MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2010 Regular Session
To: Transportation; Ways and Means
By: Representatives McBride, Clark, Dedeaux, Bailey, Reynolds
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 65-4-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF THE TERM "HIGH ECONOMIC BENEFIT PROJECT" UNDER THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HIGHWAY ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 65-4-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCREASE BY $42,000,000.00 THE AMOUNT OF BONDS AUTHORIZED TO BE ISSUED UNDER THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HIGHWAY ACT; TO AUTHORIZE THE ISSUANCE OF STATE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $258,000,000.00 TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR USE BY THE MISSISSIPPI TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION AND THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR THE REPLACEMENT OR REHABILITATION OF CERTAIN BRIDGES ON STATE MAINTAINED HIGHWAYS THAT ARE DEFICIENT OR FUNCTIONALLY OBSOLETE, FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF CERTAIN VISION 21 HIGH PRIORITY PROJECTS, AND TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR USE BY THE OFFICE OF STATE AID ROAD CONSTRUCTION FOR THE REPLACEMENT AND/OR REHABILITATION OF CERTAIN DEFICIENT COUNTY BRIDGES AND FOR CERTAIN SAFETY RELATED IMPROVEMENTS TO COUNTY ROADS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 65-4-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
65-4-5. (1) The following words when used in this chapter shall have the meanings herein ascribed unless the context otherwise clearly requires:
(a) "Board" means the Mississippi Development Authority;
(b) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Transportation;
(c) "High economic benefit project" means:
(i) Any new investment by a private company with capital investments in land, buildings, depreciable fixed assets and improvements of at least Seventy Million Dollars ($70,000,000.00);
(ii) Any new investment of at least Twenty Million Dollars ($20,000,000.00) by a private company having capital investments in this state in land, buildings, depreciable fixed assets and improvements of at least One Billion Dollars ($1,000,000,000.00) in the aggregate;
(iii) Public investment of at least One Hundred Million Dollars ($100,000,000.00) to take place over a specified period of time and in accordance with a master plan duly adopted by the controlling political subdivision;
(iv) Any new investments in land, buildings, depreciable fixed assets and improvements by two (2) private companies upon land that is adjacent whenever the new investments of both companies are at least Sixty Million Dollars ($60,000,000.00) in the aggregate, and such new investments by both private companies provide for the employment of at least five hundred (500) employees in the aggregate;
(v) Any project which would benefit from the construction of any highway bypass which would aid in economic development and would provide an alternate route to avoid an existing route which underpasses a railroad and which would aid in existing or proposed industry;
(vi) Any master planned community;
(vii) Any new investments in land, buildings, depreciable fixed assets and improvements by not more than three (3) private companies physically located within a one-half (1/2) mile radius of each other whenever the new investments of such companies are at least Sixty Million Dollars ($60,000,000.00) in the aggregate, and such new investments by such companies provide for the employment of at least three hundred (300) new employees in the aggregate;
(viii) Any new investments in land, buildings, depreciable fixed assets and improvements by two (2) or more private companies upon lands originally adjacent, but now divided by a four-lane state highway and bordered by a two-lane state highway, and the new investments of the companies are at least Fifty Million Dollars ($50,000,000.00) in the aggregate, and a portion of such new investment will be utilized for the construction of a hospital;
(ix) Any new investments in land, buildings, depreciable fixed assets and improvements, of at least Fifty Million Dollars ($50,000,000.00) in the aggregate, in any county having a population greater than seventy thousand (70,000) according to the latest federal decennial census, and in which the population of such county, according to the latest federal decennial census, increased by at least ten percent (10%) above the population in the preceding federal decennial census, and a portion of such new investment will be used for the construction of a hospital for which a certificate of need has been issued by the State Department of Health. This subparagraph (ix) shall stand repealed from and after July 1, 2009;
(x) Any project as defined in Section 57-75-5(f)(xxi).
However, if the initial investments that a private company made in order to meet the definition of a high economic benefit project under paragraph (c)(i) of this subsection and in order to be approved for such project exceeded Fifty Million Dollars ($50,000,000.00), or if subsequent to being approved for the initial project the same company and/or one or more other private companies made additional capital investments exceeding Fifty Million Dollars ($50,000,000.00) in aggregate value in land, buildings, depreciable fixed assets and improvements physically attached to or forming a part of the initially planned site development, then an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of all such investments that exceeds Fifty Million Dollars ($50,000,000.00) shall be subtracted from the Sixty Million Dollars ($60,000,000.00) in aggregate value of new investments required under this paragraph (c)(vii).
(d) "Political subdivision" means one or more counties or incorporated municipalities in the state, or a state-owned port located in a county bordering on the Gulf of Mexico;
(e) "Private company" means:
(i) Any agricultural, aquacultural, maricultural, processing, distribution, warehousing, manufacturing or research and development enterprise;
(ii) Any air transportation and maintenance facility, regional shopping mall, hospital, large hotel, resort or movie industry studio;
(iii) The federal government with respect to any specific project which meets the criteria established in paragraph (c)(i) of this subsection;
(iv) Any existing or proposed industry in regard to a project described in paragraph (c)(v) of this subsection;
(v) A developer with respect to any specific project which meets the criteria established in paragraph (c)(vi) of this subsection; or
(vi) A tourism project approved by the board.
(f) "Master planned community" shall have the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 19-5-10.
(2) The Mississippi Department of Transportation is hereby authorized to purchase rights-of-way and construct and maintain roads and highways authorized to be constructed pursuant to this chapter.
SECTION 2. Section 65-4-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
[Until June 30, 2011, this section shall read as follows:]
65-4-25. The Mississippi Development Authority, acting through its executive director, is authorized, at one time or from time to time, to declare by resolution the necessity for issuance of negotiable general obligation bonds of the State of Mississippi to provide funds for the Economic Development Highway Fund established in Section 65-4-15, Mississippi Code of 1972. Upon the adoption of a resolution by the Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority, declaring the necessity for the issuance of any part or all of the general obligation bonds authorized by Sections 65-4-25 through 65-4-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, the executive director shall deliver a certified copy of his resolution or resolutions to the State Bond Commission. Upon receipt of the resolution, the State Bond Commission, in its discretion, shall act as the issuing agent, prescribe the form of the bonds, determine the appropriate method for the sale of the bonds, advertise for and accept bids or negotiate the sale of the bonds, 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 principal amount of bonds issued under Sections 65-4-25 through 65-4-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall not exceed Two Hundred Fifty-one Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($251,500,000.00) in the aggregate. However, an additional amount of bonds may be issued under Sections 65-4-25 through 65-4-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, in an amount not to exceed Seven Million Dollars ($7,000,000.00), and the proceeds of any such additional bonds issued shall be used to provide funding for a high economic benefit project as defined in Section 65-4-5(1)(c)(vi), Mississippi Code of 1972.
[From and after July 1, 2011, this section shall read as follows:]
65-4-25. The Mississippi Development Authority, acting through its executive director, is authorized, at one time or from time to time, to declare by resolution the necessity for issuance of negotiable general obligation bonds of the State of Mississippi to provide funds for the Economic Development Highway Fund established in Section 65-4-15, Mississippi Code of 1972. Upon the adoption of a resolution by the Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority, declaring the necessity for the issuance of any part or all of the general obligation bonds authorized by Sections 65-4-25 through 65-4-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, the executive director shall deliver a certified copy of his resolution or resolutions to the State Bond Commission. Upon receipt of the resolution, the State Bond Commission, in its discretion, shall 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 principal amount of bonds issued under Sections 65-4-25 through 65-4-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall not exceed Two Hundred Fifty-one Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($251,500,000.00) in the aggregate. However, an additional amount of bonds may be issued under Sections 65-4-25 through 65-4-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, in an amount not to exceed Seven Million Dollars ($7,000,000.00), and the proceeds of any such additional bonds issued shall be used to provide funding for a high economic benefit project as defined in Section 65-4-5(1)(c)(vi), Mississippi Code of 1972.
SECTION 3. (1) As used in this section, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein 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.
(c) "Commission" means the State Bond Commission.
(2) (a) (i) A special fund, to be designated as the "State Highway Bridge Rehabilitation 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.
(ii) Monies deposited into the special fund shall be disbursed to pay the costs incurred by the Mississippi Transportation Commission and the Mississippi Department of Transportation for the replacement or rehabilitation of bridges on state maintained highways that are determined to be deficient or functionally obsolete.
(b) Amounts deposited into the special fund shall be disbursed to pay the costs of projects described in paragraph (a) of this subsection. If any monies in the special fund are not used within four (4) years after the date the proceeds of the bonds authorized under this section are deposited into the special fund, then the Mississippi Transportation Commission shall provide an accounting of such unused monies to the commission. Promptly after the commission has certified, by resolution duly adopted, that the projects described in paragraph (a)(ii) of this subsection shall have been completed, abandoned, or cannot be completed in a timely fashion, any amounts remaining in the special fund shall be applied to pay debt service on the bonds issued under this section, in accordance with the proceedings authorizing the issuance of such bonds and as directed by the commission.
(c) The Mississippi Transportation Commission is expressly authorized and empowered to receive and expend any federal, local or other source funds in connection with the expenditure of funds provided for under this subsection.
(d) The expenditure of monies deposited into the special fund shall be under the direction of the Mississippi Transportation Commission, and 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 Mississippi Department of Transportation.
(3) (a) (i) A special fund, to be designated as the "Vision 21 High Priority Projects 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.
(ii) Monies deposited into the special fund shall be disbursed to pay the costs incurred by the Mississippi Transportation Commission and the Mississippi Department of Transportation for the construction and reconstruction or improvement of those highway segments described in Section 65-3-97(4)(a).
(b) Amounts deposited into the special fund shall be disbursed to pay the costs of projects described in paragraph (a) (ii) of this subsection. If any monies in the special fund are not used within four (4) years after the date the proceeds of the bonds authorized under this section are deposited into the special fund, then the Mississippi Transportation Commission shall provide an accounting of such unused monies to the commission. Promptly after the commission has certified, by resolution duly adopted, that the projects described in paragraph (a)(ii) of this subsection shall have been completed, abandoned, or cannot be completed in a timely fashion, any amounts remaining in the special fund shall be applied to pay debt service on the bonds issued under this section, in accordance with the proceedings authorizing the issuance of such bonds and as directed by the commission.
(c) The Mississippi Transportation Commission is expressly authorized and empowered to receive and expend any federal, local or other source funds in connection with the expenditure of funds provided for under this subsection.
(d) The expenditure of monies deposited into the special fund shall be under the direction of the Mississippi Transportation Commission, and 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 Mississippi Department of Transportation.
(4) (a) (i) A special fund, to be designated as the "County Bridge and Road Safety 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.
(ii) Monies deposited into the special fund shall be disbursed to pay the costs incurred by the Office of State Aid Road Construction in making grants to counties within the state for: the replacement and/or rehabilitation of county bridges that are determined by the Office of State Aid Road Construction to be deficient; and those safety related improvements to county roads deemed to be immediately necessary, in the discretion of the Office of State Aid Road Construction.
(b) Amounts deposited into the special fund shall be disbursed to make grants to counties in the state to be used to pay the costs of projects described in paragraph (a)(ii) of this subsection. The Office of State Aid Road Construction shall develop a program which gives fair consideration to making grants to counties for the projects described in paragraph (a)(ii) of this subsection. If any monies in the special fund are not used within four (4) years after the date the proceeds of the bonds authorized under this section are deposited into the special fund, then the Office of State Aid Road Construction shall provide an accounting of such unused monies to the commission. Promptly after the commission has certified, by resolution duly adopted, that the projects described in paragraph (a)(ii) of this subsection have been completed, abandoned or cannot be completed in a timely fashion, any amounts remaining in the special fund shall be applied to pay debt service on the bonds issued under this section, in accordance with the proceedings authorizing the issuance of such bonds and as directed by the commission.
(c) The Office of State Aid Road Construction is expressly authorized and empowered to receive and expend any federal, local or other source funds in connection with the expenditure of funds provided for under this subsection.
(d) The expenditure of monies deposited into the special fund shall be under the direction of the Office of State Aid Road Construction, and 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 State Aid Engineer.
(5) Any investment earnings on amounts deposited into the special funds created under subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section shall be used to pay debt service on bonds issued under this section, in accordance with the proceedings authorizing issuance of such bonds.
(6) (a) For the purposes of providing for the payment of a portion of the principal of and interest on bonds issued under this act, there is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the "2010 Mississippi State Highway and County Road and Bridge Improvement Bond Sinking Fund." The bond sinking fund shall consist of monies transferred into the fund by the Mississippi Department of Transportation as required by paragraph (b) of this subsection and any other funds designated or appropriated by the Legislature. Such monies shall be utilized to pay a portion of the principal of and interest on bonds issued under this section. Unexpended amounts remaining in the bond sinking 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 bond sinking fund shall be deposited into the bond sinking fund.
(b) Beginning in the fiscal year during which the bonds authorized to be issued by this section are issued, and each fiscal year thereafter until the principal and interest on such bonds is paid, the Mississippi Department of Transportation shall transfer, from any available funds, an amount equal to Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00), into the bond sinking fund created in paragraph (a) of this subsection. The transfer of funds required by this paragraph (b) shall be made by the department at such times as the State Treasurer shall require.
(7) (a) 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 subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section.
(b) (i) Upon the adoption of a resolution by the Mississippi Transportation Commission, declaring the necessity for the issuance of any part or all of the general obligation bonds authorized by subsections (2) or (3) of this section, the Mississippi Transportation Commission shall deliver a certified copy of its resolution or resolutions to the commission.
(ii) Upon the adoption of a resolution by the Office of State Aid Road Construction, declaring the necessity for the issuance of any part or all of the general obligation bonds authorized by subsection (4) of this section, the Office of State Aid Road Construction shall deliver a certified copy of its resolution or resolutions to the commission.
(iii) Upon receipt of a resolution from the Mississippi Transportation Commission or the Office of State Aid Road Construction, as the case may be, the commission shall act as the issuing agent, prescribe the form of the bonds, determine the appropriate method for the sale of the bonds, advertise for and accept bids or negotiate the sale of the bonds, 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 section shall not exceed Two Hundred Fifty-eight Million Dollars ($258,000,000.00). No bonds shall be issued under this section after July 1, 2014.
(b) The proceeds of the bonds issued under this act shall be deposited into the following special funds in not more than the following amounts:
(i) The State Highway Bridge Rehabilitation Fund created in subsection (2) of this section................ $ 138,000,000.00.
(ii) The Vision 21 High Priority Projects Fund created in subsection (3) of this section................ $ 80,000,000.00.
(iii) The County Bridge and Road Safety Fund created in subsection (4) of this section................ $ 40,000,000.00.
(8) The principal of and interest on the bonds authorized under this section shall be payable in the manner provided in this subsection. 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.
(9) The bonds authorized by this section 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.
(10) All bonds and interest coupons issued under the provisions of this section have all the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments under the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code, and in exercising the powers granted by this section, the commission shall not be required to and need not comply with the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code.
(11) The commission shall act as the issuing agent for the bonds authorized under this section, prescribe the form of the bonds, advertise for and accept bids or negotiate the sale of the bonds, 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 this section from the proceeds derived from the sale of such bonds. The commission shall sell such bonds on sealed bids at public sale or may negotiate the sale of the bonds for such price as it may determine to be for the best interest of the State of Mississippi. All interest accruing on such bonds so issued shall be payable semiannually or annually.
If such bonds are sold by sealed bids at public sale, 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, selected by the commission.
The commission, when issuing any bonds under the authority of this section, 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.
(12) The bonds issued under the provisions of this section 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 in the bond sinking fund created in subsection (6) of this section and any 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 subsection.
(13) Upon the issuance and sale of bonds under the provisions of this section, the commission shall transfer the proceeds of any such sale or sales to the special funds created in subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section in the amounts provided for in subsection (7)(b) of this section. The proceeds of such bonds shall be disbursed solely upon the order of the Mississippi Transportation Commission under such restrictions, if any, as may be contained in the resolution providing for the issuance of the bonds.
(14) The bonds authorized under this section 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 this section. Any resolution providing for the issuance of bonds under the provisions of this section 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.
(15) The bonds authorized under the authority of this section 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.
(16) Any holder of bonds issued under the provisions of this section 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 this section, or under such resolution, and may enforce and compel performance of all duties required by this section to be performed, in order to provide for the payment of bonds and interest thereon.
(17) All bonds issued under the provisions of this section 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.
(18) Bonds issued under the provisions of this section and income therefrom shall be exempt from all taxation in the State of Mississippi.
(19) The proceeds of the bonds issued under this section shall be used solely for the purposes herein provided, including the costs incident to the issuance and sale of such bonds.
(20) 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 this section; 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.
(21) This section shall be deemed to be full and complete authority for the exercise of the powers herein granted, but this section shall not be deemed to repeal or to be in derogation of any existing law of this state.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.