N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1689-i*2: Public school districts; authority financing of projects under the expanding our children's education and learning (EXCEL) program

** § 1689-i. Public school districts; authority financing of projects

under the expanding our children's education and learning (EXCEL)

program. 1. The dormitory authority is authorized to finance EXCEL

projects for those school districts which are eligible to receive an

apportionment for expanding our children's education and learning

(EXCEL) pursuant to subdivision fourteen of section thirty-six hundred

forty-one of the education law.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the

contrary, and subject to the making of annual appropriations therefor by

the legislature, in order to assist the dormitory authority in the

financing of such EXCEL projects, the director of the budget is

authorized in any state fiscal year commencing April first, two thousand

six and thereafter to enter into one or more service contracts, none of

which shall exceed thirty years in duration, with the dormitory

authority, upon such terms as the director of the budget and the

dormitory authority agree.

3. Any service contract entered into pursuant to this section or any

payments made or to be made thereunder may be assigned and pledged by

the dormitory authority as security for its bonds, notes, or other

obligations.

4. Any such service contract shall provide that the obligation of the

director of the budget or of the state to fund or to pay the amounts

therein provided for shall not constitute a debt of the state within the

meaning of any constitutional or statutory provision in the event the

dormitory authority assigns or pledges the service contract payments as

security for its bonds, notes, or other obligations and shall be deemed

executory only to the extent moneys are available and that no liability

shall be incurred by the state beyond the moneys available for the

purpose, and that such obligation is subject to annual appropriation by

the legislature.

5. Any service contract or contracts entered into pursuant to this

section shall provide for state commitments to provide annually to the

dormitory authority a sum or sums, upon such terms and conditions as

shall be deemed appropriate by the director of the budget, to fund the

principal, interest, or other related expenses required for any bonds,

notes, or other obligations.

6. The commissioner of education shall certify, from time to time, to

the dormitory authority, the comptroller, the director of the division

of the budget, the chair of the senate finance committee and the chair

of the assembly ways and means committee each school district for which

he or she has determined an aid apportionment for authority financing of

an EXCEL project pursuant to subdivision fourteen of section thirty-six

hundred forty-one of the education law. Such certification, which shall

be made within thirty days after such determination or as soon

thereafter as is practicable, shall identify the amount of aid

apportionment which has been approved for such school district and shall

estimate the date or dates when such project will be undertaken.

7. On or before November fifteenth of each year and again on or after

February fifteenth of each year, the dormitory authority shall submit,

and thereafter may resubmit, to the director of the division of the

budget, the state comptroller, the commissioner of education, the chair

of the senate finance committee and the chair of the assembly ways and

means committee a report setting forth the estimated amounts, if any, of

all annual payments required to be appropriated to the dormitory

authority pursuant to such service contracts between the dormitory

authority and the director of the division of the budget pursuant to

this section.

8. To obtain funds for the purposes of this section, the authority

shall have power from time to time, to issue negotiable bonds or notes

of the authority. Unless the context shall clearly indicate otherwise,

whenever the words "bond" or "bonds" are used in this section, such

words shall include a note or notes of the authority.

9. The dormitory authority shall not issue any bonds or notes in an

amount in excess of two billion six hundred million dollars for the

purposes of this section, excluding a principal amount of bonds or notes

issued to fund one or more debt service reserve funds, to pay for the

costs of issuance of such bonds, and bonds or notes issued to refund or

otherwise repay such bonds, and bonds or notes previously issued. Except

for the purposes of complying with the internal revenue code, any

interest income earned on bond proceeds shall only be used to pay debt

service on such bonds or notes.

10. In computing for the purposes of this subdivision, the aggregate

amount of indebtedness evidenced by bonds and notes of the dormitory

authority issued pursuant to this section, there shall be excluded the

amount of such indebtedness represented by such bonds or notes issued to

refund or otherwise repay bonds or notes, provided that the amount so

excluded under this clause may exceed the principal amount of such bonds

or notes that were issued to refund or otherwise repay only if the

present value of the aggregate debt service on the refunding or

repayment bonds or notes shall not have at the time of their issuance

exceeded the present value of the aggregate debt service of the bonds or

notes they were issued to refund or repay, such present value in each

case being calculated by using the effective interest rate of the

refunding or repayment bonds or notes, which shall be that rate arrived

at by doubling the semi-annual interest rate (compounded semi-annually)

necessary to discount the debt service payments on the refunding or

repayment bonds or notes from the payment date thereof to the date of

issue of the refunding or repayment bonds or notes and to the price bid

therefor, or to the proceeds received by the dormitory authority from

the sale thereof, in each case including estimated accrued interest.

11. The state of New York hereby covenants with the purchasers,

holders and owners from time to time of the bonds of the authority

issued pursuant to this section that it will not repeal, revoke,

rescind, modify or amend the provisions of this section which relate to

the making of annual service contract payments to the authority with

respect to such bonds as to limit, impair or impede the rights and

remedies granted to bondholders under this title or otherwise diminish

the security pledged to such purchasers, holders and owners or

significantly impair the prospect of payment of any such bond.

* NB Repealed December 31, 2029

* NB There are 2 § 1689-i's