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art.002/6/002/5/002/4/002/3/002/2/002/1
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ARTICLE 2 AS AMENDED
RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT BOARD

     SECTION 1. Sections 42-10.1-2 and 42-10.1-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-10.1
entitled “Public Finance Management Board” are hereby amended to read as follows:
     42-10.1-2. Purpose. -- It shall be the purpose and responsibility of the board:
     (1) To advise and assist all state departments, municipal and regional authorities,
agencies, boards, commissions, and public and quasi-public corporations, and fire districts and
other special districts having authority to issue revenue or general obligation bonds or GARVEE
bonds or notes or other various types of conduit debt or enter into financing leases with respect to
issuance of, and financial planning related to, all those bonds, leases, and notes;
     (2) Upon request, t To advise and/or assist any city or town and any municipal or regional
agency, authority, board, commission, or public or quasi-public corporations, or fire districts or
other special districts having authority to issue revenue or general obligation bonds or GARVEE
bonds or notes or other various types of conduit debt or enter into financing leases with respect to
the issuance of, and financial planning related to, those bonds, leases, and notes;
     (3) To collect, maintain, and provide information on all state, municipal and regional
authority, agency, board, commission, public or quasi-public corporation, and fire district and
other special district debt authorization, sold and outstanding, and serve as a statistical center for
all state and municipal debt issues;
     (4) To maintain contact with state, municipal and regional authority, agency, board,
commission, public or quasi-public corporation, fire district and other special district bond
issuers, underwriters, credit-rating agencies, investors, and others to improve the market for state
and local government debt issues;
     (5) To undertake or commission studies on methods to reduce the costs and improve
credit ratings of state and local debt issues;
     (6) To recommend changes in state laws and local practices to improve the sale and
servicing of state and local debts.; 
     (7) To annually ascertain the total amount of state, regional, municipal, and public and
quasi-public corporation debt authorized, sold and unsold;
     (8) To oversee the undertaking of a debt affordability study no less frequently than every
two (2) years that shall include recommended limits for the debt capacity of each state, municipal
and regional authority, agency, board, commission, public and quasi-public corporation and fire
district and other special district having authority to issue revenue or general obligation bonds or
GARVEE bonds or notes or other types of conduit debt or enter into financing leases.
     42-10.1-4. Notice of debt issue to board. -- (a) Each state, municipal and regional
department, authority, agency, board, commission, and public and quasi-public corporation, and
fire district and other special district having authority to issue revenue or general obligation bonds
or GARVEE bonds or notes or other various types of conduit debt shall, no later than thirty (30)
days prior to the sale of any such debt issue at public or private sale, give written notice of the
proposed sale to the board; and each such issuer shall, within thirty (30) days after closing, submit
to the board a report of final sale.
     (b) The notice of proposed debt shall include one proposed sale date, the name of the
issuer, the nature of the debt issue, and the estimated principal amount thereof, and such further
information as may be required by rule of the board and shall be delivered in accordance with
procedures to be established by rule of the board; and the notice of final sale shall be made on a
form approved by the board and contain all of the information requested on said form. Any issuer
that fails to submit the report of proposed debt or report of final sale by the appropriate deadline
may be subject to a per diem fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250), which shall be collected
and enforced by the Office of the General Treasurer.
     (c) Each state, municipal and regional authority, agency, board, commission, public and
quasi-public corporation, and fire district and other special district having authority to issue
revenue or general obligation bonds or GARVEE bonds or notes or various types of conduit debt
or enter into financing leases shall provide annually, within ninety (90) days after the end of each
fiscal year, the following information for each outstanding debt incurred as of the end of such
year:
     (1) The principal amount of the issue outstanding;
     (2) The amount of proceeds of the issue that remains unspent;
     (3) The amount of debt authorized by the bond act or other appropriate authorization
relevant to the issue that remains authorized but unissued; and
     (4) A list of the purposes for which the debt has been issued and the amounts expended
for each purpose in the prior fiscal year from the proceeds of the issue.
     (c)(d) Failure of delivery of the above notice or of the time or efficiency thereof shall not
affect the validity of the issuance of any debt, bond or note bonds, notes, or leases.
     (d)(e) The board shall submit a report annually, on or before September 30th of each
year, to the director of administration, the speaker of the house, the chairman of the house finance
committee, the president of the senate, the chairman of the senate finance committee, and the
auditor general on debt issues by cities and towns and other authorities, agencies, boards,
commissions, public and quasi-public corporations, fire districts, and other special districts
subject to the provisions of chapter 45-12 of title 45, which report shall include the information
set forth in division subsection (b) of this section and shall be for the notices of debt issues
received during the state's fiscal year next preceding. An electronic transmission of the report
shall be considered an acceptable submission.
     SECTION 2. Chapter 42-10.1 of the General Laws entitled "Public Finance Management
Board" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections:
     42-10.1-9. Report of debt affordability and targets. -- (a) The board shall compile and
publish annually the total amount of public state, regional, municipal, and public and quasi-public
corporation debt authorized, sold, and unsold.
     (b) No less frequently than every two (2) years, the board shall oversee the undertaking of
a debt affordability study that shall include recommended limits for the debt capacity of each
state, municipal and regional authority, agency, board, commission, public and quasi-public
corporation and fire district and other special district having authority to issue revenue or general
obligation bonds or GARVEE bonds or notes or other various types of conduit debt or enter into
financing leases.
     42-10.1-10. Public finance management board advisory opinions. -- The board shall
have the authority to offer non-binding, advisory opinions on all aspects of debt management
practices of state, municipal, and public and quasi-public corporations.
     SECTION 3. This article shall take effect as of January 1, 2017.