Introduced Version
House Bill 2559 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2559
(By Delegates Gearheart, Householder, Sumner, Moore,
Staggers, Ellington, Shott, Storch, Phillips, L.
and Raines)
[Introduced February 20, 2013; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §17-16A-4, §17-16A-10 and §17-16A-18 of
the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to
requiring all debt obligations of the West Virginia parkways
authority to be satisfied by February 1, 2020; eliminating
tolls on the West Virginia Turnpike by February 1, 2020;
providing that certain materials, equipment, assets and
employees of the parkways authority be transferred to the
Division of Highways; providing for employees of the parkways
authority whose positions are eliminated as result of the
transfer; requiring certain moneys be used for former highways
of the West Virginia Turnpike; providing that all obligations
and responsibilities of the parkways authority for the West
Virginia Turnpike cease on January 1, 2035; prohibiting new
bonds from being issued; providing an exception; and requiring
the Division of Highways to accept ownership of the West
Virginia Turnpike when the bonds secured by toll revenues have
been paid.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17-16A-4, §17-16A-10 and §17-16A-18 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 16A. WEST VIRGINIA PARKWAYS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND
TOURISM AUTHORITY.
§17-16A-4. Transfer of powers, duties, functions, assets and
liabilities of turnpike commission to parkways
authority.
(a) The duties, powers and functions of the West Virginia
turnpike commission are hereby transferred to the parkways
authority.
(b) All obligations, indebtedness and other liabilities of,
and all rights, assets and other property owned by or used in the
administration of, the West Virginia Turnpike Commission as of June
1, 1989, and all personnel of said Turnpike Commission as of said
date are hereby assumed by and transferred to the parkways
authority, which is hereby constituted the successor in interest to
said commission in all respects.
(c) All books, papers, maps, charts, plans, literature and
other records in the possession of the West Virginia Turnpike
Commission as of June 1, 1989, shall be delivered or turned over to
the parkways authority.
(d) The unexpended balance of appropriations or other funds
available for use of the West Virginia Turnpike Commission as of
June 1, 1989, is hereby transferred to the parkways authority for
the use of the parkways authority.
(e) On or before February 1, 2020, all debt obligations held
by the parkways authority shall be satisfied.
_______________(f) On February 1, 2020, all maintenance material and
equipment assets not specifically dedicated to the maintenance of
travel plazas shall be transferred to the West Virginia Division of
Highways.
_______________(g) All the parkways authority employees dedicated to highway
maintenance and upkeep shall be transferred to employment by the
West Virginia Division of Highways.
_______________(h) All employees of the parkways authority dedicated to toll
collection and toll collection operations shall be given the
opportunity to transfer to available employment within other
departments and agencies of the State of West Virginia and shall
have the first claim upon any job for which they are qualified.
_______________(i) All monetary assets, including cash and securities, of the
parkways authority, in excess of $5 million shall be transferred to
the Division of Highways and be specifically dedicated to
maintenance on the portions of Interstates 64 and 77 commonly
referred to as the West Virginia Turnpike with expenditures from
these funds, not to exceed $10 million per year, until those funds are exhausted.
_______________(j) Fifty percent of all toll revenue from the date of
satisfaction of all bonded indebtedness until tolls are removed on
February 1, 2020, shall be transferred to the Division of Highways
and dedicated to the maintenance of the portions of Interstates 64
and 77 commonly referred to as the West Virginia Turnpike after
January 1, 2035.
_______________(k) The parkways authority shall transfer all remaining assets
relating to the West Virginia Turnpike to the Division of Highways
on January 1, 2035. All excess revenue produced by these assets
shall be dedicated to maintenance of the portions of Interstates 64
and 77 commonly referred to as the West Virginia Turnpike in
perpetuity.
_______________(l) All obligations and responsibilities of the parkways
authority for any part or portion of the West Virginia Turnpike
shall cease on January 1, 2035.
§17-16A-10. Parkway revenue bonds generally.
(a) The parkways authority is authorized to provide by
resolution 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 parkway 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. The principal of and the interest
on bonds shall be payable solely from the funds provided for
payment.
(b) The bonds of each issue shall be dated, shall bear
interest at a rate as may be determined by the parkways authority
in its sole discretion, shall mature at a time not exceeding forty
years from their date or of issue as may be determined by the
parkways authority, and may be made redeemable before maturity, at
the option of the parkways authority at a price and under the terms
and conditions as may be fixed by the parkways authority prior to
the issuance of the bonds.
(c) The parkways authority shall determine the form of the
bonds, including any interest coupons to be attached thereto, and
shall fix the denomination of the bonds and the place of payment of
principal and interest, which may be at any bank or trust company
within or without the state.
(d) The bonds shall be executed by manual or facsimile
signature by the chair 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. Any coupons
attached to any bond shall bear the manual or facsimile signature
of the chair of the parkways authority.
(e) In case any officer whose signature or a facsimile of whose signature appears on any bonds or coupons shall cease to be
an officer before the delivery of the bonds, the signature or
facsimile shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all
purposes the same as if he or she had remained in office until
delivery. In case the seal of the parkways authority has been
changed after a facsimile has been imprinted on the bonds, then the
facsimile seal will continue to be sufficient for all purposes.
(f) All bonds issued under the provisions of this article
shall 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.
(g) The parkways authority may sell the bonds at a public or
private sale at a price it determines to be in the best interests
of the state.
(h) The proceeds of the bonds of each issue shall be used
solely for the payment of the cost of the parkway project or
parkway projects for which the bonds were issued, and shall be
disbursed in a manner consistent with the resolution authorizing
the issuance of the bonds or in the trust agreement securing the bonds.
(i) If the proceeds of the bonds of any issue, by error of
estimates or otherwise, shall be less than the cost, then
additional bonds may in like manner be issued to provide the amount
of the deficit. Unless otherwise provided in the resolution
authorizing the issuance of the bonds or in the trust agreement
securing the bonds, the additional bonds 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. Except as
provided in this subsection, additional bonds may not be issued on
any parkways authority project related to the West Virginia
Turnpike or which would use West Virginia Turnpike toll revenues as
a funding stream for the bonded indebtedness or on any expansion or
material alteration to any existing parkways project which would
use West Virginia Turnpike toll revenues as a funding stream for
the bonded indebtedness.
(j) If the proceeds of the bonds of any issue exceed the cost
of the parkway project or parkway projects for which the bonds were
issued, then the surplus shall be deposited to the credit of the
sinking fund for the bonds.
(k) 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 the bonds have been executed and are available for delivery. The parkways authority may also provide
for the replacement of any bonds that become mutilated or are
destroyed or lost.
(l) 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 in accordance with
this article: Provided, That the parkways authority shall comply
with the provisions of section twenty-eight, article one, chapter
five of this code.
§17-16A-18. Cessation of tolls.
(a) Except as provided herein in this section, when all bonds
issued under the provisions of this article in connection with any
parkway project or projects and the interest thereon shall on those
bonds secured by West Virginia Turnpike toll revenues have been
paid or a sufficient amount for the payment of all such those bonds
and the interest thereon on them to the their maturity thereof
shall have has been set aside in trust for the benefit of the
bondholders, such the project or projects, if then in good
condition and repair to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of the
State Division of Highways, shall be transferred to the State
Division of Highways and shall thereafter be maintained by the
State Division of Highways free of tolls.
(b) No later than February 1, 1990 On or before February 1,
2020, the parkways authority, or its successors, shall discontinue, remove and not relocate all toll collection facilities on the West
Virginia Turnpike as the same it existed on June 1, 1989, except
for the three main toll barriers and collection facilities and,
provided solely that the provisions of section eighteen-a are
complied with, including the toll collection facilities at the
intersection of U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L") and said the turnpike:
Provided, That the bonds secured by West Virginia Turnpike toll
revenues have been paid as scheduled.
_______________(c) The highway now known and designated as the West Virginia
Turnpike shall continue to be maintained to the standards
promulgated by the West Virginia Division of Highways, and shall
by February 1, 2020, be turned over to the Division of Highways,
together with all assets, consisting of both real estate and
personal property and equipment, used by the parkways authority for
maintenance of the West Virginia Turnpike. The Division of
Highways shall accept ownership of the highway at that time.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to requires all debt
obligations of the West Virginia parkways authority to be
satisfied by February 1, 2020. The bill eliminates tolls on the
West Virginia Turnpike by February 1, 2020. The bill provides that
certain materials, equipment, assets and employees of the parkways
authority be transferred to the Division of Highways. The bill
provides for employees of the parkways authority whose positions
are eliminated as result of the transfer. The bill requires certain
moneys be used for former highways of the West Virginia Turnpike.
The bill provides that all obligations and responsibilities of the
parkways authority for the West Virginia Turnpike ceases on January
1, 2035. The bill prohibits new bonds from being issued. The bill
provides an exception. The bill requires the Division of Highways to accept ownership of the West Virginia Turnpike when the bonds
secured by toll revenues have been paid.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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