ASSEMBLY, No. 48

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

INTRODUCED MAY 20, 1996

 

 

By Assemblyman BODINE and Assemblywoman BARK

 

 

An Act concerning the bonded indebtedness of the New Jersey Wastewater Treatment Trust, and amending P.L.1985, c.334.

 

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

    1. Section 6 of P.L.1985, c.334 (C.58:11B-6) is amended to read as follows:

    6. a. Except as may be otherwise expressly provided in the provisions of P.L.1985, c.334 (C.58:11B-1 et seq.), the trust may from time to time issue its bonds, notes or other obligations in any principal amounts as in the judgment of the trust shall be necessary to provide sufficient funds for any of its corporate purposes, including the payment, funding or refunding of the principal of, or interest or redemption premiums on, any bonds, notes or other obligations issued by it, whether the bonds, notes or other obligations or the interest or redemption premiums thereon to be funded or refunded have or have not become due, the establishment or increase of reserves or other funds to secure or to pay the bonds, notes or other obligations or interest thereon and all other costs or expenses of the trust incident to and necessary to carry out its corporate purposes and powers.

    b. Whether or not the bonds, notes or other obligations of the trust are of a form and character as to be negotiable instruments under the terms of Title 12A of the New Jersey Statutes, the bonds, notes and other obligations are made negotiable instruments within the meaning of and for the purposes of Title 12A of the New Jersey Statutes, subject only to the provisions of the bonds, notes and other obligations for registration.

    c. Bonds, notes or other obligations of the trust shall be authorized by a resolution or resolutions of the trust and may be issued in one or more series and shall bear any date or dates, mature at any time or times, bear interest at any rate or rates of interest per annum, be in any denomination or denominations, be in any form, either coupon, registered or book entry, carry any conversion or registration privileges, have any rank or priority, be executed in any manner, be payable in any coin or currency of the United States which at the time of payment is legal tender for the payment of public and private debts, at any place or places within or without the State, and be subject to any terms of redemption by the trust or the holders thereof, with or without premium, as the resolution or resolutions may provide. A resolution of the trust authorizing the issuance of bonds, notes or other obligations may provide that the bonds, notes or other obligations be secured by a trust indenture between the trust and a trustee, vesting in the trustee any property, rights, powers and duties in trust consistent with the provisions of P.L.1985, c.334 (C.58:11B-1 et seq.) as the trust may determine.

    d. Bonds, notes or other obligations of the trust may be sold at any price or prices and in any manner as the trust may determine. Each bond, note or other obligation shall mature and be paid not later than 20 years from the effective date thereof, or the certified useful life of the project or projects to be financed by the bonds, whichever is less.

    All bonds of the trust shall be sold at such price or prices and in such manner as the trust shall determine, after notice of sale, a summary of which shall be published at least once in at least three newspapers published in the State of New Jersey, and at least once in a publication carrying municipal bond notices and devoted primarily to financial news, published in New Jersey or the city of New York, the first notice to be at least five days prior to the day of bidding. The notice of sale may contain a provision to the effect that any or all bids made in pursuance thereof may be rejected. In the event of such rejection or of failure to receive any acceptable bid, the trust, at any time within 60 days from the date of such advertised sale, may sell such bonds at private sale upon terms not less favorable to the State than the terms offered by any rejected bid. The trust may sell all or part of the bonds of any series as issued to any State fund or to the federal government or any agency thereof, at private sale, without advertisement.

    e. Bonds, notes or other obligations of the trust may be issued under the provisions of P.L.1985, c.334 (C.58:11B-1 et seq.) without obtaining the consent of any department, division, board, bureau or agency of the State, and without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things, other than those consents, proceedings, conditions or things which are specifically required by P.L.1985, c.334 (C.58:11B-1 et seq.).

    f. Bonds, notes or other obligations of the trust issued under the provisions of P.L.1985, c.334 (C.58:11B-1 et seq.) shall not be a debt or liability of the State or of any political subdivision thereof other than the trust and shall not create or constitute any indebtedness, liability or obligation of the State or any political subdivision, but all these bonds, notes and other obligations, unless funded or refunded by bonds, notes or other obligations, shall be payable solely from revenues or funds pledged or available for their payment as authorized in P.L.1985, c.334 (C.58:11B-1 et seq.). Each bond, note and obligation shall contain on its face a statement to the effect that the trust is obligated to pay the principal thereof or the interest thereon only from its revenues, receipts or funds pledged or available for their payment as authorized in P.L.1985, c.334 (C.58:11B-1 et seq.) and that neither the State, nor any political subdivision thereof, is obligated to pay the principal or interest and that neither the faith and credit nor the taxing power of the State, or any political subdivision thereof, is pledged to the payment of the principal of or the interest on the bonds, notes or other obligations.

    g. The aggregate principal amount of bonds, notes or other obligations, including subordinated indebtedness of the trust, shall not exceed $600,000,000.00, except that, for the [purpose] purposes of implementing the Fiscal Year 1994 Financial Plan as approved by the Legislature pursuant to SCR No. 118 of 1993 and ACR No. 138 of 1993, the Fiscal Year 1995 Financial Plan as approved by the Legislature pursuant to SCR No. 74 of 1994 and ACR No. 78 of 1994, the Fiscal Year 1996 Financial Plan as approved by the Legislature pursuant to SCR No. 105 of 1995 and ACR No. 15 of 1995, [and in compliance with subsection j. of this section] and the Fiscal Year 1997 Financial Plan as approved by the Legislature pursuant to SCR No. of 1996 and ACR No. of 1996, the trust may exceed the foregoing limitations. In computing the foregoing limitations there shall be excluded all the bonds, notes or other obligations, including subordinated indebtedness of the trust, which shall be issued for refunding purposes, whenever the refunding shall be determined to result in a debt service savings, as hereinafter provided:

    (1) Upon the decision by the trust to issue refunding bonds, and prior to the sale of those bonds, the trust shall transmit to the Joint Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Transfers, or its successor, a report that a decision has been made, reciting the basis on which the decision was made, including an estimate of the debt service savings to be achieved and the calculations upon which the trust relied when making the decision to issue refunding bonds. The report shall also disclose the intent of the trust to issue and sell the refunding bonds at public or private sale and the reasons therefor.

    (2) The Joint Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Transfers shall have the authority to approve or disapprove the sales of refunding bonds as included in each report submitted in accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection. The subcommittee shall notify the trust in writing of the approval or disapproval as expeditiously as possible.

    (3) No refunding bonds shall be issued unless the report has been submitted to and approved by the Joint Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Transfers as set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection.

    (4) Within 30 days after the sale of the refunding bonds, the trust shall notify the Subcommittee on Transfers of the result of that sale, including the prices and terms, conditions and regulations concerning the refunding bonds, the actual amount of debt service savings to be realized as a result of the sale of refunding bonds, and the intended use of the proceeds from the sale of those bonds.

    (5) The subcommittee shall review all information and reports submitted in accordance with this subsection and may, on its own initiative, make observations to the trust, or to the Legislature, or both, as it deems appropriate.

    h. Each issue of bonds, notes or other obligations of the trust may, if it is determined by the trust, be general obligations thereof payable out of any revenues, receipts or funds of the trust, or special obligations thereof payable out of particular revenues, receipts or funds, subject only to any agreements with the holders of bonds, notes or other obligations, and may be secured by one or more of the following:

    (1) Pledge of revenues and other receipts to be derived from the payment of the interest on and principal of notes, bonds or other obligations issued to the trust by one or more local government units, and any other payment made to the trust pursuant to agreements with any local government units, or a pledge or assignment of any notes, bonds or other obligations of any local government unit and the rights and interest of the trust therein;

    (2) Pledge of rentals, receipts and other revenues to be derived from leases or other contractual arrangements with any person or entity, public or private, including one or more local government units, or a pledge or assignment of those leases or other contractual arrangements and the rights and interest of the trust therein;

    (3) Pledge of all moneys, funds, accounts, securities and other funds, including the proceeds of the bonds, notes or other obligations;

    (4) Pledge of the receipts to be derived from the payments of State aid, payable to the trust pursuant to section 12 of P.L.1985, c.334 (C.58:11B-12);

    (5) A mortgage on all or any part of the property, real or personal, of the trust then owned or thereafter to be acquired, or a pledge or assignment of mortgages made to the trust by any person or entity, public or private, including one or more local government units and the rights and interest of the trust therein.

    i. The trust shall not issue any bonds, notes or other obligations, or otherwise incur any additional indebtedness, on or after November 5, 2005.

    j. [For the purpose of implementing the Fiscal Year 1996 Financial Plan as approved by the Legislature pursuant to SCR No. 105 of 1995 and ACR No. 15 of 1995, the trust shall provide the Senate Budget and Appropriations and the Assembly Appropriations Committee, or their successors, with a detailed statement by the trust of the costs of issuance of any bonds issued to implement the Fiscal Year 1996 Financial Plan, within thirty days of the issuance thereof, with specific reference, where applicable, to itemized costs for the following services:

    (1) bond counsel, tax counsel and special counsel;

    (2) financial advisor;

    (3) paying agent and registrar;

    (4) rating agencies;

    (5) official statement printing;

    (6) bond printing;

    (7) trustee;

    (8) credit enhancement;

    (9) liquidity facility; and

    (10) miscellaneous issuance costs; and

a calculation of underwriters' spread, broken down into the following components, and accompanied by a list of underwriters' spreads from recent comparable bond issues:

    (1) management fees;

    (2) underwriters' fees;

    (3) selling concessions;

    (4) underwriters' counsel; and

    (5) other costs.] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. )(pending in the Legislature as this bill)

(cf: P.L.1995, c.220, s.1)

 

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

    This bill suspends for one year the debt ceiling established under P.L.1985, c.334, which limits the aggregate principal amount of bonded indebtedness, including subordinated indebtedness, that the New Jersey Wastewater Treatment Trust may incur to $600 million.

    Specifically, this bill authorizes the Trust to incur bonded indebtedness in excess of the current debt ceiling in order to implement the Trust's Fiscal Year 1997 Financial Plan as approved by the Legislature pursuant to SCR No. of 1996 and ACR No. of 1996, and as embodied in Senate Bill Nos. and of 1996 and Assembly Bill Nos. and of 1996. Under the Fiscal Year 1997 Financial Plan, the Trust and the Department of Environmental Protection would make loans to local governments for the construction of eligible wastewater treatment system projects.

    Under Senate Bill No. of 1996 and Assembly Bill No. of 1996, the Trust is authorized to expend up to $75 million, and any unexpended balances from the authorizations made by P.L.1994, c.105 and P.L.1995, c.218 to provide loans with an interest rate at or below the prevailing market rate to local governments to finance the costs of eligible wastewater treatment system projects, which are included in the "State Fiscal Year 1997 Project Priority List."

    A companion bill (Senate Bill No. of 1996 and Assembly Bill No. of 1996) appropriates federal moneys to be received as a capitalization grant pursuant to the federal "Water Quality Act of 1987," from fees and penalties from the federal "Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972," and $10 million in State moneys from the "1992 Wastewater Treatment Fund" established pursuant to the "Green Acres, Clean Water, Farmland and Historic Preservation Bond Act of 1992," P.L.1992, c.88 to the DEP for use in providing zero interest loans to local governments for the remaining portion of eligible project costs and for the supplemental costs of three existing projects.

    These bills together provide loan financing for the total eligible costs of a wastewater treatment system project: approximately one-half of the loan amount from the Trust with interest at or below the prevailing market rate and one-half from a zero interest loan from the DEP.

    In 1993, the Legislature enacted P.L.1993, c.194, which suspended for one year the $600 million debt ceiling established under P.L.1985, c.334 to permit the Trust to issue bonds in order to implement the Fiscal Year 1994 Financial Plan. In 1994, the Legislature enacted P.L.1994, c.107, which suspended the debt ceiling for an additional year to permit the Trust to issue bonds in order to implement the Fiscal Year 1995 Financial Plan. In 1995, the Legislature enacted P.L.1995, c.220, which suspended the debt ceiling for an additional year to permit the Trust to issue bonds in order to implement the Fiscal Year 1996 Financial Plan.

    This bill extends the debt ceiling suspension for a fourth time to allow the Trust to issue bonds in order to implement the Fiscal Year 1997 Financial Plan.

 

 

                             

 

Suspends for one year the debt ceiling on the amount of bonded indebtedness that the New Jersey Wastewater Treatment Trust may incur.