(1) An authority established pursuant to this chapter may develop and conduct a program or programs to provide nonrecourse revenue bond financing for the project costs for economic development activities.
(2) An authority is authorized to participate fully in federal and other governmental economic development finance programs and to take such actions as are necessary and consistent with this chapter to secure the benefits of those programs and to meet their requirements.
(3) An authority may develop and conduct a program that will stimulate and encourage the development of new products within Washington state by the infusion of financial aid for invention and innovation in situations in which the financial aid would not otherwise be reasonably available from commercial sources. The authority is authorized to provide nonrecourse revenue bond financing for this program.
(a) For the purposes of this program, the authority has the following powers and duties:
(i) To enter into financing agreements with eligible persons doing business in Washington state, upon terms and on conditions consistent with the purposes of this chapter, for the advancement of financial and other assistance to the persons for the development of specific products, procedures, and techniques, to be developed and produced in this state, and to condition the agreements upon contractual assurances that the benefits of increasing or maintaining employment and tax revenues remain in this state and accrue to it;
(ii) Own, possess, and take license in patents, copyrights, and proprietary processes and negotiate and enter into contracts and establish charges for the use of the patents, copyrights, and proprietary processes when the patents and licenses for products result from assistance provided by the authority;
(iii) Negotiate royalty payments to the authority on patents and licenses for products arising as a result of assistance provided by the authority;
(iv) Negotiate and enter into other types of contracts with eligible persons that assure that public benefits will result from the provision of services by the authority; provided that the contracts are consistent with the state Constitution;
(v) Encourage and provide technical assistance to eligible persons in the process of developing new products;
(vi) Refer eligible persons to researchers or laboratories for the purpose of testing and evaluating new products, processes, or innovations; and
(vii) To the extent permitted under its contract with eligible persons, to consent to a termination, modification, forgiveness, or other change of a term of a contractual right, payment, royalty, contract, or agreement of any kind to which the authority is a party.
(b) Eligible persons seeking financial and other assistance under this program must forward an application, together with an application fee prescribed by rule, to the authority. An investigation and report concerning the advisability of approving an application for assistance must be completed by the staff of the authority. The investigation and report may include, but is not limited to, facts about the company under consideration as its history, wage standards, job opportunities, stability of employment, past and present financial condition and structure, pro forma income statements, present and future markets and prospects, integrity of management as well as the feasibility of the proposed product and invention to be granted financial assistance, including the state of development of the product as well as the likelihood of its commercial feasibility. After receipt and consideration of the report set out in this subsection and after other action as is deemed appropriate, the application must be approved or denied by the authority. The applicant must be promptly notified of action by the authority.
(4) An authority may receive no appropriation of state funds. The department of commerce and the Washington economic development finance authority may assist a local economic development finance authority in organizing itself and in designing programs.
(5) An authority may use any funds legally available to it for any purpose specifically authorized by this chapter, or for otherwise improving economic development by assisting businesses and farm enterprises that do not have access to capital at terms and rates comparable to large corporations due to the location of the business, the size of the business, the lack of financial expertise, or other appropriate reasons.
(6) An authority must coordinate its activities with those, including bond issuance activities, of the creating municipality and the public corporation created under chapter
39.84 RCW by the creating municipality.
