Article 4. Refunding of California Public Utilities Code >> Division 10. >> Part 13. >> Chapter 8. >> Article 4.

Whenever the board, by resolution passed by a vote of four-fifths of all its members, determines that the refunding of the whole, or any portion of, the bonded indebtedness will be of advantage to the district, the board may refund the bonded indebtedness, or any portion thereof, and issue refunding bonds of the district therefor.

The issuance of refunding bonds shall not be construed as the incurring or increase of an indebtedness within the meaning of this part, and the approval of the voters is not required for the issuance of refunding bonds. The board may provide for the call and redemption of any or all of the bonds on any interest payment date prior to their fixed maturity in the ordinance authorizing the issuance of the refunding bonds.

Except as otherwise provided, the provisions of this chapter shall substantially govern as to all matters pertaining to the issuance of refunding bonds, including and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the form, execution, issuance, maturity, redemption, refunding, validation, the payment of interest from bond funds, and the status of the bonds as investments.

Refunding bonds shall bear interest at a rate not exceeding the interest rate on the refunded bonds, but payment of the refunding bonds shall begin not later than one year from the date thereof and be completed in not more than 40 years from that date.

The proceeds of the sale of refunding bonds shall be applied only to the purchase, or retirement at not more than par and accrued interest, or the call price, of the bonded indebtedness for which the refunding bonds were issued.

In lieu of selling refunding bonds and using the proceeds to purchase or retire the bonds to be refunded, the board may exchange refunding bonds at not less than par and accrued interest for the bonds so refunded.

Whenever outstanding bonds are refunded, they shall be surrendered to the treasurer of the district, or the county treasurer, as the case may be, who shall cancel them by endorsing on their face the manner in which the refunding was effected (whether by exchange or purchase, and the amount for which so purchased, if any) and by perforating through each bond and each coupon attached thereto the word "canceled" together with the date of cancellation.