n-16-20.pdf

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Part III - Administrative, Procedural, and Miscellaneous

Qualified Zone Academy Bond Allocations for 2015 and 2016

Notice 2016-20

SECTION 1. PURPOSE
This notice sets forth the maximum face amount of Qualified Zone Academy
Bonds (“QZABs”) that may be issued for each State for the calendar years 2015 and
2016 under § 54E(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code. Under § 54A(e)(3), the term
State includes the District of Columbia and any possession of the United States.
SECTION 2. BACKGROUND
.01 INTRODUCTION
Section 313 of the Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of
2008, Div. C of Pub. L. No. 110-343, 122 Stat. 3765 (2008) (“Act”) added new § 54E,
which provides revised program provisions for QZABs in lieu of the existing provisions
under §1397E, effective for obligations issued after October 3, 2008. The Act amended
§ 54A(d)(1) to provide that the term qualified tax credit bond (“QTCB”) means, in part, a
qualified zone academy bond which is part of an issue that meets the requirements of
§§ 54A(d)(2), (3), (4), (5), and (6) regarding expenditures of bond proceeds, information
reporting, arbitrage, maturity limitations, and prohibitions against financial conflicts of

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interest. The Act also amended § 54A(d)(2)(C) to provide that, for purposes of
§ 54A(d)(2), the term “qualified purpose” for a QZAB means a purpose specified in
§ 54E(a)(1), described below.
The Act added § 54E(c)(1) to provide a national zone academy bond limitation
authorization for QZABs of $400 million for each of calendar years 2008 and 2009.
Section 1522 of Title I of Division B of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009, Pub. L. No. 111-5, 123 Stat. 115 (2009) (“2009 Act”) amended § 54E(c)(1) to
provide an increased national zone academy bond limitation authorization for QZABs of
$1.4 billion for each of calendar years 2009 and 2010. Section 758 of the Tax Relief,
Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, Public L. No.
111-312, 124 Stat. 3296 (2010) (“2010 Act”) amended § 54E(c)(1) to provide an
authorization for QZABs of $400 million for calendar year 2011. Section 310 of the
American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, Public L. No. 112-240, 126 Stat. 2313 (2012)
(“2012 Act”) amended § 54E(c)(1) to provide authorization for QZABs of $400 million for
each of calendar years 2012 and 2013. Section 120 of the Tax Increase Prevention Act
of 2014, Public L. No. 113-295 (2014) (“2014 Act”) amended § 54E(c)(1) to provide
authorization for QZABs of $400 million for calendar year 2014. The amendment
made by § 120 of the 2014 Act applies to obligations issued after December 31, 2013.
Section 202 of the 2014 Act also amended § 6431(f)(3)(A)(iii) to provide that the direct-
pay subsidy option does not apply to any national zone academy bond limitation for
years after 2010 or any carryforward of any such limitation. Section 164 of the
Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015, Public L. No. 114-113, 129 Stat.

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2242 (“2015 Act”) amended § 54E(c)(1) to provide authorization for QZABs of $400
million for each of calendar years 2015 and 2016. The amendment made by § 164 of
the 2015 Act applies to obligations issued after December 31, 2014.
.02 QUALIFIED ZONE ACADEMY BOND UNDER § 54E
Section 54E(d) defines “qualified zone academy” as any public school (or
academic program within a public school) which is established by and operated under
the supervision of an eligible local education agency to provide education or training
below the postsecondary level provided: (A) the public school or program is designed in
cooperation with business to enhance the academic curriculum, increase graduation
and employment rates and prepare students for college and the workforce; (B) students
will be subject to the same academic standards and assessments as other students
educated by the eligible local education agency; (C) the comprehensive education plan
is approved by the eligible local education agency; and (D)(i) such public school is
located in an empowerment zone or enterprise community including such designated
after October 3, 2008; or (ii) there is a reasonable expectation (as of the date of bond
issuance) that at least 35 percent of the students will be eligible for free or reduced cost
lunches under the school lunch program established under the National School Lunch
Act.
Section 54E(a) provides that a “qualified zone academy bond” or QZAB means
any bond issued as part of an issue if: (1) 100 percent of the available project proceeds
of such issue are to be used for a qualified purpose with respect to a qualified zone
academy established by an eligible local education agency; (2) the bond is issued by a

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State or local government within the jurisdiction of which such academy is located, and
(3) the issuer: (A) designates such bond for purposes of this section; (B) certifies that it
has written assurances that the private business contribution requirement of § 54E(b)
will be met; and, (C) certifies that it has the written approval of the eligible local
education agency for such bond issuance.
Section 54E(d)(3) provides that a qualified purpose with respect to each
academy means: (A) rehabilitating or repairing the public school facility; (B) providing
equipment; (C) developing course materials; and, (D) training teachers and other school
personnel. The private business contribution requirement of § 54E(b) is met if the
eligible local education agency that established the qualified zone academy has written
commitments from private entities to make qualified contributions having a present
value (as of the date of issuance of the issue) of not less than 10 percent of the
proceeds of the issue. Section 54E(d)(4) defines “qualified contributions” as any
contribution (of a type and quality acceptable to the eligible local education agency) of:
(A) equipment for use in the qualified zone academy (including state-of-the-art
technology and vocational equipment); (B) technical assistance in developing
curriculum or in training teachers to promote appropriate market driven technology in
the classroom; (C) employees’ services as volunteer mentors; (D) internships, field trips,
or other educational opportunities outside the academy; or (E) any other property or
service specified by the eligible education agency. Section 54E(d)(2) defines “eligible
local education agency” as any local educational agency as defined in § 9101 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

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Section 54E(c)(2) provides that the Department of the Treasury shall allocate the
national zone academy bond limitation among the States on the basis of their respective
populations of individuals below the poverty line (as defined by the Office of
Management and Budget). The limitation amount allocated to a State under the
preceding sentence shall be allocated by the State education agency to qualified zone
academies within such State.

Under § 54E(c)(3), the maximum aggregate face amount of bonds issued during
any calendar year which may be designated as QZABs with respect to any qualified
zone academy shall not exceed the limitation amount allocated to such academy for
such calendar year. However, under § 54E(c)(4)(A), if for any calendar year the
limitation amount for any State exceeds the amount of bonds issued during such year
which are designated QZABs with respect to qualified zone academies within such
State, the limitation amount for such State for the following calendar year shall be
increased by the amount of such excess. Under § 54E(c)(4)(B), however, any
carryforward of a limitation amount may be carried only to the first 2 years following the
unused limitation year. For these purposes, the limitation amount shall be treated as
used on a first-in first-out basis.
Sections 1.1397E-1 (the “Final Regulations”) sets forth regulations that were
issued under § 1397E. For other guidance concerning the applicability of the
regulations issued under § 1397E, the credit rate, and the sinking fund yield see §
1.397E-1(m), and Notice 2009-15, 2009-6 I.R.B. 449, Notice 2009-30, 2009-16 I.R.B.
852, Notice 2010-22, 2010-10 I.R.B. 435, and Rev. Proc. 2011-19, 2011-6 I.R.B. 465.

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SECTION 3. NATIONAL ZONE ACADEMY BOND LIMITATION FOR 2015 and 2016
The national limitation for QZABs issued under § 54E for calendar years 2015
and 2016 is $400 million. These amounts are allocated among the States as follows:
Qualified Zone Academy Bond Allocations (in dollars) by State or
Territory, 2015 and 2016

State or Territory 2015 2016

Alabama $7,222,000 $7,222,000
Alaska $651,000 $651,000
Arizona $9,536,000 $9,536,000
Arkansas $4,306,000 $4,306,000
California $49,866,000 $49,866,000
Colorado $5,048,000 $5,048,000
Connecticut $2,993,000 $2,993,000
Delaware $941,000 $941,000
DC $915,000 $915,000
Florida $25,766,000 $25,766,000
Georgia $14,376,000 $14,376,000
Hawaii $1,262,000 $1,262,000
Idaho $1,895,000 $1,895,000
Illinois $14,372,000 $14,372,000
Indiana $7,723,000 $7,723,000
Iowa $2,940,000 $2,940,000
Kansas $3,042,000 $3,042,000
Kentucky $6,481,000 $6,481,000
Louisiana $7,168,000 $7,168,000
Maine $1,449,000 $1,449,000
Maryland $4,823,000 $4,823,000
Massachusetts. $6,062,000 $6,062,000
Michigan $12,499,000 $12,499,000
Minnesota $4,847,000 $4,847,000
Mississippi $5,063,000 $5,063,000
Missouri. $7,244,000 $7,244,000
Montana $1,211,000 $1,211,000
Nebraska. $1,795,000 $1,795,000
Nevada $3,432,000 $3,432,000
New Hampshire $940,000 $940,000
New Jersey $7,754,000 $7,754,000

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New Mexico $3,352,000 $3,352,000
New York $24,582,000 $24,582,000
North Carolina $13,269,000 $13,269,000
North Dakota $632,000 $632,000
Ohio $14,180,000 $14,180,000
Oklahoma $4,969,000 $4,969,000
Oregon $5,081,000 $5,081,000
Pennsylvania $13,389,000 $13,389,000
Rhode Island $1,195,000 $1,195,000
South Carolina $6,683,000 $6,683,000
South Dakota $924,000 $924,000
Tennessee. $9,292,000 $9,292,000
Texas $36,040,000 $36,040,000
Utah $2,724,000 $2,724,000
Vermont $576,000 $576,000
Virginia $7,620,000 $7,620,000
Washington $7,284,000 $7,284,000
West Virginia $2,621,000 $2,621,000
Wisconsin $5,879,000 $5,879,000
Wyoming $509,000 $509,000

American Samoa $325,000 $325,000
Guam $352,000 $352,000
Northern Mariana
Islands $185,000 $185,000
Puerto Rico $14,519,000 $14,519,000
Virgin Islands $196,000 $196,000

Total Allocation $400,000,000 $400,000,000

SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE OF NATIONAL ZONE ACADEMY BOND
LIMITATIONS
The national limitation allocated in section 3 for calendar years 2015 and 2016 is
effective for QZABs issued after December 31, 2014.
SECTION 5. DRAFTING INFORMATION

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The principal authors of this notice are James A. Polfer and David E. White of the
Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions and Products). For further
information regarding this notice contact David White or James Polfer at (202) 317-6980
(not a toll-free call).