Senate Bill No. 316
(By Senators Chafin, Whitlow and Wagner)
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[Introduced February 10, 1995; referred to the Committee
on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections ten and twenty-three,
article sixteen-a, chapter seventeen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
relating to requiring the parkways, economic development and
tourism authority to issue twenty million dollars in revenue
bonds that may be retired by user fees in order to finance
new water and sewer development within a seventy-five air
mile radius of the turnpike.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections ten and twenty-three, article sixteen-a,
chapter seventeen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 16A. WEST VIRGINIA PARKWAYS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND
TOURISM AUTHORITY.
§17-16A-10. Parkway revenue bonds -- Generally.
The parkways authority is hereby authorized to provide by
resolution, at one time or from time to time, for the issuance of
parkway revenue bonds of the state for the purpose of paying all
or any part of the cost of one or more projects: Provided, That
this section shall not be construed as authorizing the issuance
of parkway revenue bonds for the purpose of paying the cost of
the West Virginia Turnpike, which parkway revenue bonds may be
issued only as authorized under section eleven of this article:
Provided, however, That the parkways authority shall issue twenty
million dollars in parkway revenue bonds no later than the first
day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six, which may
be retired by revenues generated by user fees and which shall be
used for the purpose of undertaking and financing economic
development projects, as authorized by this article, which shall
consist of developing new water and sewer facilities within a
seventy-five air mile radius of the West Virginia Turnpike. The
principal of and the interest on such bonds shall be payable solely from the funds herein provided for such payment. The
bonds of each issue shall be dated, shall bear interest at such
rate or rates as may be determined by the parkways authority in
its sole discretion, shall mature at such time or times not
exceeding forty years from their date or dates, as may be
determined by the parkways authority, and may be made redeemable
before maturity, at the option of the parkways authority, at such
price or prices and under such terms and conditions as may be
fixed by the parkways authority prior to the issuance of the
bonds. The parkways authority shall determine the form of the
bonds, including any interest coupons to be attached thereto, and
shall fix the denomination or denominations of the bonds and the
place or places of payment of principal and interest, which may
be at any bank or trust company within or without the state. The
bonds shall be executed by manual or facsimile signature by the
governor and by the chairman of the parkways authority, and the
official seal of the parkways authority shall be affixed to or
printed on each bond, and attested, manually or by facsimile
signature, by the secretary and treasurer of the parkways
authority, and any coupons attached to any bond shall bear the
manual or facsimile signature of the chairman of the parkways authority. In case any officer whose signature or a facsimile of
whose signature appears on any bonds or coupons shall cease to be
such officer before the delivery of such bonds, such signature or
facsimile shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all
purposes the same as if he had remained in office until such
delivery; and, in case the seal of the parkways authority has
been changed after a facsimile has been imprinted on such bonds,
such facsimile seal will continue to be sufficient for all
purposes. All bonds issued under the provisions of this article
shall have and are hereby declared to have all the qualities and
incidents of negotiable instruments under the negotiable
instruments law of the state. The bonds may be issued in coupon
or in registered form, or both, as the parkways authority may
determine, and provision may be made for the registration of any
coupon bonds as to principal alone and also as to both principal
and interest, and for the recorders into coupon bonds of any
bonds registered as to both principal and interest. The parkways
authority may sell such bonds in such manner, either at public or
at private sale, and for such price, as it may determine to be in
the best interests of the state.
The proceeds of the bonds of each issue shall be used solely for the payment of the cost of the parkway project or projects
for which such bonds shall have been issued, and shall be
disbursed in such manner and under such restrictions, if any, as
the parkways authority may provide in the resolution authorizing
the issuance of such bonds or in the trust agreement hereinafter
mentioned securing the same. If the proceeds of the bonds of any
issue, by error of estimates or otherwise, shall be less than
such cost, additional bonds may in like manner be issued to
provide the amount of such deficit, and, unless otherwise
provided in the resolution authorizing the issuance of such bonds
or in the trust agreement securing the same, shall be deemed to
be of the same issue and shall be entitled to payment from the
same fund without preference or priority of the bonds first
issued. If the proceeds of the bonds of any issue shall exceed
the cost of the project or projects for which the same shall have
been issued, the surplus shall be deposited to the credit of the
sinking fund for such bonds.
Prior to the preparation of definitive bonds, the parkways
authority may, under like restrictions, issue interim receipts or
temporary bonds, with or without coupons, exchangeable for
definitive bonds when such bonds shall have been executed and are available for delivery. The parkways authority may also provide
for the replacement of any bonds which shall become mutilated or
shall be destroyed or lost. Bonds may be issued under the
provisions of this article without obtaining the consent of any
department, division, commission, board, bureau or agency of the
state, and without any other proceedings or the happening of any
other conditions or things than those proceedings, conditions or
things which are specifically required by this article.
§17-16A-23. Special highway fund; appropriations from fund.
(a) There is hereby created a special fund in the state
treasury which shall be designated and known as the "West
Virginia special highway fund." The special highway fund shall
consist of: (i) All funds allocated and disbursed to the state
department of highways by the parkways authority, including
without limitation the proceeds of any parkway revenue bonds or
revenue refunding bonds issued by the parkways authority pursuant
to sections eleven, twenty-one or twenty-two of this article, in
repayment of the amount of state funds used to upgrade the West
Virginia Turnpike to federal interstate standards; (ii) any
appropriations, grants, gifts, contributions or other revenues
received by the special highway fund from any source; and (iii) all interest earned on moneys held in the fund. When any funds
are received by the state department of highways from the
parkways authority pursuant to this section, they shall be paid
into the state treasury by the commissioner of the department of
highways and credited to the special highway fund, and shall be
disbursed in the manner set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of
this section. The special highway fund shall not be treated by
the auditor and treasurer as part of the state road fund or as
part of the general revenues of the state.
(b) The governor shall have the authority to transfer to the
insurance fund created in section eight, article fifteen, chapter
thirty-one of this code, on any date or dates after the enactment
of this section, up to thirty-five million dollars of the funds
received or earned by the special highway fund, which funds may
be used and applied by the West Virginia economic development
authority in the manner and to the extent set forth in article
fifteen of said chapter thirty-one. On or before the
thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-four, the economic development authority shall retransfer
to the special highway fund the thirty-five million dollars
advanced to the insurance fund pursuant to this section. All interest earned on the thirty-five million dollars while being
held in the insurance fund shall remain in, and be the property
of, said insurance fund: Provided, That on and after the first
day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-two, the governor
shall have the authority to transfer six million dollars from the
insurance fund created in section eight, article fifteen, chapter
thirty-one of this code to a special fund hereby created in the
state treasury and designated "the West Virginia economic
development fund." Expenditures from the fund are to be made
only in accordance with appropriations by the Legislature.
(c) Upon the transfer of thirty-five million dollars to the
insurance fund as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the
Legislature shall annually appropriate all or any part of the
balance of the funds deposited in the special highway fund for
the construction, reconstruction, improvement, maintenance or
repair of any parkway project or projects: Provided, That all
of such funds shall be appropriated to: (i) The upgrading or
addition of interchanges; (ii) the construction of expressways or
feeder roads; or (iii) the upgrading or construction of
information centers, visitors' centers, rest stops, new water and
sewer facilities, or any combination thereof, and that all such feeder roads, expressways, interchanges, information centers,
visitors' centers, or rest stops or new water and sewer
facilities shall connect to the West Virginia Turnpike and or be
within seventy-five air miles of the West Virginia Turnpike as it
existed on the effective date of this legislation, or shall
connect to any subsequent expressway, turnpike or feeder road
constructed pursuant to this subsection. The appropriation of
funds pursuant to this subsection shall be expended on more than
one project and a total of at least twenty million dollars shall
be allocated no later than the first day of July, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-six, in order to finance and construct new
water and sewer lines within a seventy-five air mile radius of
the turnpike.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the West
Virginia Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority to
issue $20 million in revenue bonds before January 1, 1996, for
the purpose of undertaking and financing economic development
projects consisting of the construction of new water and sewer
facilities within a radius of 75 air miles of the West Virginia
Turnpike. Such bonds may be retired from revenues generated
through water and sewer user fees.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.