15-5-102. Legislative findings and declaration of public necessity.

15-5-102. Legislative findings and declaration of public necessity. (a) The General Assembly finds: (1)(A) That there exists severe economic instability in traditional national and international markets for goods and services produced by the citizens of the State of Arkansas. (B) This instability has caused serious economic distress among the citizens of our state and is manifest in: (i) The increasing number of business failures and bankruptcies, both personal and corporate, and the extraordinarily high levels of unemployment in agricultural business and industrial enterprises; and (ii) The rapidly rising costs of housing for elderly persons and families of low and moderate income; (2) That the continued existence of these conditions is inimical to the public health, welfare, safety, morals, and economic security of the citizens and inhabitants of the state; and (3) That the economic well-being of the citizens of the State of Arkansas will be enhanced by the providing of: (A) Economical healthcare facilities for the benefit of its citizens; (B) Educational facilities of every nature and kind; (C) Capital improvement facilities for its citizens; and (D) Financial assistance to political subdivisions of the state. (b) For the reasons set out in subsection (a) of this section, the General Assembly finds that there exists in the state an immediate and urgent need to provide the means and methods for providing financing: (1) To complement Arkansas's private financial institutions to better serve their customers in ways which contribute to a strengthened and diversified Arkansas economy and which do not compete with Arkansas's private financial institutions; (2) To restore and revitalize existing agricultural business and industrial enterprises for the purpose of retaining existing employment within the state; (3) To promote and develop the expansion of existing and the establishment of new agricultural business and industrial enterprises for the purpose of further alleviating unemployment within the state and for providing additional employment; (4) To promote and target resources of the state to further the development of export trade of Arkansas products for the purpose of the economic development of the state and for providing additional employment therefrom; (5) To eliminate the shortage of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable residential housing for elderly persons and families of low and moderate income in the state; (6) To assure the development of reliable, affordable, efficient, and environmentally compatible sources of energy for all types of public and private consumption; (7) To provide healthcare facilities for the citizens and inhabitants of the state; (8) To provide capital improvement facilities for the benefit of the citizens and inhabitants of the state; (9) To provide educational facilities for educational institutions within the state and to enhance the Public School Fund; (10) To provide for short-term advance funding of the obligations of local governments throughout the state; and (11) To assist minority businesses in obtaining loans or other means of financial assistance. (c) It is declared to be the public policy and responsibility of this state to promote the health, welfare, safety, morals, and economic security of its inhabitants through the retention of existing employment and alleviation of unemployment in all phases of agricultural business and industrial enterprises, the elimination of the shortage of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing for elderly persons and persons of low and moderate income, for the development of reliable, affordable, efficient, and environmentally compatible sources of energy for all types of public and private consumption, for healthcare facilities, for capital improvement facilities, and for educational facilities for the benefit of educational institutions within the state. (d) The General Assembly finds that the public policies and responsibilities of the state as set forth in this section cannot be fully attained without the use of public financing and that such public financing can best be provided by the creation of a state development finance authority with comprehensive and extensive powers therein. The authority shall have the power to issue revenue bonds to provide financing for qualified agricultural businesses and industrial enterprises, residential housing, energy enterprises and facilities, healthcare facilities, capital improvement facilities, and educational facilities, and that all of the foregoing are public purposes and uses for which public moneys may be borrowed, expended, advanced, loaned, and granted.