(A) The bank may provide loans and other financial assistance to a government unit or private entity to pay for all or part of the eligible cost of a qualified project. Prior to providing a loan or other financial assistance to a qualified borrower, the board must obtain the review and approval of the Joint Bond Review Committee. The term of the loan or other financial assistance must not exceed the useful life of the project. The bank may require the government unit or private entity to enter into a financing agreement in connection with its loan obligation or other financial assistance. The board shall determine the form and content of loan applications, financing agreements, and loan obligations including the term and rate or rates of interest on a financing agreement. The terms and conditions of a loan or other financial assistance from federal accounts shall comply with applicable federal requirements.

(B) The board shall determine which projects are eligible projects and then select from among the eligible projects those qualified to receive from the bank a loan or other financial assistance. Preference must be given to eligible projects which have local financial support. In selecting qualified projects, the board shall consider the projected feasibility of the project and the amount and degree of risk to be assumed by the bank. The board also may consider, but must not be limited to, the following criteria in making its determination that an eligible project is a qualified project:

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 11-43-180

  • Bank: means the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank. See South Carolina Code 11-43-130
  • Board: means the board of directors of the bank. See South Carolina Code 11-43-130
  • Eligible cost: means as applied to a qualified project to be financed from the federal accounts, the costs that are permitted under applicable federal laws, requirements, procedures, and guidelines in regard to establishing, operating, and providing assistance from the bank. See South Carolina Code 11-43-130
  • Eligible project: means a highway, including bridges, or transit project which provides public benefits by either enhancing mobility and safety, promoting economic development, or increasing the quality of life and general welfare of the public. See South Carolina Code 11-43-130
  • Federal accounts: means collectively, the separate account for federal highway funds and federal transit funds. See South Carolina Code 11-43-130
  • financing agreement: includes , without limitation, a loan agreement, trust indenture, security agreement, reimbursement agreement, guarantee agreement, bond or note, ordinance or resolution, or similar instrument. See South Carolina Code 11-43-130
  • Government unit: means a municipal corporation, county, special purpose district, special service district, commissioners of public works, or another public body, instrumentality or agency of the State including combinations of two or more of these entities acting jointly to construct, own, or operate a qualified project, and any other state or local authority, board, commission, agency, department, or other political subdivision created by the General Assembly or pursuant to the Constitution and laws of this State which may construct, own, or operate a qualified project. See South Carolina Code 11-43-130
  • Loan: means an obligation subject to repayment which is provided by the bank to a qualified borrower for all or a part of the eligible cost of a qualified project. See South Carolina Code 11-43-130
  • 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: means , but is not limited to, grants, contributions, credit enhancement, capital or debt reserves for bonds or debt instrument financing, interest rate subsidies, provision of letters of credit and credit instruments, provision of bond or other debt financing instrument security, and other lawful forms of financing and methods of leveraging funds that are approved by the board, and in the case of federal funds, as allowed by federal law. See South Carolina Code 11-43-130
  • Private entity: means a private person or entity that has entered into a contract with a government unit to design, finance, construct, and operate a highway, bridge, tunnel, or approach that is within the jurisdiction of the government unit that is responsible for complying with applicable federal requirements. See South Carolina Code 11-43-130
  • Qualified borrower: means any government unit or private entity which is authorized to construct, operate, or own a qualified project. See South Carolina Code 11-43-130
  • Qualified project: means an eligible project which has been selected by the bank to receive a loan or other financial assistance from the bank to defray an eligible cost. See South Carolina Code 11-43-130
  • Revenues: means , when used with respect to the bank, any receipts, fees, income, or other payments received or to be received by the bank including, without limitation, receipts and other payments deposited in the bank and investment earnings on its funds and accounts. See South Carolina Code 11-43-130

(1) the local support of the project, expressed by resolutions by the governing bodies in the areas in which the project will be located, and the financial or in-kind contributions to the project;

(2) maximum economic benefit, enhancement of mobility, enhancement of public safety, acceleration of project completion, and enhancement of transportation services;

(3) the ability of the applicant to repay a loan according to the terms and conditions established pursuant to this chapter, consideration of which may include, at the option of the bank board, the existence of current investment grade rating on existing debt of the applicant secured by the same revenues to be pledged to secure repayment under the loan repayment agreement;

(4) the financial or in-kind contributions to the project;

(5) greater weighting in recommending priorities for eligible projects to areas of the State experiencing high unemployment; and

(6) whether the governing bodies of the county or the incorporated municipality in which the project is to be located provides to the bank a resolution which makes a finding that the project is essential to economic development in the political subdivisions, or the bank receives a resolution or certificate from the Advisory Coordinating Council for Economic Development of the Department of Commerce that the project is essential to economic development in the State, or both, at the option of the board.

(C) The bank may not provide any loans or other financial assistance, including bond proceeds, to any project unless the eligible costs of the project are at least twenty-five million dollars.

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