§1605. Bonds; procedure for issuance

            A. The secretary is hereby authorized to incur debt and issue bonds to accomplish the purposes of this Chapter in the manner herein provided.

            B. Without reference to any other provisions of the laws of Louisiana and of the Louisiana Constitution to carry out the purposes of this Chapter and promote continued industrial development in the state, the secretary is authorized, acting through the State Bond Commission in accordance with R.S. 39:1403, to issue revenue bonds and notes, herein collectively called revenue bonds, as hereinafter provided, to finance or assist in the financing of the development, acquisition, or construction, extension, or improvement of support facilities operated or licensed to be operated under this Chapter. The revenue bonds shall be authorized, secured, and have the details and characteristics set out hereunder.

            (1) Authorization of revenue bonds. The secretary of natural resources acting through the State Bond Commission, is hereby authorized in accordance with R.S. 39:1403 to issue negotiable revenue bonds in one or more series in such principal amount as shall be necessary to provide sufficient moneys for payment of project costs of one or more revenue bond projects. The secretary of natural resources shall have power, from time to time and subject to agreements with the holders of revenue bonds and with the approval of the State Bond Commission, to issue renewal notes; to issue revenue bonds to pay notes; and, whenever the secretary of natural resources deems it expedient, to refund any revenue bonds by the issuance of new revenue bonds, whether the revenue bonds to be refunded have or have not matured; and to issue revenue bonds partly to refund revenue bonds then outstanding and partly for any other purpose under this Chapter. Refunding revenue bonds may be exchanged for outstanding revenue bonds or sold and the proceeds applied to or deposited in escrow for the purchase, redemption, or payment of revenue bonds and interest and premiums thereon and for any other purpose specified in the resolution or trust agreement authorizing or securing such bonds.

            (2) Bond resolution; trust agreement; publication; peremption. The secretary of natural resources shall authorize revenue bonds by one or more resolutions executed by the secretary and approved by the State Bond Commission. Any revenue bonds issued pursuant to R.S. 51:1605(B) may be secured by a trust agreement by and between the secretary and one or more corporate trustees or fiscal agents, which may be any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within or without this state. Any resolution authorizing the issuance of revenue bonds shall be published one time in the official journal of the state; however, it shall not be necessary to publish any exhibits to such resolution if the same are available for public inspection and such fact is stated in the publication. For thirty days after the date of publication, any person in interest may contest the legality of the resolution, any provision of the revenue bonds to be issued pursuant to it, the provisions therein made for the security and payment of the revenue bonds, and the validity of all other provisions and proceedings relating to the authorization and issuance of such bonds. After that time, no person may contest the regularity, formality, legality, or effectiveness of the resolution, any provisions of the revenue bonds to be issued pursuant to it, the provisions for the security and payment of the revenue bonds, and the validity of all other provisions and proceedings relating to their authorization and issuance, for any cause whatever. Thereafter, it shall be conclusively presumed that the revenue bonds are legal and that every legal requirement for the issuance of the revenue bonds has been complied with. No court shall have authority to inquire into any of these matters after the thirty days.

            (3) Bond instrument; contents. The resolution or trust agreement shall authorize the development, acquisition, construction, extension, improvement, maintenance, or operation of the revenue bond project or projects to be financed and, in addition, may contain provisions which shall be a part of the contract with the holders of such issue of revenue bonds, as to:

            (i) Pledging all or any part of revenues received or to be received and leases or agreements to secure the payment of such issue of revenue bonds.

            (ii) Rates, fees, rentals, or other charges to be established, maintained, and collected, and the use and disposition of revenues, gifts, and funds received or to be received.

            (iii) The setting aside of reserves or retirement funds and the regulation and disposition thereof.

            (iv) The custody, collection, securing, investment, and payment of any moneys held in trust or otherwise for the payment of revenue bonds or in any way to secure the payment of revenue bonds, including the establishment and maintenance of construction, revenue, reserve, or other funds as trust funds.

            (v) Limitations or restrictions on the purposes to which the proceeds of sale of any revenue bonds then or thereafter to be issued may be applied.

            (vi) Limitations or restrictions on the issuance of additional revenue bonds; the terms upon which additional revenue bonds may be issued and secured, or the refunding of outstanding or other revenue bonds.

            (vii) Vesting in one or more trustees or fiscal agents such property, rights, powers, and duties in trust as the authority may determine.

            (viii) The acquisition and disposition of property for revenue bond projects.

            (ix) The rights and remedies available to the bondholders in the event of default.

            (x) Provisions for insurance and for accounting reports and the inspection and audit thereof.

            (xi) The replacement of mutilated, destroyed, stolen, or lost revenue bonds; and

            (xii) Any other matters of like or different character which in any way affect the security or protection of the revenue bonds.

            (4) Lien and certain details of revenue bonds. All revenue bonds issued shall be equally and ratably secured by a prior and paramount pledge, charge, or lien upon the revenues pledged as security therefor, as provided in the resolution or trust agreement, without priority by reason of number or of dates of bonds, execution, or delivery, except that the secretary of natural resources may provide in the resolution or trust agreement that revenue bonds issued pursuant thereto shall, to the extent and in the manner prescribed in such resolution or trust agreement, be subordinate and junior in standing, with respect to the payment of principal and interest and the security thereof, to any other revenue bonds.

            Any pledge made by the secretary of natural resources pursuant to this Section shall be valid and binding from the time that the pledge is made. The revenues, securities, and other moneys so pledged and then held or thereafter received by the secretary of natural resources or any fiduciary shall immediately be subject to the lien of such pledge without any physical delivery thereof or further act, and the lien of any such pledge shall be valid and binding as against all parties having claims of any kind in tort, contract, or otherwise against the Department of Natural Resources whether or not such parties have notice thereof. Neither the resolution nor any trust agreement by which a pledge is created need be filed or recorded except in the official minutes of the State Bond Commission. The revenue bonds shall be of such series, bear such date or dates, be serial or term bonds, mature at such time or times, bear interest at such rate or rates, be payable on such date or dates, be in such denominations, be in such form, either coupon or fully registered without coupons, carry such registration and exchangeability privilege, be payable in such medium of payment and at such place or places, be subject to such terms of redemption, and be entitled to such priorities as the resolution or trust agreement authorizing or securing such bonds may provide.

            (5) Sale of revenue bonds. The revenue bonds shall be sold for and on behalf of the secretary of natural resources by the State Bond Commission in such manner and at such prices, at public or private sale, as the State Bond Commission may determine. If the State Bond Commission determines to sell the bonds at public sale, notice of such sale upon sealed proposals shall be published at least once not less than seven days prior to the date of such sale in a publication carrying municipal bond notices and devoted primarily to financial news or to the subject of state and municipal bonds, published in the city of New York, New York, and in a newspaper of general circulation published in either the city of New Orleans or the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

            (6) Execution of revenue bonds. The revenue bonds and coupons attached thereto shall be executed in the name of the secretary by his manual or facsimile signature. If the secretary whose manual or facsimile signature appears on any revenue bond or coupon ceases to be secretary before the delivery of such bonds, such signature nevertheless shall be valid and sufficient for all purposes as if he had remained in office until such delivery. The resolution or trust agreement may provide for authentication of the bonds by a trustee or fiscal agent thereunder.

            (7) Temporary revenue bonds. Pending the preparation of definitive revenue bonds, the secretary of natural resources may issue interim receipts or temporary revenue bonds, with or without coupons, exchangeable for definitive revenue bonds when such bonds have been executed and are available for delivery.

            (8) Nonliability of officers. Neither the secretary of natural resources nor any officer or member of the State Bond Commission or any person executing such revenue bonds shall be liable personally on such bonds.

            (9) Negotiability of revenue bonds. All revenue bonds and interest coupons appertaining thereto issued pursuant to this Subsection shall be and are hereby made negotiable instruments within the meaning of and for all the purposes of the law of Louisiana, subject only to the provisions of the revenue bonds for registration.

            (10) Tax exemption and eligibility for investment. All revenue bonds and the income therefrom shall be exempt from all taxation by this state or any political subdivision thereof, except estate or gift taxes and taxes on transfers. The revenue bonds shall be legal and authorized investments for banks, savings banks, insurance companies, homestead and building and loan associations, trustees, and other fiduciaries and may be used for deposit with any officer, board, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state of Louisiana, in any case where, by present or future laws, deposit or security is required.

            (11) Remedies of bondholders. The holders of any revenue bonds issued hereunder shall have such rights and remedies as may be provided in the resolution or trust agreement authorizing the issuance of the revenue bonds, including, but not by way of limitation, acceleration of payment, appointment of a trustee for bondholders, appointment of a receiver for the revenue bond project financed with the proceeds of the revenue bonds or the revenues from such project, and any other available civil action to compel compliance with the terms and provisions of the revenue bonds and the resolution or trust agreement.

            (12) Limited liability of the state. The revenue bonds shall be limited obligations of the state. The principal of and interest on the revenue bonds shall not be payable by the secretary personally or from funds of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources nor shall they constitute a pledge, charge, lien, or encumbrance upon any revenues except the revenues, agreements, and funds pledged under the resolution or trust agreement authorizing the bonds. Neither the credit nor the taxing power of the state shall be pledged for the payment of the principal or interest, and no holder of revenue bonds shall have the right to compel the exercise of the taxing power by the state or the forfeiture of its property in connection with any default thereon. Every revenue bond shall recite in substance that the principal of and interest on the bond is payable solely from the revenues pledged to its payment and that the Department of Energy and Natural Resources is not obligated to pay the principal or interest except from the revenues. The face of each interest coupon shall bear a statement to the effect that the coupon is payable solely from certain revenues as set forth in the bond to which the coupon pertains. The revenue bonds issued under the provisions of this Section shall not constitute a debt of this state or of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources, and the state shall not be liable thereon.

            (13) Proceeds and revenues to be deposited in separate funds. Subject to agreements with the holders of revenue bonds, all proceeds of revenue bonds and all revenue pledged under a resolution or trust agreement authorizing or securing the bonds shall be set aside as received and shall be deposited and held in trust by a trustee appointed by the secretary in a fund or funds separate and apart from all other funds of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources. Subject to the resolution or trust agreement, the trustee shall hold the same for the benefit of the holders of the bonds for the application and disposition thereof solely to the respective uses and purposes provided in the resolution or trust agreement.

            (14) Agreement required prior to delivery of revenue bonds. Prior to the delivery of revenue bonds under this Section, the secretary may enter into an agreement or agreements with one or more licensees to lease, sublease, operate, construct, or otherwise utilize the support facilities which constitute the revenue project or enter into a loan or other financing agreement with one or more licensees providing that the licensee will construct, operate, and maintain the revenue bond project or projects. Any agreement shall set forth the rights, duties, and obligations of the parties thereto; provide for the completion of the revenue bond project or projects from bond proceeds or other sources; provide that neither the state nor the Department of Energy and Natural Resources shall have any liability or responsibility whatsoever for any loss or damage arising out of the acquisition, construction, operation, and maintenance of the project or projects; and also shall provide for the payment to the Department of Energy and Natural Resources of rentals, installment payments, or other moneys as will be sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the revenue bonds issued to finance the revenue bond project or projects and build up and maintain any reserves deemed advisable in connection therewith. This agreement shall be made upon other terms and conditions and for a time as may be determined by the secretary and may contain provisions authorizing the sale, resale, lease, sublease, operation, usage, or purchase of the entire revenue bond project, or any portion thereof, for the consideration and upon terms and conditions as the secretary may determine.

            (15) Construction of Section. The powers and rights conferred by this Section shall be in addition and supplemental to the powers and rights conferred by any other general or special law. This Section does and shall be construed to provide a complete method for doing the things authorized thereby. Neither the making of contracts nor the issuance of revenue bonds or refunding revenue bonds or other obligations pursuant to the provisions of this Section need comply with the requirements of any other state law applicable to the making of contracts and the issuance of the revenue bonds or other obligations for the financing of any revenue bond project or projects undertaken pursuant to this Section, except herein provided. The secretary acting through the State Bond Commission and in accordance with R.S. 39:1403 is vested with and is hereby granted the right, power, and authority to do, perform, and exercise for the behalf of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources all acts and things required to be done and performed in connection with the authorization and issuance of revenue bonds under this Section. No proceedings, notice, or approval shall be required for the issuance of any revenue bonds or any instrument as security therefor, except as provided in this Section. The provisions of this Section shall be liberally construed for the accomplishment of its purposes.

            (16) Prohibition against pledge of full faith and credit of state. The state of Louisiana shall not expressly or impliedly or in any other manner pledge its full faith and credit to the payment of any obligations under the terms of any lease or other instrument of any nature entered into by it under this Section.

            Acts 1979, No. 605, §1; Acts 1983, No. 705, §5, eff. Sept. 1, 1983; Acts 2023, No. 150, §21, eff. Jan. 10, 2024.