H.R. 1297 — Introduced in House

I 113th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1297 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 20, 2013 Mr. Owens (for himself, Mr. Courtney, and Mr. Hanna) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to expand eligibility for Farm Service Agency loans. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Agricultural Credit Expansion Act. 2. Eligibility for farm loans (a) Farm ownership loans Section 302(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1922(a)) is amended— (1) by striking (a) In general.—The and inserting the following: (a) In general (1) Eligibility requirements The ; (2) in the 1st sentence, by inserting after limited liability companies the following: , and such other legal entities as the Secretary deems appropriate,; (3) in the 2nd sentence, by redesignating clauses (1) through (4) as clauses (A) through (D), respectively; (4) in each of the 2nd and 3rd sentences, by striking and limited liability companies each place it appears and inserting limited liability companies, and such other legal entities; and (5) by adding at the end the following: (2) Special deeming rules (A) Eligibility of certain operating-only entities An entity that is or will become only the operator of a family farm is deemed to meet the owner-operator requirements of paragraph (1) if the individuals that are the owners of the family farm own more than 50 percent (or such other percentage as the Secretary determines is appropriate) of the entity. (B) Eligibility of certain embedded entities An entity that is an owner-operator described in paragraph (1), or an operator described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph that is owned, in whole or in part, by other entities, is deemed to meet the direct ownership requirement imposed under paragraph (1) if at least 75 percent of the ownership interests of each embedded entity of such entity is owned directly or indirectly by the individuals that own the family farm. . (b) Conservation loans Section 304(c)(1) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1924(c)(1)) is amended by inserting after limited liability companies the following: , or such other legal entities as the Secretary deems appropriate,. (c) Farm operating loans Section 311(a) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1941(a)) is amended— (1) by striking (a) In general.—The and inserting the following: (a) In general (1) Eligibility requirements The ; (2) in the 1st sentence, by inserting after limited liability companies the following: , and such other legal entities as the Secretary deems appropriate,; (3) in the 2nd sentence, by redesignating clauses (1) through (4) as clauses (A) through (D), respectively; (4) in each of the 2nd and 3rd sentences, by striking and limited liability companies each place it appears and inserting limited liability companies, and such other legal entities; and (5) by adding at the end the following: (2) Special deeming rule An entity that is an operator described in paragraph (1) that is owned, in whole or in part, by other entities, is deemed to meet the direct ownership requirement imposed under paragraph (1) if at least 75 percent of the ownership interests of each embedded entity of such entity is owned directly or indirectly by the individuals that own the family farm. . (d) Emergency loans Section 321(a) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1961(a)) is amended— (1) by striking owner-operators (in the case of loans for a purpose under subtitle A) or operators (in the case of loans for a purpose under subtitle B) each place it appears and inserting (in the case of farm ownership loans in accordance with subtitle A) owner-operators or operators, or (in the case of loans for a purpose under subtitle B) operators; (2) by inserting after limited liability companies the 1st place it appears the following: , or such other legal entities as the Secretary deems appropriate; (3) by inserting after limited liability companies the 2nd place it appears the following: , or other legal entities; (4) by striking and limited liability companies, and inserting limited liability companies, and such other legal entities; (5) by striking ownership and operator and inserting ownership or operator; and (6) by adding at the end the following: An entity that is an owner-operator or operator described in this subsection is deemed to meet the direct ownership requirement imposed under this subsection if the entity is owned, in whole or in part, by other entities and each individual that is an owner of the family farm involved has a direct or indirect ownership interest in each of the other entities.. (e) Conforming amendments (1) Section 304(c)(2) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1924(c)(2)) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 302(a) and inserting subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 302(a)(1). (2) Section 310D of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1934) is amended— (A) by inserting after partnership the following: , or such other legal entities as the Secretary deems appropriate,; and (B) by inserting after partners the following: , or owners,. (3) Section 343(a)(11) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(11)) is amended— (A) by inserting after joint operation, the 1st place it appears the following: or such other legal entity as the Secretary deems appropriate,; (B) by striking or joint operators each place it appears and inserting joint operators, or owners; and (C) by inserting after joint operation, each other place it appears the following: or such other legal entity,. (4) Section 359(c)(2) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2006a(c)(2)) is amended by striking section 302(a)(2) or 311(a)(2) and inserting section 302(a)(1)(B) or 311(a)(1)(B).