2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 39 - Public Finance › §39:99.42. RESTORE revenue

RS 39:99.42 - RESTORE revenue
A. Sale of RESTORE assets. (1) The State Bond Commission, subject to approval of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget and subject to approval by a majority vote of the legislature if the legislature is in session and by mail ballot during the interim, is authorized to sell and convey to the corporation, from time to time, a portion of the state allocation, up to one hundred percent thereof from and after such date, and, in particular, to execute and deliver an agreement on the closing date. The agreement shall provide, among other matters, that the purchase price payable by the corporation to the state for the RESTORE assets sold, up to one hundred percent of the state allocation from and after such date, shall consist of the net proceeds, after financing costs, of the first issue of RESTORE bonds and the residual interests to be paid and transferred semiannually pursuant to the provisions of this Subpart.
(2) Any sale of RESTORE assets hereunder shall be treated as a true sale and absolute conveyance and transfer of the property, and all of the rights, title, and interest in and to such property, so conveyed and transferred, and not as a pledge or any other security interest or lien for borrowing. The characterization of such a sale as an absolute transfer by the parties and herein shall not be negated or adversely affected if less than all of the state allocation is conveyed and transferred, nor by the state's acquisition of residual interests or a subordinate interest in the RESTORE assets, nor by any characterization of the corporation or its bonds for purposes of accounting, taxation, or securities regulation, nor by any other factor whatsoever.
B. Ownership of RESTORE assets and RESTORE payments. On and after the effective date of each sale of RESTORE assets, the state of Louisiana shall have no right, title, or interest in or to the RESTORE assets sold and conveyed; and, subject to compliance with the RESTORE Act and other applicable state or federal laws, the RESTORE payments shall be property of the corporation and not of the state, and shall be owned, received, held, and disbursed by the corporation or the indenture trustee and not the state or the state treasury. On or before the closing date and the effective date of any subsequent sale, the state, through the attorney general, shall notify the necessary parties as provided for in the consent decree that the RESTORE assets have been sold and conveyed to the corporation, irrevocably instruct such necessary parties as provided for in the consent decree that, subsequent to the closing date or other effective date and in compliance with the RESTORE Act and other applicable state or federal laws, the RESTORE payments are to be paid directly to the corporation or to the indenture trustee or other designee for the account of the corporation or as authorized by the RESTORE Act and any agreement reached by the state and the corporation to ensure such compliance, and take such other actions necessary and appropriate to effectuate such notice and instruction.
C. Issuance of RESTORE bonds of the corporation. (1)(a) In order to provide current assets and funds for the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund pursuant to this Subpart for the benefit of the state, the board is hereby authorized and empowered to provide by resolution, at one time or from time to time, for the issuance of RESTORE bonds of the corporation in such amount or amounts as the board shall determine, subject to the approval of the State Bond Commission and the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. Such bonds shall be payable solely from funds of the corporation, including, without limitation, all or any combination of the following sources:
(i) RESTORE assets.
(ii) Proceeds of the sales of any such bonds.
(iii) Earnings on funds of the corporation or the indenture trustee.
(iv) Income.
(v) Such other funds as may become available, as shall be provided by the resolution of the board authorizing any such bonds.
(b) Bonds issued under the provisions of this Subpart shall not be deemed to nor constitute a debt or obligation of the state of Louisiana or a pledge of the full faith or credit of the state, and all bonds shall contain on the face thereof a statement to the effect that neither the full faith and credit nor the taxing power nor any other asset or revenues of the state or any political subdivision thereof is or shall be obligated or pledged to the payment of the principal of or the interest on such bonds.
(2) The RESTORE bonds of each issue shall be dated, shall bear interest, which may be includable or excludable in the gross income of the holder for federal income tax purposes, at such fixed or variable rates, payable at or prior to maturity, and shall mature at such time or times, as may be determined by the board and may be redeemable before maturity, at the option of the corporation, at such price or prices and under such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the board, subject to approval of the State Bond Commission and the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. The board shall determine the form of the bonds, including any interest coupons to be attached thereon, and the manner of execution of the bonds and shall fix the denomination or denominations of the bonds and the place or places of payment of principal and interest thereof, which may be at any bank or trust company within or without the state. The bonds may be issued in coupon or in registered form or both, as the board may determine, and provisions may be made for the registration of any coupon bonds as to principal alone and as to both principal and interest and for the reconversion of any bonds registered as to both principal and interest into coupon bonds. The board may sell such bonds in such manner, either at public or at private sale, and for such price as it may determine to be in the best interests of the corporation, subject to approval of the State Bond Commission and the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. The proceeds of such bonds shall be disbursed for the purposes for which such bonds were issued under such restrictions, if any, as the laws of the state of Louisiana, any applicable federal laws, and the resolution authorizing the issuance of such bond or the trust indenture may provide. The corporation may also provide for temporary bonds and for the replacement of any bond that shall become mutilated or shall be destroyed or lost. Such bonds may be issued without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things than the proceedings, conditions and things that are specified and required by this Subpart.
(3) RESTORE bonds of the corporation shall not be invalid because of any irregularity or defect in the proceedings or in the issuance and sale thereof and shall be incontestable in the hands of a bona fide purchaser or holder. The corporation, after authorizing the issuance of bonds by resolution, shall publish once in a newspaper of general circulation in the parish in which the corporation is domiciled, a notice of intention to issue the bonds. The notice shall include a description of the bonds and the security therefor. Within thirty days after the publication, any person in interest may contest the legality of the resolution, any provisions of the bonds to be issued pursuant to it, the provisions securing the bonds, and the validity of all other provisions and proceedings relating to the authorization and issuance of the bonds. If no action or proceeding is instituted within the thirty days, no person may contest the validity of the bonds, the provisions of the resolution pursuant to which the bonds were issued, the security of the bonds, or the validity of any other provisions or proceedings relating to their authorization and issuance, and the bonds shall be presumed conclusively to be legal. Thereafter no court shall have authority to inquire into such matters.
(4) Neither the members of the board, its staff, nor any other person or persons executing the bonds shall be subject to any personal liability or responsibility by reason of the issuance thereof, and shall have the indemnification rights provided in R.S. 13:5108.1 with respect to such issuance.
D. Pledge and agreement. The state covenants and agrees with the corporation, and the holders of the bonds in which the corporation has included such pledge and agreement, that the state will:
(1) Irrevocably direct the necessary parties as provided for in the RESTORE Act and the consent decree to transfer all conveyed RESTORE payments directly to the corporation or its assignee.
(2) Enforce the corporation's rights to receive the RESTORE payments to the full extent permitted by the law.
(3) Not amend the state law in any manner that would materially impair the rights of the holders.
(4) Not limit or alter the rights of the corporation to fulfill the terms of its agreements with such holders.
(5) Not in any way impair the rights and remedies of such holders or the security for such bonds until such bonds, together with the interest thereon and all costs and expenses in connection with any action or proceeding by or on behalf of such holders, are fully paid and discharged.
Acts 2007, No. 249, §1, eff. July 6, 2007; Acts 2017, No. 357, §1.