Chapter 171
2009 -- S 0999
Enacted 07/16/09
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF CENTRAL FALLS TO PROVIDE FOR THE RENOVATION, REHABILITATION, REPLACEMENT, IMPROVEMENT, AND EQUIPPING OF PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND SCHOOL FACILITIES IN THE CITY OF CENTRAL FALLS AND AUTHORIZING THE FINANCING THEREOF, INCLUDING THE ISSUE OF NOT MORE THAN $5,000,000 BONDS, NOTES AND OTHER EVIDENCES OF INDEBTEDNESS THEREFOR
Introduced By: Senator Elizabeth A. Crowley
Date Introduced: June 18, 2009
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. The city of
previously granted, to issue bonds and other evidences of
indebtedness up to an amount not
exceeding five million dollars ($5,000,000) from time to time
under its corporate name and seal
or a facsimile of such. The bonds of each issue may be
issued in the form of serial bonds or term
bonds or a combination thereof and shall be payable either
by maturity of principal in the case of
serial bonds or by mandatory sinking fund installments in
the case of term bonds, in annual
installments of principal, the first installment to be not later
than three (3) years and the last
installment not later than thirty (30) years after the date of
the bonds.
SECTION 2. The bonds shall be signed by the city director of
finance and by the
manual or facsimile signature of the mayor and be issued and
sold in such amounts as the city
council may determine. The manner of sale, denominations,
maturities, interest rates and other
terms, conditions and details of any bonds or notes issued
under this act may be fixed by the
proceedings of the city council authorizing the issue or by
separate resolution of the city council
or, to the extent provisions for these matters are not
so made, they may be fixed by the officers
authorized to sign the bonds or notes. Notwithstanding anything contained
in this act to the
contrary, the city may enter into financing agreements with
the Rhode Island Health and
Educational Building
Corporation pursuant to title 16 chapter 7 and title 45 chapter 38.1 of the
general laws and, with respect to notes or bonds issued in
connection with such financing
agreements, if any, the city may elect to have the provisions of
title 45, chapter 38.1 of the
general laws apply to the issuance of the bonds or notes
issued hereunder to the extent the
provisions of title 45, chapter 38.1 of the general laws are
inconsistent herewith. Such election
may be fixed by the proceedings of the city council
authorizing such issuance of by separate
resolution of the city council, or, to the extent provisions for
these matters are not so made, they
may be fixed by the officers authorized to sign the bonds
or notes. The proceeds derived from the
sale of the bonds shall be delivered to the city director
of finance, and such proceeds exclusive of
premiums and accrued interest shall be expended: (a) for the
renovation, rehabilitation,
replacement, improvement, and equipping of public school
buildings and school facilities in the
city of
notes issued under section 3 (c) in repayment of advances
under section 4 (d) in payment of
related costs of issuance of any bonds or notes; and/or (e)
in payment of capitalized interest
during construction of the project. No purchaser of any
bonds or notes under this act shall be in
any way responsible for the proper application of the
proceeds derived from the sale thereof. The
proceeds of bonds or notes issued under this act, any
applicable federal or state assistance and the
other monies referred to in sections 6 and 9 shall be
deemed appropriated for the purposes of this
act without further action than that required by this
act.
SECTION 3. The city council may by resolution authorize the
issuance from time to
time of interest bearing or discounted notes in
anticipation of the issue of bonds under section 2
or in anticipation of the receipt of federal or state
aid for the purposes of this act. The amount of
original notes issued in anticipation of bonds may not exceed
the amount of bonds which may be
issued under this act and the amount of original notes
issued in anticipation of federal or state aid
may not exceed the amount of available federal or state
aid as estimated by the city director of
finance. Temporary notes issued hereunder shall be signed by
the city treasurer and by the mayor
and 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. Any temporary notes in anticipation of
bonds issued under this section may be
refunded prior to the maturity of the notes by the issuance of
additional temporary notes, provided
that no such refunding shall result in any amount of such
temporary notes outstanding at any one
time in excess of two hundred percent (200%) of the amount
of bonds which may be issued under
this act, and provided further that if the issuance of any
such refunding notes results in any
amount of such temporary notes outstanding at any one time
in excess of the amount of bonds
which may be issued under this act, the proceeds of such
refunding notes shall be deposited in a
separate fund established with the bank which is paying agent
for the notes being refunded.
Pending their use to pay
the notes being refunded, moneys in the fund shall be invested for the
benefit of the city by the paying agent at the direction of
the city director of finance in any
investment permitted under section 5. The moneys in the fund and
any investments held as a part
of the fund shall be held in trust and shall be applied
by the paying agent solely to the payment or
prepayment of the principal of and interest on the notes being
refunded. Upon payment of all
principal of and interest on the notes any excess moneys in the
fund shall be distributed to the
city. The city may pay the principal of and interest on
the notes in full from other than the
issuance of refunding notes prior to the issuance of bonds
pursuant to Section 1 hereof. In such
case, the city's authority to issue bonds or notes in
anticipation of the bonds under this act shall
continue provided that: (1) the city council passes a
resolution evidencing the city's intent to pay
off the notes without extinguishing the authority to
issue bonds or notes; and (2) that the period
from the date of an original note to the maturity date of
any other note shall not exceed five (5)
years.
SECTION 4. Pending any authorization or issue of bonds
hereunder or pending or in
lieu of any authorization or issue of notes hereunder, the
city director of finance, with the
approval of the city council may, to the extent that bonds or
notes may be issued hereunder, apply
funds in the general treasury of the city to the purposes
specified in section 2, such advances to be
repaid without interest from the proceeds of bonds or notes
subsequently issued or from the
proceeds of applicable federal or state assistance or from
other available funds.
SECTION 5. Any proceeds of bonds or notes issued hereunder
or of any applicable
federal or state assistance, pending their expenditure may be
deposited or invested by the city
director of finance, in demand deposits, time deposits or
savings deposits in banks which are
members of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or in
obligations issued or guaranteed by
the
in any other applicable law of the state of
SECTION 6. Any accrued interest received upon the sale of
bonds or notes hereunder
shall be applied to the payment of the first interest due
thereon. Any premiums arising from the
sale of bonds or notes hereunder and, to the extent
permitted by applicable federal laws, any net
earnings or profits realized from the deposit or investment of
funds hereunder shall be applied to
the cost of preparing, issuing, and marketing bonds or
notes hereunder to the payment of the cost
of the project. The cost of preparing, issuing, and
marketing bonds or notes hereunder may also,
in the discretion of the city director of finance, be
met from the bond or note proceeds exclusive
of premium and accrued interest or from other monies
available therefor. In exercising any
discretion under this section, the city treasurer shall be
governed by any instructions adopted by
resolution of the city council.
SECTION 7. All bonds and notes issued under this act
and the debt evidenced hereby
shall be obligatory on the city in the same manner and to
the same extent as other debts lawfully
contracted by it and shall be excepted from the operation of
section 45-12-2 of the general laws.
No such obligation shall at
any time be included in the debt of the city for the purpose of
ascertaining its borrowing capacity. The city shall annually
appropriate a sum sufficient to pay
the principal and interest coming due within the year on
bonds and notes issued hereunder to the
extent that monies therefor are
not otherwise provided. If such sum is not appropriated, it shall
nevertheless be added to the annual tax levy. In order to provide such
sum in each year and not
withstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all taxable
property in the city shall be subject
to ad valorem taxation by the
city without limitation as to rate or amount.
SECTION 8. Any bonds or notes issued under the provisions of
this act, if properly
executed by the officers of the city in office on the date of
execution, shall be valid and binding
according to their terms notwithstanding that before the
delivery thereof and payment therefor
any or all such officers shall for any reason have ceased
to hold office.
SECTION 9. The city, acting by resolution of its city
council is authorized to apply
for, contract for and expend any federal or state
advances or other grants of assistance which may
be available for the purposes of this act, and any such
expenditures may be in addition to other
monies provided in this act. To the extent of any
inconsistency between any law of this state and
any applicable federal law or regulation, the latter
shall prevail. Federal and state advances, with
interest where applicable, whether contracted for prior to or
after the effective date of this act,
may be repaid as a cost of the project under section 2.
SECTION 10. Bonds and notes may be issued under this act
without obtaining the
approval of any governmental agency or the taking of any
proceedings or the happening of any
conditions except as specifically required by this act for such
issue. In carrying out any project
financed in whole or in part under this act, including where
applicable the condemnation of any
land or interest in land, and in the levy and collection
of assessments or other charges permitted
by law on account of any such project, all action shall
be taken which is necessary to meet
constitutional requirements whether or not such action is otherwise
required by statute, but the
validity of bonds and notes issued hereunder shall in no way depend
upon the validity or
occurrence of such actions.
SECTION 11. The city treasurer and the mayor, on behalf of
the city are hereby
authorized to execute such instruments, documents or other
papers as either of the foregoing
deem necessary or desirable to carry out the intent of
this act and are also authorized to take all
actions and execute all documents necessary to comply with
federal tax and securities laws,
which documents or agreements may have a term coextensive
with the maturity of the bonds
authorized hereby, including Rule 15c2-12 of the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the
Rule) and to execute and
deliver a continuing disclosure agreement or certificate in connection
with the bonds or notes in the form as shall be deemed
advisable by such officers in order to
comply with the Rule.
SECTION 12. All or any portion of the authorized but unissued authority to issue
bonds and notes under this act may be extinguished by
resolution of the city council, without
further action by the general assembly, seven (7) years after
the effective date of this act.
SECTION 13. The question of the approval of this act shall
be submitted to the Board
of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education, Board
of Trustees for the
School District,
and the City Council for
school facilities, concerns for the health and safety of
students and staff in the immediate future,
and the impending school facility closures for the
2009-2010 school year, this act will not be
subject to approval from the electors of the city at the next
general election in conformity with the
reserved powers of the general assembly pursuant to Article
XIII, Section 5 of the Constitution of
the State of
SECTION 14. Any bonds issued under this act will be
eligible for school housing
aid, assuming the school department receives Board of
Regents approval for the applicable
projects by December 31, 2009.
SECTION 15. School housing aid shall be paid to the
Rhode Island Health and
Educational Building
Corporation or its designee including, but not limited to, a trustee under a
bond indenture or loan and trust agreement, in support of
bonds issued for specific projects of the
local community pursuant to section 16-7-41(c) of chapter 7
of title 16 of the general laws.
SECTION 16. This act shall constitute an enabling act of the
general assembly that is
required pursuant to section 16-7-44 of chapter 7 of title 16
of the general laws.
SECTION 17. In the event that the City of
111-5, known as the
"American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009," the City of
Falls and the
necessary, to receive, appropriate, pledge and expend such
financial assistance authorized by the
American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Without
limiting the foregoing, the City of
Falls and the Central Falls
School Department shall have the power to enter into all agreements or
instruments necessary or convenient to receive, appropriate, pledge
and expend such financial
assistance.
SECTION 18. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02845
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