HB0263

Establishes a local water system funding program to provide financial assistance to cities, towns, and special districts for water and wastewater system improvements.

• Creates the Local Water System Funding Program administered by the State Loan and Investment Board to provide financial assistance to eligible municipalities for improvements to community water and wastewater systems. (W.S. 16-1-402(a), W.S. 16-1-402(b))
• Requires the board to establish an application process, review applications, conduct annual audits, and report program activity to legislative committees by November 1 each year. (W.S. 16-1-402(c))
• Specifies eligible uses of program funds including predevelopment costs, planning and technical assistance, local matching funds, repayment of existing loans, and costs of joining regional water or wastewater systems. (W.S. 16-1-402(d))
• Limits program eligibility to water and wastewater systems that charge consumer rates and qualify under state water pollution control revolving loans, drinking water revolving loans, Wyoming Water Development Office projects, or local government capital construction projects. (W.S. 16-1-402(e), W.S. 15-7-407, W.S. 16-1-201 through 16-1-207, W.S. 16-1-301 through 16-1-308, W.S. 9-4-604(a))
• Requires the board to consider population size, repayment ability, existing consumer rates and reserves, potential for regional system participation, and audit records when evaluating applications. (W.S. 16-1-402(f))
• Mandates that municipalities receiving assistance establish or maintain depreciation funds in accordance with existing law. (W.S. 16-1-402(g), W.S. 15-7-407(b))
• Authorizes the State Loan and Investment Board to borrow up to fifty million dollars per fiscal year from the legislative stabilization reserve account to fund the program, with repayment from annual distributions and interest charged at the previous year's reserve account rate of return. (W.S. 16-1-402(h), W.S. 16-1-402(j), W.S. 9-4-719(q))
• Amends the permanent Wyoming mineral trust fund reserve account distribution requirements to include transfers to the legislative stabilization reserve account to support repayment of borrowed funds.