§338.102. Bonds
A. Subject to the approval at an election as hereinbefore required the parish, through its governing authority, is hereby authorized to fund into bonds not to exceed seventy-five per cent of the estimated proceeds or avails of said one per cent sales and use tax (which proceeds or avails are hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "additional sales tax revenues"), in order to obtain funds for any purpose for which the additional sales tax may be authorized and levied. In addition to the right to fund into bonds seventy-five per cent of the estimated proceeds or avails of said additional sales tax, the parish, through its governing authority, is hereby authorized to fund into bonds not to exceed seventy-five per cent of the estimated proceeds or avails of the combined revenues derived from the existing one-half of one per cent sales tax and said additional one per cent sales tax; provided, however, that the proposition to authorize the levy of the additional sales tax contains provisions authorizing the funding of the existing sales tax and the additional sales tax in the manner herein provided.
B. The said governing authority shall, by resolution, fix the form, denomination and terms of the bonds and the rate or rates of interest, payable annually or semi-annually, within the maximum rate prescribed herein. The bonds shall be designated "Public Improvement Bonds", shall be issued in the name of the parish and shall be payable in such medium and at such place or places within or without the State as may be fixed by such resolution. No bonds issued hereunder shall run for a longer period than thirty years from the date thereof, or bear a greater rate of interest than six and one-half per centum per annum, or be sold for less than par. All bonds shall be signed by the president or other chief executive officer and by the secretary of the governing authority, under its official seal, and the coupons shall be signed by the facsimile signatures of such officers. The delivery of any bonds or coupons so executed at any time thereafter shall be valid, although before the date of delivery the person or persons signing the bonds or coupons shall cease to hold office. The bonds shall be payable in annual installments with maturities beginning not more than three years after the date of the bonds, and the maturities of the bonds shall be so arranged that the total amount of principal and interest falling due in such year on all bonds theretofore issued hereunder, and then outstanding, shall never exceed seventy-five per cent of the amount of total sales tax revenues (derived from the existing sales tax and the additional sales tax) estimated by the governing authority to be received by it in the calendar year during which the bonds are issued.
C. Bonds issued hereunder shall not constitute an indebtedness or pledge of the general credit of the governing authority or the parish within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory provision relating to the incurring of indebtedness, and shall contain a recital to that effect. Such bonds shall be in coupon form, but may be made registerable as to principal if so provided in the resolution authorizing the issuance thereof. They may be made redeemable in advance of maturity at the option of the parish at such premium or premiums not greater than five per centum of the principal amount of the bonds as the governing authority may determine.
D. Bonds issued hereunder shall be payable solely from and secured by an irrevocable pledge and dedication of all or such part of the revenues of the existing sales tax and/or the additional sales tax as may be pledged thereto in the authorizing resolution. Any holder of any of such bonds, or coupons thereto attached, may either at law or in equity, by suit, action, mandamus or other proceeding, enforce and compel performance of all duties required to be performed by the governing authority and to enforce the provisions of the ordinances imposing the taxes, and the resolution and proceedings authorizing the issuance of such bonds.
E. The governing authority may in any resolution authorizing such bonds provide for the respective priorities of separate blocks, series or issues of bonds issued hereunder, and may provide for the issuance of additional bonds in the future on a parity therewith under such conditions as may be specified in such resolution. In the absence of any such provision, if more than one series of bonds shall be issued hereunder payable from the same sales tax revenues, priority of lien on such revenues shall depend on the time of the delivery of such bonds, each series enjoying a lien prior and superior to that enjoyed by any series of bonds subsequently delivered, except that as to any issue or series of bonds which may be authorized as a unit but delivered from time to time in blocks, the governing authority may in the proceedings authorizing the issuance of such bonds provide that all of the bonds of such series or issue shall be coequal as to lien regardless of the time of the delivery; provided that nothing herein stated shall vest in any holder of bonds any right of lien or priority of any kind against any part of the sales tax revenues not pledged to the payment of the bonds by the proceedings authorizing the issuance thereof.
F. When any bonds shall have been issued hereunder neither the legislature, nor the governing authority nor any other authority may discontinue or decrease or permit to be discontinued or decreased the tax in anticipation of the collection of which such bonds have been issued, or in any way make any change in the allocation and dedication of the proceeds of such tax which would diminish the amount of the sales tax revenues to be received by the parish from the existing sales tax and/or the additional sales tax, until all of such bonds shall have been retired as to principal and interest, and there is hereby vested in the holders from time to time of such bonds and the coupons representing interest thereon a contract right in the provisions of this paragraph and R.S. 47:338.98 through 338.103.
G. Any resolution may contain such covenants with the future holder or holders of the bonds as to the sales tax revenues from the existing sales tax and/or the additional sales tax, the disposition of such revenues, the issuance of future bonds, and such other pertinent matters as may be deemed necessary by the governing authority to insure the marketability of such bonds, provided such covenants are not inconsistent with the provisions of R.S. 47:338.98 through 338.103.
H. Any resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds hereunder may contain such provisions to insure the enforcement, collection and proper application of the sales tax revenues derived from the existing sales tax and/or the additional sales tax as the governing authority may think proper, where not inconsistent with the provisions of R.S. 47:338.98 through 338.103, and when any bonds payable from the revenues derived from the existing sales tax and/or the additional sales tax shall have been issued, R.S. 47:338.98 through 338.103, the ordinances of the governing authority imposing the sales taxes and pursuant to which the taxes are being levied, collected, and allocated, and the obligation of the governing authority to continue to levy, collect and allocate the taxes and to apply the revenues derived therefrom in accordance with the provisions of said ordinances and R.S. 47:338.98 through 338.103, shall be irrevocable until such bonds have been paid in full as to principal and interest, and shall not be subject to amendment in any manner which would impair the rights of the holders from time to time of such bonds or which would in any way jeopardize the prompt payment of principal thereof and interest thereon.
I. All bonds issued hereunder shall be sold at public sale after advertisement in the manner provided by R.S. 39:570. The proceeds derived from the sale of the bonds shall be used exclusively by the governing authority for the purpose or purposes for which the bonds are authorized to be issued, but the purchasers of the bonds shall not be obligated to see to the application thereof.
J. Before any bonds are issued hereunder, the governing authority shall investigate and determine the regularity of the proceedings. The resolution authorizing the bonds may direct that they contain the following recital:
"It is certified that this bond is authorized by and is issued in conformity with the requirements of the constitution and statutes of this state."
Such recital shall be deemed to be an authorized declaration of the governing authority and to import that there is legal authority for issuing the bonds and imposing the sales taxes; that all the proceedings therefor are regular; that all acts, conditions and things required to exist, happen and be performed precedent to and in the issuance of the bonds and imposition of the tax have existed, have happened and have been performed in due time, form and manner as required by law; that the amount of the bonds, together with all other indebtedness of the parish does not exceed any limit or limits prescribed by the constitution or statutes of this state; and that all required notices have been duly and regularly given by publication in the manner required by law. If any bonds are issued containing the above recital the same shall be construed according to the import herein declared, and it shall be conclusively presumed that the recital is true, and neither the governing authority nor any taxpayer shall be permitted to question the validity or regularity of the bonds, obligations or sales taxes in any court or in any action or proceeding.
K. After the time within which the validation of the bonds may be contested has elapsed, that is, thirty days from the date of publication of the resolution authorizing the bonds and pledging and dedicating the said sales tax revenues, the bonds shall be registered with the Secretary of State without charge and shall have endorsed thereon the words:
"Incontestable. Secured by pledge and dedication of proceeds of sales taxes levied by the Parish of _______________, State of Louisiana. Registered this _____ day of ______________, 20___.
__________________________
Secretary of State"
L. All bonds issued under the provisions of R.S. 47:338.98 through 338.103 and the interest thereon shall be exempt from taxation. Said bonds may be used for deposit with any officer, board, municipality or other political subdivision of the State of Louisiana in any case where deposit of security is required.
M. The provisions of R.S. 47:338.98 through 338.103 shall be construed as cumulative and additional authority for the exercise of the powers herein granted. The powers conferred by R.S. 47:338.98 through 338.103 shall not be affected or limited by any other provision of any statute of the state and no provision, notice, publication, election or right of referendum shall be required or afforded in the performance of any act herein authorized to be done, including the imposition, collection and application of the sales taxes, and issuance of bonds payable therefrom, except as in R.S. 47:338.98 through 338.103 otherwise specifically provided.
N. Bonds issued hereunder shall have all the qualities of negotiable paper and shall not be invalid for any irregularity or defect in the proceedings for the issuance and sale thereof and shall be incontestable in the hands of bona fide purchasers or holders for value.
O. The resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds hereunder and pledging and dedicating sales tax revenues to the payment thereof shall be recorded in the mortgage records of the parish, and shall be published in one issue of the official journal of the Parish. For a period of thirty days from the date of the publication of said resolution, any person in interest may contest the legality of the bonds provided for or the sales taxes, the proceeds of which are so pledged and dedicated, for any cause, after which time no one shall have any cause or right of action to contest the legality, formality or regularity of the proceedings, the sales taxes, or bond authorization for any cause whatsoever. If the question of the validity of any proceedings, taxes, or bond authorization provided for under the provisions of R.S. 47:338.98 through 338.103 is not raised within the thirty days, the authority to issue the bonds, the regularity thereof, the validity of the sales taxes pledged and dedicated to provide for the payment of principal and interest, and the enforceability of the pledge thereof, shall be conclusively presumed, and no court may inquire into such matters. If any resolution is adopted or proceedings had more than thirty days after the publication of the resolution authorizing the bonds and pledging and dedicating the sales tax revenues, no contest, action or proceeding to question the validity or legality of the resolution or proceedings so adopted, shall be begun in any court by any person for any cause whatsoever after the expiration of thirty days from the date on which the resolution was adopted or proceedings had.
Acts 1968, No. 83, §5; Redesignated from R.S. 33:2737.35 pursuant to Acts 2011, No. 248, §4.