H. B. 4581
(By Delegates Long, Frederick, Porter and Moore)
[Introduced February 15, 2006; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §17-16A-11 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to authorization and
issuance of bonds.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17-16A-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 16A. WEST VIRGINIA PARKWAYS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND
TOURISM AUTHORITY.
§17-16A-11. Parkway revenue bonds--West Virginia Turnpike; related
projects.
(a) The parkways authority is authorized to provide by
resolution, at one time or from time to time, for the issuance of
parkway revenue bonds of the state in an aggregate outstanding
principal amount not to exceed, from time to time, two hundred
million dollars for the purpose of paying: (i) All or any part of the cost of the West Virginia Turnpike, which may include, but not
be limited to, an amount equal to the state funds used to upgrade
the West Virginia Turnpike to federal interstate standards; (ii)
all or any part of the cost of any one or more parkway projects
that involve improvements to or enhancements of the West Virginia
Turnpike, including, without limitation, lane-widening on the West
Virginia Turnpike and that are or have been recommended by the
parkways authority's traffic engineers or consulting engineers or
by both of them prior to the issuance of parkway revenue bonds for
the project or projects; and (iii) to the extent permitted by
federal law, all or any part of the cost of any related parkway
project. For purposes of this section only, a "related parkway
project" means any information center, visitors' center or rest
stop, or any combination thereof, and any expressway, turnpike,
trunkline, feeder road, state local service road or park and forest
road which connects to or intersects with the West Virginia
Turnpike and is located within seventy-five miles of the turnpike
as it exists on the first day of June, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-nine, or any subsequent expressway, trunkline, feeder road,
state local service road or park and forest road constructed
pursuant to this article:
Provided, That nothing in this section
shall be construed as prohibiting the parkways authority from
issuing parkway revenue bonds pursuant to section ten of this
article for the purpose of paying all or any part of the cost of any related parkway project:
Provided, however, That none of the
proceeds of the issuance of parkway revenue bonds under this
section shall be used to pay all or any part of the cost of any
economic development project, except as provided in section
twenty-three of this article:
Provided further, That nothing in
this section shall be construed as prohibiting the parkways
authority from issuing additional parkway revenue bonds to the
extent permitted by applicable federal law for the purpose of
constructing, maintaining and operating any highway constructed, in
whole or in part, with money obtained from the Appalachian regional
commission as long as the highway connects to the West Virginia
Turnpike as it existed as of the first day of June, one thousand
nine hundred eighty-nine:
And provided further, That, for purposes
of this section, in determining the amount of bonds outstanding,
from time to time, within the meaning of this section: Original
par amount or original stated principal amount at the time of
issuance of bonds shall be used to determine the principal amount
of bonds outstanding, except that the amount of parkway revenue
bonds outstanding under this section may not include any bonds that
have been retired through payment, defeased through the deposit of
funds irrevocably set aside for payment or otherwise refunded so
that they are no longer secured by toll revenues of the West
Virginia Turnpike:
And provided further, That the authorization to
issue bonds under this section is in addition to the authorization and power to issue bonds under any other section of this code:
And
provided further, That, without limitation of the authorized
purposes for which parkway revenue bonds are otherwise permitted to
be issued under this section, and without increasing the maximum
principal par amount of parkway revenue bonds permitted to be
outstanding, from time to time, under this section, the authority
is specifically authorized by this section to issue, at one time or
from time to time, by resolution or resolutions under this section,
parkway revenue bonds under this section for the purpose of paying
all or any part of the cost of one or more parkway projects that:
(i) Consist of enhancements or improvements to the West Virginia
Turnpike, including, without limitation, projects involving lane
widening, resurfacing, surface replacement, bridge replacement,
bridge improvements and enhancements, other bridge work, drainage
system improvements and enhancements, drainage system replacements,
safety improvements and enhancements, and traffic flow improvements
and enhancements; and (ii) have been recommended by the authority's
consulting engineers or traffic engineers, or both, prior to the
issuance of the bonds. Except as otherwise specifically provided
in this section, the issuance of parkway revenue bonds pursuant to
this section, the maturities and other details of the bonds, the
rights of the holders of the bonds, and the rights, duties and
obligations of the parkways authority in respect of the bonds shall
be governed by the provisions of this article insofar as the provisions are applicable.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this
section, no additional bonds authorized by the amendments to this
section enacted during the regular session of the Legislature in
the year two thousand four may be issued until the parkways
authority has adopted by written resolution a final, irrevocable
decision to fully fund and complete the construction of a Shady
Spring connector and interchange connecting to the West Virginia
Turnpike from its toll funds or from the proceeds of bonds issued
for that purpose pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, or
from both, or funded, in whole or in part, by federal highway funds
if they are available:
Provided, That no bonds can be authorized
if the bond would require an increase in the amount or rate of
toll charged or collected greater than the rate charged as of the
thirty-first day of December, two thousand five.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prevent authorization of
bonds which would require an increase in the tolls above the rate
existing December 31, 2005.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.