Section 6C. (a) There is hereby established and placed within the corporation a fund to be known as the Wireless and Broadband Development Fund, referred to in this section as the fund, to be held by the corporation separate and apart from its other funds, to finance the activities of the wireless and broadband development council established pursuant to section 6B, referred to in this section as the council. The fund shall be credited any appropriations, bond proceeds or other monies authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited thereto, such additional funds as are subject to the direction and control of the corporation, any pension funds, federal grants or loans or private investment capital which may properly be applied in furtherance of the objectives of the fund, any proceeds from the sale of qualified investments secured or held by the fund, any fees and charges imposed relative to the making of qualified investments, as such shall be defined by the council created pursuant to section 6B, secured or held by the fund, and any other monies which may be available to the corporation for the purposes of the fund from any other source or sources.

(b) The corporation shall invest and reinvest the fund and the income thereof, except as hereinafter provided, only as follows: (1) in the making of qualified investments approved by the council, pursuant to rules approved by the council; (2) in defraying the ordinary and necessary expenses of administration and operation associated with the council; provided, however, that said administrative and operational expenses shall not exceed 5 per cent of the total assets of the fund in any 1 fiscal year; (3) in the investment of any funds not required for immediate disbursement in the purchase of such securities as may be lawful investments for fiduciaries in the commonwealth; (4) for the payment of binding obligations associated with such qualified investments which are secured by the fund as the same become payable; and (5) for the payment of principal or interest on qualified investments secured by the fund or the payment of any redemption premium required to be paid when such qualified investments are redeemed prior to maturity; provided, however, that monies in the fund shall not be withdrawn at any time in such an amount as would reduce the amount of the fund to less than the minimum requirement thereof established by the corporation, except for the purpose of paying binding obligations associated with qualified investments which are secured by the fund as the same become payable.

(c) The fund shall be held and applied by the corporation, subject to the approval of the council, to make qualified investments designed to advance the following public purposes: (1) to stimulate increased financing for the expansion of wireless internet, cellular and broadband services in the commonwealth by leveraging private financing for highly productive state-of-the-art facilities and by providing financing related thereto including, without limitation, financing of the construction or expansion of such new facilities; (2) to make matching grants to universities, colleges, public instrumentalities, companies and other entities to induce the federal government, industry and other grant-funding sources to fund the expansion of wireless internet, cellular and broadband services in the commonwealth, and to thereby serve to increase and strengthen the commercial and industrial base of the commonwealth and the economic development and employment opportunities related thereto; and (3) to provide bridge financing to universities, colleges, public instrumentalities, companies and other entities in anticipation of the receipt of grants of the type described in clause (2) awarded or to be awarded by the federal government, industry or other sources.

The corporation shall make no such qualified investment pursuant to clause (1) of subsection (b) unless: (i) the investment has been approved by a majority vote of the council; and (2) the corporation finds that, to the extent possible, the qualified investment is such that a definite benefit to the economy of the commonwealth may reasonably be expected therefrom. In addition, the corporation shall make no such qualified investment pursuant to said clause (1) of said subsection (b) unless the qualified investment is in conformity with rules adopted by the council and approved by the corporation.

Such rules shall set the terms and conditions for investments which are to constitute qualified investments, which may include, without limitation, loans, guarantees, loan insurance or reinsurance, equity investments, grants made only pursuant to clause (2) of subsection (c), or other financing or credit enhancing devices, as made by the corporation directly or on its own behalf or in conjunction with other public instrumentalities, private institutions, or the federal government. Such rules and regulations shall provide that each qualified investment made pursuant to clause (1) of said subsection (c) shall involve a transaction with the participation of at least 1 at-risk private party.

Such rules shall, set forth the terms, procedures, standards and conditions which the corporation shall employ to identify qualified applications, process applications, make investment determinations, safeguard the fund, advance the objective of increasing employment opportunities for the citizens of the commonwealth, oversee the progress of qualified investments and secure the participation of other public instrumentalities, private institutions, or the federal government in such qualified investments. Such rules shall provide that each recipient of a qualified investment shall be required to pay a fee as a condition of such receipt, which fee may take the form of points, an interest rate premium or a contribution of warrants or other form of equity or consideration to the fund as prescribed by the corporation. Such rules shall provide for negotiated agreements between the corporation and each recipient of a qualified investment regarding the terms and conditions by which the fund’s support thereof could be reduced or withdrawn.

(d) The corporation may solicit investments by private institutions or investors in the activities of the fund and may reach agreements with such private institutions or investors regarding the terms of any such investments including, without limitation, the rights of such investors to participate in the income or appropriation of the fund. In furtherance of the objective of securing investments by private institutions or investors in the activities of the fund as set forth in the preceding sentence, the corporation may develop a proposal relative to the creation of a separate investment entity which would allow for the commingling of the resources of the fund with the maximum participation by such private institutions or investors in a manner which is consistent with the public purpose of the fund and under terms and conditions calculated to protect and preserve the assets of the fund. If the creation or operation of such a separate entity as proposed by the corporation would require additional or clarifying amendments to the enabling act of the corporation, such proposal shall include proposed statutory language with regard thereto.

(e) Copies of the approved rules, and any modifications thereto, shall be submitted to the chairs of the house and senate committees on ways and means, the chairs of the joint committee on economic development and emerging technologies, the chairs of the joint committee telecommunication, utilities and energy and the clerks of the house of representatives and senate.

(f) Qualified investment transactions undertaken by the corporation pursuant to this section shall not, except as specified in this section, be subject to chapter 175, and shall be payable solely from the Wireless and Broadband Development Fund, and shall not constitute a debt or pledge of the faith and credit of the commonwealth, the corporation or any subdivision of the commonwealth.

(g) The corporation shall not at any time make expenditure from or commitment of the assets of the fund including, without limitation, the making of qualified investments secured by the fund, if following the making of a qualified investment, the amount of the fund shall be less than the minimum requirement established by law, unless the council, at the time of making of such qualified investment, deposits in the fund from the proceeds thereof or from any fees and charges imposed relative to the making of qualified investments, or otherwise, an amount which, together with the amount in the fund, shall not be less than the minimum requirement. At no time shall the minimum requirement of the fund be less than the maximum amount of principal and interest becoming due in the current and succeeding fiscal year of the corporation on all outstanding bonds and other obligations which are secured by the fund or such greater amount as may be set forth in the rules governing the fund.