Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all of the following apply:
(a) (1) In connection with, or incidental to, the issuance or carrying of bonds, or acquisition or carrying of any investment or program of investment, the state or any local government may enter into any contracts that the state or local government determines to be necessary or appropriate to place the obligation or investment of the state or local government, as represented by the bonds, investment or program of investment and the contract or contracts, in whole or in part, on the interest rate, currency, cashflow, or other basis desired by the state or local government, including, without limitation, contracts commonly known as interest rate swap agreements, currency swap agreements, forward payment conversion agreements, futures, or contracts providing for payments based on levels of, or changes in, interest rates, currency exchange rates, stock or other indices, or contracts to exchange cashflows or a series of payments, or contracts, including, without limitation, interest rate floors or caps, options, puts or calls to hedge payment, currency, rate, spread, or similar exposure. These contracts or arrangements may also be entered into by the state or by local governments in connection with, or incidental to, entering into or maintaining any agreement that secures bonds, including bonds issued by private entities. These contracts and arrangements shall be entered into with the parties, selected by the means, and contain the payment, security, default, remedy, and other terms and conditions, determined by the state or the local government, after giving due consideration for the creditworthiness of the counterparties, where applicable, including any rating by a nationally recognized rating agency or any other criteria as may be appropriate.
(2) No local government shall enter into any of the contracts or arrangements pursuant to this subdivision, unless its governing body first determines that the contract or arrangement or program of contracts is designed to reduce the amount or duration of payment, currency, rate, spread, or similar risk or result in a lower cost of borrowing when used in combination with the issuance of bonds or enhance the relationship between risk and return with respect to the investment or program of investment in connection with, or incident to, the contract or arrangement which is to be entered into.
(b) Bonds issued by the state or by a local government may be payable in accordance with their terms, in whole or in part, in currency other than lawful money of the United States of America, provided that the state or the local government enters into a currency swap or similar agreement for payments in lawful money of the United States of America, which covers the entire amount of the debt service payment obligation of the state or the local government with respect to the bonds payable in other currency, and provided further that if the term of that agreement is less than the term of the bonds, the state or the local government shall covenant to enter into additional agreements as may be necessary to cover the entire amount of the debt service payment obligation. An issuer shall include in its written notice to the California Debt Advisory Commission pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 8855 a statement of its intent to issue bonds payable in a currency other than lawful money of the United States of America.
(c) In connection with, or incidental to, the issuance or carrying of bonds, or entering into any of the contracts or arrangements referred to in subdivision (a), the state or a local government may enter into credit enhancement or liquidity agreements, with payment, interest rate, currency, security, default, remedy, and other terms and conditions as the state or the local government determines.
(d) Proceeds of bonds and any moneys set aside and pledged to secure payment of the bonds or any of the contracts entered into pursuant to this section, may be invested in securities or obligations described in the ordinance, resolution, indenture, agreement, or other instrument providing for the issuance of the bonds or the contract and may be pledged to and used to service any of the contracts or agreements entered into pursuant to this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 640, Sec. 3. Effective September 29, 2006.)