[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR80.3]

[Page 708-710]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
          Subtitle A--Office of the Secretary of Transportation
 
PART 80_CREDIT ASSISTANCE FOR SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS--Table of Contents
 
Sec.  80.3  Definitions.

    The following definitions apply to this part:
    Administrative offset means the right of the government to apply 
moneys held by the government and otherwise owed to a debtor for the 
extinguishment of claims due the government from the debtor.
    Conditional term sheet means a contractual agreement between the 
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)

[[Page 709]]

and the project sponsor (and the lender, if applicable) by which the DOT 
reserves TIFIA funding for a specific project and commits to providing 
Federal credit assistance to that project at a future point in time upon 
satisfaction of specified conditions and subject to the future 
availability of obligation authority. The DOT will not legally obligate 
budget authority until those conditions are met. Upon satisfaction of 
those conditions, the conditional term sheet can be amended and/or 
restated to trigger an obligation of funds.
    Credit agreement means a contractual agreement between the DOT and 
the project sponsor (and the lender, if applicable) that formalizes the 
terms and conditions established in the term sheet (or conditional term 
sheet) and authorizes the execution of a secured loan, loan guarantee, 
or line of credit.
    Eligible project costs mean amounts substantially all of which are 
paid by, or for the account of, an obligor in connection with a project, 
including the cost of:
    (1) Development phase activities, including planning, feasibility 
analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental review, permitting, 
preliminary engineering and design work, and other pre-construction 
activities;
    (2) Construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, replacement, and 
acquisition of real property (including land related to the project and 
improvements to land), environmental mitigation, construction 
contingencies, and acquisition of equipment; and
    (3) Capitalized interest necessary to meet market requirements, 
reasonably required reserve funds, capital issuance expenses, and other 
carrying costs during construction.
    Federal credit instrument means a secured loan, loan guarantee, or 
line of credit authorized to be made available under this subchapter 
with respect to a project.
    Investment-grade rating means a rating category of BBB minus, Baa3, 
or higher assigned by a rating agency to project obligations offered 
into the capital markets.
    Lender means any non-Federal qualified institutional buyer (as 
defined in 17 CFR 230.144A(a)), known as Rule 144A(a) of the Securities 
and Exchange Commission and issued under the Securities Act of 1933 (15 
U.S.C. 77a et seq.), including:
    (1) A qualified retirement plan (as defined in section 4974(c) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. 4974(c)) that is a 
qualified institutional buyer; and
    (2) A governmental plan (as defined in section 414(d) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. 414(d)) that is a qualified 
institutional buyer.
    Line of credit means an agreement entered into by the Secretary with 
an obligor under section 184 of title 23 to provide a direct loan at a 
future date upon the occurrence of certain events.
    Loan guarantee means any guarantee or other pledge by the Secretary 
to pay all or part of the principal of and interest on a loan or other 
debt obligation issued by an obligor and funded by a lender.
    Local servicer means:
    (1) A State infrastructure bank established under title 23; or
    (2) A State or local government or any agency of a State or local 
government that is responsible for servicing a Federal credit instrument 
on behalf of the Secretary.
    Obligor means a party primarily liable for payment of the principal 
of or interest on a Federal credit instrument, which party may be a 
corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, or governmental entity, 
agency, or instrumentality.
    Project means:
    (1) Any surface transportation project eligible for Federal 
assistance under title 23 or chapter 53 of title 49;
    (2) A project for an international bridge or tunnel for which an 
international entity authorized under Federal or State law is 
responsible;
    (3) A project for intercity passenger bus or rail facilities and 
vehicles, including facilities and vehicles owned by the National 
Railroad Passenger Corporation, and components of magnetic levitation 
transportation systems; and
    (4) A project for publicly owned intermodal surface freight transfer 
facilities, other than seaports and airports, if the facilities are 
located on or adjacent to National Highway System

[[Page 710]]

routes or connections to the National Highway System.
    Project obligation means any note, bond, debenture, or other debt 
obligation issued by an obligor in connection with the financing of a 
project, other than a Federal credit instrument.
    Project sponsor, for the purposes of this part, means an applicant 
for TIFIA assistance or an obligor, as appropriate.
    Rating agency means a bond rating agency identified by the 
Securities and Exchange Commission as a Nationally Recognized 
Statistical Rating Organization.
    Secured loan means a direct loan or other debt obligation issued by 
an obligor and funded by the Secretary in connection with the financing 
of a project under section 183 of title 23.
    State means any one of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, 
or Puerto Rico.
    Subsidy amount means the amount of budget authority sufficient to 
cover the estimated long-term cost to the Federal Government of a 
Federal credit instrument, calculated on a net present value basis, 
excluding administrative costs and any incidental effects on 
governmental receipts or outlays in accordance with the provisions of 
the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et seq.).
    Substantial completion means the opening of a project to vehicular 
or passenger traffic or a comparable event as determined by the 
Secretary and specified in the credit agreement.
    Term sheet means a contractual agreement between the DOT and the 
project sponsor (and the lender, if applicable) that sets forth the key 
business terms and conditions of a Federal credit instrument. Execution 
of this document represents a legal obligation of budget authority.
    TIFIA means the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation 
Act of 1998, Pub. L. 105-178, 112 Stat. 107, 241 (1998).

[64 FR 29750, June 2, 1999, as amended at 65 FR 44939, July 19, 2000]