§ 15-5-402 - Legislative findings and declaration of public necessity.
15-5-402. Legislative findings and declaration of public necessity.
(a) The General Assembly finds:
(1) 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. This instability has caused serious economic distress among the citizens of our state and is manifest in 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, in the rapidly rising costs of housing for elderly persons and families of low and moderate income, and in the growing unavailability of reliable, affordable, efficient, and environmentally compatible sources of energy for all types of public and private consumption. 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
(2) That the economic well-being of the citizens of the State of Arkansas will be enhanced by the providing of economical health care facilities for the benefit of its citizens, the providing of educational facilities of every nature and kind, and by the providing of water and sewer facilities to provide a source of decent water services and sewer services for its citizens.
(b) For these reasons, the General Assembly finds that there exists in the state an immediate and urgent need to provide the means and methods for providing financing and enhancing and supporting the credit of such financing to:
(1) Restore and revitalize existing agricultural business and industrial enterprises for the purpose of retaining existing employment within the state;
(2) 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;
(3) 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;
(4) Eliminate the shortage of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable residential housing for elderly persons and families of low and moderate income in the state;
(5) Assure the development of reliable, affordable, efficient, and environmentally compatible sources of energy for all types of public and private consumption;
(6) Provide health care facilities for the citizens and inhabitants of the state;
(7) Provide public improvements facilities for the benefit of the citizens and inhabitants of the state; and
(8) Provide educational facilities for educational institutions within the state.
(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 need for 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 health care facilities, for water works and sewer 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 the public financing can best be provided by the creation of a means of enhancing and supporting the credit of the public financing by establishing a bond guaranty procedure to be administered by the Arkansas Development Finance Authority.