67-6201. PURPOSE. It is hereby declared:

(a) That within the state there is a shortage of safe or sanitary dwelling accommodations available which persons of low incomes can afford and that such persons are forced to occupy overcrowded and congested dwelling accommodations; that the aforesaid conditions cause an increase in and spread of disease and crime, and constitute a menace to the health, safety, morals and welfare of the residents of the state and impair economic values; that these conditions necessitate excessive and disproportionate expenditures of public funds for crime prevention and punishment, public health and safety, fire and accident protection, and other public services and facilities.

(b) That private enterprise has not been able to provide, without assistance, an adequate supply of safe and sanitary dwellings at prices or rents which persons and families of low income can afford, or to achieve rehabilitation of much of the present low-income housing. It is imperative that the supply of housing for persons and families of low income be increased and that coordination and cooperation among private enterprise, state and local government be encouraged to sponsor, build and rehabilitate residential housing for such persons and families.

(c) That the clearance, replanning and reconstruction of the areas in which unsanitary or unsafe housing conditions exist, and the providing of safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations for persons of low incomes (which dwelling accommodations need not be solely for persons of low incomes in order to avoid concentrations of such persons in specific localities), are public uses, and uses and purposes for which public money may be spent and private property acquired, and are governmental functions.

(d) It is also declared and the legislature hereby finds that charitable, educational, human service, cultural and other purposes pursued by nonprofit corporations are important public functions and public purposes that should be encouraged and that financing of nonprofit facilities for these purposes should be encouraged, without using state funds or lending the credit of the state, through the issuance of nonrecourse revenue bonds and the lending of the proceeds thereof to nonprofit corporations to promote their purposes.

(e) It is further declared that in this state:

(1) There exists an inadequate supply of funds at interest rates sufficiently low to enable persons engaged in agriculture in this state, particularly beginning farmers and ranchers, to pursue agricultural operations at present levels;

(2) That such inability to pursue agricultural operations reduces the supply of agricultural commodities available to fulfill the needs of the citizens of this state;

(3) That such inability to continue operations decreases available employment in the agricultural sector of the state and results in unemployment and its attendant problems;

(4) That such conditions prevent the acquisition of an adequate capital stock of farm and ranch equipment and machinery, therefore impairing the productivity of agricultural land;

(5) That such conditions are conducive to consolidation of acreage of agricultural land with fewer individuals living and farming and ranching on the traditional family farm and ranch;

(6) That these conditions result in a loss in population, unemployment and movement of persons from rural to urban areas accompanied by added costs to communities for creation of new public facilities and services;

(7) That there have been recurrent shortages of funds from private market sources at reasonable rates of interest;

(8) That these shortages have made the sale and purchase of agricultural land to beginning farmers and ranchers a virtual impossibility in many parts of the state;

(9) That the ordinary operations of private enterprise have not in the past corrected these conditions; and

(10) That a stable supply of adequate funds for agricultural financing is required to encourage beginning farmers and ranchers in an orderly and sustained manner and to reduce the problems described herein.

(f) It is further declared that in this state there is an urgent need to promote higher employment; encourage the development of new jobs; maintain and supplement the capital investments in industry and commerce that currently exist in this state; encourage future employment by ensuring future capital investment; attract environmentally sound industry and commerce to the state; protect and enhance the quality of natural resources and the environment; and promote the production and conservation of energy; and that financing of economic development projects in partnership with private financial institutions and state or local economic development entities for these purposes should be encouraged, without using state funds or lending the credit of the state through the issuance of nonrecourse revenue bonds and the lending of the proceeds thereof for such purposes.

(g) It is hereby further declared that:

(1) The growth of the economy of this state has prompted new and ever-increasing uses of public highways, roads, and other transportation infrastructure, and the existing transportation infrastructure of this state cannot adequately accommodate such greatly increased uses;

(2) One of the major concerns of the citizens of this state is the ability of the state to address the long-term transportation infrastructure needs of this state that are critical to the continued growth of the state’s economy and the maintenance of citizens’ quality of life;

(3) Utilizing bonds or notes to finance projects for transportation infrastructure results in significant cost savings to the state, since such transportation projects can be completed at present day costs and at an accelerated pace, but such bonds and notes need to be issued promptly in order to realize these cost savings; and

(4) It is reasonable and necessary to utilize such bonds or notes for the financing of transportation projects.

(h) It is hereby further declared that all of the foregoing are public purposes and uses for which public moneys may be borrowed, expended or granted and that such activities are governmental functions and serve a public purpose in improving or otherwise benefiting the people of this state; that the necessity of enacting the provisions hereinafter set forth is in the public interest and is hereby so declared as a matter of express legislative determination.

History:

[67-6201, added 1972, ch. 324, sec. 1, p. 789; am. 1974, ch. 104, sec. 1, p. 1210; am. 1976, ch. 283, sec. 1, p. 968; am. 1997, ch. 191, sec. 1, p. 531; am. 2000, ch. 364, sec. 1, p. 1203; am. 2005, ch. 378, sec. 7, p. 1222; am. 2007, ch. 152, sec. 1, p. 463.]