(a) In the case of authorizations under any existing law for the State of Arkansas, any board, commission, or agency of the State of Arkansas, any county, any municipality, or any improvement district to issue bonds or coupon bonds, the authorization shall be deemed to, and is extended to, include the authority to issue bonds that may be either coupon bonds, payable to bearer, or may be registrable as to principal only with interest coupons, or may be registrable as to both principal and interest without coupons. These bonds may be exchanged for bonds of another denomination, which bonds of another denomination may in turn be either coupon bonds payable to bearer or coupon bonds registrable as to principal only, or bonds registrable as to both principal and interest without coupons, as the governing body shall determine.
(b) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) “Improvement district” means all improvement districts, drainage districts, levee districts, and other special districts formed for the purpose of constructing or maintaining a local improvement to be financed by the assessment of benefits upon the real property in the district and the levy of a tax on those assessed benefits;
(2) “Municipality” means any city of the first class, city of the second class, or incorporated town; and
(3) “Governing body” means the board of commissioners, city council, county court, board of trustees, or other person or body given the power and duty by the state under existing law to issue bonds by the state, any board, commission, or agency of the state, any county, any municipality, or any improvement district.
(c) This section is to be liberally construed, and the authority set forth in it is cumulative and supplemental to all other provisions of law authorizing the issuance of registrable bonds.