Chapter
222
2007 -- H 6051 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/03/07
A N A C T
RELATING TO EDUCATION
-- FOUNDATION LEVEL SCHOOL SUPPORT
Introduced By: Representatives Costantino, Lewiss, and Slater
Date Introduced: March 01,
2007
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Section 16-7-44 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-7 entitled
"Foundation
Level
School Support" is hereby amended to read as follows:
16-7-44.
School housing project costs. -- School housing project costs, the date
of
completion
of school housing projects, and the applicable amount of school housing project
cost
commitments
shall be in accordance with the regulations of the commissioner of elementary
and
secondary
education and the provisions of sections 16-7-35 -- 16-7-47; provided, however,
that
school
housing project costs shall include the purchase of sites, buildings, and
equipment, the
construction
of buildings, and additions or renovations of existing buildings and/or
facilities.
School
housing project costs shall include the cost of interest payment on any bond
issued after
July 1,
1988, provided that such bond is approved by the voters on or before June 30,
2003 or
issued
by a municipal public building authority or by the appropriate approving
authority on or
before
June 30, 2003. For those projects approved after June 30, 2003, interest
payments may
only be
included in project costs provided that the bonds for these projects are issued
through the
Rhode
Island Health, Education and Building Corporation. School housing project costs
shall
exclude:
(1) any bond issuance costs incurred by the municipality or regional school
district; (2)
demolition
costs for buildings, facilities, or sites deemed surplus by the school
committee; and (3)
restrictions
pursuant to section 6-7-44.1 below. A building, facility, or site is declared
surplus by
a school
committee when the committee no longer has such building, facility, or site
under its
direct
care and control and transfers control to the municipality, section 16-2-15.
The board of
regents
for elementary and secondary education will promulgate rules and regulations
for the
administration
of this section. These rules and regulations may provide for the use of lease
revenue
bonds, capital leases, or capital reserve funding, to finance school housing
provided that
the term
of any bond, or capital lease shall not be longer than the useful life of the
project and
these
instruments are subject to the public review and voter approval otherwise
required by law
for the
issuance of bonds or capital leases. Cities or towns issuing bonds, or leases
issued by
municipal
public buildings authority for the benefit of a local community pursuant to
chapter 50
of title
45 shall not require voter approval. All bonds, notes and other forms of
indebtedness,
other
than interim finance mechanisms, issued in support of school housing projects
shall require
passage
of an enabling act by the general assembly.
SECTION
2. Section 45-50-14 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-50 entitled "Municipal
Public
Buildings Authorities" is hereby amended to read as follows:
45-50-14.
Revenue bonds. -- (a) The authority is authorized to provide by
resolution for
the
issuance, at one time, or from time to time, of revenue bonds of the authority
for the purpose
of
paying all or a part of the cost of any one or more projects, the construction
or acquisition of
which is
authorized by this chapter. The principal of and the interest on the bonds
shall be
payable
from the funds provided for payment. The bonds of each issue shall be dated,
bear
interest
at a rate or rates that the authority determines, payable from time to time,
shall mature at a
time or
times not exceeding forty (40) years from their date or dates, as may be
determined by the
authority,
and may be redeemable before maturity, at the option of the authority, at a
price or
prices
and under terms and conditions as may be fixed by the authority prior to the
issuance of the
bonds.
The authority shall determine the form of bonds, including any interest coupons
to be
attached
to them, and shall fix the denomination or denominations of the bonds and the
place or
places
of payment of the principal and interest, which may be at any bank or trust
company
within
or without the state. The bonds shall be signed by the chairperson of the
authority or a
facsimile
shall be impressed or imprinted on the bonds and attested by the manual or
facsimile
signature
of the secretary of the authority, and any coupons attached to the bonds shall
bear the
facsimile
signature of the chairperson of the authority. In case any officer, whose
signature or
facsimile
of whose signatures appears on any bonds or coupons, ceases to be an officer
before the
delivery
of the bonds, the signature or the facsimile is nevertheless valid and
sufficient for all
purposes
the same as if he or she had remained in office until the delivery. The bonds
may be
issued
in coupon or in registered form, or both, as the 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, for the reconversion into coupon bonds of any bonds registered
and coupon
bonds.
The authority may sell bonds in a manner, either at public or private sale, and
for a price
that it
may determine will best effect the purposes of this chapter.
(b) The proceeds of the bonds of each issue shall be used for the payment of
the cost of
the
project or projects for which the bonds have been issued, and shall be
disbursed in a manner
and
under restrictions, if any, that the authority may provide in the resolution
authorizing the
issuance
of the bonds or in the trust agreement securing the bonds. If the proceeds of
the bonds of
any
issue, by error of estimates, are less than the cost, additional bonds may in
the same manner
be
issued to provide the amount of the deficit, and, unless otherwise provided in
the resolution
authorizing
the issuance of the bonds or in the trust agreement securing the bonds, are
deemed to
be of
the same issue and are entitled to payment from the same fund without
preference of
priority
of the bonds first issued. If the proceeds of the bonds of any issue exceed the
cost, the
surplus
shall be deposited to the credit of the sinking fund for the bonds, or may be
applied to the
payment
of the cost of any project financed under the provisions of this chapter.
(c) Prior to the preparation of definitive bonds, the authority may, under like
restrictions,
issue
interim receipts or temporary bonds, with or without coupons, exchangeable for
definitive
bonds
when definitive bonds have been executed and are available for delivery. The
authority
may also
provide for the replacement of any bonds which become mutilated or are
destroyed or
lost.
Bonds, other than school housing bonds pursuant to chapter 7 of title 16,
may be issued
under
the provisions of this chapter 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 chapter. All bonds, notes and other forms of
indebtedness, other
than
interim finance mechanisms, issued in support of school housing projects shall
require
passage
of an enabling act by the general assembly.
(d) However, in no event shall the authority borrow in principal amount for any
one
bond
issue more than fifteen percent (15%) of the total of the most recent adopted
municipal
budget.
In addition, the total outstanding principal amount of bonds of the authority
shall not
exceed
fifty percent (50%) of the most recent adopted municipal budget; provided,
however, that
there
shall not be included in the calculation of this limitation fifty percent (50%)
of the
outstanding
principal amount of any bonds issued for projects for which the authority or
the
municipality
receives school housing aid pursuant to sections 16-7-44 and 16-7-41.
SECTION
3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2008.
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LC01564/SUB A/3
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