ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 557
(By Senators Helmick, Sharpe, Chafin, Prezioso, Plymale,
Edgell,
Love, Bailey, Bowman, McCabe, Unger, Minear, Boley, Facemyer,
Yoder, Guills and Sprouse)
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[Originating in the Committee on Finance;
reported February 10, 2006.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §17-16A-6, §17-16A-11 and §17-16A-13 of
the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to
the West Virginia Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism
Authority; removing the requirement that a Shady Spring
connector be completed before additional bonds are authorized;
and restoring rate of tolls charged.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17-16A-6, §17-16A-11 and §17-16A-13 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-6. Parkways authority's powers.
(a) The parkways authority is hereby authorized and empowered:
(1) To adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the
conduct of its business;
(2) To adopt an official seal and alter the same at pleasure;
(3) To maintain an office at such place or places within the
state as it may designate;
(4) To sue and be sued in its own name, plead and be
impleaded. Any and all actions against the parkways authority
shall be brought only in the county in which the principal office
of the parkways authority shall be located;
(5) To construct, reconstruct, improve, maintain, repair and
operate projects at such locations within the state as may be
determined by the parkways authority:
Provided, That the parkways
authority shall be prohibited from constructing motels or any other
type of lodging facility within five miles of the West Virginia
Turnpike;
(6) To issue parkway revenue bonds of the State of West
Virginia, payable solely from revenues, for the purpose of paying
all or any part of the cost of any one or more projects, which
costs may include, with respect to the West Virginia Turnpike, such
funds as are necessary to repay to the State of West Virginia all
or any part of the state funds used to upgrade the West Virginia
Turnpike to federal interstate standards;
(7) To issue parkway revenue refunding bonds of the State of
West Virginia, payable solely from revenues, for any one or more of the following purposes: (i) Constructing improvements,
enlargements or extensions to the project in connection with which
the bonds to be refunded were issued; (ii) paying all or part of
the cost of any additional project or projects; (iii) refunding any
bonds which shall have been issued under the provisions of this
article or any predecessor thereof; and (iv) repaying to the state
all or any part of the state funds used to upgrade the West
Virginia Turnpike to federal interstate standards;
(8) To fix and revise, from time to time, tolls for transit
over each parkway project constructed by it or by the West Virginia
turnpike commission
, subject to the limitation set forth in
subdivision (1), subsection (a), section thirteen of this article;
(9) To fix and revise, from time to time, rents, fees or other
charges, of whatever kind or character, for the use of each tourism
project or economic development project constructed by it or for
the use of any building, structure or facility constructed by it in
connection with a parkway project;
(10) To acquire, hold, lease and dispose of real and personal
property in the exercise of its powers and the performance of its
duties under this article;
(11) To acquire in the name of the state by purchase or
otherwise, on such terms and conditions and in such manner as it
may deem proper, or by the exercise of the right of condemnation in
the manner hereinafter provided, such public or private lands, including public parks, playgrounds or reservations, or parts
thereof or rights therein, rights-of-way, property, rights,
easements and interests, as it may deem necessary for carrying out
the provisions of this article. No compensation shall be paid for
public lands, playgrounds, parks, parkways or reservations so taken
and all public property damaged in carrying out the powers granted
by this article shall be restored or repaired and placed in its
original condition as nearly as practicable;
(12) To designate the locations and establish, limit and
control such points of ingress to and egress from each project as
may be necessary or desirable in the judgment of the parkways
authority to ensure the proper operation and maintenance of such
project and to prohibit entrance to such project from any point or
points not so designated;
(13) To make and enter into all contracts and agreements
necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the
execution of its powers under this article and to employ consulting
engineers, attorneys, accountants, architects, construction and
financial experts, trustees, superintendents, managers and such
other employees and agents as may be necessary in its judgment and
to fix their compensation. All such expenses shall be payable
solely from the proceeds of parkway revenue bonds or parkway
revenue refunding bonds issued under the provisions of this
article, tolls or from revenues;
(14) To make and enter into all contracts, agreements or other
arrangements with any agency, department, division, board, bureau,
commission, authority or other governmental unit of the state to
operate, maintain or repair any project;
(15) To receive and accept from any federal agency grants for
or in aid of the construction of any project and to receive and
accept aid or contributions from any source of either money,
property, labor or other things of value, to be held, used and
applied only for the purposes for which such grants and
contributions may be made;
(16) To do all acts and things necessary or convenient to
carry out the powers expressly granted in this article; and
(17) To file the necessary petition or petitions pursuant to
Title 11, United States Code, Sec. 401 (being section 81 of the act
of Congress entitled "An act to establish a uniform system of
bankruptcy throughout the United States," approved July 1, 1898, as
amended) and to prosecute to completion all proceedings permitted
by Title 11, United States Code, Secs. 401-403 (being sections 81
to 83, inclusive, of said act of Congress). The State of West
Virginia hereby consents to the application of Title 11, United
States Code, Secs. 401-403 to the parkways authority.
(b) Nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit the
issuance of parkway revenue refunding bonds in a common plan of
financing with the issuance of parkway revenue bonds.
§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.
§17-16A-13. Tolls, rents, fees, charges and revenues; competitive
bidding on contracts.
(a)(1) The parkways authority is hereby authorized to fix,
revise, charge and collect tolls for the use of each parkway
project and the different parts or sections thereof and to fix, revise, charge and collect rents, fees, charges and other revenues,
of whatever kind or character, for the use of each economic
development project or tourism project, or any part or section
thereof, and to contract with any person, partnership, association
or corporation desiring the use of any part thereof, including the
right-of-way adjoining the paved portion, for placing thereon
telephone, telegraph, electric light, power or other utility lines,
gas stations, garages, stores, hotels, restaurants and advertising
signs, or for any other purpose except for tracks for railroad or
railway use, and to fix the terms, conditions, rents and rates of
charges for such use. Such tolls, rents, fees and charges shall be
so fixed and adjusted in respect of the aggregate of tolls, or in
respect of the aggregate rents, fees and charges, from the project
or projects in connection with which the bonds of any issue shall
have been issued as to provide a fund sufficient with other
revenues, if any, to pay: (A) The cost of maintaining, repairing
and operating such project or projects; and (B) the principal of
and the interest on such bonds as the same shall become due and
payable and to create reserves for such purposes:
Provided, That
upon enactment of this legislation passed during the two thousand
six regular session, the amount and rates of tolls charged shall be
restored to the amount and rates charged as of the thirty-first day
of December, two thousand five. Such tolls, rents, fees and other
charges shall not be subject to supervision or regulation by any other commission, board, bureau, department or agency of the state.
The tolls, rents, fees, charges and all other revenues derived from
the project or projects in connection with which the bonds of any
issue shall have been issued, except such part thereof as may be
necessary to pay the cost of maintenance, repair and operation and
to provide such reserves therefor as may be provided in the
resolution authorizing the issuance of such bonds or in the trust
agreement securing the same, shall be set aside at regular
intervals as may be provided in the resolution or the trust
agreement in a sinking fund which is hereby pledged to, and charged
with, the payment of: (i) The interest upon the bonds as such
interest shall fall due; (ii) the principal of the bonds as the
same shall fall due; (iii) the necessary charges of paying agents
for paying principal and interest; and (iv) the redemption price or
the purchase price of bonds retired by call or purchase as therein
provided. The use and disposition of moneys to the credit of such
sinking fund shall be subject to the provisions of the resolution
authorizing the issuance of the bonds or of the trust agreement.
Except as may otherwise be provided in the resolution or the trust
agreement, such sinking fund shall be a fund for all bonds without
distinction or priority of one over another. The moneys in the
sinking fund, less such reserve as may be provided in the
resolution or trust agreement, if not used within a reasonable time
for the purchase of bonds for cancellation as above provided, shall be applied to the redemption of bonds at the redemption price then
applicable.
(2)(A) In fiscal year one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight,
after the parkways authority has met or provided for the
satisfaction of each requirement imposed by the provisions of
subdivision (1) of this subsection, the parkways authority shall
pay two hundred fifty thousand dollars to the Hatfield-McCoy
Regional Recreation Authority from any remaining balance of
revenues received from economic development projects and tourism
projects.
(B) Upon the effective date of this act, the parkways
authority shall seek authorization from the Federal Highway
Administration, the state Department of Transportation and the
trustee under any trust indenture or agreement existing as the
result of the issuance of any revenue bonds under the provisions of
this article to issue additional revenue bonds in a total amount
not to exceed six million dollars for the purpose of funding
projects of the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority. Upon
the agreement of all of such entities that the parkways authority
be authorized to do so, as certified to the parkways authority, the
Governor and the Joint Committee on Government and Finance, the
parkways authority is authorized to issue additional revenue bonds
in a total amount not to exceed six million dollars. The proceeds
of the revenue bonds shall be used to fund projects of the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority. Each issuance of
such revenue bonds and the application of the proceeds thereof
shall be subject to each condition, restriction or other provision
of this article applicable to the issuance of parkway revenue
bonds. In the event the agreement is not certified as required by
this subsection and until the same is certified, the parkways
authority shall pay two hundred fifty thousand dollars to the
Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority in the fiscal year
ending the thirtieth day of June, two thousand, and in each fiscal
year thereafter, for a total of nine consecutive years, for the
purpose of funding projects of the Hatfield-McCoy Regional
Recreation Authority. These amounts shall be paid in quarterly
installments from remaining balances in each fiscal year of
revenues received from economic development projects and tourism
projects as determined in the manner provided in paragraph (A) of
this subdivision.
(b) The parkways authority shall cause, as soon as it is
legally able to do so, all contracts to which it is a party and
which relate to the operation, maintenance or use of any
restaurant, motel or other lodging facility, truck and automobile
service facility, food vending facility or any other service
facility located along the West Virginia Turnpike, to be renewed on
a competitive bid basis. All contracts relating to any facility or
services entered into by the parkways authority with a private party with respect to any project constructed after the effective
date of this legislation shall be let on a competitive bid basis
only. If the parkways authority receives a proposal for the
development of a project, such proposal shall be made available to
the public in a convenient location in the county wherein the
proposed facility may be located. The parkways authority shall
publish a notice of the proposal by a Class I legal advertisement
in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
fifty-nine of this code. The publication area shall be the county
in which the proposed facility would be located. Any citizen may
communicate by writing to the parkways authority his or her
opposition to or approval to such proposal within a period of time
not less than forty-five days from the publication of the notice.
No contract for the development of a project may be entered into by
the parkways authority until a public hearing is held in the
vicinity of the location of the proposed project with at least
twenty days' notice of such hearing by a Class I publication
pursuant to section two of said article. The parkways authority
shall make written findings of fact prior to rendering a decision
on any proposed project. All studies, records, documents and other
materials which are considered by the parkways authority in making
such findings shall be made available for public inspection at the
time of the publication of the notice of public hearing and at a
convenient location in the county where the proposed project may be located. The parkways authority shall promulgate rules in
accordance with chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the conduct
of any hearing required by this section. Persons attending any
such hearing shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to speak
and be heard on the proposed project.
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