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78R6490 MTB-D
By: Wentworth S.B. No. 1706
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authorization of airport authorities and the
issuance of bonds and exercise of eminent domain by the
authorities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 3, Transportation Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 27 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 27. AIRPORT AUTHORITIES
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 27.001. LEGISLATIVE DECLARATION. (a) The economic
well-being of the state and the general welfare of its residents
require adequate, safe, secure, and efficient aviation facilities
at a reasonable cost.
(b) The purpose of this chapter is to authorize the creation
by the state, counties, and municipalities, through their
independent or joint action, airport authorities, corporate and
politic, constituting political subdivisions of the state, for the
purpose of:
(1) acquiring and improving airports, heliports, air
navigation facilities, and related facilities;
(2) financing the cost of the activities listed under
Subdivision (1) by the issuance of bonds or other obligations of an
authority payable from the income of the authority and otherwise
secured to the extent permitted by law without the incurrence of
debt by the state or by a political subdivision; and
(3) promoting and facilitating transportation by air
from or to points located within the state, to the benefit and
general welfare of the state, including its political subdivisions
and inhabitants.
Sec. 27.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Aircraft" means a contrivance invented, used, or
designed for navigation of or flight in the air, except a parachute
or other contrivance designed for use primarily as safety
equipment.
(2) "Air navigation facility" means a facility used
in, available for use in, or designed for use in aid of air
navigation, including a structure, mechanism, light, beacon,
marker, communicating system, or other instrumentality or device
used or useful as an aid or constituting an advantage or convenience
to the safe taking-off, navigation, and landing of aircraft, or the
safe and efficient operation or maintenance of an airport or
heliport, including any combination of facilities listed above.
(3) "Airport" means an area of land or water that is
used, or intended for use, for the landing, taking-off, storage,
parking, or dispersal of aircraft, including:
(A) any appurtenant areas that are used or
intended for use for airport buildings, facilities, or
rights-of-way; and
(B) airport buildings, structures, and
facilities located on the area of land or water.
(4) "Airport building" means a building used or to be
used in connection with:
(A) the construction, enlargement, development,
maintenance, or operation of an airport or heliport; or
(B) the exercise of any power of the authority.
(5) "Airport facility" means a building, structure,
land, right-of-way, equipment, or instrumentality used or to be
used in connection with the construction, enlargement,
development, maintenance, or operation of an airport or heliport.
(6) "Airport hazard" means a structure, object of
natural growth, or use of land that:
(A) obstructs the airspace required for the
flight of aircraft in landing or taking off at an airport or
heliport; or
(B) is otherwise hazardous to the flight of
aircraft in landing or taking off at an airport or heliport.
(7) "Authority" means a public corporation organized
under this chapter.
(8) "Board" means the board of directors of an
authority.
(9) "Bond" means a bond authorized to be issued under
this chapter.
(10) "Coupon" means an interest coupon evidencing an
installment of interest payable with respect to a bond.
(11) "Director" means a member of the board of
directors of an authority.
(12) "Heliport" means an airport designed primarily
for use by helicopters.
(13) "Indenture" means a mortgage, indenture of
mortgage, deed of trust, trust agreement, or trust indenture
executed by an authority as security for bonds.
[Sections 27.003-27.030 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER B. INCORPORATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF AUTHORITY
Sec. 27.031. INCORPORATION. (a) An authority may be
organized as a public corporation under this chapter.
(b) At least three natural persons shall file with the
governing body of one or more counties or municipalities an
application in writing for permission to incorporate a public
corporation under this chapter and shall attach to the application
a proposed form of articles of incorporation for the corporation.
(c) If each governing body with which the application is
filed adopts a resolution approving the form of the articles of
incorporation and authorizing the formation of a public
corporation, the applicants under Subsection (b) become the
incorporators of and shall incorporate the authority as a public
corporation under this chapter using the form of the articles
approved.
Sec. 27.032. ADDITIONAL COUNTIES OR MUNICIPALITIES. An
additional county or municipality may become part of an authority
if each additional county or municipality and each county or
municipality in the authority adopts a resolution consenting to the
inclusion of the additional county or municipality in the
authority.
Sec. 27.033. INCLUSION IN AUTHORITY. On the inclusion of a
county or municipality in an authority, either initially or as an
additional member, all rights, contracts, obligations, and
property, both real and personal, of a municipality or county used
for or in relation to transportation by air shall vest in the
authority created under this subchapter unless otherwise specified
by the resolution including the municipality or county in the
authority.
Sec. 27.034. STATE JOINING AN AIRPORT AUTHORITY. The
governor, on behalf of the state, may authorize the state to join in
the creation of an authority under this subchapter or to join an
existing authority created under this subchapter.
Sec. 27.035. WITHDRAWAL FROM AUTHORITY. (a) After the
organization of an airport authority by more than one governmental
entity, a county or municipality in an authority may withdraw from
the authority by resolution of the commissioners court of the
county or governing body of the municipality.
(b) A withdrawing county or municipality may not claim or
remove an asset of the authority.
Sec. 27.036. CONTENTS OF CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION. The
certificate of incorporation of an authority shall state:
(1) the name and county of residence of each person
forming the authority;
(2) the name of the authority which must include the
words "airport authority";
(3) the duration of the authority or if the duration is
perpetual, the fact that the authority is of perpetual duration;
(4) the names of the governmental entities in the
authority and the date on which the:
(A) governing body of the county or municipality
adopted the resolution authorizing the incorporation of the
authority or consenting to the inclusion of the county or
authority; or
(B) governor authorized the state to join in the
creation of an authority or an existing authority;
(5) the proposed location in this state of the
principal office of the authority; and
(6) any other matters relating to the authority that
the incorporators choose to insert and that are not inconsistent
with this chapter or the laws of this state.
Sec. 27.037. INCORPORATION; EXECUTION AND FILING OF
ARTICLES. (a) The articles of incorporation of an authority shall:
(1) be signed and acknowledged by the incorporators;
and
(2) have attached a certified copy of each of the
resolutions provided for in Section 27.031.
(b) The articles of incorporation of an authority and the
documents required to be attached under Subsection (a) shall be
filed with the secretary of state.
(c) When a certificate of incorporation is issued by the
secretary of state after the filing of the articles and attached
documents, the authority referred to in the certificate shall:
(1) come into existence;
(2) constitute a public corporation under the name
listed in the certificate; and
(3) have all the rights and powers given to
authorities under this chapter.
Sec. 27.038. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a) The governing body of
an authority is a board with at least five but no more than nine
members appointed as follows:
(1) if the state alone authorizes an authority, the
members shall be elected by the governor, the lieutenant governor,
and the speaker of the house of representatives with the total
number of members to be set out in the articles of incorporation of
the authority;
(2) if the sole authorizing governmental entity is a
county, the commissioners court of the county shall elect the
members with the number of members to be set out in the articles of
incorporation of the authority; and
(3) in all other cases:
(A) one member shall be elected by each governing
body of an authorizing governmental entity;
(B) one member shall be elected by the
commissioners court of the county in which the principal office of
the authority is located, if the county is not an authorizing
governmental entity; and
(C) one additional member shall be elected by the
governing bodies of each authorizing governmental entity and the
commissioners court of the county in which the principal office of
the authority is located.
(b) Each member elected by a governing body of an
authorizing governmental entity must be a resident of the
authorizing governmental entity. The additional member elected
under Subsection (a)(3)(C) may be a resident of any county electing
the member.
(c) Other than the additional member elected under
Subsection (a)(3)(C), each authorizing governmental entity may
elect the same number of members as any other authorizing
governmental entity.
(d) A board member is eligible for re-election.
(e) If the state joins in the creation of an airport
authority under this subchapter or joins an existing airport
authority created under this subchapter, the state is entitled to
the number of board members agreed on by the authorizing
governmental entities and the state, but is entitled to at least one
board member. A board member representing the state shall be
appointed by the governor.
(f) The board may employ and set the compensation of
necessary personnel.
Sec. 27.039. VACANCY; IMPEACHMENT. (a) Except as provided
by Subsection (b), if a board member resigns, dies, or becomes
incapable or ineligible to act as a board member, a successor to
serve the unexpired portion of the board member's term shall be
elected in the same manner provided by Section 27.038 as the board
member whose unexpired term the successor is filling.
(b) If a vacancy in the office of the additional member
elected under Section 27.038(a)(3)(C) continues for more than 30
days, the governor shall, on the request of any governmental entity
that elected the member, appoint a successor.
(c) A board member may be impeached and removed from office.
Sec. 27.040. ELIGIBILITY. An officer of the state, a
county, or a municipality is not eligible to serve as a board
member.
Sec. 27.041. TERMS. (a) The term of office of a board
member shall be set out in the articles of incorporation of an
authority.
(b) Board members serve staggered terms so that the term of
at least one member expires each year.
Sec. 27.042. QUORUM. (a) Except as provided by Subsection
(b), a majority of the board members constitutes a quorum for the
transaction of business.
(b) A meeting of a board may be adjourned by a majority of
the board members present or may be adjourned by a single board
member if the member is the only board member present at the
meeting.
(c) A vacancy in the board shall not impair the right of a
quorum to exercise all the powers and duties of an authority.
Sec. 27.043. MEETINGS. (a) A board shall hold regular
monthly meetings and any other meeting as provided for in the bylaws
of the authority.
(b) A board may hold a special meeting at the call of the
chair of the authority or two board members.
(c) Any matter on which the board is authorized to act may be
acted upon at a regular or special meeting.
(d) At the request of a board member, the vote on a question
before a board shall be taken by yeas and nays and entered upon the
record. All proceedings of a board shall be reduced to writing by
the secretary of the authority and open to board members and to the
public at all times. Copies of the proceedings, when certified by
the secretary of an authority under its seal, are admissible in a
court as evidence of the matters certified in the proceedings.
Sec. 27.044. COMPENSATION. A board member is not entitled
to receive compensation but is entitled to reimbursement for actual
and necessary expenses.
Sec. 27.045. OFFICERS. (a) Officers of the board consist
of a chair, vice chair, secretary, and any other officer the board
considers necessary.
(b) The board shall elect from the members of the board a
chair, vice chair, and secretary for a term of one year.
(c) The treasurer and any other officers a board considers
necessary need not be members of the board and shall be elected by
the board for terms determined by the board.
(d) The offices of secretary and treasurer may be held by
the same person.
Sec. 27.046. IMMUNITY. An action or suit may not be brought
or maintained against an authority or a board member for or on
account of the negligence of an authority, a board member, an agent
of an authority, or an employee of an authority relating to the
construction, maintenance, operation, superintendence, or
management of an airport, heliport, or other facility owned or
controlled by an authority.
Sec. 27.047. TAX EXEMPTION; BONDS, PROPERTY, INCOME. (a)
Bonds issued by an authority and the income on the bonds are exempt
from all state taxation.
(b) All property and income of an authority are exempt from
all state, county, municipal, and other local taxation.
(c) Subsection (b) does not exempt concessionaires,
licensees, tenants, operators, or lessees of an authority from the
payment of any taxes, including licenses or privilege taxes levied
by the state, a county, or a municipality.
Sec. 27.048. TAX EXEMPTION; ACCESS TO AIRPORTS. A county or
municipality may not require the payment of any tax or privilege
license from a person, firm, or corporation for the reasonable use
of public streets, roads, or highways leading to or from an airport,
heliport, or aircraft landing area owned or operated by or under the
jurisdiction of an authority.
Sec. 27.049. CONTRACT EXEMPTION. An authority is exempt
from a law relating to a state purchasing contract or the
advertising and award of a construction contract, except that an
authority is not exempt from surety bond requirements for the
contracts.
Sec. 27.050. ZONING. (a) An authority is exempt from
zoning laws, ordinances, and regulations.
(b) An authority has the same zoning powers with respect to
the zoning of an airport in an unincorporated area owned or operated
by the authority and the zoning of the unincorporated area lying
within two miles of the boundaries of the airport as a municipality
that owns or operates an airport.
Sec. 27.051. GENERAL POWERS. An authority may:
(1) have succession by its corporate name for the
duration of time specified in the articles of incorporation;
(2) sue and be sued in its own name in civil suits and
actions, except actions in tort against the authority;
(3) adopt and make use of a corporate seal;
(4) adopt and alter bylaws for the regulation and
conduct of its affairs and business;
(5) acquire, receive, take, and hold, by purchase,
gift, lease, devise, or other means, property, regardless of
whether in one or more counties or within or outside the corporate
limits of an authorizing governmental entity, and manage the
property, including developing undeveloped property owned, leased,
or controlled by the authority;
(6) execute a contract or other instrument;
(7) enter on land, water, and premises for the
purposes of making surveys, soundings, and examinations;
(8) plan, establish, develop, acquire, construct,
enlarge, improve, maintain, equip, operate, regulate, and protect
an airport and air navigation facility, including the:
(A) acquisition, construction, installation,
equipment, maintenance, and operation at, in connection with, or in
furtherance of the use at an airport of sanitary and storm sewage
systems and water, electric, and gas systems, buildings, hangars,
and other facilities for:
(i) airlines, U.S. military aircraft, and
general aviation aircraft; or
(ii) the comfort, use, and accommodation of
air travelers; and
(B) purchase and sale of supplies, goods, and
commodities incident to the operation of an airport property;
(9) construct, acquire, establish, improve, extend,
enlarge, reconstruct, equip, maintain, repair, and operate a
heliport, an aerial aircraft landing, loading, or storage area, and
a transportation terminal;
(10) construct, acquire, establish, improve, extend,
enlarge, reconstruct, equip, maintain, and repair a building,
structure, or facility that is suitable for use as a manufacturing
plant, industrial plant, retail shopping area, park, exhibit, or
for the conduct of lawful business at, on, or adjacent to an
airport, heliport, or aircraft landing area owned or operated by
the authority;
(11) lease a building, structure, or facility
described in Subdivision (10) to a tenant under terms approved by
the authority;
(12) for compensation, furnish or supply on an
airport, heliport, or aircraft landing area owned or operated by or
under the jurisdiction of the authority, to persons and aircraft,
goods, commodities, area facilities, and services convenient or
useful to the owners, operators, and users of aircraft and to
persons at the airport, heliport, or aircraft landing area,
including food, lodging, shelter, drinks, confections, reading
matter, oil, gasoline, jet fuel, motors, engines, aircraft,
aircraft parts and equipment, space in buildings, space for
buildings and structures, and the services of mechanics and
instructors;
(13) confer on an individual, firm, corporation, or
company, for compensation, the privilege or concession of supplying
on an airport, heliport, or aircraft landing area owned or operated
by or under the jurisdiction of the authority, all of the items to
be furnished or supplied under Subdivision (12);
(14) acquire, including by eminent domain, establish,
construct, expand, own, control, equip, improve, maintain,
operate, and regulate a satellite airport or landing field for the
use of aircraft in the state;
(15) acquire, including by purchase, gift, devise,
lease, or eminent domain proceedings, an existing airport and air
navigation facility with the consent of the county, municipality,
or public agency of the state that owns or controls the airport and
air navigation facility;
(16) issue interest-bearing bonds payable from the
limited sources available under this chapter;
(17) pledge for payment of bonds any revenues and
funds from which the bonds are made payable;
(18) enter into a contract, lease, or agreement
incidental to or necessary for the accomplishment of any purpose
for which the authority was organized;
(19) exercise the power of eminent domain with respect
to property, including airspace, air navigation easements,
structures, obstructions to flight, and property already devoted to
public use that reasonably may be necessary for the construction,
extension, maintenance, operation, protection, enlargement,
improvement, or preservation of an airport or airport facility or
sanitary or storm sewage systems water, electric, and gas systems
on, adjacent to, or in connection with or for the furtherance of the
use of an airport, heliport, aircraft landing area, or other
property owned by or operated by the authority;
(20) appoint, employ, contract with, and compensate
officers, employees, and agents, including engineers, security
officers and guards, attorneys, consultants, fiscal advisers, and
other employees the authority may require;
(21) fix, establish, collect, and alter landing fees,
tolls, rents, and other charges for the use of an airport, heliport,
landing area, building, structure, facility, or other property
owned or controlled by the authority;
(22) make and enforce rules governing the use of an
airport, heliport, landing area, or airport facility owned or
controlled by the authority;
(23) provide for insurance, including use and
occupancy insurance, as determined by the board;
(24) invest funds of the authority that the board
determines are not presently needed for its corporate purposes in:
(A) a direct general obligation of the United
States;
(B) an obligation that is unconditionally
guaranteed as to both principal and interest by the United States;
or
(C) bonds of the state, a county, or
municipality;
(25) contract with the state, a county, a
municipality, a public corporation, an agency, a department, or
other political subdivision of this state if the board determines
that the contract accomplishes the purposes for which the authority
was established;
(26) sell and convey property that is obsolete, worn
out, or no longer needed or useful;
(27) receive and accept for the construction,
extension, improvement, maintenance, or operation of an airport,
heliport, or airport facility money, property, labor, or other
thing of value from any source, including grants from the United
States, the state, or any political subdivision of the state;
(28) purchase services, equipment, and supplies
necessary or convenient for the exercise of any power of the
authority;
(29) enter into a management agreement with a county
or municipality for the management by the authority of an airport,
heliport, air navigation facility, or other facility useful to the
authority; and
(30) take any other action necessary or convenient to
carry out the purposes of this chapter or the exercise of a power
granted under this chapter.
Sec. 27.052. LIMITATION ON POWER. An authority may not
acquire by eminent domain real property or rights owned or held by a
railroad or utility.
Sec. 27.053. PEACE OFFICERS. (a) The authority may employ
security officers who have the power and authority of a peace
officer in this state.
(b) A court of a municipality that is an authorizing
governmental entity has jurisdiction over a misdemeanor committed
on the property of an authority.
(c) A county that is an authorizing governmental entity has
jurisdiction over a misdemeanor committed on the property of an
authority if there is no authorizing municipality.
Sec. 27.054. FUNDING. (a) An authority is authorized to
accept, receive, disburse, and expend federal money, state money,
and any other money made available by grant or loan to accomplish a
purpose of this chapter.
(b) Federal money accepted under this section shall be
accepted and expended by an authority on terms prescribed by the
United States that are not inconsistent with the laws of this state.
Sec. 27.055. ASSISTANCE BY STATE OR LOCAL ENTITIES. A
county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state,
including a public corporation, may, with or without consideration:
(1) lend or donate money to an authority;
(2) provide that all or part of the taxes or funds
available to it or required by law to be used by it for airport
purposes shall be transferred or paid directly to an authority;
(3) cause water, sewer, or drainage facilities or any
other facilities that it is empowered to provide to be furnished
adjacent to or in connection with an airport, heliport, or air
navigation facility;
(4) donate, sell, convey, transfer, or lease to an
authority any land, property, franchise, grant, easement, license,
or lease that it owns;
(5) donate, sell, convey, or lease an airport, airport
property, heliport, heliport property, or any interest in an
airport, airport property, heliport, or heliport property owned by
it to an authority;
(6) donate, transfer, assign, sell, or convey to an
authority any right, title, or interest that it has in a lease,
contract, agreement, license, or property;
(7) furnish, dedicate, close, pave, repair, install,
grade, regrade, plan, or replan streets, roads, roadways, and
walks:
(A) from established streets or roads to an
airport or air navigation facility; or
(B) abutting or adjacent to an airport or air
navigation facility;
(8) take any other action that is necessary or
convenient to aid and cooperate with an authority in the planning,
undertaking, construction, or operation of an airport, heliport, or
air navigation facility; and
(9) furnish, at the request of an authority, fire and
air crash equipment and personnel to properly operate the equipment
at an airport, heliport, or aircraft landing area owned, operated,
or under the jurisdiction of an authority or train authority
personnel in fire, crash, and rescue.
Sec. 27.056. DISSOLUTION. (a) If an authority does not
have outstanding bonds, the authority may be dissolved on the
filing of articles of dissolution with the secretary of state that
shall be sworn to and subscribed by each member of the authority.
(b) On issue of a certificate of dissolution by the
secretary of state, an authority ceases to exist. On dissolution,
all rights, titles, and interests of the authority in property:
(1) vest in the authorizing governmental entities as
provided by the articles of incorporation; or
(2) if not provided for in the articles of
incorporation, vest in the authorizing governmental entities
equally.
Sec. 27.057. CONTRACT VALIDATION. A contract entered into
or a legal action instituted by a de facto or de jure authority is
validated.
[Sections 27.058-27.100 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER C. BONDS
Sec. 27.101. GENERAL PROVISIONS. (a) An authority may
issue interest-bearing revenue bonds for any of its corporate
purposes.
(b) The principal of and the interest on bonds is payable
solely from and may be secured by a pledge of the revenues derived
by an authority from the operation of authority airports,
heliports, facilities, and other property.
(c) Bonds issued or contracts entered into by an authority
under this chapter do not create debt of the state, a county, or a
municipality and do not create a charge against the credit or taxing
powers of the state, a county, or municipality.
Sec. 27.102. BONDS ISSUED. (a) Board proceedings shall
determine how bonds are issued, including the following matters:
(1) whether the bonds are issued at any time and from
time to time;
(2) bond form and denominations;
(3) bond tenor, payable in installments, and at times
not to exceed 40 years from the date of issue;
(4) place of issue; and
(5) rate of interest.
(b) A bond having a stated maturity date more than 10 years
after its date of issue shall be made subject to redemption at the
option of an authority not later than the 10th anniversary of its
date of issue and on any interest payment date after that time at a
price, after notice, on terms, in the manner provided in the board
proceeding that authorized the bond issuance.
(c) Bonds of an authority may be sold at public or private
sale in the manner and from time to time as may be determined by the
board.
(d) An authority may pay all reasonable expenses, premiums,
fees, and commissions that the board determines are necessary or
advantageous in connection with the authorization, sale, and
issuance of bonds.
(e) Bonds must contain a recital that the bonds are issued
under this chapter.
(f) A public hearing is not required for the issuance of
bonds by an authority.
(g) Notwithstanding the fact that they are payable solely
from a specified source, bonds issued under this chapter are
negotiable instruments within the meaning of the negotiable
instruments law of this state if the bonds otherwise possess all the
characteristics of a negotiable instrument under the law of this
state.
Sec. 27.103. NOTICE; CHALLENGES. (a) On the adoption of a
resolution providing for the issuance of bonds, an authority may
publish, once a week for two consecutive weeks, in a newspaper that
is distributed in the county in which the principal office of the
authority is located, notice in substantially the following form at
the end of which shall be printed the name and title of either the
chair or secretary of the authority:
"_______, a public corporation of the State of Texas,
on the ____ day of _____ authorized the issuance of
$______ principal amount of revenue bonds of the
corporation for purposes authorized in the Act of the
Legislature of Texas under which the corporation was
organized. Any action or proceeding questioning the
validity of the bonds, or the pledge and any
instruments securing the bonds, or the proceedings
authorizing the bonds, must be commenced within 20
days after the first publication of this notice."
(b) An action or proceeding in a court to set aside or
question the proceedings for the issuance of bonds referred to in a
notice under Subsection (a) or to contest the validity of the bonds
or the validity of the pledge and any instruments made to secure the
bonds must be commenced before the 31st day after the date of first
publication of the notice.
(c) After the 30-day period described under Subsection (b)
expires:
(1) a right of action or defense questioning or
attacking the validity of the proceedings, bonds, pledge, or
instruments may not be asserted; and
(2) the validity of the proceedings, bonds, pledge, or
instruments are not open to question in a court on any ground.
Sec. 27.104. EXECUTION AND DELIVERY. (a) Bonds shall be
signed by the chair or vice chair and by the secretary or treasurer
of an authority. The signature of one of the officers whose
signatures will appear on the bonds may be imprinted or otherwise
reproduced.
(b) The seal of an authority shall be affixed onto the bonds
or a facsimile of the seal of an authority shall be imprinted or
otherwise reproduced on the bonds.
(c) Coupons shall be signed by the chair or vice chair and by
the secretary or treasurer of an authority. The signature of the
secretary or treasurer may be imprinted or otherwise reproduced.
(d) Delivery of bonds executed as provided under this
section is valid notwithstanding any changes in officers or in the
authority seal after the signing and sealing of the bonds.
Sec. 27.105. SECURITY. (a) At the discretion of an
authority, bonds may be issued under and secured by an indenture
between the authority and a trustee. A trustee may be a private
person or corporation, including a trust company or bank having
trust powers.
(b) In an indenture or resolution providing for the issuance
of bonds, the authority may:
(1) pledge, for payment of the principal of and the
interest on bonds, authority revenues;
(2) assign, as security for payment, a lease,
franchise, permit, or contract; and
(3) mortgage a property.
(c) A pledge of revenues shall be valid and binding from the
time it is made. Pledged revenues received after the pledge by an
authority immediately become subject to the lien of the pledge
without physical delivery or further act. The lien of the pledge is
valid and binding against a party having a claim of any kind against
the authority, regardless of whether the party has actual notice of
the lien, from the time a statement is filed in the office of the
county clerk of:
(1) the county in which the principal office of the
authority is located; or
(2) a county in which any part of the property, the
revenues from which are pledged, is located.
(d) A statement under Subsection (c) must contain:
(1) the date on which a resolution authorizing the
issuance of bonds was adopted by a board;
(2) the principal amount of bonds issued;
(3) a brief description of the revenues pledged; and
(4) a brief description of property the revenues from
which are pledged.
(e) In an indenture or resolution pledging revenues from an
airport, heliport, building, or facility, an authority may include
provisions customarily contained in instruments securing evidence
of indebtedness, including provisions relating to:
(1) the collection, segregation, and application of
rental or other revenue due or to become due to the authority;
(2) the terms to be incorporated in a lease agreement
pertaining to authority property;
(3) the maintenance and insurance of a building or
structure owned by the authority;
(4) the creation and maintenance of special funds from
revenue of the authority;
(5) the rights and remedies available in the event of
default to the holder of the bonds or the trustee under the
indenture; and
(6) restricting the individual rights of action of the
holders of the bonds and coupons.
(f) If an authority defaults in payment of the principal of
or interest on bonds or in an agreement included in an indenture
securing the bonds, a holder of the bonds or any of the coupons, or
the trustee under an indenture if authorized in the indenture:
(1) may enforce payment of the principal or interest
by civil action, mandamus, or other proceeding;
(2) may compel performance of a duty of the board and
officers of the authority; and
(3) shall be entitled as a matter of right and
regardless of the sufficiency of the security to the appointment of
a receiver with all the powers of a receiver for the:
(A) operation and maintenance of the property of
the authority covered by the indenture; and
(B) collection, segregation, and application of
revenues from property of the authority covered by the indenture.
Sec. 27.106. PROCEEDS. (a) Proceeds derived from the sale
of bonds may be used only to pay the cost of acquiring,
constructing, improving, enlarging, and equipping an airport,
facility, or property as specified in the proceedings in which the
bonds are authorized to be issued.
(b) Eligible costs under Subsection (a) include:
(1) the cost of land forming a part of an airport,
facility, or property;
(2) the cost of labor, material, and supplies used in
the construction, improvement, or enlargement, including
architects' and engineers' fees and the cost of preparing contract
documents and advertising for bids;
(3) the purchase price of and the cost of installing
equipment for the airport, facility, or property;
(4) the cost of landscaping the lands forming a part of
an airport, facility, or property, and of constructing roads,
sidewalks, curbs, gutters, utilities, and parking places in
connection with an airport, facility, or property;
(5) legal, fiscal, and recording fees and expenses
incurred in connection with the authorization, sale, and issuance
of bonds issued in connection with an airport, facility, or
property; and
(6) interest on bonds issued in connection with an
airport, facility, or property for a reasonable period before and
during the time required for the construction and equipment not to
exceed 18 months after the date of completion of the construction
and equipment.
(c) If any proceeds derived from the sale of bonds remain
undisbursed after completion of the work described under Subsection
(a) and payment of costs under Subsection (b), the proceeds shall be
used for retirement of the principal of the bonds of the same issue.
Sec. 27.107. REFUNDING BONDS. (a) An authority may at any
time and from time to time issue refunding bonds for the purpose of:
(1) refunding the principal of and interest on
outstanding bonds of the authority regardless of whether the
principal and interest have matured at the time of the refunding;
and
(2) paying the expenses incurred in connection with
the refunding and any premium necessary to be paid to redeem,
retire, or purchase for retirement the bonds to be refunded.
(b) Proceeds derived from the sale of refunding bonds may be
used only for the purposes for which the refunding bonds were
authorized to be issued.
(c) Refunding may be effected:
(1) by sale of the refunding bonds and the application
of the proceeds; or
(2) by exchange of the refunding bonds for the bonds or
interest coupons to be refunded, except that the holders of the
bonds or coupons to be refunded may not be compelled without their
consent to surrender their bonds or coupons for payment or exchange
before the date on which they may be paid or redeemed by call of the
authority under their respective provisions.
(d) This subchapter applies to refunding bonds to the extent
the provisions are consistent with this section.
(e) If an authority issues bonds for the purpose of
refunding the principal of and interest on any of its bonds or for
any other purpose for which it is authorized to issue bonds, this
section applies only to the portion of the combined issue
authorized for refunding purposes, and the rest of this subchapter
applies to the remaining portion of the combined issue.
Sec. 27.108. LOCAL GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT. A governing body
of a county or municipality may invest idle or surplus money held in
its treasury in bonds of an authority.
Sec. 27.109. LEGAL INVESTMENTS. (a) Bonds issued under
this subchapter are legal investments for executors,
administrators, trustees, and other fiduciaries, unless otherwise
directed by the court having jurisdiction of the fiduciary relation
or by the document that is the source of the fiduciary's authority.
(b) Bonds issued under this subchapter are legal
investments for savings banks and insurance companies organized
under the laws of this state.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.