S.B. No. 1646
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the ability of a public housing authority to sponsor a
1-2 public facility corporation.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 1.002, Public Facility
1-5 Corporation Act (Article 717s, Revised Statutes), is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 (a) The purposes of this article are to authorize the
1-8 creation and utilization of public facility corporations with the
1-9 broadest possible powers to finance or <the acquisition of and to
1-10 authorize sponsors to issue to or incur in favor of the
1-11 corporations sponsor obligations issued or incurred in accordance
1-12 with existing law,> to provide for the acquisition, construction,
1-13 rehabilitation, renovation, repair, equipping, furnishing, and
1-14 placement in service of public facilities <of the sponsors> in an
1-15 orderly, planned manner and at the lowest possible borrowing costs.
1-16 SECTION 2. Section 1.003, Public Facility Corporation Act
1-17 (Article 717s, Revised Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
1-18 Sec. 1.003. DEFINITIONS. In this article:
1-19 (1) "Board of directors" means the board of directors
1-20 of a corporation.
1-21 (2) "Bonds" means bonds, notes, interim certificates,
1-22 or other evidences of indebtedness of a corporation issued or
1-23 incurred under this article.
1-24 (3) "City" means any municipality existing under the
2-1 laws of this state.
2-2 (4) "Corporation" means any public facility
2-3 corporation created and existing under this article.
2-4 (5) "Cost of issuance" means all costs relating to the
2-5 issuance or incurrence of bonds by a corporation and the purchase
2-6 of sponsor obligations by a corporation. The term includes the
2-7 cost of financing charges and interest on the bonds; the cost of
2-8 financing, legal, accounting, financial advisory, and appraisal
2-9 fees, expenses, and disbursements; the cost of any policy or
2-10 policies of insurance; the cost of printing, engraving, and
2-11 reproduction services; the cost of the initial and acceptance fees
2-12 of any trustee, paying agent, bond registrar, and authenticating
2-13 agent; the cost of any credit agreement; and reasonable sums to
2-14 reimburse the corporation for time spent by its agents or employees
2-15 with respect to the issuance, incurrence, or purchase.
2-16 (6) "County" means a political subdivision of this
2-17 state that is created pursuant to Article IX, Section 1, of the
2-18 Texas Constitution or a county created pursuant to other law.
2-19 (7) "Credit agreement" means any loan agreement,
2-20 revolving credit agreement, agreement establishing a line of
2-21 credit, letter of credit, reimbursement agreement, insurance
2-22 contract, commitments to purchase bonds or sponsor obligations,
2-23 purchase or sale agreements, or commitments or other contracts or
2-24 agreements authorized and approved by the board of directors of a
2-25 corporation in connection with the authorization, issuance,
2-26 incurrence, sale, security, exchange, payment, purchase, or
2-27 redemption of bonds or interest on bonds.
3-1 (8) "Director" means any member of a board of
3-2 directors.
3-3 (9) "Housing authority" means a public corporation
3-4 that is created under Chapter 392, Local Government Code.
3-5 (10) "Public facility" means any real, personal, or
3-6 mixed property, or any interest in property <owned or to be owned
3-7 by a sponsor,> devoted or to be devoted to public use, and
3-8 authorized to be financed, refinanced, or provided by sponsor
3-9 obligations.
3-10 (11) <(10)> "Resolution" means any resolution, order,
3-11 ordinance, or other official action by the governing body of a
3-12 sponsor.
3-13 (12) <(11)> "School district" means a political
3-14 subdivision of this state that is created pursuant to Article VII,
3-15 Section 3, of the Texas Constitution.
3-16 (13) <(12)> "Special district" means any district that
3-17 is created pursuant to Article III, Section 52, or Article XVI,
3-18 Section 59, of the Texas Constitution or is a hospital district or
3-19 authority or is a junior college as defined in Chapter 130,
3-20 Education Code.
3-21 (14) <(13)> "Sponsor" means any city, county, school
3-22 district, housing authority, or special district that causes a
3-23 corporation to be created to act in accordance with this article.
3-24 (15) <(14)> "Sponsor obligation" means any evidence of
3-25 indebtedness or obligation that a sponsor issues or incurs to
3-26 finance, refinance, or provide a public facility, including bonds,
3-27 notes, warrants, certificates of obligation, leases, and contracts
4-1 authorized by Part 4 of this article.
4-2 SECTION 3. Subsections (a) and (b), Section 2.011, Public
4-3 Facility Corporation Act (Article 717s, Revised Statutes), are
4-4 amended to read as follows:
4-5 (a) A sponsor may create one or more nonmember, nonstock,
4-6 nonprofit public facility corporations for the <sole> purpose of
4-7 issuing bonds under this article to purchase sponsor obligations of
4-8 its sponsor, to finance public facilities on behalf of its sponsor,
4-9 or to loan the proceeds of the obligations to other entities to
4-10 accomplish the purposes of the sponsor.
4-11 (b) A sponsor may use the corporation to:
4-12 (1) acquire, construct, rehabilitate, renovate,
4-13 repair, equip, furnish, or place in service public facilities <of
4-14 the sponsor>; or
4-15 (2) issue bonds on the sponsor's behalf to finance the
4-16 costs of the <sponsor's> public facilities.
4-17 SECTION 4. Section 3.021, Public Facility Corporation Act
4-18 (Article 717s, Revised Statutes), is amended by adding Subsection
4-19 (j) to read as follows:
4-20 (j) A nonprofit corporation created by a housing authority
4-21 under the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act (Article 1396-1.01 et
4-22 seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) is considered also to be a
4-23 corporation under this article and shall have the same rights and
4-24 powers necessary or convenient to accomplish a corporation's
4-25 purposes under this article.
4-26 SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Section 4.041, Public Facility
4-27 Corporation Act (Article 717s, Revised Statutes), is amended to
5-1 read as follows:
5-2 (a) Subject to Section 4.049 of this article, each
5-3 corporation established under this article has the rights and
5-4 powers necessary or convenient to accomplish the corporation's
5-5 purposes, including the power to:
5-6 (1) acquire title to a public facility in order to
5-7 lease, convey, or dispose of the public facility to the
5-8 corporation's sponsor or, on direction of the sponsor and in
5-9 furtherance of the sponsor's purposes, to any other entity;
5-10 (2) accept a mortgage or pledge of a public facility
5-11 financed, refinanced, or provided by sponsor obligations purchased
5-12 by the corporation and, as security for the payment of any
5-13 connected bonds or credit agreements that the corporation issues or
5-14 incurs, assign the mortgage or pledge and the revenues and receipts
5-15 from the mortgage or pledge and from the sponsor obligations or
5-16 grant other security;
5-17 (3) sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange,
5-18 transfer, and otherwise dispose of all or any part of the
5-19 corporation's property and assets, including sponsor obligations;
5-20 (4) make a contract, incur a liability, and borrow
5-21 money at interest;
5-22 (5) lend money for its corporate purpose, invest and
5-23 reinvest its funds, and take and hold security for the payment of
5-24 money loaned or invested;
5-25 (6) sue, be sued, complain, and defend in its
5-26 corporate name;
5-27 (7) appoint agents of the corporation and determine
6-1 their duties; and
6-2 (8) have a corporate seal and use the seal by having
6-3 it or a facsimile of it impressed on, affixed to, or reproduced on
6-4 an instrument required or authorized to be executed by the
6-5 corporation's proper officers.
6-6 SECTION 6. Subsections (a) and (e), Section 4.043, Public
6-7 Facility Corporation Act (Article 717s, Revised Statutes), are
6-8 amended to read as follows:
6-9 (a) With the approval of its sponsor, a corporation may
6-10 issue or incur bonds to finance, refinance, or provide one or more
6-11 public facilities <of its sponsor>. However, this article does not
6-12 authorize the sponsor to issue any sponsor obligation, use a letter
6-13 of credit, or mortgage any public facilities unless the sponsor
6-14 otherwise is so empowered.
6-15 (e) The proceeds of the bonds of a corporation may be used
6-16 <solely> to finance, refinance, or provide one or more public
6-17 facilities, to fund reserve funds determined by the sponsor and the
6-18 corporation to be necessary and appropriate, or to pay the <of the
6-19 sponsor of the corporation through the purchase by the corporation
6-20 of one or more sponsor obligations of the sponsor, the deposit of
6-21 proceeds of the bonds to a reserve fund for the bonds, or the
6-22 payment of> costs of issuance. The purchase by the corporation of
6-23 a sponsor obligation does not constitute or give rise to the
6-24 extinguishment of the debt represented by the sponsor obligation.
6-25 Pending any of the uses described by this subsection, the proceeds
6-26 of the bonds may be invested or reinvested in accordance with
6-27 Section 4.041 of this article.
7-1 SECTION 7. Section 4.044, Public Facility Corporation Act
7-2 (Article 717s, Revised Statutes), is amended by adding Subsection
7-3 (d) to read as follows:
7-4 (d) A corporation may issue or incur bonds to refund
7-5 outstanding debt obligations of a nonprofit corporation created by
7-6 a housing authority under the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act
7-7 (Article 1396-1.01 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
7-8 SECTION 8. Subsection (a), Section 4.045, Public Facility
7-9 Corporation Act (Article 717s, Revised Statutes), is amended to
7-10 read as follows:
7-11 (a) Bonds of the corporation are payable from revenues
7-12 derived from public facilities or sponsor obligations. Bonds
7-13 issued under this article are not an obligation or a pledge of the
7-14 faith and credit of the state, a sponsor, or other political
7-15 subdivision or agency of the state.
7-16 SECTION 9. The importance of this legislation and the
7-17 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-18 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-19 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-20 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
7-21 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
7-22 passage, and it is so enacted.