BILL REQ. #:  Z-0691.1 

Read first time 01/17/14.   Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

     AN ACT Relating to the total outstanding indebtedness of the higher education facilities authority; and amending RCW 28B.07.050.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 28B.07.050 and 2003 c 84 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The authority may, from time to time, issue its special obligation bonds in order to carry out the purposes of this chapter and to enable the authority to exercise any of the powers granted to it in this chapter. The bonds shall be issued pursuant to a bond resolution or trust indenture and shall be payable solely out of the special fund or funds created by the authority in the bond resolution or trust indenture. The special fund or funds shall be funded in whole or in part from moneys paid by one or more participants for whose benefit such bonds were issued and from the sources, if any, described in RCW 28B.07.040(9) or from the proceeds of bonds issued by the authority for the purpose of refunding any outstanding bonds of the authority.
     (2) The bonds may be secured by:
     (a) A first lien against any unexpended proceeds of the bonds;
     (b) A first lien against moneys in the special fund or funds created by the authority for their payment;
     (c) A first or subordinate lien against the revenue and receipts of the participant or participants which revenue is derived in whole or in part from the project financed by the authority;
     (d) A first or subordinate security interest against any real or personal property, tangible or intangible, of the participant or participants, including, but not limited to, the project financed by the authority;
     (e) Any other real or personal property, tangible or intangible; or
     (f) Any combination of (a) through (e) of this subsection.
     Any security interest created against the unexpended bond proceeds and against the special funds created by the authority shall be immediately valid and binding against the moneys and any securities in which the moneys may be invested without authority or trustee possession, and the security interest shall be prior to any party having any competing claim against the moneys or securities, without filing or recording under Article 9A of the Uniform Commercial Code, Title 62A RCW, and regardless of whether the party has notice of the security interest.
     (3) The bonds may be issued as serial bonds or as term bonds or any such combination. The bonds shall bear such date or dates; mature at such time or times; bear interest at such rate or rates, either fixed or variable; be payable at such time or times; be in such denominations; be in such form, either coupon or registered, or both; carry such registration privileges; be made transferable, exchangeable, and interchangeable; be payable in lawful money of the United States of America at such place or places; be subject to such terms of redemption; and be sold at public or private sale, in such manner, at such time, and at such price as the authority shall determine. The bonds shall be executed by the manual or facsimile signatures of the chairperson and the authority's duly-elected secretary or its executive director, and by the trustee if the authority determines to use a trustee. At least one signature shall be manually subscribed. Coupon bonds shall have attached interest coupons bearing the facsimile signatures of the chairperson and the secretary or the executive director.
     (4) Any bond resolution, trust indenture, or agreement with a participant relating to bonds issued by the authority or the financing or refinancing made available by the authority may contain provisions, which may be made a part of the contract with the holders or owners of the bonds to be issued, pertaining to the following, among other matters: (a) The security interests granted by the participant to secure repayment of any amounts financed and the performance by the participant of its other obligations in the financing; (b) the security interests granted to the holders or owners of the bonds to secure repayment of the bonds; (c) rentals, fees, and other amounts to be charged, and the sums to be raised in each year through such charges, and the use, investment, and disposition of the sums; (d) the segregation of reserves or sinking funds, and the regulation, investment, and disposition thereof; (e) limitations on the uses of the project; (f) limitations on the purposes to which, or the investments in which, the proceeds of the sale of any issue of bonds may be applied; (g) terms pertaining to the issuance of additional parity bonds; (h) terms pertaining to the incurrence of parity debt; (i) the refunding of outstanding bonds; (j) procedures, if any, by which the terms of any contract with bondholders may be amended or abrogated; (k) acts or failures to act which constitute a default by the participant or the authority in their respective obligations and the rights and remedies in the event of a default; (l) the securing of bonds by a pooling of leases whereby the authority may assign its rights, as lessor, and pledge rents under two or more leases with two or more participants, as lessees; (m) terms governing performance by the trustee of its obligation; or (n) such other additional covenants, agreements, and provisions as are deemed necessary, useful, or convenient by the authority for the security of the holders of the bonds.
     (5) Bonds may be issued by the authority to refund other outstanding authority bonds, at or prior to the maturity thereof, and to pay any redemption premium with respect thereto. Bonds issued for such refunding purposes may be combined with bonds issued for the financing or refinancing of new projects. Pending the application of the proceeds of the refunding bonds to the redemption of the bonds to be redeemed, the authority may enter into an agreement or agreements with a corporate trustee under RCW 28B.07.080 with respect to the interim investment of the proceeds and the application of the proceeds and the earnings on the proceeds to the payment of the principal of and interest on, and the redemption of the bonds to be redeemed.
     (6) All bonds and any interest coupons appertaining to the bonds shall be negotiable instruments under Title 62A RCW.
     (7) Neither the members of the authority, nor its employees or agents, nor any person executing the bonds shall be liable personally on the bonds or be subject to any personal liability or accountability by reason of the issuance of the bonds.
     (8) The authority may purchase its bonds with any of its funds available for the purchase. The authority may hold, pledge, cancel, or resell the bonds subject to and in accordance with agreements with bondholders.
     (9) At no time shall the total outstanding bonded indebtedness of the authority exceed one billion five hundred million dollars.