Section 1680-G. Child care facilities development program; authority financing of eligible child care facilities development projects

1. The  dormitory authority is hereby authorized to finance eligible child  care
  facilities development projects which are intended to serve the needs of
  low-income working families or an area with demonstrated child care need
  or  to  provide  care  for  children through the age of twelve years and
  enrolled in school following the completion of the  school  day  or  the
  school  year.    Such  projects  shall be used as licensed or registered
  forms of child care for a period of at least ten years with  an  average
  of  twenty-five  percent of its available child care slots set aside for
  families eligible for low-income child care subsidies or  for  referrals
  of  low-income  or public assistance families from local social services
  districts. Such project shall have a useful life of at least ten years.
    2. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to
  the contrary,  and  subject  to  the  making  of  annual  appropriations
  therefor  by the legislature, in order to assist the dormitory authority
  in providing  for  the  financing  of  eligible  child  care  facilities
  development  projects,  the  director of the budget is authorized in any
  state fiscal year commencing April first, nineteen  hundred  ninety-nine
  or  any  state  fiscal year thereafter to enter into one or more service
  contracts, none of which shall exceed thirty years in duration, with the
  dormitory authority, upon such terms as the director of the  budget  and
  the dormitory authority agree.
    (b)  Any  service  contract  entered into pursuant to paragraph (a) of
  this subdivision or any payments made or to be made  thereunder  may  be
  assigned  and  pledged  by  the  dormitory authority as security for its
  bonds, notes, or other obligations.
    (c) Any such service contracts shall provide that  the  obligation  of
  the director of the budget or of the state to fund or to pay the amounts
  therein provided for shall not constitute a debt of the state within the
  meaning  of  any  constitutional or statutory provision in the event the
  dormitory authority assigns or pledges the service contract payments  as
  security  for its bonds, notes, or other obligations and shall be deemed
  executory only to the extent monies are available and that no  liability
  shall  be  incurred  by  the  state  beyond the monies available for the
  purpose, and that such obligation is subject to annual appropriations by
  the legislature.
    (d) Any service contract or contracts entered into  pursuant  to  this
  subdivision  shall  provide for state commitments to provide annually to
  the dormitory authority a sum or sums, upon such terms and conditions as
  shall be deemed appropriate by the director of the budget, to  fund  the
  principal,  interest,  or other related payments required for any bonds,
  notes, or other obligations of the dormitory authority  issued  pursuant
  to this section.
    3.  The dormitory authority in conjunction with the office of children
  and family services shall develop a request for applications  soliciting
  potential  applicants seeking assistance for the development of licensed
  child care center projects. The office of children and  family  services
  shall  receive,  initially  review, and assess applications to determine
  which projects should be referred to the authority and to rank by groups
  the referred projects according to the capacity of such projects to meet
  identified needs for child care. In  assessing  such  applications,  the
  office of children and family services shall consider:
    (a) the needs for child care services in the area;
    (b)  the potential viability for a child care center to succeed in the
  area;
    (c) the  qualifications  of  the  proposed  provider  to  operate  the
  proposed child care center;

    (d) the potential for meeting applicable regulatory requirements;
    (e)  the  appropriateness  of  the  site for licensing as a child care
  center; and
    (f) such other matters as the office of children and  family  services
  determines necessary to properly and completely evaluate an application.
    Upon  the  timely  completion  of  the  office  of children and family
  services' initial review and selection of applications meeting criteria,
  the office  shall  submit  such  selected  applications  and  the  group
  rankings  of  such  applications  to the dormitory authority which shall
  select grant recipients.
    4. (a) The dormitory authority shall,  from  any  appropriations  made
  available   for   this   purpose,  establish  a  child  care  facilities
  development program that shall offer child care  facilities  development
  grants pursuant to paragraphs (d), (e) and (f) of this subdivision.
    (b)   Financing   for   child  care  facilities  development  projects
  authorized pursuant  to  this  section  shall  only  be  made  upon  the
  determination  by  the  authority,  in  consultation  with the office of
  children and family services, that such a center or  school-age  program
  will  increase  supply  and  access  to  child  care.  Such  centers  or
  school-age programs shall demonstrate the potential to obtain  from  the
  office   of   children   and   family  services  and  other  appropriate
  governmental agencies, all  necessary  approvals,  licenses,  and  other
  supports to operate the center.
    (c)  Such  financing  shall  consist  of grants for the establishment,
  expansion, and development of licensed child care centers.
    (d) Grants shall  be  used  for  general  project  development  costs,
  including but not limited to: (i) the acquisition, design, construction,
  improvement,  or  renovation  of  the  site,  and  (ii)  the purchase of
  necessary equipment.
    (e) For the purposes of this  subdivision,  grants  shall  not  exceed
  ninety  percent  of  the  total  project  costs.  Child  care facilities
  development grants shall not be limited to funds  appropriated  therefor
  and  may  consist  of  monies  from  any source, public or private, made
  available for such grants.
    (f) Child care facilities development grants awarded pursuant to  this
  section  shall  be  available  for  not-for-profit child care facilities
  development projects owned or to be owned by not-for-profit corporations
  for use as child day care centers that will be duly approved,  licensed,
  inspected,  supervised,  and  regulated  as  may  be  determined  to  be
  necessary and appropriate by the authority.
    5. (a) To obtain funds for the purposes of this section, the authority
  shall have power from time to time to issue negotiable bonds  or  notes.
  Unless  the context shall clearly indicate otherwise, whenever the words
  "bond" or "bonds" are used in this section, such words shall  include  a
  note or notes of the authority.
    (b)  The  dormitory authority shall not issue any bonds or notes in an
  amount in excess of thirty million dollars  for  the  purposes  of  this
  section;  excluding  bonds  or  notes  issued  to  fund one or more debt
  service reserve funds, to pay costs of issuance of such bonds, and bonds
  or notes issued to  refund  or  otherwise  repay  such  bonds  or  notes
  previously  issued.  Except  for purposes of complying with the internal
  revenue code, any interest on bond proceeds shall only be  used  to  pay
  debt service on such bonds.
    (c)   In   computing  for  the  purposes  of  paragraph  (b)  of  this
  subdivision, the aggregate amount of indebtedness evidenced by bonds and
  notes of the dormitory authority issued pursuant to  this  title,  there
  shall  be  excluded  the amount of such indebtedness represented by such
  bonds or notes issued to refund  or  otherwise  repay  bonds  or  notes,

  provided that the amount so excluded under this paragraph may exceed the
  principal  amount  of  such bonds or notes that were issued to refund or
  otherwise repay only if the present value of the aggregate debt  service
  on  the refunding or repayment bonds or notes shall not have at the time
  of their issuance exceeded the  present  value  of  the  aggregate  debt
  service  of the bonds or notes they were issued to refund or repay, such
  present value in each case  being  calculated  by  using  the  effective
  interest  rate of the refunding or repayment bonds or notes, which shall
  be that rate arrived  at  by  doubling  the  semi-annual  interest  rate
  (compounded  semi-annually)  necessary  to  discount  the  debt  service
  payments on the refunding or repayment bonds or notes from  the  payment
  date thereof to the date of issue of the refunding or repayment bonds or
  notes  and to the price bid therefor, or to the proceeds received by the
  dormitory authority from  the  sale  thereof,  in  each  case  including
  estimated accrued interest.
    (d)  The  state  of  New  York  hereby  covenants with the purchasers,
  holders and owners from time to time  of  the  bonds  of  the  authority
  issued  pursuant  to  this  section  that  it  will  not, subject to the
  provisions of subparagraph (c)  of  subdivision  two  of  this  section,
  repeal,  revoke, rescind, modify or amend the provisions of this section
  which relate to the making of annual service contract  payments  to  the
  authority  with  respect to such bonds as to limit, impair or impede the
  rights and remedies granted to bondholders under this title or otherwise
  diminish the security pledged to such purchasers, holders and owners  or
  significantly impair the prospect of payment of any such bond.