2007 Minnesota Statutes

469.060 GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS.
    Subdivision 1. Power; procedure. A port authority may issue bonds in the principal amount
authorized by 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 469.049, 469.050, and 469.058 to 469.068. 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 469.048 to 469.068, the issuance of the bonds is governed by
chapter 475. The port authority when issuing the bonds is a municipal corporation under chapter
475. Notwithstanding any contrary city charter provision or any general or special law, the bonds
may be issued and sold without submission of the question to the electors of the city, provided
that the ordinance of the governing body of the city authorizing issuance of the bonds by the
port authority shall be subject to any provisions in the city charter pertaining to the procedure
for referendum on ordinances enacted by the governing body.
    Subd. 2. Outside debt limit. Bonds issued by the port authority must not be included in the
net debt of its city. Money received under this section must not be included in a per capita limit on
taxing or spending in the port authority's city's charter. The authority is also exempt from the limit.
    Subd. 3. Detail; maturity. The port 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 must be due in not more than three years and the last in not
more than 30 years from the date of issuance.
    Subd. 4. Signatures; coupons; liability. The bonds must be signed by the president of the
port authority, be attested by its secretary, and be countersigned by its treasurer. The interest
coupons must be attached to the bonds. The coupons must be executed and authenticated by
the printed, engrossed, or lithographed facsimile signature of the port authority's president and
secretary. The bonds do not impose any personal liability on a member of the port authority.
    Subd. 5. Pledge. The bonds must be secured by the pledge of the full faith, credit, and
resources of the issuing port authority's city. The port 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 port 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. 6. Tax levy. A port 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 may not be repealed
until the debt is paid. After the bonds are issued, the port authority need not take any more
action to authorize extending, assessing, and collecting the tax. The authority's secretary shall
immediately 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 port 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 port 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 port 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 port authority by the county
treasurer as provided in chapter 276. The taxes must be used only to pay the bonds when due.
    Subd. 7. 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.
History: 1987 c 291 s 61; 1994 c 416 art 1 s 48; 1995 c 256 s 8