The Modernizing Agricultural and Manufacturing Bonds Act (MAMBA) is a common-sense, bipartisan, targeted reform package that will modernize two categories of qualified small issue private activity bonds: Small Issue Manufacturing Bonds (more commonly known as Industrial Development Bonds (IDBs)), and First-Time Farmer Bonds (also called Agricultural Bonds, or simply Aggie Bonds). These types of bonds are key economic development tools used by state and local agencies to finance the small- to mid-sized manufacturing and agricultural sectors.
Unfortunately, IDBs and Aggie Bonds have not been modernized in over 30 years, causing stagnation and decline in these respective industries. Over the past decade, IDB and Aggie Bond issuances have substantially declined due in major part to the outdated rules and regulations that govern the use of these bonds. The six reforms contained within MAMBA will update the Internal Revenue Code (IRC)’s private activity bond rules for IDBs and Aggie Bonds. The six reforms are as follows:
- Expand the definition of “manufacturing facility”
- Eliminate restrictions on “directly related and ancillary facilities”
- Increase the maximum IDB size limitation from $10 million to $30 million
- Increase the limitation on small issue bond proceeds for first-time farmers
- Repeal the separate dollar limitation on the use of small issue bond proceeds for depreciable property
- Modify the definition of “substantial farmland”