House Bill 1685

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE ISSUANCE OF GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING FUNDS FOR THE REPAIR, RENOVATION AND IMPROVEMENT OF MISSISSIPPI VETERANS MEMORIAL STADIUM; TO ABOLISH THE MISSISSIPPI VETERANS MEMORIAL STADIUM COMMISSION AND TRANSFER ITS DUTIES TO THE JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY STADIUM COMMISSION, WHICH SHALL BE ESTABLISHED BY JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY; TO PROVIDE THAT THE STADIUM SHALL BE UNDER THE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF THE JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY STADIUM COMMISSION; TO AMEND SECTION 55-23-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. As used in Sections 1 through 17 of this act, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(a) "Accreted value" of any bond means, as of any date of computation, an amount equal to the sum of (i) the stated initial value of such bond, plus (ii) the interest accrued thereon from the issue date to the date of computation at the rate, compounded semiannually, that is necessary to produce the approximate yield to maturity shown for bonds of the same maturity.

(b) "State" means the State of Mississippi.

SECTION 2. (1) (a) A special fund, to be designated as the "Veterans Memorial Stadium Repair and Renovation Fund" is created within the State Treasury. The fund shall be maintained by the State Treasurer as a separate and special fund, separate and apart from the General Fund of the state. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings on amounts in the fund shall be deposited into such fund.

(b) Monies deposited into the fund shall be disbursed, in the discretion of the Department of Finance and Administration, to pay the costs of the repair, renovation and improvement of Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi. (2) Amounts deposited into such special fund shall be disbursed to pay the costs of the projects described in subsection (1) of this section. Promptly after the commission has certified, by resolution duly adopted, that the projects described in subsection (1) of this section have been completed, abandoned, or cannot be completed in a timely fashion, any amounts remaining in such special fund shall be applied to pay debt service on the bonds issued under Sections 1 through 17 of this act, in accordance with the proceedings authorizing the issuance of such bonds and as directed by the commission.

(3) The Department of Finance and Administration, acting through the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management, is expressly authorized and empowered to receive and expend any local or other source funds in connection with the expenditure of funds provided for in this section. The expenditure of monies deposited into the special fund shall be under the direction of the Department of Finance and Administration, and such funds shall be paid by the State Treasurer upon warrants issued by such department, which warrants shall be issued upon requisitions signed by the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration or his designee.SECTION 3. (1) The commission, at one time, or from time to time, may declare by resolution the necessity for issuance of general obligation bonds of the State of Mississippi to provide funds for all costs incurred or to be incurred for the purposes described in Section 2 of this act. Upon the adoption of a resolution by the Department of Finance and Administration, declaring the necessity for the issuance of any part or all of the general obligation bonds authorized by this section, the Department of Finance and Administration shall deliver a certified copy of its resolution or resolutions to the commission. Upon receipt of such resolution, the commission, in its discretion, may act as the issuing agent, prescribe the form of the bonds, advertise for and accept bids, issue and sell the bonds so authorized to be sold and do any and all other things necessary and advisable in connection with the issuance and sale of such bonds. The total amount of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 17 of this act shall not exceed Thirty Million Dollars ($30,000,000.00).

(2) Any investment earnings on amounts deposited into the special fund created in Section 2 of this act shall be used to pay debt service on bonds issued under Sections 1 through 17 of this act, in accordance with the proceedings authorizing issuance of such bonds.

SECTION 4. The principal of and interest on the bonds authorized under Sections 1 through 17 of this act shall be payable in the manner provided in this section. Such bonds shall bear such date or dates, be in such denomination or denominations, bear interest at such rate or rates (not to exceed the limits set forth in Section 75-17-101, Mississippi Code of 1972), be payable at such place or places within or without the State of Mississippi, shall mature absolutely at such time or times not to exceed twenty-five (25) years from date of issue, be redeemable before maturity at such time or times and upon such terms, with or without premium, shall bear such registration privileges, and shall be substantially in such form, all as shall be determined by resolution of the commission.

SECTION 5. The bonds authorized by Sections 1 through 17 of this act shall be signed by the chairman of the commission, or by his facsimile signature, and the official seal of the commission shall be affixed thereto, attested by the secretary of the commission. The interest coupons, if any, to be attached to such bonds may be executed by the facsimile signatures of such officers. Whenever any such bonds shall have been signed by the officials designated to sign the bonds who were in office at the time of such signing but who may have ceased to be such officers before the sale and delivery of such bonds, or who may not have been in office on the date such bonds may bear, the signatures of such officers upon such bonds and coupons shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes and have the same effect as if the person so officially signing such bonds had remained in office until their delivery to the purchaser, or had been in office on the date such bonds may bear. However, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, such bonds may be issued as provided in the Registered Bond Act of the State of Mississippi.

SECTION 6. All bonds and interest coupons issued under the provisions of Sections 1 through 17 of this act have all the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments under the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code, and in exercising the powers granted by Sections 1 through 17 of this act, the commission shall not be required to and need not comply with the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code.

SECTION 7. The commission shall act as the issuing agent for the bonds authorized under Sections 1 through 17 of this act, prescribe the form of the bonds, advertise for and accept bids, issue and sell the bonds so authorized to be sold, pay all fees and costs incurred in such issuance and sale, and do any and all other things necessary and advisable in connection with the issuance and sale of such bonds. The commission is authorized and empowered to pay the costs that are incident to the sale, issuance and delivery of the bonds authorized under Sections 1 through 17 of this act from the proceeds derived from the sale of such bonds. The commission shall sell such bonds on sealed bids at public sale, and for such price as it may determine to be for the best interest of the State of Mississippi, but no such sale shall be made at a price less than par plus accrued interest to the date of delivery of the bonds to the purchaser. All interest accruing on such bonds so issued shall be payable semiannually or annually; however, the first interest payment may be for any period of not more than one (1) year.

Notice of the sale of any such bonds shall be published at least one time, not less than ten (10) days before the date of sale, and shall be so published in one or more newspapers published or having a general circulation in the City of Jackson, Mississippi, and in one or more other newspapers or financial journals with a national circulation, to be selected by the commission.

The commission, when issuing any bonds under the authority of Sections 1 through 17 of this act, may provide that bonds, at the option of the State of Mississippi, may be called in for payment and redemption at the call price named therein and accrued interest on such date or dates named therein.

SECTION 8. The bonds issued under the provisions of Sections 1 through 17 of this act are general obligations of the State of Mississippi, and for the payment thereof the full faith and credit of the State of Mississippi is irrevocably pledged. If the funds appropriated by the Legislature are insufficient to pay the principal of and the interest on such bonds as they become due, then the deficiency shall be paid by the State Treasurer from any funds in the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated. All such bonds shall contain recitals on their faces substantially covering the provisions of this section.

SECTION 9. Upon the issuance and sale of bonds under the provisions of Sections 1 through 17 of this act, the commission shall transfer the proceeds of any such sale or sales to the special fund created in Section 2 of this act. The proceeds of such bonds shall be disbursed solely upon the order of the Department of Finance and Administration under such restrictions, if any, as may be contained in the resolution providing for the issuance of the bonds.

SECTION 10. The bonds authorized under Sections 1 through 17 of this act may be issued without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things other than those proceedings, conditions and things which are specified or required by Sections 1 through 17 of this act. Any resolution providing for the issuance of bonds under the provisions of Sections 1 through 17 of this act shall become effective immediately upon its adoption by the commission, and any such resolution may be adopted at any regular or special meeting of the commission by a majority of its members.

SECTION 11. The bonds authorized under the authority of Sections 1 through 17 of this act may be validated in the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, in the manner and with the force and effect provided by Chapter 13, Title 31, Mississippi Code of 1972, for the validation of county, municipal, school district and other bonds. The notice to taxpayers required by such statutes shall be published in a newspaper published or having a general circulation in the City of Jackson, Mississippi.

SECTION 12. Any holder of bonds issued under the provisions of Sections 1 through 17 of this act or of any of the interest coupons pertaining thereto may, either at law or in equity, by suit, action, mandamus or other proceeding, protect and enforce any and all rights granted under Sections 1 through 17 of this act, or under such resolution, and may enforce and compel performance of all duties required by Sections 1 through 17 of this act to be performed, in order to provide for the payment of bonds and interest thereon.

SECTION 13. All bonds issued under the provisions of Sections 1 through 17 of this act shall be legal investments for trustees and other fiduciaries, and for savings banks, trust companies and insurance companies organized under the laws of the State of Mississippi, and such bonds shall be legal securities which may be deposited with and shall be received by all public officers and bodies of this state and all municipalities and political subdivisions for the purpose of securing the deposit of public funds.

SECTION 14. Bonds issued under the provisions of Sections 1 through 17 of this act and income therefrom shall be exempt from all taxation in the State of Mississippi.

SECTION 15. The proceeds of the bonds issued under Sections 1 through 17 of this act shall be used solely for the purposes herein provided, including the costs incident to the issuance and sale of such bonds.

SECTION 16. The State Treasurer is authorized, without further process of law, to certify to the Department of Finance and Administration the necessity for warrants, and the Department of Finance and Administration is authorized and directed to issue such warrants, in such amounts as may be necessary to pay when due the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on, or the accreted value of, all bonds issued under Sections 1 through 17 of this act; and the State Treasurer shall forward the necessary amount to the designated place or places of payment of such bonds in ample time to discharge such bonds, or the interest thereon, on the due dates thereof.

SECTION 17. Sections 1 through 17 of this act shall be deemed to be full and complete authority for the exercise of the powers herein granted, but Sections 1 through 17 of this act shall not be deemed to repeal or to be in derogation of any existing law of this state.

SECTION 18. (1) The Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Commission is abolished on July 1, 2005, and all records, duties, responsibilities, assets, contractual rights and obligations, property rights and any unexpended balances of appropriations that are vested on June 30, 2005, in the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Commission, are vested on July 1, 2005, in the Jackson State University Stadium Commission established under subsection (2) of this section. From and after July 1, 2005, the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium shall be under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Jackson State University Stadium Commission, and the Jackson State University Stadium Commission shall assume all liabilities and indebtedness of the stadium. The Jackson State University Stadium Commission is authorized to enter into any contractual agreement for the purpose of leasing the stadium to provide revenue to help retire any indebtedness of the stadium. However, the Legislature, in its discretion, may retire all obligations on the stadium by making an appropriation for that purpose from the State General Fund. In no event shall the appropriation for the upkeep of the stadium be less than the fiscal year 2005 appropriation made to the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Commission for its operation.

(2) Jackson State University, with the advice of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, shall establish a commission to be known as the Jackson State University Stadium Commission, which shall operate and maintain the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. Whenever the term "Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Commission," "stadium commission" or "commission," when referring to the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Commission, is used in any statute, rule, regulation or document, the term shall be construed to mean the Jackson State University Stadium Commission established under this subsection.

SECTION 19. Section 55-23-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

55-23-5. * * *

(1) From and after May 1, 1987, the stadium shall be known as the "Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium." * * *

* * *

(2) The commission shall contract with a certified public accounting firm to conduct audits of concession and novelty sales by vendors at the stadium, and shall, as far as is practicable, provide that the cost of those audits shall be paid by the vendor of those concessions or novelties, or both.

(3) The commission may appoint a director of the stadium, who shall have at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited university or college. The director shall have the responsibility for insuring the marketing of tickets to events conducted in the stadium, in addition to such other duties as the commission may designate. Before entering upon the duties of his office, the director shall give bond to the State of Mississippi in the sum of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), and the bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful discharge and performance of his official duty. The principal and surety on the bond shall be liable under the bond to the state for double the amount of value of any money or property that the state may lose, if any, by reason of any wrongful or criminal act of the director. The bond, when approved by the commission, shall be filed with the Secretary of State, and the premium on the bond shall be paid from the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Operating Fund.

SECTION 20. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.