2000 Minnesota Statutes

     469.102 General obligation bonds. 

    Subdivision 1.    Authority; procedure.  An economic 
 development authority may issue general obligation bonds in the 
 principal amount authorized by two-thirds majority vote of its 
 city's council.  The bonds may be issued in anticipation of 
 income from any source.  The bonds may be issued:  (1) to secure 
 funds needed by the authority to pay for acquired property or 
 (2) for other purposes in sections 469.090 to 469.108.  The 
 bonds must be in the amount and form and bear interest at the 
 rate set by the city council.  Except as otherwise provided in 
 sections 469.090 to 469.108, the issuance of the bonds is 
 governed by chapter 475.  The authority when issuing the bonds 
 is a municipal corporation under chapter 475.  

    Subd. 2.    Detail; maturity.  The authority with the 
 consent of its city's council shall set the date, denominations, 
 place of payment, form, and details of the bonds.  The bonds 
 must mature serially.  The first installment is due in not more 
 than three years and the last in not more than 20 years from the 
 date of issuance.  

    Subd. 3.    Signatures; coupons; liability.  The bonds 
 must be signed by the president of the authority, be attested by 
 its secretary, and be countersigned by its treasurer; the 
 signatures may be facsimile signatures.  The interest coupons if 
 any, must be attached to the bonds.  The coupons must be 
 executed and authenticated by the printed, engrossed, or 
 lithographed facsimile signature of the authority's president 
 and secretary.  The bonds do not impose any personal liability 
 on a member of the authority. 

    Subd. 4.    Pledge.  The bonds must be secured by the 
 pledge of the full faith, credit, and resources of the issuing 
 authority's city.  The authority may pledge the full faith, 
 credit, and resources of the city only if the city specifically 
 authorizes the authority to do so.  The city council must first 
 decide whether the issuance of the bonds by the authority is 
 proper in each case and if so, the amount of bonds to issue.  
 The city council shall give specific consent in an ordinance to 
 the pledge of the city's full faith, credit, and resources.  The 
 authority shall pay the principal amount of the bonds and the 
 interest on it from taxes levied under this section to make the 
 payment or from authority income from any source.  

    Subd. 5.    Tax levy.  An authority that issues bonds 
 under this section, shall, before issuing them, levy a tax for 
 each year on the taxable property in the authority's city.  The 
 tax must be for at least five percent more than the amount 
 required to pay the principal and interest on the bonds as the 
 principal and interest mature.  The tax must be levied annually 
 until the principal and interest are paid in full.  After the 
 bonds have been delivered to the purchasers, the tax must not be 
 repealed until the debt is paid.  After the bonds are issued, 
 the authority need not take any more action to authorize 
 extending, assessing, and collecting the tax.  On or before 
 September 15, the authority's secretary shall send a certified 
 copy of the levy to the county auditor, together with full 
 information on the bonds for which the tax is levied.  The 
 county auditor shall extend and assess the levied tax annually 
 until the principal and interest are paid in full.  The 
 authority shall transfer the surplus from the excess levy in 
 this section to a sinking fund after the principal and interest 
 for which the tax was levied and collected is paid.  The 
 authority may direct its secretary to send a certificate to the 
 county auditor before September 15 in a year.  The certificate 
 must state how much available income, including the amount in 
 the sinking fund, the authority will use to pay principal or 
 interest or both on each specified issue of the authority's 
 bonds.  The auditor shall then reduce the bond levy for that 
 year by that amount.  The authority shall then set aside the 
 certified amount and may not use it for any purpose except to 
 pay the principal and interest on the bonds.  The taxes in this 
 section shall be collected and sent to the authority by the 
 county treasurer as provided in chapter 276.  The taxes must be 
 used only to pay the bonds when due.  

    Subd. 6.    Authorized securities.  Bonds legally issued 
 under this chapter are authorized securities under section 
 50.14.  A savings bank, trust company, or insurance company may 
 invest in them.  A public or municipal corporation may invest 
 its sinking funds in them.  The bonds may be pledged by a bank 
 or trust company as security for the deposit of public money in 
 place of a surety bond. 

    The authority's bonds are instrumentalities of a public 
 governmental agency. 

    HIST: 1987 c 291 s 103; 1994 c 416 art 1 s 49; 1995 c 256 s 9