H. B. 4041
(By Mr. Speaker, (Mr. Thompson) and Delegate Armstead)
[By Request of the Executive]
[Introduced January 15, 2010; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18-9D-8 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to authorizing the School Building
Authority to issue bonds in the maximum aggregate amount of
$500 million outstanding at any time; and making technical
corrections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-9D-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9D. SCHOOL BUILDING AUTHORITY.
§18-9D-8. Use of proceeds of bonds; bonds exempt from taxation.
(a) The maximum aggregate
face value amount of bonds
that may
be issued by the authority outstanding at any time, for which the
moneys in the School Building Debt Service Fund or the Excess
Lottery School Building Debt Service Fund are to be pledged, is
$500 million;
however, any amount of bonds for which moneys have been deposited in a sinking fund, reserve fund or other fund
established to provide payment of principal or interest on the
bonds shall be excluded from the calculation of the maximum
aggregate amount of bonds outstanding at any time. The issuance of
revenue bonds under the provisions of this article shall be
authorized, from time to time, by resolution or resolutions of the
School Building Authority which shall set forth the proposed
projects authorized in accordance with the provisions of section
sixteen of this article and provide for the issuance of bonds in
amounts sufficient, when sold as provided in this section, to
provide moneys considered sufficient by the authority to pay the
costs, less the amounts of any other funds available for the costs
or from any appropriation, grant or gift for the costs:
Provided,
That bond issues from which bond revenues are to be distributed in
accordance with section fifteen of this article for projects
authorized pursuant to the provisions of section sixteen of this
article are not required to set forth the proposed projects in the
resolution. The resolution shall prescribe the rights and duties
of the bondholders and the School Building Authority and, for that
purpose, may prescribe the form of the trust agreement referred to
in this section. The bonds may be issued, from time to time, in
such amounts; shall be of such series; bear such date or dates;
mature at such time or times not exceeding forty years from their
respective dates; bear interest at such rate or rates; be in such denominations; be in such form, either coupon or registered,
carrying such registration, exchangeability and interchangeability
privileges; be payable in such medium of payment and at such place
or places within or without the state; be subject to such terms of
redemption at such prices not exceeding one hundred five percent of
the principal amount of the bonds; and be entitled to such
priorities on the revenues paid into the fund pledged for repayment
of the bonds as may be provided in the resolution authorizing the
issuance of the bonds or in any trust agreement made in connection
with the bonds:
Provided, however, That revenue bonds issued on or
after January 1, 1994, and prior to January 1, 2008, which are
secured by lottery proceeds from section eighteen, article twenty-
two, chapter twenty-nine of this code shall mature at such time or
times not exceeding ten years from their respective dates:
Provided further, That revenue bonds issued on or after January 1,
2008, which are secured by lottery proceeds from section eighteen
or eighteen-a, article twenty-two, chapter twenty-nine of this
code, shall mature at such time or times not exceeding twenty years
from their respective dates.
(b) The bonds shall be signed by the Governor,
and by the
president or vice president his or her designee or the vice chair
of the authority, under the great seal of the state, attested by
the Secretary of State, and the coupons attached to the bonds shall
bear the facsimile signature of the
president or vice president Governor, his or her designee or the vice chair of the authority.
In case any of the officers whose signatures appear on the bonds or
coupons cease to be officers before the delivery of the bonds, the
signatures shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all
purposes the same as if the officers had remained in office until
the delivery. The revenue bonds shall be sold in the manner
determined by the authority to be for the best interests of the state.
(c) Any pledge of revenues made by the School Building
Authority for revenue bonds issued prior to July 20, 1993, pursuant
to this article is valid and binding between the parties from the
time the pledge is made; and the revenues pledged shall immediately
be subject to the lien of the pledge without any further physical
delivery of the revenues pledged or further act. The lien of the
pledge is valid and binding against all parties having claims of
any kind in tort, contract or otherwise, irrespective of whether
the parties have notice of the lien of the pledge and the pledge
shall be a prior and superior charge over any other use of the
revenues pledged.
(d) The proceeds of any bonds shall be used solely for the
purpose or purposes as may be generally or specifically set forth
in the resolution authorizing those bonds and shall be disbursed in
the manner and with the restrictions, if any, that the authority
provides in the resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds or
in the trust agreement referred to in this section securing the bonds. If the proceeds of the bonds, by error in calculations or
otherwise, are less than the cost of any projects specifically set
forth in the resolution, additional bonds may in like manner be
issued to provide the amount of the deficiency; and unless
otherwise provided for in the resolution or trust agreement
hereinafter mentioned, the additional bonds shall be considered to
be of the same issue and are entitled to payment from the same
fund, without preference or priority, as the bonds before issued
for the projects. If the proceeds of bonds issued for the projects
specifically set forth in the resolution authorizing the bonds
issued by the authority exceed the cost of the bonds, the surplus
may be used for any other projects authorized in accordance with
the provisions of section sixteen of this article or in any other
manner that the resolution authorizing the bonds provides. Prior
to the preparation of definitive bonds, the authority may, under
like restrictions, issue temporary bonds with or without coupons,
exchangeable for definitive bonds upon the issuance of the
definitive bonds.
(e) After the issuance of any revenue bonds, the revenues
pledged for the revenue bonds shall not be reduced as long as any
of the revenue bonds are outstanding and unpaid except under the
terms, provisions and conditions that are contained in the
resolution, trust agreement or other proceedings under which the
revenue bonds were issued.(f) The revenue bonds and the revenue refunding bonds and
bonds issued for combined purposes, together with the interest on
the bonds, are exempt from all taxation by the State of West
Virginia, or by any county, school district, municipality or
political subdivision thereof.
(g) To meet the operational costs of the School Building
Authority, the School Building Authority may transfer to a special
revenue account in the State Treasury interest on any debt service
reserve funds created within any resolution authorizing the issue
of bonds or any trust agreement made in connection with the bonds
for expenditure in accordance with legislative appropriation or
allocation of appropriation.
(h) Any school construction bonds issued under this section
shall be issued on parity with any existing School Building
Authority bonds previously issued under this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the School
Building Authority to issue $500 million of bonds outstanding at
any time.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.