I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1843

To permit a designated authority to borrow funds for the development and

construction of a sports arena in the District of Columbia, to permit

the District of Columbia to pledge certain revenues as security for the

borrowing of such funds, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 14, 1995

Ms. NORTON (by request) (for herself and Mr. DAVIS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform and

Oversight

A BILL

To permit a designated authority to borrow funds for the

development and construction of a sports arena in the

District of Columbia, to permit the District of Columbia

to pledge certain revenues as security for the borrowing

of such funds, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘District of Columbia

5 Sports Arena Financing Act of 1995’’.
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1 SEC. 2. PERMITTING DESIGNATED AUTHORITY TO BORROW

2 FUNDS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF SPORTS

3 ARENA.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—An agency or instrumentality may

5 borrow funds for purposes of developing and constructing

6 a sports arena in the District of Columbia if the agency

7 or instrumentality is granted the authority to borrow

8 funds for such purposes by the District of Columbia gov9 ernment.

10 (b) TREATMENT OF DEBT CREATED.—Any debt cre11 ated pursuant to subsection (a) shall not—

12 (1) be considered general obligation debt of the

13 District of Columbia for any purpose, including the

14 limitation on the annual aggregate limit on debt of

15 the District of Columbia under section 603(b) of the

16 District of Columbia Self-Government and Govern17 mental Reorganization Act (sec. 47–313(b), D.C.

18 Code);

19 (2) constitute the lending of the public credit

20 for private undertakings for purposes of section

21 602(a)(2) of such Act (sec. 1–233(a)(2), D.C. Code);

22 or

23 (3) be a pledge of or involve the full faith and

24 credit of the District of Columbia.
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1 SEC. 3. PERMITTING CERTAIN DISTRICT REVENUES TO BE

2 PLEDGED AS SECURITY FOR BORROWING.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The District of Columbia (includ4 ing the agency or instrumentality described in section

5 2(a)) may pledge as security for any borrowing under6 taken pursuant to section 2(a) any revenues of the District

7 of Columbia which are attributable to the sports arena tax

8 imposed as a result of the enactment of D.C. Law 10–

9 315.

10 (b) EXCLUSION OF PLEDGED REVENUES FROM CAL11 CULATION OF ANNUAL AGGREGATE LIMIT ON DEBT.—

12 Any revenues pledged as security by the District of Colum13 bia pursuant to subsection (a) shall be excluded from the

14 determination of the dollar amount equivalent to 14 per15 cent of District revenues under section 603(b)(3)(A) of the

16 District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental

17 Reorganization Act (sec. 47–313(b)(3)(A), D.C. Code).

18 SEC. 4. NO APPROPRIATION NECESSARY FOR ACTIVITIES

19 RELATING TO BORROWING.

20 The fourth sentence of section 446 of the District of

21 Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganiza22 tion Act (sec. 47–304, D.C. Code) shall not apply with

23 respect to any of the following obligations or expenditures:

24 (1) The proceeds of any borrowing conducted

25 pursuant to section 2(a).
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1 (2) The pledging of revenues as security for

2 such borrowing pursuant to section 3(a).

3 (3) The payment of principal, interest, or other

4 costs associated with such borrowing.

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