COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2644
(By Delegates Mezzatesta, D. Miller and P. White)
(Originating in the House Committee on Finance)
[April 1, 1993]
A BILL to amend and reenact section eight, article six, chapter
five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to the state building
commission and the issuance of bonds.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eight, article six, chapter five of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ยง5-6-8. Commission empowered to issue state building revenue
bonds after legislative authorization; form and requirements
for bonds; procedure for issuance; temporary bonds; funds,
grants and gifts.
The commission is hereby empowered to raise the cost of a
project, as defined in this article, by the issuance of state
building revenue bonds of the state, the principal of and
interest on which bonds shall be payable solely from the special
fund herein provided for such payment. Subject to the
proceedings pursuant to which any bonds outstanding were
authorized and issued pursuant to this article, the commissionshall pledge the moneys in such special fund, except such part
of the proceeds of sale of any bonds to be used to pay the cost
of a project, for the payment of the principal of and interest
on bonds issued pursuant to this article, such pledge to apply
equally and ratably to separate series of bonds or upon such
priorities as the commission shall determine. Such bonds shall
be authorized by resolution of the commission which shall recite
an estimate by the commission of such cost, and shall provide for
the issuance of bonds in an amount sufficient, when sold as
hereinafter provided, to produce such cost, less the amount of
any funds, grant or grants, gift or gifts, contribution or
contributions received, or in the opinion of the commission
expected to be received, from the United States of America or
from any other source. The acceptance by the commission of any
and all such funds, grants, gifts and contributions, whether in
money or in land, labor or materials, is hereby expressly
authorized. All such bonds shall have and are hereby declared
to have all the qualities of negotiable instruments. Such bonds
shall bear interest at not more than twelve percent per annum,
payable semiannually, and shall mature in not more than forty
years from their date or dates, and may be made redeemable at the
option of the state, to be exercised by the commission, at such
price and under such terms and conditions, all as the commission
may fix prior to the issuance of such bonds. The commission
shall determine the form of such bonds, including coupons, if
any, to be attached thereto to evidence the right of interest
payments, which bonds shall be signed by the chairman and
secretary of the commission, under the great seal of the state,attested by the secretary of state, and the coupons, if any,
attached thereto shall bear the facsimile signature of the
chairman of the commission. In case any of the officers whose
signatures appear on the bonds or coupons issued as hereinbefore
authorized shall cease to be such officers before the delivery of
such bonds, such signatures shall nevertheless be valid and
sufficient for all purposes the same as if they had remained in
office until such delivery. The commission shall fix the
denominations of such bonds, the principal and interest of which
shall be payable at the office of the treasurer of the state of
West Virginia, at the capitol of the state, or, at the option of
the holder, at some bank or trust company within or without the
state of West Virginia to be named in the bonds, in such medium
as may be determined by the commission. The bonds and interest
thereon shall be exempt from taxation by the state of West
Virginia, or any county or municipality therein. The commission
may provide for the registration of such bonds in the name of the
owners as to principal alone, and as to both principal and
interest under such terms and conditions as the commission may
determine, and shall sell such bonds in such manner as it may
determine to be for the best interest of the state, taking into
consideration the financial responsibility of the purchaser, and
the terms and conditions of the purchase, and especially the
availability of the proceeds of the bonds when required for
payment of the cost of the project, such sale to be made at a
price not lower than a price which, computed upon standard tables
of bond values, will show a net return of not more than thirteen
percent per annum to the purchaser upon the amount paid therefor. The proceeds of such bonds shall be used solely for the payment
of the cost of the project for which bonds were issued, and shall
be deposited and checked out as provided by section five of this
article, and under such further restrictions, if any, as the
commission may provide. If the proceeds of bonds issued for a
project or a specific group of projects shall exceed the cost
thereof, the surplus shall be paid into the fund hereinafter
provided for payment of the principal and interest of such bonds.
Such fund may be used for the purchase of any of the outstanding
bonds payable from such fund at the market price, but at not
exceeding the price, if any, at which such bonds shall in the
same year be redeemable, and all bonds redeemed or purchased
shall forthwith be cancelled, and shall not again be issued.
Prior to the preparation of definitive bonds, the commission may,
under like restrictions, issue temporary bonds with or without
coupons, exchangeable for definitive bonds upon the issuance of
the latter. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections nine and
ten, article six, chapter twelve of this code, revenue bonds
issued under the authority herein granted shall be eligible as
investments for the workers' compensation fund, teachers
retirement fund, division of public safety death, disability and
retirement fund, West Virginia public employees retirement system
and as security for the deposit of all public funds. Such
revenue bonds may be issued without any other proceedings or the
happening of any other conditions or things than those
proceedings, conditions and things which are specified and
required by this article, or by the constitution of the state.
For all projects authorized under the provisions of thisarticle other than projects to be leased by the commission to the
regional jail and correctional facilities authority, the
aggregate amount of all issues of bonds outstanding at one time
shall not exceed sixty-two million five hundred thousand dollars
including the renegotiation, reissuance or refinancing of any
such bonds, and no such project in connection with which bonds
are to be issued shall be initiated by the commission unless and
until the Legislature, through enactment of general law, approves
the purpose, the amount of bonds to be issued, and the total cost
for such project, construction or acquisition.
For projects which are to be leased by the commission to the
regional jail and correctional facilities authority, legislative
approval pursuant to the provisions of this section shall not be
required if such projects have otherwise been approved by the
Legislature in accordance with the provisions of subsection (m),
section five, article twenty, chapter thirty-one of this code,
and the limitations on the amount of revenue bonds which may be
issued by the commission and the project costs shall be governed
by the terms of any concurrent resolution adopted pursuant to
said subsection.
Notwithstanding anything in this article to the contrary,
the commission is authorized to issue bonds or otherwise finance
or refinance the following projects, including the costs of
issuance and sale of the bonds or financing, all necessary
financial and legal expenses and creation of debt service reserve
funds, in an amount not to exceed twenty-one million dollars:
(a) any or all of the state office buildings and adjoining
real property being lease-purchased in Beckley, Clarksburg,Fairmont, Huntington and Parkersburg:
Provided,
That no such
building and adjoining real property shall be financed or
refinanced unless such financing or refinancing is at an interest
rate at 1.5% below the interest rate being paid by the current
owner under the lease-purchase agreement;
(b) a facility to be obtained or constructed by the
commission and leased to the division of motor vehicles; and
(c) property and buildings needed for state spending units
in an amount not to exceed three million dollars.