Sec. 42.45.250. - Bulk fuel revolving loan fund.
(a) The bulk fuel revolving loan fund is established in the authority to assist communities, utilities providing power in communities, and fuel retailers in communities in purchasing bulk fuel to generate power or supply the public with fuel for use in communities. A community, or a person generating power or selling fuel in a community who has written endorsement from the governing body of each community for which a loan from the fund is sought, is eligible for a loan from the bulk fuel revolving loan fund for a purchase of an emergency supply or a semiannual or annual supply of bulk fuel to be used in the community.
(b) Money in the fund may be used by the legislature to make appropriations for costs of administering this section.
(c) The foreclosure expense account is established as a special account within the bulk fuel revolving loan fund. This account is established as a reserve from fund equity.
(d) The authority may spend money credited to the foreclosure expense account when necessary to protect the state's security interest in collateral on loans made under this section or to defray expenses incurred during foreclosure proceedings after a default by an obligor.
(e) Loans made from the bulk fuel revolving loan fund to one borrower in any fiscal year
(1) may not exceed $750,000, or, if the borrower is a cooperative corporation organized under AS 10.15 or an electric cooperative organized under AS 10.25 and uses the loan to purchase bulk fuel on behalf of more than one community, may not exceed the lesser of $750,000 multiplied by the number of communities on whose behalf the bulk fuel is to be purchased, or $1,800,000;
(2) shall be repaid in one year or less; and
(3) may not exceed 90 percent of the wholesale price of the fuel purchased.
(f) Interest may be charged on a loan made from the bulk fuel revolving loan fund. Interest shall be charged on a loan at a rate equal to the percentage of the average weekly yield of municipal bonds for the 12 months preceding the date of the loan, as determined by the authority from municipal bond yield rates reported in the 30-year revenue index of The Bond Buyer. However, if the authority finds that a community cannot afford to repay a portion of interest on a loan, and makes a determination in writing, the authority may reduce or eliminate the interest rate applicable to the loan.
(g) Repayments of the principal, the interest, and the money chargeable to principal or interest that is collected through liquidation by foreclosure or other process on a loan made under this section shall be paid into the bulk fuel revolving loan fund. The fund is not a dedicated fund.
(h) The authority may contract for the administration of the bulk fuel loan program established in this section.
(i) The authority shall dispose of property acquired through default or foreclosure of a loan made under this section. Disposal shall be made in a manner that serves the best interests of the state, and may include the amortization of payments over a period of years.
(j) The authority may adopt regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this section, including regulations to establish reasonable fees for services provided and charges for collecting the fees.
(k) The authority may collect the fees and collection charges established under (j) of this section and shall deposit the money in the general fund.
(l) Subject to the limitations of AS 42.45.010 (b)(3), the authority may borrow money from the power project fund (AS 42.45.010) when necessary to meet commitments for loans from the bulk fuel revolving loan fund. The authority shall use the money in the bulk fuel revolving loan fund to repay the money borrowed from the power project fund and any interest charged on the money borrowed.
(m) In this section,
(1) "community" means an organized municipality or an unincorporated village that is a social unit, with a population of less than 2,000 people.
(2) "person" has the meaning given in AS 01.10.060 and includes a corporation, a cooperative, a joint venture, and a governmental entity.