Chapter
236
2007 -- S 0953 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/03/07
A N A C T
RELATING
TO EDUCATION -- FOUNDATION LEVEL SCHOOL SUPPORT
Introduced
By: Senator Stephen D. Alves
Date
Introduced: April 26, 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
16-7-44.1 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.
=======
LC02924/SUB A
=======