Fund established

(a) Pursuant to Article III, Section IX, Paragraph VI(j) of the Constitution of Georgia, there is established as a separate fund of the Georgia Development Authority a fund to be known as the ‘‘Emerging Crops Fund,’’ which shall be used to make interest loans on loans made to farmers for costs of production of emerging crops on land in Georgia. The fund shall be administered by the Georgia Development Authority. The Georgia Development Authority shall by rules or regulations develop definitions, guidelines, standards, requirements, and procedures for making interest loans as authorized in this chapter. Funds for the Emerging Crops Fund and for the administration of said fund shall be provided from the following sources: (1) Appropriations by the General Assembly, and funds appropriated to the Emerging Crops Fund shall be presumptively concluded to have been committed to the purpose for which appropriated and shall not lapse; (2) The repayment of interest loans made from the fund; and 442 2-8A-6 (3) Any interest or earnings made from the investment of funds of the Emerging Crops Fund. (b) The Georgia Development Authority shall maintain the Emerging Crops Fund entirely separate from any other funds of the authority, and no funds available to the authority to carry out its purposes under Chapter 10 of Title 50 shall be used for the purposes of the Emerging Crops Fund. The source of funds provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section shall be the only source of funds for the Emerging Crops Fund. (c) Except as limited by subsection (b) of this Code section, the Georgia Development Authority may exercise any power possessed by the authority under Chapter 10 of Title 50 to carry out the provisions of this chapter. History. — Code 1981, § 2-8A-5, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1696, § 1; Ga. L. 2013, p. 671, § 1/SB 91. 2-8A-6. Application for interest loan; maximum amount; maximum rate of interest; security. Any lender which has made or makes a loan to a farmer to finance the costs of production of an emerging crop on land in Georgia may make application to the Georgia Development Authority for an interest loan to pay interest on the loan during the period from the beginning of production to harvest or initial sale of the product, which payment shall be made from the fund. The maximum amount of interest loans from the fund for the benefit of any one farmer shall be $50,000.00; provided, however, that the Georgia Development Authority in administering the fund shall give priority to smaller interest loans. During the period that the Georgia Development Authority pays the interest on a loan from the fund, the maximum rate of interest which may be charged on the loan by the lender shall be as established from time to time by the Georgia Development Authority. By payment of the interest on a loan, neither the Georgia Development Authority nor the State of Georgia shall be a guarantor of the loan. The Georgia Development Authority shall, by rule or regulation, require such security or lien as may be necessary to provide adequate security for the authority as condition for making an interest loan as authorized by this chapter. History. — Code 1981, § 2-8A-6, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1696, § 1; Ga. L. 2013, p. 671, § 1/SB 91. 443 2-8A-7 2-8A-7. Repayment of interest loan.