(A) The authority may issue bonds to provide funds for any program authorized by this chapter. The bonds authorized by this chapter are limited obligations of the authority. The principal and interest are payable solely out of the revenues derived by the authority. The bonds issued do not constitute an indebtedness of the State or the authority within the meaning of any state constitutional provision or statutory limitation. They are an indebtedness payable solely from a revenue producing source or from a special source that does not include revenues from any tax or license. The bonds do not constitute nor give rise to a pecuniary liability of the State or the authority or a charge against the general credit of the authority or the State or taxing powers of the State and this fact must be plainly stated on the face of each bond. The bonds may be executed and delivered at any time as a single issue or from time to time as several issues, may be in such form and denominations, may be of such tenor, may be in coupon or registered form, may be payable in such installments and at such time, may be subject to terms of redemption, may be payable at such place, may bear interest at such rate payable at such place and evidenced in such manner, and may contain such provisions not inconsistent herewith, all of which are provided in the resolution of the authority authorizing the bonds. Subject to approval by the South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development as to their issuance and sale, any bonds issued under this section may be sold at public or private sale as may be determined to be most advantageous. The bonds may be sold at public or private sale and, if by private sale, the authority shall designate the syndicate manager or managers. The authority may pay all expenses, premiums, insurance premiums, and commissions which it considers necessary from proceeds of the bonds or program funds in connection with the sale of bonds. The interest rate of bonds issued pursuant to this section is not subject to approval by the South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development. The authority shall report its activities undertaken pursuant to this subsection to the Joint Bond Review Committee. The report shall be due annually on July thirty-first. The authority also shall publish on its website a complete list of bonds authorized by the authority pursuant to this subsection. The list shall include information concerning the authorized bonds that the authority deems relevant.
(B) The resolution under which the bonds are authorized to be issued or any security agreement, including an indenture or trust indenture to be entered into in connection therewith, may contain any agreements and provisions customarily contained in instruments securing bonds, including, without limiting, provisions respecting the fixing and collection of obligations, the creation and maintenance of special funds, and the rights and remedies available, in the event of default, to the bondholders or to the trustee under such security agreement as the authority considers advisable. In making such agreements the authority does not have the power to obligate itself except with respect to program funds and cannot incur a pecuniary liability or a charge upon the general credit of the authority or of the State or against the taxing powers of the State. The resolution of the authority authorizing any bonds and any security agreement securing bonds may provide that, in the event of default in payment of the principal of or the interest on such bonds or in the performance of any agreement contained in such proceedings or security agreement, the payment and performance may be enforced by mandamus or by the appointment of a receiver in equity with power to charge and collect any obligations and to apply any revenues pledged in accordance with such proceedings or the provisions of the security agreement. Any security agreement may provide also that, in the event of default in payment or the violation of any agreement contained in the security agreement, it may be foreclosed by proceedings at law or in equity, and may provide that any trustee under the security agreement or the holder of any of the bonds secured thereby may become the purchaser at any foreclosure sale, if he is the highest bidder. No breach of any such agreement may impose any pecuniary liability upon the State or the authority or any charge upon the general credit of the authority or of the State or against the taxing power of the State.
Subject to the approval of the State Treasurer, the trustee under any security agreement, or any depository specified by the security agreement, may be such person or corporation as the authority may designate, notwithstanding that he may be a nonresident of South Carolina or incorporated under the laws of the United States or any of the states. Monies in the funds and accounts held by the trustee shall be invested or deposited by the trustee.
(C) Any bonds that are outstanding may at any time be refunded by the authority by the issuance of its refunding bonds in an amount as the authority considers necessary but not to exceed an amount sufficient to refund the principal of the bonds to be refunded, together with any unpaid interest thereon and any premiums, expenses, and commissions necessary to be paid. The refunding may be effected whether the bonds to be refunded have matured or shall thereafter mature, either by sale of the refunding bonds and the application of the proceeds for the payment of the bonds to be refunded, or by exchange of the refunding bonds for the bonds to be refunded. The holders of any bonds to be refunded cannot be compelled to surrender their bonds for payment or exchange prior to the date on which they are payable or, if they are called for redemption, prior to the date on which they are by their terms subject to redemption. All refunding bonds issued under this section are payable in the same manner and under the same terms and conditions as are provided for the issuance of bonds.
(D) The proceeds from the sale of any bonds must be applied only for the purpose for which the bonds were issued. Any accrued interest received in any such sale must be applied to the payment of the interest on the bonds sold. If for any reason any portion of the proceeds is not needed for the purpose for which the bonds were issued, the unneeded portion of the proceeds must be applied to the payment of the principal of or the interest on the bonds.
HISTORY: 1983 Act No. 145 Section 12; 1992 Act No. 404, Section 5, eff July 1, 1992; 2004 Act No. 184, Section 4, eff March 15, 2004; 2014 Act No. 121 (S.22), Pt VIII, Section 24.B, eff July 1, 2015; 2017 Act No. 80 (H.3927), Section 2, eff June 1, 2017.
Effect of Amendment
The 1992 amendment in subsection (A), in the first two sentences changed "this act" to "this chapter"; from the end of the last sentence deleted "under Section 11-9-350 of the 1976 Code"; and made grammatical changes.
The 2004 amendment, in subsection (D), in the second sentence deleted "premium and" preceding "accrued interested" and deleted "principal of or the" preceding "interest on the bonds sold".
2014 Act No. 121, Section 24.B, in subsection (A), substituted "approval by the State Fiscal Accountability Authority as to their issuance and sale" for "Budget and Control Board approval" in the eight sentence; and in the last sentence, deleted "not" before "subject to approval" and substituted "Fiscal Accountability Authority" for "Budget and Control Board".
2017 Act No. 80, Section 2, in (A), substituted "Subject to approval by the South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development" for "Subject to approval by the State Fiscal Accountability Authority" and "interest rate of bonds issued pursuant to this section is not subject to approval by the South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development" for "interest rate of bonds issued pursuant to this section is subject to approval by the State Fiscal Accountability Authority", and added provisions requiring the authority to annually report related activities to the Joint Bond Review Committee and publish on its website a complete list of bonds authorized.