Adopted
AMENDMENT NO 3 PROPOSED TO
Senate Bill No. 2002
BY: Senator(s) Robertson
AMEND by striking Sections 109 and 110 and insert in lieu thereof the following:
SECTION 109. (1) (a) A special fund to be designated as the "Forks of the Road Interpretive Center 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 to the credit of the fund. Monies in the fund may not be used or expended for any purpose except as authorized under this section.
(b) Monies deposited into the fund shall be disbursed by the Mississippi Development Authority to the City of Natchez, Mississippi, to provide funds to assist in paying costs incurred for the planning, design and construction of the Forks of the Road Interpretive Center to be located in the City of Natchez, Mississippi. The Forks of the Road Interpretive Center shall be an interpretive museum housing exhibits depicting the highlights of the area's historic heritage and legacy, particularly acknowledging the site as one of the south's busiest commercial centers for the slave trade. Before monies in the fund may be disbursed, the City of Natchez shall submit a written proposal to the Mississippi Development Authority that must include any information required by the Mississippi Development Authority. The Mississippi Development Authority shall review the proposal before funds under this act are granted to the City of Natchez, Mississippi, and no funds shall be granted to the City of Natchez, Mississippi, under this act until the proposal has been reviewed and approved by the Mississippi Development Authority. The Mississippi Development Authority shall administer all funds authorized under this act and shall have all powers necessary to implement and administer the project.
(2) Amounts deposited into such special fund shall be disbursed by the Mississippi Development Authority to pay the costs of projects described in subsection (1) of this section.
(3) Such funds shall be paid by the State Treasurer, upon warrants issued by the Department of Finance and Administration, which warrants shall be issued upon requisitions signed by the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration, or his designee.
SECTION 110. (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 109 of this act. Upon the adoption of a resolution by the Mississippi Development Authority, declaring the necessity for the issuance of any part or all of the general obligation bonds authorized by this section, the Mississippi Development Authority 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 this act shall not exceed Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00). No bonds shall be issued under this section after July 1, 2008. No bonds shall be issued under this section unless an equal amount of funding, exclusive of the state contribution, has been irrevocably dedicated and is readily available from private, local and federal sources for the Forks of the Road Interpretive Center.
(2) Any investment earnings on amounts deposited into the special funds created in Section 109 of this act shall be used to pay debt service on bonds issued under this act, in accordance with the proceedings authorizing issuance of such bonds.