Article 4. Tax Increment Bonds of California Government Code >> Division 2. >> Title 5. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 2.99. >> Article 4.
The public financing authority may, by majority vote,
initiate proceedings to issue bonds pursuant to this chapter by
adopting a resolution stating its intent to issue the bonds.
The resolution adopted pursuant to Section 53398.77 shall
contain all of the following information:
(a) A description of the facilities or developments to be financed
with the proceeds of the proposed bond issue.
(b) The estimated cost of the facilities or developments, the
estimated cost of preparing and issuing the bonds, and the principal
amount of the proposed bond issuance.
(c) The maximum interest rate and discount on the proposed bond
issuance.
(d) The date of the election on the proposed bond issuance and the
manner of holding the election.
(e) A determination of the amount of tax revenue available or
estimated to be available, for the payment of the principal of, and
interest on, the bonds.
(f) A finding that the amount necessary to pay the principal of,
and interest on, the proposed bond issuance will be less than, or
equal to, the amount determined pursuant to subdivision (e).
The clerk of the public financing authority shall publish
the resolution adopted pursuant to Section 53398.77 once a day for
at least seven successive days in a newspaper published in the city
or county at least six days a week, or at least once a week for two
successive weeks in a newspaper published in the city or county less
than six days a week.
If there are no newspapers meeting these criteria, the resolution
shall be posted in three public places within the territory of the
district for two succeeding weeks.
(a) The public financing authority shall submit the
proposal to issue the bonds to the voters who reside within the
district. If the public financing authority adopts a resolution
proposing initiation of proceedings to issue bonds pursuant to
Section 53398.77, it shall then submit that proposal, together with
the information specified in subdivisions (a) to (c), inclusive, of
Section 53398.78, to the qualified electors of the district in the
next general election or in a special election to be held,
notwithstanding any other requirement, including any requirement that
elections be held on specified dates, contained in the Elections
Code, at least 90 days but not more than 180 days following the
adoption of the resolution of bond issuance. The public financing
authority shall provide the resolution of bond issuance, a certified
map of sufficient scale and clarity to show the boundaries of the
district, and a sufficient description to allow the election official
to determine the boundaries of the district to the official
conducting the election within three business days after the adoption
of the resolution of bond issuance. The assessor's parcel numbers
for the land within the district shall be included if it is a
landowner election or the district does not conform to an existing
district's boundaries and if requested by the official conducting the
election. If the election is to be held less than 125 days following
the adoption of the resolution of bond issuance, the concurrence of
the election official conducting the election shall be required.
However, any time limit specified by this section or requirement
pertaining to the conduct of the election may be waived with the
unanimous consent of the qualified electors of the proposed district
and the concurrence of the election official conducting the election.
(b) (1) If at least 12 persons have been registered to vote within
the territory of the district for each of the 90 days preceding the
close of the hearing, the vote shall be by the registered voters of
the district, who need not necessarily be the same persons, with each
voter having one vote. Otherwise, the vote shall be by the
landowners of the district and each landowner who is the owner of
record at the close of the protest hearing, or the authorized
representative thereof, shall have one vote for each acre or portion
of an acre of land that he or she owns within the district. The
number of votes to be voted by a particular landowner shall be
specified on the ballot provided to that landowner.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, for an entity paying
possessory interest tax on state-owned land, "landowner" means the
entity that is paying the possessory interest tax.
(c) Ballots for the special election authorized by subdivision (a)
may be distributed to qualified electors by mail with return postage
prepaid or by personal service by the election official. The
official conducting the election may certify the proper mailing of
ballots by an affidavit, which shall be exclusive proof of mailing in
the absence of fraud. The voted ballots shall be returned to the
election officer conducting the election not later than the hour
specified in the resolution calling the election. However, if all the
qualified voters have voted, the election shall be closed.
(a) If the public financing authority adopts a
resolution proposing initiation of proceedings to issue bonds
pursuant to Section 53398.77 for port or harbor infrastructure, it
shall, before submitting the proposal to the voters pursuant to
Section 53398.80, submit the proposal, together with the information
specified in subdivisions (a) to (c), inclusive, and (e) and (f) of
Section 53398.78, to the affected harbor agency pursuant to Section
1713 of the Harbors and Navigation Code for its preliminary approval.
(b) If the harbor agency grants preliminary approval, the proposal
shall be considered by the State Lands Commission for final approval
pursuant to Section 1714 of the Harbors and Navigation Code.
(c) If the State Lands Commission votes in favor of the issuance
of the bonds as provided in Section 1714 of the Harbors and
Navigation Code, the public financing authority shall proceed with
the submission of the proposal to the voters.
(a) (1) Except as specified in paragraph (2), the bonds
may be issued if 55 percent of the voters voting on the proposition
vote in favor of issuing the bonds.
(2) For a seaport infrastructure financing district, the bonds may
be issued if two-thirds of the voters voting on the proposition vote
in favor of issuing the bonds.
(b) If the voters approve the issuance of the bonds as provided by
subdivision (a), the public financing authority shall proceed with
the issuance of the bonds by adopting a resolution that shall provide
for all of the following:
(1) The issuance of the bonds in one or more series.
(2) The principal amount of the bonds that shall be consistent
with the amount specified in subdivision (b) of Section 53398.78.
(3) The date the bonds will bear.
(4) The date of maturity of the bonds.
(5) The denomination of the bonds.
(6) The form of the bonds.
(7) The manner of execution of the bonds.
(8) The medium of payment in which the bonds are payable.
(9) The place or manner of payment and any requirements for
registration of the bonds.
(10) The terms of call or redemption, with or without premium.
If any proposition submitted to the voters pursuant to
this chapter is defeated by the voters, the public financing
authority shall not submit, or cause to be submitted, a similar
proposition to the voters for at least one year after the first
election.
The public financing authority may, by majority vote,
provide for refunding of bonds issued pursuant to this chapter.
However, refunding bonds shall not be issued if the total net
interest cost to maturity on the refunding bonds plus the principal
amount of the refunding bonds exceeds the total net interest cost to
maturity on the bonds to be refunded. The public financing authority
may not extend the time to maturity of the bonds.
The public financing authority or any person executing
the bonds shall not be personally liable on the bonds by reason of
their issuance. The bonds and other obligations of a district issued
pursuant to this chapter are not a debt of the city, county, or state
or of any of its political subdivisions, other than the district,
and none of those entities, other than the district, shall be liable
on the bonds and the bonds or obligations shall be payable
exclusively from funds or properties of the district. The bonds shall
contain a statement to this effect on their face. The bonds do not
constitute an indebtedness within the meaning of any constitutional
or statutory debt limitation.
The bonds may be sold at discount not to exceed 5 percent
of par at public sale. At least five days prior to the sale, notice
shall be published, pursuant to Section 6061, in a newspaper of
general circulation and in a financial newspaper published in the
City and County of San Francisco and in the City of Los Angeles. The
bonds may be sold at not less than par to the federal government at
private sale without any public advertisement.
If any member of the public financing authority whose
signature appears on bonds ceases to be a member of the public
financing authority before delivery of the bonds, his or her
signature is as effective as if he or she had remained in office.
Bonds issued pursuant to this chapter are fully negotiable.
Upon the approval of its governing board, a city, county,
or special district that contains territory within the boundaries of
a district, may loan moneys to the district to fund those activities
described in the infrastructure financing plan approved and adopted
pursuant to Section 53398.69. Moneys loaned pursuant to this
provision may be repaid at an interest rate that does not exceed the
Local Agency Investment Fund rate that is in effect on the date that
the loan is approved by the governing board. Notwithstanding any
other provision of law it is the intent of the Legislature that any
loan issued to a public financing authority by a governmental entity
shall be repaid fully unless agreed to otherwise between the
authority and the governmental entity.
(a) Every two years after the issuance of debt pursuant
to Section 53398.81, the district shall contract for an independent
financial and performance audit. The audit shall be conducted
according to guidelines established by the Controller. A copy of the
completed audit shall be provided to the Controller, the Director of
Finance, and to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
(b) Upon the request of the Governor or of the Legislature, the
Bureau of State Audits shall be authorized to conduct financial and
performance audits of districts. The results of the audits shall be
provided to the district, the Controller, the Director of Finance,
and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.