Section 46-4-101. Enabling resolution; issuance of revenue bonds; petition for judicial validation; fees; federal tax implications

   (a) When the authority desires to issue revenue bonds as permitted by this article, the authority shall, prior to the adoption of a resolution authorizing the issuance of such bonds, enter into one or more contracts with no less than five political subdivisions which are authorized to contract with the authority in accordance with Code Section 46-4-100. All such contracts shall be in accordance with Code Section 46-4-99.

(b) The acquisition, construction, reconstruction, improvement, equipping, alteration, repair, or extension of any project, and the issuance, in anticipation of the collection of the revenues from such project, of bonds to provide funds to pay the cost thereof, may be authorized under this article by resolution of the authority. Unless otherwise provided therein, such resolution shall take effect immediately and need not be laid over or published or posted. The authority, in determining such cost, may include all costs and estimated costs of the issuance of the bonds; all engineering, inspection, fiscal, and legal expenses; the interest which it is estimated will accrue during the construction period and during such additional period as the authority may determine on money borrowed, or which it is estimated will be borrowed pursuant to this article; and all costs included in the definition of "cost of project" as defined in Code Section 46-4-81. Such bonds may also be issued to pay off, refund, or refinance any outstanding bonds or other obligations of any nature owed by the authority, whether or not such bonds or other obligations shall then be subject to redemption; and the authority may provide for such arrangements as it may determine for the payment and security of the bonds being issued or for the payment and security of the bonds or other obligations to be paid off, refunded, or refinanced. Such bonds may also be issued for the purpose of loaning the proceeds thereof to political subdivisions for use in their municipal gas systems and to finance any other corporate purposes of the authority.

(c) Revenue bonds may be issued under this article in one or more series; may bear such date or dates; may mature at such time or times, not exceeding 50 years from their respective dates; may bear interest at such rate or rates, that may be fixed or may vary in accordance with a specified formula or method of determination, payable at such time or times; may be payable in such medium of payment at such place or places; may be in such denomination or denominations; may be in such form, either coupon or fully registered without coupons; may be issued in any specific amounts; may carry such registration, conversion, and exchangeability privileges; may be declared or become due before the maturity date thereof; may provide such call or redemption privileges; may have such rank or priority; and may contain such other terms, covenants, assignments, and conditions as the bond resolution authorizing the issuance of such bonds or any indenture or trust agreement may provide. The authority may sell such bonds in such manner, at such price or prices, and upon such terms and conditions as shall be determined by the authority. The authority may arrange for insurance contracts, surety bonds, letters of credit, lines of credit, commitments to purchase, or other liquidity or credit support mechanisms and may remarket bonds to provide security to assure timely payment of bonds. The authority may by resolution delegate to such officers, employees, or agents as the authority's members may select the power to authorize the issuance and sale of bonds and fix, within limits prescribed in the resolution, the time and manner of their sale, maturities, date or rates of interest, and other terms and conditions the officer, employee, or agent considers appropriate.

(d) The bonds shall be signed by the chairman or other authorized officers of the authority; the corporate seal of the authority shall be impressed, imprinted, or otherwise reproduced on the bonds; and the bonds shall be attested by the signature of the secretary-treasurer or assistant secretary-treasurer of the authority. The coupons, if any, shall be signed in such manner as may be directed by the authority. The signatures of the officers of the authority and the seal of the authority upon any bond, note, or other debt security issued by the authority may be by facsimile if the instrument is authenticated or countersigned by a trustee or other authenticating agent other than the authority itself or an officer or employee of the authority. All bonds or notes issued under authority of this article bearing signatures or facsimiles of the signatures of officers of the authority in office on the date of the signing thereof shall be valid and binding, notwithstanding that before the delivery thereof and payment therefor such officers whose signatures appear thereon shall have ceased to be officers of the authority. Pending the preparation of the definitive bonds, interim receipts, in such form and with such provisions as the authority may determine, may be issued to the purchasers of bonds to be issued under this article.

(e) Any bond resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds and any indenture or trust agreement entered into under this article to finance in whole or in part the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, improvement, equipment, alteration, repair, or extension of any project may contain covenants as to:

   (1) The rates, fees, tolls, or charges to be charged for the services, facilities, and commodities of the project or system;

   (2) The use and disposition of the revenue to be derived from the project or system;

   (3) The creation and maintenance of reserves or sinking funds and the regulation, use, and disposition thereof, including debt service reserve; renewal and replacement or other capital improvement reserve, including reserves for the provision of fuel; and such other reserves as may be reasonably required by the authority for the operation of its projects and as may be authorized by the bond resolution or trust agreement or indenture pursuant to which the issuance of such bonds may be authorized;

   (4) The purposes to which the proceeds of the sale of said bonds may be applied, and the use and disposition of such proceeds;

   (5) Events of default and the rights and liabilities arising thereupon, the terms and conditions upon which bonds issued under this article shall become or may be declared due before maturity, and the terms and conditions upon which such declaration and its consequences may be waived;

   (6) The issuance of other additional bonds or instruments payable from or a charge against the revenue of such project or system;

   (7) The insurance to be carried thereon and the use and disposition of insurance proceeds;

   (8) Books of account and inspection and audit thereof;

   (9) Limitations or restrictions on the power to lease or otherwise dispose of the project while any of the bonds or interest thereon remains outstanding and unpaid; and

   (10) The operation and maintenance of the project or system, and of the authority.

(f) The provisions of this article and of any bond resolution, indenture, or trust agreement entered into pursuant to this article shall be a contract with every holder of the bonds; and the duties of the authority under this article and under any such bond resolution, indenture, or trust agreement shall be enforceable by any bondholder by mandamus or other appropriate action or proceeding at law or in equity.

(g) The authority shall give notice to the district attorney of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit of its intention to issue its revenue bonds, setting forth the fact of service of such notice, the principal amount of bonds to be issued, the purpose for which the same are to be issued, whether the bonds are to be issued in separate series or installments from time to time, the interest rate or rates which such bonds are to bear, the amount of principal to be paid in each year during the life of the bonds or the method or formula by which such amounts shall be determined, the date by which all bonds are to be paid in full, and the security to be pledged to the payment of the bond; provided, however, that such notice, in the discretion of the authority, in lieu of specifying the rate or rates of interest which the bonds are to bear, may state that the bonds when issued will bear interest at a rate not exceeding a maximum per annum rate of interest specified in the notice or the maximum rate permitted, at any time, by law, or, in the event the bonds, or any series or installment thereof, are to bear different rates of interest for different maturity dates, may state that none of such rates will exceed the maximum rate specified in the notice; provided, further, that nothing in this subsection shall be construed as prohibiting or restricting the right of the authority to sell the bonds at a discount, even if in so doing the effective interest cost resulting therefrom would exceed the maximum per annum interest rate specified in the notice to the district attorney. Such notice shall be signed by the chairman, vice chairman, or secretary-treasurer.

(h) Within 20 days after the date of service of the required notice, the district attorney shall prepare and file in the office of the clerk of the Superior Court of Fulton County a complaint directed to the Superior Court of Fulton County in the name of the state and against the authority, setting forth the fact of service of such notice, the amount of the bonds to be issued, for what purpose they are to be issued, whether the bonds are to be issued in separate series or installments from time to time, the interest rate or rates they are to bear or the maximum rate or rates of interest, the amount of principal and interest to be paid annually or the method or formula by which the amount of such payments shall be determined, and the date by which all bonds are to be paid in full. In addition, the district attorney shall obtain from the judge of the court an order requiring the authority by its proper officers to appear at such time and place as the judge may direct, either during a session of court or in chambers, within 20 days after the filing of the complaint, and show cause, if any, why the bonds should not be confirmed and validated. Such complaint and order shall be served upon the authority in the manner provided by law; and to such complaint the authority shall make sworn answer at or before the date set in the order for the hearing.

(i) Prior to the hearing of the cause, the clerk of the Superior Court of Fulton County shall publish in the official organ of Fulton County once during each of the two weeks immediately preceding the week in which the hearing is to be held a notice to the public that, on the day specified in the order providing for the hearing of the cause, the same will be heard.

(j) Within the time prescribed in the order or at such other time as he may fix, the judge of the superior court shall proceed to hear and determine all questions of law and of fact in the cause, including the question of whether the contractual obligations which are made a condition precedent to the issuance of such bonds by subsection (a) of this Code section have been properly incurred; and the judge shall render judgment on the cause. Any citizen of this state may become a party to the proceedings at or before the time set for the hearing. Any party who is dissatisfied with the judgment of the court confirming and validating the issuance of the bonds and the security therefor or refusing to confirm and validate the issuance of the bonds and the security therefor may appeal from the judgment under the procedure provided by Article 2 of Chapter 6 of Title 5. No appeal may be taken by any person who was not a party at the time the judgment appealed from was rendered.

(k) In the event no appeal is filed within 30 days after the date of the judgment of validation, or, if an appeal is filed, in the event the judgment is affirmed on appeal, the judgment of the superior court so confirming and validating the issuance of the bonds and the security therefor shall be forever conclusive upon the validity of the bonds and the security therefor.

(l) Bonds issued under this article shall bear a certificate of validation signed with the facsimile or manually executed signature of the clerk of the Superior Court of Fulton County stating the date on which the bonds were validated as provided in this Code section; and such entry shall be original evidence of the fact of judgment and shall be received as original evidence in any court in this state.

(m) The authority shall reimburse the district attorney for his actual costs of the case, if any. For every $5,000.00 in principal amount of bonds or portion thereof, there shall be payable to the clerk of the Superior Court of Fulton County the following fees for validation and confirmation:
   First $500,000.00......................................................$1.00
   $501,000.00 -- $2,500,000.00........................................... .25
   All over $2,500,000.00................................................. .10

(n) Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, this article shall govern all civil claims, proceedings, and actions respecting debt of the authority evidenced by revenue bonds.

(o) Nothing in this article shall prohibit the authority from issuing bonds, the interest on which is includable in gross income of the owners thereof for federal income tax purposes.

Code 1981, § 46-4-101, enacted by Ga. L. 1987, p. 745, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 6, § 46.