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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Amendments to Reflect to CWCB is Not a Lender of Last Resort <br /> <br /> <br />37-60-121(1)(b)(l1), (IV), and (V) Colorado Revised Statutes, is amended to read: <br /> <br />(I) (a) There is hereby created a fund to be known as the Colorado water conservation board <br />construction fund, which shall consist of all moneys which may be appropriated thereto by <br />the general assembly or which may be otherwise made available to it by the general assembly <br />and such charges that may become a part thereof under the terms of section 37-60-119, All <br />interest earned from the investment of moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund and <br />become a part thereof, Such fund shall be a continuing fund to be expended in the manner <br />specified in section 37-60-122 and shall not revert to the general fund of the state at the end <br />of any fiscal year, <br />(b) In the consideration of making expenditures from the fund, the board shall be guided by <br />the following criteria: <br />(I) The first priority of the moneys available to the fund shall be devoted to projects <br />which will increase the beneficial consumptive use of Colorado's undeveloped compact <br />entitled waters; <br />(IT) The balance of the moneys available to the fund shall be devoted to projects for the <br />repair and rehabilitation of existing water storage and delivery systems, controlled <br />maintenance of the satellite monitoring system authorized pursuant to section 37-80-102 <br />(10), and for investment in water management activities and studies as pro'lided in <br />section 37 60 119 (3); <br />(ill) The board's participation in the construction cost of a project shall be repaid and the <br />board's costs or its participation in any feasibility studies shall be repaid to the board <br />when construction on a project commences; <br />(N) The board shall participate in only those projects which can repay the board's <br />investment. Service charges and other terms of repavment shall be established by the <br />board, Grants shall not be made, unless specifically authorized by the general assembly <br />acting by bill, and service chargos and other terms of ropaymcITt shall be established Ily <br />the board, <br />(V) i\l1 other means of financing shall be thoroughly explored before usc is made of fund <br />moneys; <br /> <br />Discussion <br /> <br />The deletion in (IT) above is in response to the previous deletion of37-60-119(3), (Page <br /> <br />Q1 <br /> <br />The revisions to (N) are grammatical clarifications to the paragraph, <br />The deletion of (V) eliminates an historical mis-interpretation of the use of the <br />Construction Fund, (V) has been incorrectly interpreted as meaning that the Construction Fund <br />should be the "lender of last resort", Since the inception of the Construction Fund, loans have <br />been made to borrowers who qualify for loans from other financial institutions, The purpose of <br />the fund is not to be the lender of last resort but rather to provide a service to the water users of <br />the state in helping develop the state's compact entitlements, There is no clarifying language in <br />(V) as to the outcome of the exploration of the "other means of financing", That is, after the <br />exploration of other financing has been made, it is not clear whether the construction fund <br />moneys can be used or not. Therefore, staff recommends that (V) should to eliminated since it is <br />vague and is misleading in its interpretation, <br /> <br />9 <br />