N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 2431: Legislative findings

§ 2431. Legislative findings. It is hereby declared to be in the

public interest and to be the policy of the state to foster and promote

by all reasonable means the provision of adequate capital markets and

facilities for borrowing money by its several municipalities for the

financing of their public improvements or purposes from proceeds of

bonds or notes issued by those municipalities, and to assist those

municipalities in fulfilling their needs for improvements by use of

creation of indebtedness and to the extent possible to reduce costs of

indebtedness to taxpayers and residents of the state and to encourage

continued investor interest in the purchase of bonds or notes of

municipalities as sound and preferred securities for investment. It is

in the public interest and is the policy of the state to encourage its

municipalities to continue their independent undertakings of public

improvements and purposes and the financing thereof and to assist them

therein by making funds available at reduced interest costs for orderly

financing of public improvements and purposes, particularly for those

municipalities not otherwise able to borrow for those purposes. It is

further declared the state should exercise its power in the interest of

its municipalities to further and implement those policies by

authorizing a state instrumentality to be created as a body corporate

and politic to have full powers to borrow money and to issue its bonds

and notes to make funds available through the facilities of that

instrumentality at reduced rates and on more favorable terms for

borrowing by municipalities through the purchase by that instrumentality

of the bonds or notes of municipalities and by granting broad powers to

the instrumentality to accomplish and to carry out the aforesaid

policies of the state which are in the public interest of the state and

of its taxpayers and residents. It is further declared to be in the

public interest and is the policy of the state that such instrumentality

should so conduct its operations, including the full utilization of

existing public corporations, as to provide the lowest rates in terms of

borrowing to municipalities as is consistent with a self-supporting

operation with no expectation of subsidization with state funds.

It is further declared to be in the public interest and it is the

policy of the state to provide a means by which certain cities may

receive moneys to refund certain property taxes determined to be in

excess of state constitutional tax limits or to reimburse such cities

for the prior refunding of such taxes.

It is further declared to be in the public interest and it is the

policy of the state to provide a means by which certain special program

municipalities may receive moneys for the purpose of paying the cost of

settling litigation involving the city school districts of such special

program municipalities and the teachers' unions thereof.

It is hereby further declared that many municipalities are owed

millions of dollars annually in unpaid property taxes. Such uncollected

taxes adversely impact the municipalities' ability to timely collect the

moneys necessary to meet their operating expenditures and provide for

the delivery of necessary local government services, amplifying the risk

of future real property tax increases and negatively impacting those

taxpayers who timely remit payment. It is hereby further declared that

limited means exist for municipalities to expedite the collection of

such delinquent taxes and that as a result such delinquencies often

remain unpaid thereby creating a lien against the affected real property

and that the sale of such tax liens will enable municipalities to

expedite the receipt of anticipated revenues and provide a funding

source which will enable municipalities to more effectively carry out

their public purposes. It is further declared that the state should

exercise its power in the interest of its municipalities to facilitate

the sale and purchase of tax liens by authorizing such instrumentality,

a trust or other single purpose entity or entities created by such

instrumentality, to have full powers to borrow money and to issue its

bonds, notes, certificates of participation or other obligations to make

funds available to municipalities through the facilities of said

instrumentality by the purchase through that instrumentality of the

delinquent tax liens created and held by municipalities and by granting

broad powers to such instrumentality to accomplish and to carry out the

aforesaid policies of the state which are in the public interest of the

state and of its taxpayers and residents.

It is hereby further found and declared that, on September eleventh,

two thousand one, events occurred that resulted in dramatic and

unforeseen negative fiscal changes which affected the state and certain

municipalities thereof. The impact of these events, if left

unremediated, is contrary to the public interest of the state and such

municipalities, and threatens a decline in the general prosperity and

economic welfare of the inhabitants of such municipalities and the

people of the state. Accordingly, it is a matter of substantial and

imperative state concern that such municipalities not fail to address

local needs and thereby suffer adverse consequences. It is further

declared to be in the public interest and it is the policy of the state

to provide a means for such municipalities to receive assistance to meet

their obligations and thereby be assisted in relieving the effects of

the negative fiscal changes caused by the September eleventh, two

thousand one events.

It is further declared to be in the public interest and it is the

policy of the state to provide a means by which the enlarged city school

district of the city of Troy may receive moneys for the specific object

and purpose of liquidating the projected accumulated deficit in its

general fund at the close of its fiscal year ending June thirtieth, two

thousand two, including any budget notes and revenue anticipation notes

which may be a part of the deficit.

It is further declared to be in the public interest and it is the

policy of the state to provide a means by which the Shoreham-Wading

River Central School District may receive moneys for the specific object

and purpose of mitigating the adverse fiscal impact resulting from the

loss to the district of a significant majority of the taxable property

that it depended on for support of its educational programs.

It is further declared to be in the public interest and it is the

policy of the state to provide a means by which a municipality in the

state can take advantage of the opportunities for borrowing to provide

for public improvements afforded by the American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act of 2009 and to do so by authorizing a state

instrumentality to borrow money and use the proceeds to purchase

obligations issued by a municipality under the American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act of 2009, thereby resulting in efficiencies and interest

rate savings to the municipality.

It is further declared to be in the public interest and it is the

policy of the state to provide a means by which state and local first-

responder public safety agencies can establish regional communications

capabilities, intended to serve as a part of a statewide interoperable

network, and to do so by authorizing a state instrumentality to borrow

money and use the proceeds to purchase obligations issued by a

municipality to fund these communications capabilities, thereby

resulting in savings for taxpayers.