conservation practice such as a wetland.
- $13.4 million for 13 new projects at the INHF. The moneys borrowed will be used to set aside land and implement a conservation practice to improve water quality.
Fiscal Impact
Senate File 548 may result in the non-completion of the above projects, but the Department indicates that other eligible projects will take the place of these restricted land acquisition projects.
Source
- Department of Natural Resources
- Final Fiscal Note - Charitable Conservation Contribution Tax Credit · June 3, 2019
- Charitable Conservation Contribution Tax Credit · March 19, 2019
Iowa Code it changes
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1 for · 21 against · 13 undecided · Who →
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88th General Assembly