SECTIONS 103500-103513 - California Statutes

PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE

SECTION 103500-103513

103500. Whenever the board deems it necessary for the district to
incur a bonded indebtedness for the acquisition, construction, or
repair of any or all improvements, works, property or facilities,
authorized by this part or necessary or convenient for the carrying
out of the powers of the district, or for any other purpose
authorized by this part, it shall, by ordinance, adopted by a vote of
two-thirds of all members of the board, so declare and call an
election to be held in the district for the purpose of submitting to
the qualified voters thereof the proposition of incurring
indebtedness by the issuance of bonds of the district; provided the
total amount of bonds issued and outstanding pursuant to this article
shall not exceed 15 percent of the assessed value of the taxable
property of the district as shown by the last equalized assessment
roll of the county. The ordinance shall state:
(a) The purposes for which the proposed debt is to be incurred,
which may include all costs and estimated costs incidental to or
connected with the accomplishment of such purposes, including,
without limitation, engineering, inspection, legal, fiscal agents,
financial consultant and other fees, bond and other reserve funds,
working capital, bond interest estimated to accrue during the
construction period and for a period not to exceed three years
thereafter, and expenses of all proceedings for the authorization,
issuance, and sale of the bonds.
(b) The estimated cost of accomplishing such purposes.
(c) The amount of the principal of the indebtedness.
(d) The maximum term the bonds proposed to be issued shall run
before maturity, which shall not exceed 50 years from the date
thereof or the date of each series thereof.
(e) The maximum rate of interest to be paid, which shall not
exceed 7 percent per annum.
(f) The proposition to be submitted to the voters, which may
include one or more purposes.
(g) The date of the election.
(h) The manner of holding the election and the procedure for
voting for or against the measure.
(i) The ordinance may also contain, a statement that the
transaction and use tax imposed pursuant to Article 10 (commencing
with Section 103350) of Chapter 5, or a stated portion thereof, shall
be levied, or continued to be levied, and used to the extent
required to pay the principal of, and interest on, the bonds as they
become due, to provide for any sinking fund payments required
therefor, or to create or maintain any reserve fund required
therefor.
(j) The ordinance may also contain any other matters authorized by
this part or any other law.

103501. Notice of the holding of such election shall be given by
publishing, pursuant to Section 6066 of the Government Code, the
ordinance calling for election in at least one newspaper published in
such district. No other notice of such election need be given.
Except as otherwise provided in the ordinance, the election shall be
conducted as other district elections.

103502. If any proposition is defeated by the electors, the board
shall not call another election on a substantially similar
proposition to be held within six months after the prior election. If
a petition requesting submission of such a proposition, signed by 15
percent of the district electors, as shown by the votes cast for all
candidates for Governor within the district at the last
gubernatorial election, is filed with the board, it may call an
election before the expiration of six months.

103503. If 60 percent of the electors voting on the proposition
vote for it, then the board may, by resolution, at such time or times
as it deems proper, issue bonds of the district for the whole or any
part of the amount of the indebtedness so authorized and may from
time to time, by resolution, provide for the issuance of such amounts
as the necessity thereof may appear, until the full amount of such
bonds authorized shall have been issued. The full amount of bonds may
be divided into two or more series and different dates of payment
fixed for the bonds of each series. A bond need not mature on an
anniversary of its date. The maximum term the bonds of any series
shall run before maturity shall not exceed 50 years from the date of
each series respectively. In such resolution or resolutions, the
board shall prescribe the form of the bonds (including, without
limitation, registered bonds and coupon bonds) and the form of any
coupons to be attached thereto, the registration, conversion, and
exchange privileges, if any, pertaining thereto, and fix the time
when the whole or any part of the principal shall become due and
payable.

103504. The bonds shall bear interest at a rate or rates not
exceeding 7 percent per annum, payable semiannually, except that the
first interest payable on the bonds, or any series thereof, may be
for any period not exceeding one year as determined by the board. In
the resolution or resolutions providing for the issuance of such
bonds, the board may also provide for call and redemption of such
bonds prior to maturity at such times and prices and upon such other
terms as it may specify, provided that no bond shall be subject to
call or redemption prior to maturity unless it contains a recital to
that effect or unless a statement to that effect is printed thereon.
The denomination or denominations of the bonds shall be stated in the
resolution providing for their issuance, but shall not be less than
five thousand dollars ($5,000). The principal of, and interest on,
such bonds shall be payable in lawful money of the United States at
the office of the treasurer of the district. The bonds, or such
series thereof, shall be dated and numbered consecutively and shall
be signed by the chairman of the board and the treasurer. All such
signatures, countersignatures, and seal may be printed, lithographed,
or mechanically reproduced, except that one of such signatures or
countersignatures on the bonds shall be manually affixed. If any
officer whose signature or countersignature appears on bonds or
coupons ceases to be such officer before the delivery of the bonds,
his signature is as effective as if he had remained in office.

103505. The bonds may be sold as the board determines by
resolution, but for not less than par. Before selling the bonds, or
any part thereof, the board shall give notice inviting sealed bids in
such manner as it may prescribe. If satisfactory bids are received,
the bonds offered for sale shall be awarded to the highest
responsible bidder. If no bids are received, or if the board
determines that the bids received are not satisfactory as to price or
responsibility of the bidders, the board may reject all bids
received, if any, and either readvertise or sell the bonds at private
sale.

103506. The delivery of any bonds shall be at the office of the
district treasurer, and the purchase price may be received in cash or
cashier check.

103507. All accrued interest and premiums received on the sale of
bonds shall be placed in the fund to be used for the payment of
principal of, and interest on, the bonds and the remainder of the
proceeds of the bonds shall be placed in the treasury to the credit
of the proper improvement fund and applied exclusively to the
purposes for which the debt was incurred (which purposes shall be in
conformity with an approved general transit plan or element thereof
then in effect); provided, however, that when such purposes have been
accomplished, any moneys remaining in such improvement fund (a)
shall be transferred to the fund to be used for the payment of
principal of, and interest on, the bonds, or (b) shall be placed in a
fund to be used for the purchase of outstanding bonds of the
district from time to time in the open market at such prices and in
such manner, either at public or private sale or otherwise, as the
board may determine. Bonds so purchased shall be canceled
immediately.

103508. After the expiration of three years after a bond election,
the board may determine, by ordinance adopted by a vote of two-thirds
of all the members of the board, that any or all of the bonds
authorized at the election remaining unsold shall not be issued or
sold. When the ordinance takes effect, the authorization to issue
those bonds shall become void.

103509. Whenever the board deems that the expenditure of money for
the purposes for which the bonds were authorized by the voters is
impractical or unwise, it may, by ordinance adopted by a vote of
two-thirds of all members of the board, so declare and call an
election to be held in the district for the purpose of submitting to
the qualified voters thereof the proposition of incurring
indebtedness by the issuance of such bonds for some other purposes
or, in the case where bonds have been sold, the proposition to use
the proceeds for some other purposes. The procedure, so far as
applicable, shall be the same as when a bond proposition is
originally submitted.

103510. The board may provide for the issuance, sale, or exchange
of refunding bonds to redeem or retire any bonds issued by the
district upon the terms, at the times and in the manner which it
determines. Refunding bonds may be issued in a principal amount
sufficient to pay all, or any part of, the principal of such
outstanding bonds, the interest thereon and the premiums, if any, due
upon call and redemption thereof prior to maturity, and all expenses
of such refunding. The provisions of this article for the issuance
and sale of bonds apply to the issuance and sale of such refunding
bonds; except that (a) no election need be called or held for the
purpose of authorizing the issuance of refunding bonds, and (b) when
refunding bonds are to be exchanged for outstanding bonds the method
of exchange shall be as determined by the board.

103511. The provisions of Article 4 (commencing with Section
53500), Chapter 3, Part 1, Division 2, Title 5 of the Government Code
are applicable to the district.

103512. Any bonds which shall be issued under the provisions of
this article shall be legal investment for all trust funds; for the
funds of insurance companies, banks--both commercial and savings--and
trust companies; and for state school funds; and whenever any money
or funds may, by any law now or hereafter enacted, be invested in
bonds of cities, cities and counties, counties, school districts, or
other districts within the State of California, such money or funds
may be invested in the bonds issued under this part, and whenever
bonds of cities, cities and counties, counties, school districts, or
other districts within this state may, by any law now or hereafter
enacted, be used as security for the performance of any act or the
deposit of any public moneys, the bonds issued under this part may be
so used. The provisions of this article shall be in addition to all
other laws relating to legal investments and shall be controlling as
the latest expression of the Legislature with respect thereto.

103513. If bonds are authorized that contain a provision for
special taxes under subdivision (i) of Section 103500, the board may
enter into such covenants as may be deemed proper to provide for
issuance of additional parity bonds, the priority and pledge of
special taxes and such other covenants as are customary or desirable
in the issuance of any bonds payable out of special funds or
necessary, convenient, or desirable to secure the bonds or tending to
make them more marketable, subject to the provisions of the
ordinance calling the bond election.