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art.006/5/006/4/006/3/006/2/006/1

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     ARTICLE 6

RELATING TO DEBT MANAGEMENT ACT JOINT RESOLUTIONS

     SECTION 1. This article shall serve as joint resolution required pursuant to Rhode Island

General Law § 35-18-1, et seq.

     SECTION 2. University of Rhode Island – Memorial Union – Auxiliary Enterprise

     WHEREAS, The Council on Postsecondary Education and the University have a long-

standing commitment to the overall development of their students; and

     WHEREAS, The University believes that the Memorial Union celebrates life at URI and

acts as the nexus for campus community, student engagement, and leadership. It is an intersection

connecting the academic core of campus and the campus’s socially active residential community.

The student union at the University is an integral part of the educational ecosystem that shapes the

student experience; and

     WHEREAS, The Council on Postsecondary Education and the University of Rhode Island

are proposing a project which involves the renovation and expansion of the Memorial Union to meet

the ongoing and growing needs of their students; and

     WHEREAS, The University engaged a qualified architectural firm, which has completed

an advanced planning study for this renovation; and

     WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Public Corporation Debt Management Act requires the

General Assembly to provide its consent to the issuance or incurring by the State of Rhode Island

and other public agencies of certain obligations including financing guarantees or other agreements;

and

     WHEREAS, The design and construction associated with this work of an Auxiliary

Enterprise building will be financed through the Rhode Island Health and Educational Building

Corporation (RIHEBC) revenue bonds, with an expected term of thirty (30) years; and

     WHEREAS, The total project costs associated with completion of the project through the

proposed financing method is fifty-one million five hundred thousand dollars ($51,500,000),

including cost of issuance. Debt service payments would be supported by revenues derived from

student fees and retail lease payments associated with the respective Auxiliary Enterprises of the

University of Rhode Island occupying said facility. Total debt service on the bonds is not expected

to exceed one hundred twelve million three hundred thousand dollars ($112,300,000) in the

aggregate based on an average interest rate of six (6%) percent; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this General Assembly hereby approves financing in an amount not to

exceed fifty-one million five hundred thousand dollars ($51,500,000) for the Memorial Union

project for the auxiliary enterprise building on the University of Rhode Island campus; and be it

further

     RESOLVED, That this Joint Resolution shall take effect upon passage.

     SECTION 3. University of Rhode Island – Fraternity Circle Master Plan Implementation

     WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Council on Postsecondary Education and the University of

Rhode Island are proposing a project which involves improvements to the sector of the Kingston

Campus devoted to fraternity and sorority houses, referred to as Fraternity Circle, on the Kingston

Campus; and

     WHEREAS, The University of Rhode Island is underway with a utility and infrastructure

project to replace, improve, and reorganize aged, incrementally developed utility and paved

infrastructure in Fraternity Circle, referred to in the University’s Capital Improvement Plan as

“Fraternity Circle Improvements” project, including improvements to water, wastewater, electrical,

telecommunications, natural gas connections, and storm water management systems, as well as

roadways, walkways, and parking lots as a first phase of improvements reflected in a “master plan”

for this unique neighborhood of on-campus residences serving organizations of students; and

     WHEREAS, The second phase of the overall improvements to Fraternity Circle, referred

to on the University’s Capital Improvement Plan as the “Fraternity Circle Master Plan

Implementation” project is needed to complete this district of campus; and

     WHEREAS, The design and execution of this project will improve student life and the

campus's environmental impact; and

     WHEREAS, These timely project commitments serve the objectives of both the University

and the local community; and

     WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Public Corporation Debt Management Act requires the

General Assembly to provide its consent to the issuance or incurring by the State of Rhode Island

and other public agencies of certain obligations including financing guarantees or other agreements;

and

     WHEREAS, The design and construction will be financed through Rhode Island Health

and Educational Building Corporation revenue bonds, with an expected term of twenty (20) years;

and

     WHEREAS, The project costs associated with completion of the project and proposed

financing method is two million one hundred thousand dollars ($2,100,000), including cost of

issuance. Debt Service payments would be supported by the University's unrestricted general

fund. Total debt service on the bonds is not expected to exceed three million seven hundred

thousand dollars ($3,700,000) in the aggregate based on an average interest rate of six percent

(6%); now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this General Assembly hereby approves financing in an amount not to

exceed two million one hundred thousand dollars ($2,100,000) for the Fraternity Circle Master Plan

Implementation project at the University of Rhode Island; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That, this Joint Resolution shall take effect upon passage.

     SECTION 4. University of Rhode Island – Combined Health & Counseling Center –

Auxiliary Enterprise

     WHEREAS, The Council on Postsecondary Education and the University have a long-

standing commitment to the health and wellness of their students; and

     WHEREAS, The University has a desire to create a one-stop center to address the physical,

emotional, and mental health of its students; and

     WHEREAS, The Council on Postsecondary Education and the University of Rhode Island

are proposing a project which involves the construction of a new Combined Health & Counseling

Center to meet the ongoing and growing health needs of their students; and

     WHEREAS, The University engaged a qualified architectural firm, which has completed

an advanced planning study for this new building; and

     WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Public Corporation Debt Management Act requires the

General Assembly to provide its consent to the issuance or incurring by the State of Rhode Island

and other public agencies of certain obligations including financing guarantees or other agreements;

and

     WHEREAS, The design and construction associated with this work of an Auxiliary

Enterprise building will be financed through the Rhode Island Health and Educational Building

Corporation (RIHEBC) revenue bonds, with an expected term of thirty (30) years; and

     WHEREAS, The total project costs associated with completion of the project through the

proposed financing method is twenty-six million nine hundred thousand dollars ($26,900,000),

including cost of issuance. Debt service payments would be supported by revenues derived from

student fees associated with the respective Auxiliary Enterprises of the University of Rhode Island

occupying said facility. Total debt service on the bonds is not expected to exceed fifty-eight million

seven hundred thousand dollars ($58,700,000) in the aggregate based on an average interest rate of

six (6%) percent; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this General Assembly hereby approves financing in an amount not to

exceed twenty-six million nine hundred thousand dollars ($26,900,000) for the Combined

Health & Counseling Center project for the auxiliary enterprise building on the University of Rhode

Island campus; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That, this Joint Resolution shall take effect upon passage.

     SECTION 5. Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority Project

     WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority (the "authority") is a public

corporation of the state of Rhode Island (the "state"), constituting a public instrumentality and

agency exercising public and essential governmental functions of the state, created by the general

assembly pursuant to chapter 12 of title 24 (as enacted, reenacted and amended, the "act"); and

     WHEREAS, The state recognizes that the Pell Bridge, the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge,

the Mount Hope Bridge, the Sakonnet River Bridge and other facilities of or within the control of

the authority are an essential part of the state's transportation system and facilitates the tourism

industry; and it is the policy of the state that the public welfare and the further economic

development and the prosperity of the state requires the maintenance of such facilities and the

financing thereof; and

     WHEREAS, The act provides that the authority shall have the power to charge and collect

tolls for the use of its facilities; and

     WHEREAS, Pursuant to § 31-36-20, three and one-half cents ($0.035) per gallon of the

motor fuel tax is transferred to the authority to be used for maintenance, operations, capital

expenditures and debt service on any of its projects as defined in chapter 12 of title 24; and

     WHEREAS, The act also provides that the authority shall have the power to acquire, hold

and dispose of real and personal property in the exercise of its powers and performance of its duties;

and

     WHEREAS, The act authorizes the authority 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 the act, to issue revenue bonds of the authority for any of its purposes and to refund its bonds,

borrow money in anticipation of the issuance of its bonds, and secure its bonds and notes by the

pledge of its tolls and other revenues; and

     WHEREAS, In furtherance of its corporate purposes, the authority is authorized to issue

from time to time its negotiable revenue bonds and notes in one or more series in such principal

amounts for the purpose of paying all or a part of the costs of any one or more projects authorized

by the act, making provision for working capital and a reserve for interest; and

     WHEREAS, Pursuant to §§ 35-18-3 and 35-18-4 of the Rhode Island Public Corporation

Debt Management Act (as enacted, reenacted and amended, the "Debt Management Act"), the

authority hereby requests the approval of the general assembly of the authority's issuance of not

more than fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority

Revenue Bonds with a term not to exceed thirty (30) years and six (6) months (together with any

notes issued in anticipation of the issuance of bonds, the "bonds") to be secured by toll, transfers

of motor fuel taxes and/or other revenues, in any combination, for the purpose of providing funds

to finance the renovation, renewal, repair, rehabilitation, retrofitting, upgrading and improvement

of the Pell Bridge, the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, the Sakonnet River Bridge, Mount Hope

Bridge, and other projects authorized under the act, replacement of the components thereof,

working capital, capitalized interest, a debt service reserve and the costs of issuing and insuring the

bonds (the "project"); and

     WHEREAS, The project constitutes essential public facilities directly benefiting the state;

and

     WHEREAS, The authority is authorized pursuant to § 24-12-28 of the act to secure its

bonds by a pledge of the tolls and other revenues received by the authority; and

     WHEREAS, The state shall directly benefit economically from the project by the repair,

maintenance and improvement of the state transportation infrastructure; and

     WHEREAS, In the event that not all of the bond proceeds are used to carry out the specified

project, the authority will use any remaining funds to pay debt service on the bonds; now, therefore,

be it

     RESOLVED AND ENACTED, That this general assembly finds that the project is an

essential public facility and is of a type and nature consistent with the purposes and within the

powers of the authority to undertake, and hereby approves the authority's issuance of not more than

fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) in bonds, which amount is in addition to all prior authorizations;

and be further

     RESOLVED, That the bonds will be special obligations of the authority payable from

funds received by the authority from tolls, transfers of motor fuel taxes and other revenues received

by the authority, in any combination or priority as may be designated in the proceedings of the

authority authorizing the issuance of such debt. The total debt service on the bonds is estimated to

average approximately three million five hundred ninety-four thousand dollars ($3,594,000) per

year or approximately one hundred nine million three hundred sixteen thousand dollars

($109,316,000) in the aggregate, prior to the receipt of any federal subsidy and/or assistance, at an

average interest rate of approximately six percent (6%) and approximately a thirty (30) year

maturity; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the authority may issue interest bearing or discounted notes from time

to time in anticipation of the authorization or issue of bonds or in anticipation of the receipt of

federal aid for the purposes of this joint resolution, the amount of original notes issued in

anticipation of bonds may not exceed the amount of bonds which may be issued under this joint

resolution and the amount of original notes issued in anticipation of federal aid may not exceed the

amount of available federal aid as estimated by the authority, any such notes issued hereunder shall

be payable within five (5) years from their respective dates, but the principal of and interest on

notes issued for a shorter period may be renewed or paid from time to time by the issue of other

notes hereunder, provided the period from the date of an original note to the maturity of any note

issued to renew or pay the same debt or the interest thereon shall not exceed five (5) years, and any

such refunding of notes with notes or bonds may be effected without complying with § 35-18-3(5);

and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the bonds will not constitute indebtedness of the state or any of its

subdivisions or a debt for which the full faith and credit of the state or any of its subdivisions is

pledged.

     RESOLVED, That, this Joint Resolution shall take effect upon passage.

     SECTION 6. Issuance of GARVEE Bonds

     WHEREAS, The Rhode Island department of transportation ("the department") has

completed a detailed review of available funding sources for transportation reconstruction,

maintenance, and repair and has determined that the funding available to carry out an immediate

program of bridge reconstruction and preventative maintenance (the "program") is insufficient; and

     WHEREAS, The limitation in funding has occurred, in part, due to the absence of a state­

funded capital investment program in transportation infrastructure, and the level funding of federal

appropriations to the state, along with a reduction in federal funding through the elimination of

federal earmarks and expiration of additional special federal funds; and

     WHEREAS, Congress has enacted the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST)

Act, which provides an increase in available federal funding; and

     WHEREAS, The department has explored various options to finance the costs of a robust

infrastructure program and concluded that the federal-aid financing program authorized in federal

law by Section 311 of the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 and commonly

referred to as the Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle Program ("GARVEE program") represents

the best financing mechanism for the state of Rhode Island inasmuch as the GARVEE program

accelerates the funding available to ensure that more Rhode Island bridges do not become

structurally deficient; and

     WHEREAS, The GARVEE program allows a state to issue bonds ("GARVEE Bonds") or

other debt instruments backed by future appropriations for federal-aid transportation projects

whereby such amounts are used to cover an assortment of bond-related costs, including principal

and interest payments, issuance costs, insurance, and other costs incidental to financing; and

     WHEREAS, Among other advantages, GARVEE Bonds may be issued as special revenue

bonds without a full faith and credit pledge by the state of Rhode Island; and

     WHEREAS, This general assembly finds that the reconstruction, maintenance, and repair

of the transportation infrastructure of the state is critical for economic development and the general

welfare of both businesses and residents; and

     WHEREAS, The general assembly has studied the issue of sustainable transportation

funding and has determined that no single approach, instrument or method is able to provide

sufficient revenue to maintain the state transportation system in a state of good repair; and

     WHEREAS, The department has determined that GARVEE Bonds should be utilized to

fund the bridge replacement, reconstruction, and maintenance component of the ten (10) year

capital program known as RhodeWorks; and

     WHEREAS, In connection with the issuance of GARVEE Bonds, the state of Rhode

Island, acting by and through RIDOT, may elect to receive in lieu of certain monies which would

otherwise have been received as reimbursement from FHWA for project costs for bridges in the

RhodeWorks program, debt service payments to repay indebtedness in the form of bonds or notes

issued to finance the costs of the construction and financing bridges in the RhodeWorks program;

and

     WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Public Corporation Debt Management Act (chapter 8 of

title 35) requires the general assembly to provide its consent to the issuance of certain obligations

for essential public facilities of the type referenced herein; and

     WHEREAS, The design, construction, equipping and completion of these improvements

will be financed in whole or in part through revenue bonds issued pursuant to the GARVEE

program by the Rhode Island commerce corporation ("commerce corporation") or through revenue

bonds issued pursuant to the GARVEE program by another agency, instrumentality or quasi-public

corporation established by the state of Rhode Island now or hereafter and otherwise authorized and

empowered pursuant to law to issue bonds of the type referenced herein for the types of projects

enumerated herein, with such issuance having an expected term of fifteen (15) years, and annual

revenues for the operation and maintenance of the bridges to be included in the annual operating

budget of RIDOT; and

     WHEREAS, The capital costs and anticipated bond issuance amounts associated with these

projects are estimated to be two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000); now, therefore, be it

     RESOLVED AND ENACTED, That the bridges in the RhodeWorks program are each

essential public facilities and critical to ensure the economic viability of the citizens, businesses,

transportation, marine trades and port facilities of the state of Rhode Island and otherwise in the

best interests of the state of Rhode Island, and that this general assembly hereby approves financing

not to exceed two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) in principal amount of GARVEE Bonds,

the repayment of which shall be derived from and supported by FHWA funds due the state of

Rhode Island. The term of the GARVEE Bonds shall not exceed fifteen (15) years and the total

debt service on the GARVEE Bonds shall not exceed two hundred seventy-five million dollars

($275,000,000); and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the governor of the state of Rhode Island or the director of the

department of transportation or the director of the department of administration or the chief

executive officer or the chief operating officer of the commerce corporation each be and each

hereafter are, acting singly, authorized and empowered by the general assembly to enter into a

financing lease, guarantee, loan and trust agreement, indenture or other obligations or contracts or

agreements and to take such other actions as such official shall deem necessary or appropriate in

order to issue or facilitate the issuance of the GARVEE Bonds and to provide the commerce

corporation or any subsidiary thereof or other instrumentality, agency or quasi-public corporation

otherwise authorized and empowered to issue the bonds specified in this Joint Resolution for the

RhodeWorks program with the necessary debt service payments up to the amount specified above

and the necessary security for such bonds consistent with the provisions of this Joint Resolution,

including any action to pledge, assign or otherwise transfer the right to receive all or any portion

of future FHWA appropriations for federal-aid transportation projects or other revenues permitted

by the laws of the state of Rhode Island to secure or provide for the payment of any such GARVEE

Bonds; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That, this Joint Resolution shall take effect upon passage.

     SECTION 7. This Article shall take effect upon passage.