Current Status Bill Number:View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.263 Ratification Number:119 Act Number:77 Introducing Body:Senate Subject:Clark's Hill-Russell Authority
(A77, R119, S263)
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 9 OF TITLE 13, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE CLARK'S HILL-RUSSELL AUTHORITY, SO AS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF THE MEMBERS OF THE AUTHORITY'S BOARD, TO REQUIRE AT LEAST ONE OF THE MEMBERS TO BE A RESIDENT OF ANDERSON COUNTY RECOMMENDED BY THE COUNTY'S LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION, TO PROVIDE FOR REMOVAL OF MEMBERS, TO PROVIDE FOR A QUORUM OF MEMBERS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR POWERS OF THE BOARD; AND TO AMEND ACT 1 OF 1983, RELATING TO THE CLARK'S HILL-RUSSELL AUTHORITY, SO AS TO DESIGNATE SECTIONS OF THE ACT AS SECTIONS OF THE CODE, TO DETAIL THE PROJECTS FOR WHICH THE AUTHORITY MAY ISSUE REVENUE BONDS, TO AUTHORIZE THE AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO FINANCING AGREEMENTS RELATING TO PROJECTS, TO REVISE THE PROVISIONS WHICH MAY BE CONTAINED IN RESOLUTIONS BY THE AUTHORITY'S BOARD WHICH AUTHORIZE REVENUE BONDS AND WHICH ARE A PART OF THE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE AUTHORITY AND HOLDERS OF THE BONDS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE INTEREST RATES ON THE BONDS, TO EXEMPT FROM TAXATION THE PRINCIPAL OF AND INTEREST ON THE BONDS AND ALL SECURITY AGREEMENTS, INDENTURES, AND FINANCING AGREEMENTS, TO PROVIDE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS, TO PROVIDE THE RESPONSIBILITIES AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE AUTHORITY AND THE STATE RELATING TO THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE NET EARNINGS AND THE UNEXPENDED FUNDS OF THE AUTHORITY, TO ESTABLISH DETERMINATIONS WHICH MUST BE MADE BY THE AUTHORITY'S BOARD BEFORE PROJECTS MAY BE UNDERTAKEN, TO PROVIDE FOR THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE AUTHORITY AND ANY COMPANY WITH WHICH THE AUTHORITY HAS A FINANCING AGREEMENT, TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE PROCEEDS, PREMIUMS, AND ACCRUED INTEREST FROM THE SALE OF BONDS, AND TO DETAIL THE COST OF ACQUIRING ANY PROJECT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Clark's Hill-Russell Authority
SECTION 1. Chapter 9 of Title 13 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"CHAPTER 9
Clark's Hill-Russell Authority
Section 13-9-10. There is created the Clark's Hill-Russell Authority of South Carolina, referred to in this chapter as the 'authority'. The governing body of the authority consists of an eight member board appointed by the Governor for terms of four years and until successors are appointed and qualify.
At least two of the appointed members must be residents of McCormick County recommended by the legislative delegation of that county.
At least two of the appointed members must be residents of Abbeville County recommended by the legislative delegation of that county.
At least one of the appointed members must be a resident of Anderson County recommended by the legislative delegation of that county.
Vacancies on the board for any reason must be filled for the unexpired term in the manner of original appointment. Members may be removed by the Governor for cause or at will.
Section 13-9-20. The members of the board shall elect one member as chairman and one as vice-chairman and shall also elect a secretary. The board shall meet upon the call of its chairman, and four members constitute a quorum for the transaction of its business.
Section 13-9-30. The board of the authority has the power to manage the business and affairs of the authority and to take action as it may consider advisable, necessary, or convenient in carrying out its powers. The powers of the board include the following:
(a) to have perpetual succession;
(b) to sue and be sued;
(c) to adopt, use, and alter a seal;
(d) to make and amend bylaws for regulation of its affairs consistent with the provisions of this chapter;
(e) to acquire, purchase, hold, use, improve, lease, mortgage, pledge, sell, transfer, and dispose of any property, real, personal, or mixed, or any interest in any property, or revenues of the authority as security for notes, bonds, evidences of indebtedness, or other obligations of the authority. The authority has no power to pledge the credit and the taxing power of the State or any of its political subdivisions;
(f) to receive contributions, donations, and payments and to invest and disperse the authority's funds;
(g) to make inquiry into the status of, and plans for, the development of the Clark's Hill-Russell project and the Richard B. Russell project by the United States Government, by the State of Georgia, or by any other agency or instrumentality;
(h) to encourage, assist, promote___,___ and cooperate in the development of the Savannah River and the streams, canals, or watercourses now or at a later time connected to or flowing into the river and to appear on behalf of the State before any agency, department, or commission of this State, of the United States, or of any other state in furtherance of the development or of any matter connected with the development or related to the development;
(i) to negotiate agreements, accords, or compacts on behalf of and in the name of the State with the State of Georgia or the United States, or both, with any agency, department, or commission of either or both, or with any other state or any agency, department, or commission of the other state, relating to the development of the Savannah River and the development of the streams, canals, or watercourses now or at a later time connected to or flowing into the river, and particularly in reference to joint or concurrent action in the furtherance of agreements, accords, or contracts. Interstate compacts made by the authority are subject to approval by concurrent resolution of the General Assembly;
(j) to act as the designated agency of the State to receive, purchase, hold title to, and to manage any real property in the Clark's Hill Reservoir project area, in the Richard B. Russell Reservoir project area, and of the Savannah River basin, including its tributaries, streams, canals, and water courses now or at a later time connected to or flowing into the river, in the State acquired by release of surplus real property, by purchase, by lease, or by exchange and to develop and promote the development of the land for recreational, transportation, residential, commercial, and industrial purposes, both public and private, and to lease, sublease, or convey title in fee simple to the real property subject to approval by the State Budget and Control Board.
The authority may retain, carry forward, and expend any proceeds derived from the sale, lease, rental, or other use of real and personal property under the authority's exclusive jurisdiction. The proceeds may only be used in the development and the promotion of the authority as provided by this chapter and for the purposes authorized by this chapter;
(k) to promulgate regulations affecting the use, management, and control of real property acquired pursuant to item (j) of this section;
(1) to borrow money, make and issue notes, bonds, and other evidences of indebtedness, including refunding and advanced refunding notes and bonds, of the authority; to secure the payment of the obligations or any part by mortgage, lien, pledge, or deed of trust, on any of its property, contracts, franchises, or revenues, including the proceeds of any refunding and advanced refunding notes, bonds, and other evidences of indebtedness and the investments in which proceeds are invested and the earnings on and income from the investments; to invest its monies, including without limitation its revenues and proceeds of the notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness, in obligations of, or obligations the principal of and interest on which are guaranteed by or are fully secured by contracts with, the United States, in obligations of any agency, instrumentality, or corporation which has been or may at a later time be created by or pursuant to an act of the United States Congress as an agency, instrumentality, or corporation, in direct and general obligations of this State, and in certificates of deposit issued by any bank, trust company, or national banking association; to make agreements with the purchasers or holders of the notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness or with others in connection with any notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness, whether issued or to be issued, as the authority considers advisable; and to provide for the security for the notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness and the rights of the holders of the notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness.
In the exercise of the powers granted in this section to issue advanced refunding notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness the authority may, but is not required to, avail itself of or comply with any of the provisions of Chapter 21 of Title 11. The authority, when investing in certificates of deposit, shall invest in certificates of deposit issued by institutions authorized to do business in this State if the institutions offer terms which, in the opinion of the authority, are equal to or better than those offered by other institutions;
(m) to loan the proceeds of notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness to a person, corporation, or partnership to construct, acquire, improve, or expand the projects described in Section 13-9-40;
(n) to make contracts, including service contracts with a person, corporation, or partnership, to provide the services provided in Section 13-9-40, and to execute all instruments necessary or convenient for the carrying out of business."
Authority may issue bonds
SECTION 2. Sections 2 through 11 of Act 1 of 1983 are designated as and are amended to read:
"Section 13-9-40. The authority may issue revenue bonds for the purpose of financing or refinancing, in whole or in part, the cost of the following projects:
(a) purchasing real estate;
(b) constructing, reconstructing, or improving roads, bridges, culverts, or other transportation facilities;
(c) constructing, reconstructing, improving, or equipping water distribution systems, sewer treatment and distribution facilities, buildings, or environmental utilities;
(d) constructing, reconstructing, and improving recreational facilities, including but not limited to marinas, docks, swimming pools, parks, dams, ponds, golf courses, racquetball and tennis facilities, and equestrian and archery complexes.
In connection with the issuance of bonds, the authority may enter into an agreement with a company to construct, operate, maintain, and improve a project, and the authority may enter into a financing agreement with the company prescribing the terms and conditions of the payments to be made by the company to the authority, or its assignee, to meet the payments that become due on bonds.
Section 13-9-50. Revenue bonds issued under this chapter for any project described in Section 13-9-40 must be authorized by resolution of the board of the authority. The resolution may contain provisions which are a part of the contract between the authority and the several holders of the bonds as to:
(a) the custody, security, use, expenditure, or application of the proceeds of the bonds;
(b) the acquisition, construction, and completion of any project for which the bonds are issued;
(c) the use, regulation, operation, maintenance, insurance, or disposition of the project for which the bonds are issued, or any restrictions on the exercise of the powers of the board to dispose of or limit or regulate the use of the project;
(d) the payment of the principal of or interest on the bonds and the sources and methods of payment, the rank or priority of any bonds as to any lien or security, or the acceleration of the maturity of any bonds;
(e) the use and disposition of the revenues derived or to be derived from the operation of any project;
(f) the pledging, setting aside, depositing, or entrusting of the revenues from which the bonds are made payable to secure the payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds or the payment of expenses of operation and maintenance of the project;
(g) the setting aside of revenues reserves, or sinking funds and the source, custody, security, regulation, and disposition of the revenues, reserves, or sinking funds;
(h) the determination of the definition of revenues or of the expenses of operation and maintenance of the project for which the bonds are issued;
(i) the rentals, fees, or other charges derived from the use of the project and the fixing, establishing, collection, and enforcement of the rentals, fees, or other charges, the amount or amounts of revenues to be produced by the rentals, fees, or other charges, and the disposition and application of the amounts charged or collected;
(j) limitations on the issuance of additional bonds or any other obligations or the incurrence of indebtedness payable from the same revenues from which the bonds are payable;
(k) rules to insure the use of the project by the public or private sector to the maximum extent to which the project are capable of serving the public or private sector;
(l) any other matter or course of conduct which, by recital in the resolution authorizing the bonds, is declared to further secure the payment of the principal of or interest on the bonds.
Section 13-9-60. The bonds may be issued in one or more series, may bear a date, may mature at a time not exceeding forty years from their respective dates, may bear interest at the rate or rates per annum as approved by the State Budget and Control Board, may be payable in a medium of payment and at a place, may be in a denomination, may be in a form, either coupon or registered, may carry registration privileges, may be subject to terms of redemption before maturity, with or without premium, and may contain terms, convenants, and conditions as the resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds may provide. The interest rate on bonds issued by the authority, the proceeds of which are loaned to a company pursuant to a financing agreement to construct or acquire a project authorized under Section 13-9-40, are not subject to approval by the State Budget and Control Board. The bonds are fully negotiable within the meaning of and for the purposes of the Uniform Commercial Code.
Section 13-9-70. The principal of and interest on bonds issued under this chapter are exempt from taxation, as provided in Section 12-1-60. All security agreements, indentures, and financing agreements made pursuant to the provisions of this chapter are exempt from state stamp and transfer taxes.
Section 13-9-80. No bonds may be issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter until the proposal of the board of the authority to issue the bonds receives the approval of the State Budget and Control Board. When the board proposes to issue bonds, it shall file a proposal with the Budget and Control Board setting forth:
(a) a brief description of the project proposed to be undertaken and its anticipated effect upon the economy of the area in which the project is to be located;
(b) a reasonable estimate of the cost of the project;
(c) a general summary of the terms and conditions of any financing agreement and security agreement.
Upon the filing of the proposal the Budget and Control Board shall, as soon as practicable, make an independent investigation, as it considers necessary or appropriate, and if it finds that the project is intended to promote the purposes of this chapter, it may approve the project. At any time following the approval, the board may proceed with the acquisition and financing of the project. If the proceeds of the bonds are to be made available to a company to construct a project, as provided in Section 13-9-40, notice of the approval of any project by the Budget and Control Board must be published at least once by the authority in a newspaper having general circulation in the county where the project is to be located.
Any interested party may, within twenty days after the date of the publication of notice, but not after the twenty days, challenge the validity of the approval in the court of common pleas in the county where the project is to be located.
Section 13-9-90. The bonds must be signed in the name of the board of the authority by the manual or facsimile signature of the chairman of the board and attested with the manual or facsimile signature of the secretary of the board. Interest coupons attached to the bonds must be signed by the facsimile signatures of the officers. The bonds may be issued notwithstanding that any of the officials signing them or whose facsimile signatures appear on the bonds or the coupons have ceased to hold office at the time of issue or at the time of the delivery of the bonds to the purchaser.
Section 13-9-100. The bonds must be sold at public or private sale upon terms and conditions as the State Budget and Control Board considers advisable.
Section 13-9-110. The board of the authority or its proper administrative officers shall file with the State Treasurer within thirty days from the date of their issuance a complete description of all obligations entered into by the board with the rates of interest, maturity dates, annual payments, and all pertinent data.
Section 13-9-120. All provisions of a resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds in accordance with this chapter and any covenants and agreements constitute legally binding contracts between the authority and the several holders of the bonds, regardless of the time of issuance of the bonds, and are enforceable by any holder by mandamus or other appropriate action, suit, or proceeding at law or in equity in any court of competent jurisdiction.
Section 13-9-130. The bonds authorized by the chapter are limited obligations of the authority. The principal and interest are payable solely out of the revenues derived by the authority, including any revenues that may be derived by the authority pursuant to the financing agreement with respect to the project which the bonds are issued to finance. The bonds are an indebtedness payable solely from a revenue producing source or from a special source which does not include revenues from any tax or license. The bonds do not constitute nor give rise to a pecuniary liability of the authority, the State, or any political subdivision of the State, or to a charge against the general credit of the authority, the State, or any political subdivision of the State or taxing powers of the State, or any political subdivision of the State, and this fact must be plainly stated on the face of each bond. The principal of and interest on any bonds issued under this chapter must be secured by a pledge of the revenues from which the bonds are payable, may be secured by a security agreement, including a mortgage or any property given as security pursuant to a financing agreement, and may be additionally secured by a pledge of the financing agreement with respect to the project. In making any agreements or provisions, the board of the authority does not have the power to obligate itself with respect to any project for which the proceeds of bonds issued under this chapter have been loaned to a company, except with respect to the project and the application of the revenues from the financing agreement, and does not have the power to incur a pecuniary liability or a charge upon its general credit.
The trustee under any security agreement or indenture, or any depository specified by the security agreement or indenture, may be any person, or corporation as the authority designates, notwithstanding that the trustee may be a nonresident of this State or incorporated under the laws of the United States or the laws of other states.
Section 13-9-140. The net earnings of the authority, beyond that necessary for retirement of its bonds or other obligations or to implement the purposes of this chapter, may not inure to the benefit of any person other than the authority. Upon termination of the existence of the authority, title to all property, real and personal, owned by it, including net earnings, vests in the State.
Section 13-9-150. The authority may retain any unexpended funds at the close of the fiscal year of the State regardless of the source of the funds and expend the funds in subsequent fiscal years.
Section 13-9-160. A. Prior to undertaking any project authorized by Section 13-9-40, the board of the authority shall make a determination:
(1) that the project will serve the purposes of this chapter;
(2) that the project is anticipated to benefit the general public welfare of the locality by providing services, employment, recreation, or other public benefits not otherwise provided locally;
(3) that the project will give rise to no pecuniary liability of the authority, the State, or any political subdivision of the State, or charge against the general credit of the authority, the State, or any political subdivision of the State, or taxing power of the State or any political subdivision of the State if the proceeds are loaned by the authority to a company to construct a project;
(4) as to the amount of bonds required to finance the project;
(5) as to the amount necessary in each year to pay the principal of and the interest on the bonds proposed to be issued to finance the project;
(6) as to the amount necessary to be paid each year into any reserve funds which the board may consider advisable to establish in connection with the retirement of the proposed bonds and the maintenance of the project.
The determinations of the board must be set forth in the proceedings under which the proposed bonds are to be issued.
B. Every financing agreement between the authority and a company with respect to a project shall contain an agreement obligating the company to complete the project if the proceeds of the bonds prove insufficient, and obligating the company to pay an amount under the terms of a financing agreement, which, upon the basis of the determinations made by the board, is sufficient:
(1) to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds issued to finance the project;
(2) to build up and maintain any reserves considered by the board to be advisable in connection with the project;
(3) to pay the costs of maintaining the project in good repair and keeping it properly insured, unless the financing agreement obligates the company to pay for the maintenance and insurance of the project.
Section 13-9-170. The proceeds from the sale of any bonds issued under authority of this chapter may be applied only for the purpose for which the bonds were issued, except any premium and accrued interest received in any sale must be applied to the payment of the principal of or the interest on the bonds sold, and if for any reason any portion of the proceeds are not needed for the purpose for which the bonds were issued, that portion of the proceeds must be applied to the payment of the principal of or the interest on the bonds.
The cost of acquiring any project includes the following:
(a) the actual cost of the construction of any part of a project, including architects', engineers', and attorneys' fees;
(b) the purchase price of any part of a project that may be acquired by purchase;
(c) all expenses in connection with the authorization, sale, and issuance of the bonds to finance the acquisition;
(d) the interest on the bonds for a reasonable time prior to construction and for not exceeding one year after completion of the construction."
Time effective
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor.