Senate Bill No. 316

(By Senators Chafin, Whitlow and Wagner)

____________

[Introduced February 10, 1995; referred to the Committee
on Finance.]
____________




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.