ENGROSSED

Senate Bill No. 429

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[Originating in the Committee on Finance;

reported February 16, 1996.]

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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; and to further amend said article by adding thereto a new section, designated section eight-a, all relating to the state building commission; allowing the commission to issue state building revenue bonds; pledging the moneys in the special fund; authorizing the bonds by resolution; interest on and form of the bonds; exempting bonds and interest from taxation; requiring a certain return on the bonds; use and deposit of the proceeds from the sale of the bonds; making bonds eligible investments for certain retirement systems; limiting amount of bonds which may be issued; legislative approval for certain projects; requiring the commission to acquire the former workers' compensation building on Morris street; authorizing the issuance of bonds or the borrowing of money from the board of investments for certain specified projects and increasing the amount of bonds or other form of financing which may be outstanding; removing prohibition on financing or refinancing; authorizing the commission to borrow money from the state board of investments and authorizing the board of investments to invest in the loans for purposes of certain specified projects; interest on the loans; and repayment of the loans.

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; and that said article be further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section eight-a, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6.STATE BUILDING COMMISSION.
§5-6-8. 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.

(a) 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 in section five of this article for such the payment. Subject to the proceedings pursuant to which any bonds outstanding were authorized and issued pursuant to this article, the commission shall pledge the moneys in such the special fund, except such that part of the proceeds of sale of any bonds to be used to pay the cost of a project and for the payment of the principal of and interest on bonds issued pursuant to this article, such . The pledge to shall apply equally and ratably to separate series of bonds or upon such priorities as the commission shall determine. Such The bonds shall be authorized by resolution of the commission. which The resolution shall recite an estimate by the commission of such the cost, and shall provide for the issuance of bonds in an amount sufficient, when sold as hereinafter provided in this section, to produce such the 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 The 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 the bonds. The commission shall determine the form of such the bonds, including coupons, if any, to be attached thereto to the bonds to evidence the right of interest payments, which. The 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 to the bonds 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 by this section shall cease to be such officers before the delivery of such the bonds, such the signatures shall are nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes the same as if they had remained in office until such the delivery. The commission shall fix the denominations of such the 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 on the bonds are exempt from taxation by the state of West Virginia, or any county or municipality therein in the state. The commission may provide for the registration of such the 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 the 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. The sale to shall 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 for the bonds. The proceeds of such the 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 exceeds the cost thereof of the project or projects, the surplus shall be paid into the fund hereinafter provided for in section five of this article for payment of the principal and interest of such the bonds. Such The fund may be used for the purchase of any of the outstanding bonds payable from such the fund at the market price, but at not exceeding the price, if any, at which such the bonds shall are in the same year be redeemable, and all bonds redeemed or purchased shall forthwith be canceled immediately, 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 in this section are 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 The 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 this article 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 the 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 the 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 that subsection.
The commission shall acquire the property being lease- purchased in the city of Charleston, located at 601 Morris street, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section.
(b) Notwithstanding anything in this article to the contrary, the commission is authorized to issue bonds, borrow money from the state board of investments in accordance with the provisions of section eight-a of this article 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 thirty million dollars:
(1) Any or all of the state office buildings and adjoining real property being lease-purchased in Beckley, Charleston, 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 one and one-half percent below the interest rate being paid by the current owner under the lease-purchase agreement;
(2) A facility to be obtained or constructed by the commission and leased to the division of motor vehicles; and
(3) Property and buildings needed for state spending units in an amount not to exceed three million dollars.
§5-6-8a. Commission authorized to borrow money from the state board of investments.
The commission is authorized to borrow money from the state board of investments and the board of investments is authorized to invest in the loans, for the purposes of financing or refinancing the projects specified in subsection (b), section eight of this article. The money borrowed will bear interest during the term of the loan at a fixed rate not to exceed fifty basis points above the average interest rate on treasury notes, bills or bonds of the same term as the term of the loan the week of closing on the loan as reported by the treasury of the United States. Loans made under this section shall be repaid in regular monthly or semiannual payments and in full not later than twenty-five years from the date the loans are made with terms and conditions mutually agreed upon by the commission and the state board of investments.