(1) “Bonds” means the bonds, notes, or other obligations issued by the District pursuant to the Energy Efficiency Financing Act.
(2) “Chief Financial Officer” means the Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia.
(3) “Debt Service” means the principal and interest on the Energy Efficiency Loan.
(4) “Energy Efficiency Financing Act” means the Energy Efficiency Financing Act of 2010 [Chapter 17R of Title 8].
(5) “Energy Efficiency Loan” means an energy efficiency loan to a property owner under the Energy Efficiency Financing Act [§ 8-1778.01 et seq.].
(6) “Energy Efficiency Loan Agreement” means a loan, or other agreement, entered into pursuant to [§ 8-1778.43(a)], to make the Energy Efficiency Loan.
(7) “Indenture of Trust” means the indenture relating to the bonds, as modified, amended, or supplemented from time to time.
(8) “Lot” means real property as defined in § 47-802(1) where such real property for billing and collection purposes under this subchapter shall be further described with the letters “PC” preceding the sequence of square, suffix and lot, or parcel and lot, numbers under § 47-802(1).
(9) “Tax year” has the same meaning as provided in § 47-802(7).
(10) “Special Assessment” means the special assessment levied by the District each fiscal year to fund the amount necessary to pay the debt service on the Energy Efficiency Loan and applicable fees and costs.
(11) “Special Energy Assessment Fund” means the nonlapsing fund established by section 201 of the Energy Efficiency Financing Act [§ 8-1778.21].
§ 47–895.32. Levy of Special Assessment.
(a) A Special Assessment is levied and shall be collected with respect to each lot for which an Energy Efficiency Loan Agreement has been entered into by a property owner. The Special Assessment shall begin at the commencement of the half tax year immediately following the date on which the Energy Efficiency Loan Agreement is entered into or a subsequent half tax year as agreed to in the Energy Efficiency Loan Agreement and continue until the end of the half tax year in which the Energy Efficiency Loan is fully repaid pursuant to the Energy Efficiency Loan Agreement. At the time the Energy Efficiency Loan Agreement is executed, a memorandum of the Special Assessment shall be recorded in the land records of the District. The memoranda of the Special Assessment shall be exempt from the recordation tax levied pursuant to § 42-1103 and the transfer tax levied pursuant to § 47-903.
(b) The annual amount of the Special Assessment on each lot shall be an amount equal to the annual principal, interest, and administrative costs on the Energy Efficiency Loan applicable to that lot as described in [§ 8-1778.41]. The Special Assessment to be collected from any lot shall not be increased as a result of a default in the payment of the Special Assessment levied on any other lot. The Special Assessment shall not be increased by any means other than those prescribed in the Energy Efficiency Loan Agreement.
(c) If a property owner agrees to a Special Assessment to reduce energy costs and increases rents to tenants in that property to pay the costs of the Special Assessment, the property owner shall pass through the energy savings to the tenants so charged.
§ 47–895.33. Notices; collection; penalties.
(a) The Energy Efficiency Loan Agreement shall require the property owner to consent to the levy of the Special Assessment on the lots, following which consent, all actions by any owner of the lot to challenge the levy of the Special Assessment shall be forever barred. The property owner that enters into an Energy Efficiency Loan Agreement and each subsequent owner of the lot shall provide notice to the buyer of the lot of the levy of the Special Assessment; provided, that the notice shall not apply to lots sold under Chapter 13A [of this title]. Failure to receive disclosure of the Special Assessment by a subsequent owner shall not relieve the subsequent owner of the obligation to pay the Special Assessment.
(b) Special Assessments shall be collected in the same manner and at the same time as real property taxes are collected; provided, that the Special Assessments may be collected at a different time and in a different manner as determined by the Chief Financial Officer.
(b-1) A notice, bill, or other correspondence under this subchapter or § 47-1336 shall be mailed to the owner’s specifically designated mailing address as provided in the energy efficiency loan closing documents and as may be updated from time to time by the Chief Financial Officer, which may be different from the general mailing address provided pursuant to § 42-405, or as provided in the transfer and recordation tax return.
(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, an unpaid Special Assessment shall be subject to the same penalty and interest provisions as a delinquent real property tax under this chapter. A lien for an unpaid Special Assessment, including penalty and interest, shall attach to the real property in the same manner as, and with a priority immediately junior to, a lien for delinquent real property tax under Chapter 13A [of this title] and senior to all other liens. Real property sold at a tax sale for the failure to pay real property taxes shall remain subject to the obligation to pay Special Assessments in subsequent years as provided in this subchapter. The unpaid Special Assessment shall be collected pursuant to section 47-1336.
(2) If an interest in or use of a lot is subject to the Special Assessment because it is subject to taxation under § 47-1005.01, an unpaid Special Assessment on such an interest or use shall be subject to the same penalty and interest provisions as a delinquent tax imposed under § 47-1005.01, and the unpaid Special Assessment shall be collected in the same manner and under the same conditions and subject to the same penalty as for an unpaid tax imposed under § 47-1005.01.
§ 47–895.34. Termination of Special Assessment.
(a) The authority to levy Special Assessments under this subchapter shall terminate on the day after all the bonds secured by that Special Assessment and issued pursuant to the authority granted in [subchapter II of Chapter 17R of Title 8] are paid for and are no longer outstanding pursuant to their terms. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, any delinquent Special Assessments and related penalties and interest shall remain due as provided herein until fully paid.
(b) If a property owner elects to pay in full, prior to maturity, all principal and outstanding interest on the Energy Efficiency Loan Agreement, the repayment amount shall be deposited into the applicable Special Energy Assessment Bond Debt Service Account of the Special Energy Assessment Fund.
§ 47–895.35. Application of Special Assessment.
The Chief Financial Officer shall deposit the Special Assessment revenues collected under this subchapter in the Special Energy Assessment Fund.
