SECTION 1. Section 6 of "An Act to Incorporate the Charlestown Fire District" passed at the January Session, A.D. 1974, as amended, is further amended to read as follows:

SECTION 6. Said Charlestown fire district shall have power is empowered to borrow money and issue its promissory bonds and notes for the same, but said such borrowings or debt outstanding at any one time shall not exceed the sum of one million five hundred thousand ($1,500,000) dollars; and said borrowings shall be authorized at any annual or special meeting of said district and shall provide the maturities of any borrowing and the officer or officers of said district and the rate of interest on any such note or notes in such amounts approved from time to time by vote of a majority of the electors present and voting on the question at an annual or special district meeting. A vote not to approve an amount of bonds hereunder shall not preclude any later vote to approve the same or a different amount.

Said bonds and notes may be issued from time to time under the district's corporate name and seal or a facsimile of such seal. 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 serial redemption in the case of term bond, in annual installments of principal, the first installment to be not later than five years and the last installment not later than forty years after the date of the bonds. No installment of principal shall exceed the next prior installment by more than eight percent (8%), except that this limitation shall not apply to an installment payable less than five (5) years from the date of the bond. Section 5.1 and 5.2 of Chapter 12 of title 45 of the general laws shall apply to any such bonds.

The bonds shall be signed by a member of the Board Engineers authorized by it and by the manual or facsimile signature of the treasurer of the district and shall be issued and sold at public or private sale at not less than par and accrued interest in such amounts as the Board of Engineers may authorize. 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 separate resolution of the Board of Engineers or, to the extent provisions for these matters are not so made by such resolution of the Board, they may be fixed by the member of the Board authorized to sign the bonds or notes and the Treasurer of the District. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the District is expressly authorized to borrow from, issue and sell bonds to the United States of America and/or the United States Department of Agriculture at such rate or rates of interest and upon such terms and upon such agreements with respect thereto as deemed acceptable by the Board of Engineers.

The proceeds derived from the sale of the bonds shall be delivered to the treasurer, and such proceeds exclusive of premiums and accrued interest shall be expended for payment of principal of or interest on temporary notes issued, in repayment of advances from its treasury, and for such other purposes as may be fixed at the annual or special meeting of said district authorizing said borrowing, or to the extent provisions for these matters are not so made at such meeting, by separate resolution of the Board of Engineers.

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 and any applicable federal or state assistance and any premiums or accrued interest thereon shall be deemed appropriated for the purposes of this act without further action than that required by this act.

The Board of Engineers may by resolution authorize the issue from time to time of interest bearing or discounted notes in anticipation of the issue of bonds or in anticipation of the receipt of federal or state aid. 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 district treasurer. Temporary notes issued hereunder shall be signed by the district treasurer and by a member of the Board and shall be payable within five 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 years.

Pending any issue of bonds hereunder or pending or in lieu of any issue of notes hereunder, the district treasurer, with the approval of the Board, may, to the extent that bonds or notes may be issued hereunder, apply funds in the treasury of the district to the purposes for which bonds or notes are authorized hereunder, 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.

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 district treasurer 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 United States of America or by any agency or instrumentality thereof or as may be provided in any other applicable law of the State of Rhode Island.

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 shall, in the discretion of the district treasurer, be applied to the cost of preparing, issuing and marketing bonds or notes hereunder to the extent not otherwise provided, to the payment of the cost of the project, to the payment of the principal of or interest on bonds or notes issued hereunder or to any one or more of the foregoing. The cost of preparing, issuing and marketing bonds or notes hereunder may also, in the discretion of the Board of Engineers, be met from bond or note proceeds exclusive of premium and accrued interest or from other moneys available therefor. Any balance of bonds or note proceeds remaining after payment of the cost of the project and the cost of preparing, issuing and marketing bonds or notes hereunder, shall be applied to the payment of the principal of or interest on bonds or notes issued hereunder. Any earnings or net profit realized from the deposit or investment of funds hereunder shall, upon receipt, be added to and dealt with as part of the revenues of the district from property taxes. In exercising any discretion under this section, the district treasurer shall be governed by any instructions adopted by resolution of the Board of Engineers.

The Board is authorized to take any action deemed necessary (1) to assure that interest on the bonds or notes issued hereunder remains excludable from gross income of the recipients thereof for federal income tax purposes, including, without limitation, paying to the federal government any rebate of earnings derived from the deposit or investment of the proceeds of such bonds or notes that may be required therefor and (2) to comply with the requirements of federal law, including without being limited to regulations and other requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, imposed directly on the District or on the underwriters of such bonds and notes.

All bonds and notes issued under this act and the debts evidence thereby shall be obligatory on the district in the same manner and to the same extent as other debts lawfully contracted by it. The district 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 moneys therefor are not otherwise provided. If such sum is not appropriated, it shall nevertheless be added to the annual tax levy and shall not be subject to the limitation of twenty cents (.20) for each one hundred dollars in Section 5 hereof. In order to provide such sum in each year and notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all taxable property in the district shall be subject to ad valorem taxation by the district without limitation as to rate or amount.

Any bonds or notes issued under the provisions of this act, if properly executed by a member of the Board and the treasurer of the district 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 either or both of such member and treasurer shall for any reason have ceased to hold office.

The district, acting by resolution of its Board of Engineers, is authorized to apply for, contract for and expend any federal or state advances or other grants or assistance which may be available for the purposes for which bonds may be issued under this act, and any such expenditures may be in addition to other moneys provided. 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 from the proceeds of bonds or notes as a cost of the project or projects involved.

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 and any bonds and notes issued in accordance herewith shall not be affected by the existence or nonexistence of any approval or other proceedings, conditions, or act.

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 action.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.