HB573 Alabama 2021 Session

This bill would implement the constitutional amendment proposed in HB565 of the 2021 Regular Session, which, if ratified, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds of the State of Alabama in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding $80,000,000 for the improvement, renovation, acquisition, provision, construction, equipping, and maintenance of Alabama state parks under the jurisdiction of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

This bill would also provide for membership and duties of the Alabama State Parks Enhancement Authority

Relating to state parks; to implement HB565 of the 2021 Regular Session, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, authorizing the state to become indebted and to sell and issue not in excess of a specified amount in principal amount of general obligation bonds of the state for the purpose of providing for the improvement, renovation, equipping, acquisition, provision, construction, and maintenance of Alabama state parks under the jurisdiction of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; to provide for the organization of a public corporation in the state to be known as the Alabama State Parks Enhancement Authority; to provide for definitions; to designate the officers and members of the board of directors of the authority; to prescribe the powers of the authority; to authorize the authority to sell and issue for the state bonds and refunding bonds; to provide that the authority would specify the form and details of the bonds; to provide for the issuance of the bonds in series; to provide for the sale of the bonds; to provide for the temporary investment of the proceeds of the bonds; to provide for the payment of the expenses of issuance of the bonds; to provide for the issuance of refunding bonds for the purpose of refunding any outstanding bonds issued pursuant to the amendment and this act; to provide for the use of proceeds derived from the bonds; to amend Section 40-23-35, Code of Alabama 1975, to include a reference to bonds issued by the authority; and to provide for a contingent effective date. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA: Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Alabama State Parks Enhancement Act. Section 2. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following: (1) That the state parks provide essential services and outdoor recreation opportunities to Alabama residents and visitors. (2) State parks have provided both a refuge and retreat during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted how critical the state parks are to the mental health and physical well-being of the residents of this state. (3) Because of the essential nature of state parks, it is necessary, desirable, and in the public interest that the state parks under the jurisdiction of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources be improved and maintained for future use and enjoyment. (4) It is the intent of the Legislature to authorize the formation of a public corporation for the purposes of providing for the improvement, renovation, equipping, acquisition, provision, construction, and maintenance of the Alabama state parks under the jurisdiction of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and to authorize the corporation to provide for payment of the costs of accomplishing the stated purposes by implementing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901 proposed in HB565 of the 2021 Regular Session, authorizing the issuance by the state of up to $80,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of general obligation bonds, and by issuing and selling for the state, subject to the approval of the Governor, interest bearing general obligation bonds of the state. (5) The bonds shall be issued for the state by the Alabama State Parks Enhancement Authority, and the proceeds thereof shall be used exclusively for the purpose of paying the expenses incurred in the sale and issuance of bonds and for payment of the costs of the improvement, renovation, equipping, acquisition, provision, construction, and maintenance of Alabama state parks under the jurisdiction of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Section 3. (a) For purposes of this act, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) AMENDMENT. The amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, proposed in HB565 of the 2021 Regular Session, authorizing the issuance of the bonds to be issued by the authority. (2) AUTHORITY. The Alabama State Parks Enhancement Authority. (3) BOARD OF DIRECTORS. The board of directors of the authority. (4) BONDS. The bonds issued under this act. (5) DEPARTMENT. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. (6) GOVERNMENT SECURITIES. Any bonds or other obligations which as to principal and interest constitute direct obligations of, or are unconditionally guaranteed by, the United States of America, including obligations of any federal agency to the extent such obligations are unconditionally guaranteed by the United States of America and any certificates or any other evidences of an ownership interest in such obligations of, or unconditionally guaranteed by, the United States of America or in specified portions thereof, which may consist of the principal thereof or the interest thereon. (7) PERMITTED INVESTMENTS. Any of the following: a. Government securities. b. Bonds, debentures, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness issued by any of the following agencies: Bank for Cooperatives; Federal Intermediate Credit Banks; Federal Financing Bank; Federal Home Loan Banks; Federal Farm Credit Bank; Export-Import Bank of the United States; Federal Land Banks; or Farmers Homes Administration; or any other agency or corporation which has been or may hereafter be created by or pursuant to an act of the Congress of the United States as an agency or instrumentality thereof. c. Bonds, notes, pass through securities, or other evidences of indebtedness of Government National Mortgage Association and participation certificates of Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. d. Time deposits evidenced by certificates of deposit issued by banks or savings and loan associations which are members of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, provided that, to the extent such time deposits are not covered by federal deposit insurance, such time deposits, including interest thereon, are fully secured in accordance with the SAFE Program pursuant to Sections 41-14A-1 through 41-14A-14. e. Government money market mutual funds. f. Repurchase agreements for obligations of the type specified in paragraphs a., b., and c., provided the repurchase agreements are fully collateralized and secured by the obligations that have a market value at least equal to the purchase price of such repurchase agreements which are held by a depository satisfactory to the State Treasurer in such manner as may be required to provide a perfected security interest in such obligations, and which meet the greater of 100% collateralization or the "AA" or "Aa" collateral levels established by Standard & Poor's Ratings Group or Moody's Investors Service, respectively, for structured financings. Section 4. (a)(1) The Governor, the Lieutenant Governor or his or her designee, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate or his or her designee, the Speaker of the House of Representatives or his or her designee, the Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Director of Finance, and the Commissioner of Revenue may become a corporation, with the powers and duties provided by this act. (2) To become a corporation, the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor or his or her designee, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate or his or her designee, the Speaker of the House of Representatives or his or her designee, the Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Director of Finance, and the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Committee on State Parks shall present to the Secretary of State of Alabama an application signed by them which shall set forth all of the following: a. The name, official designation, and official residence of each of the applicants, together with a certified copy of the commission evidencing each applicant's right to office. b. The date on which each applicant was inducted into office and the term of office of each of the applicants. c. The name of the proposed corporation created in this section, which shall be the Alabama State Parks Enhancement Authority. d. The location of the principal office of the proposed corporation, which shall be Montgomery, Alabama. e. Any other matter relating to the incorporation which the applicants may choose to insert and which is not inconsistent with this act or the laws of this state. (3) The application shall be subscribed and sworn to by each of the applicants before an officer authorized by the laws of this state to take acknowledgments to deeds. The Secretary of State shall examine the application and, if the Secretary finds that it substantially complies with the requirements of this section, it shall be received, filed, and recorded in an appropriate book of records in the office of the Secretary of State. (b) When the application has been made, filed, and recorded, as provided in subsection (a), the applicants shall constitute a public corporation under the name proposed in the application, and the Secretary of State shall make and issue to the applicants a certificate of incorporation pursuant to this act, under the great seal of the state, to be recorded with the application. There shall be no fees paid to the Secretary of State for any activity associated with the incorporation or dissolution of the corporation so organized. (c)(1) The applicants named in the application and their respective successors in office shall constitute the members of the authority. The Governor shall be the president of the authority, the Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources shall