(1) The corporation is hereby authorized to approve or deny, by a majority vote of the membership of the directors, the guaranty of any revenue bonds issued pursuant to this act.

(2) Any applicant for financing from the corporation, requesting a guaranty of the bonds issued by the corporation under this act must submit a guaranty application, in a form acceptable to the corporation, together with supporting documentation to the corporation as provided in this section.

(3) All applications for a guaranty must be accompanied by a premium payment to the guaranty fund established pursuant to s. 288.9608, in an amount which shall be determined by the corporation. The premium payment may be collected by the corporation from the lessee of the project involved or from the payee of the loan agreement involved.

(4) All applications for a guaranty must be accompanied by documentation providing that loans be secured by a first mortgage on the property financed, and that the financing include a personal guarantee by the principal owner of the business being financed.

(5) Personal financial records, trade secrets, or proprietary information of applicants shall be confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1). This exemption is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with [Footnote 2] s. 119.14.

(6) If the application for a guaranty is approved by the corporation, the corporation and the applicant shall enter into a guaranty agreement. In accordance with the provisions of the guaranty agreement, the corporation guarantees to use the funds on deposit in its Revenue Bond Guaranty Reserve Account to meet amortization payments on the bonds as they become due, in the event and to the extent that the applicant is unable to meet such payments in accordance with the terms of the bond indenture when called to do so by the trustee of the bondholders. Whenever the corporation, acting under the terms of the guaranty agreement, deems it necessary to assume the obligation of maintenance of any building or facility financed with bond proceeds, the corporation may use funds on deposit in the Revenue Bond Guaranty Reserve Account to pay insurance and maintenance costs required for the preservation of the building or facility and to protect the reserve account from loss, or to minimize losses, in such manner as deemed necessary and advisable by the corporation.

(7)

(a) The corporation is authorized to enter into an investment agreement with the Department of Transportation and the State Board of Administration concerning the investment of the earnings accrued and collected upon the investment of the minimum balance of funds required to be maintained in the State Transportation Trust Fund pursuant to [Footnote 3] s. 339.135(7)(b). Such investment shall be limited as follows: 1. Not more than $4 million of the investment earnings earned on the investment of the minimum balance of the State Transportation Trust Fund in a fiscal year shall be at risk at any time on one or more bonds or series of bonds issued by the corporation. 2. The investment earnings shall not be used to guarantee any bonds issued after June 30, 1998, and in no event shall the investment earnings be used to guarantee any bond issued for a maturity longer than 15 years. 3. The corporation shall pay a reasonable fee, set by the State Board of Administration, in return for the investment of such funds. The fee shall not be less than the comparable rate for similar investments in terms of size and risk. 4. The proceeds of bonds issued by the corporation for which a guaranty has been or will be issued pursuant to s. 288.9606, s. 288.9608, or this section used to make loans to any one person, including any related interests, as defined in s. 658.48, of such person, shall not exceed 20 percent of the principal of all such outstanding bonds of the corporation issued prior to the first composite bond issue of the corporation, or December 31, 1995, whichever comes first, and shall not exceed 15 percent of the principal of all such outstanding bonds of the corporation issued thereafter. The provisions of this subparagraph shall not apply when the total amount of all such outstanding bonds issued by the corporation is less than $2 million. 5. The corporation shall establish a debt service reserve account which contains not less than 6 months' debt service reserves from the proceeds of the sale of any bonds guaranteed by the corporation. 6. The corporation shall establish an account known as the Revenue Bond Guaranty Reserve Account, the Guaranty Fund. The corporation shall deposit a sum of money into this fund and maintain a balance in this fund, from sources other than the investment of earnings accrued and collected upon the investment of the minimum balance of funds required to be maintained in the State Transportation Trust Fund, not less than a sum equal to 1 year of maximum debt service on all outstanding bonds of the corporation. In the event the corporation fails to maintain the balance required pursuant to this subparagraph for any reason other than a default on a bond issue of the corporation guaranteed pursuant to this section, any guaranty authorized for any bond issue of the corporation shall be void.

(b) Unless specifically prohibited in the General Appropriations Act, the earnings accrued and collected upon the investment of the minimum balance of funds required to be maintained in the State Transportation Trust Fund may continue to be used pursuant to paragraph (a).

(c) The guaranty shall not be a general obligation of the corporation or of the state, but shall be a special obligation, which constitutes the investment of a public trust fund. In no event shall the guaranty constitute an indebtedness of the corporation, the State of Florida, or any political subdivision thereof within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory limitation. Each guaranty agreement shall have plainly stated on the face thereof that it has been entered into under the provisions of this act and that it does not constitute an indebtedness of the corporation, the state, or any political subdivision thereof within any constitutional or statutory limitation, and that neither the full faith and credit of the State of Florida nor any of its revenues is pledged to meet any of the obligations of the corporation under such guaranty agreement. Each such agreement shall state that the obligation of the corporation under the guaranty shall be limited to the funds available in the Revenue Bond Guaranty Reserve Account as authorized by this section. The corporation shall include, as part of the annual report prepared pursuant to s. 288.9610, a detailed report concerning the use of guaranteed bond proceeds for loans guaranteed or issued pursuant to any agreement with the Florida Black Business Investment Board, including the percentage of such loans guaranteed or issued and the total volume of such loans guaranteed or issued.

(8) In the event the corporation does not approve the application for a guaranty, the applicant shall be notified in writing of the corporation's determination that the application not be approved.

(9) The membership of the corporation is authorized and directed to conduct such investigation as it may deem necessary for promulgation of regulations to govern the operation of the guaranty program authorized by this section. The regulations may include such other additional provisions, restrictions, and conditions as the corporation, after its investigation referred to in this subsection, shall determine to be proper to achieve the most effective utilization of the guaranty program. This may include, without limitation, a detailing of the remedies that must be exhausted by the bondholders, or a trustee acting on their behalf, prior to calling upon the corporation to perform under its guaranty agreement and the subrogation of other rights of the corporation with reference to the project and its operation or the financing in the event the corporation makes payment pursuant to the applicable guaranty agreement. The regulations promulgated by the corporation to govern the operation of the guaranty program shall contain specific provisions with respect to the rights of the corporation to enter, take over, and manage all financed properties upon default. These regulations shall set forth the respective rights of the corporation and the bondholders in regard thereto. History: ss. 31, 62, ch. 93-187; s. 1, ch. 93-402; s. 14, ch. 94-136; s. 3, ch. 95-386. [Footnote 1] Note. Section 62, ch. 93-187, as amended by s. 1, ch. 93-402, provides that "by December 31, 1998, the Legislature shall review the Florida Development Finance Corporation, including evaluating its success in attaining its statutory mission, identifying any new or unintended risks created for the state by it, and its record in covering increasing portions of its operating expenses." [Footnote 2] Note. A. Repealed by s. 1, ch. 95-217. B. Section 4, ch. 95-217, provides that "notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, exemptions from chapter 119, Florida Statutes, or chapter 286, Florida Statutes, which are prescribed by law and are specifically made subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with section 119.14, Florida Statutes, are not subject to review under that act, and are not abrogated by the operation of that act, after October 1, 1995." [Footnote 3] Note. Section 339.135(6)(b) relates to the minimum balance to be maintained in the State Transportation Trust Fund.