(a) The authority may from time to time issue revenue bonds for any corporate purpose and all such revenue bonds, notes, bond anticipation notes or other obligations of the authority issued pursuant to this chapter shall be and are hereby declared to be negotiable for all purposes notwithstanding their payment from a limited source and without regard to any other law or laws. In anticipation of the sale of such revenue bonds, the authority may issue negotiable bond anticipation notes and may renew the same from time to time, but the maximum maturity of any such note, including renewals of such notes shall not exceed five years from the date of issue of the original note. Such notes shall be paid from any revenues of the authority available therefor and not otherwise pledged, or from the proceeds of sale of the revenue bonds of the authority in anticipation of which they were issued. The notes shall be issued in the same manner as the revenue bonds. Such notes and the resolution or resolutions authorizing the same may contain any provisions, conditions or limitations which a bond resolution of the authority may contain.

(b) The revenue bonds and notes of every issue shall be payable solely out of the revenues of the authority pertaining to the program relating to such bonds or notes including principal and interest on authority loans and education loans, and any other revenues derived from or in connection with any other authority loans and education loans, payments by participating institutions for higher education, banks, guarantors, insurance companies or others pursuant to letters of credit or purchase agreements, investment earnings from funds or accounts maintained pursuant to the bond resolution, insurance proceeds, loan funding deposits, proceeds of sales of education loans, proceeds of refunding bonds and fees, charges and other revenues, funds and other assets of the authority but subject only to any agreements with the holders of particular revenue bonds or notes pledging any particular revenues and subject to any agreements with any participating institution for higher education.

(c) The revenue bonds or notes may be issued as serial bonds or notes or as term bonds or notes, or the authority, in its discretion, may issue bonds or notes of both types. The revenue bonds or notes shall be authorized by resolution of the members of the board of directors of the authority and shall bear such date or dates, mature at such time or times, not exceeding the year following the last year in which the final payments in an education loan series portfolio are due, or thirty years from the date of issuance, whichever is sooner, from their respective dates, bear interest at such rate or rates, payable at such time or times, be in such denominations, be in such form either coupon or registered, carry such registration or conversion privileges, be executed with manual or facsimile signatures in such manner, be payable in lawful money of the United States at such place or places, and be subject to such terms of redemption, as such resolution or resolutions may provide. Such resolution or resolutions may delegate to the executive director, assistant executive director or any member of the board of directors of the authority, or any combination of them, the power to determine any of the matters set forth in this section and the power to award the bonds to a purchaser or purchasers at public sale or to negotiate a sale to a purchaser or purchasers. The revenue bonds or notes may be sold for such price or prices as the authority shall determine. Pending preparation of the definitive bonds, the authority may issue interim receipts or certificates which shall be exchanged for such definitive bonds.

(d) Any resolution or resolutions authorizing any revenue bonds or any issue of revenue bonds may contain provisions, which shall be a part of the contract with the holders of the revenue bonds to be authorized, as to: (1) Pledging all or any part of the revenues, funds or other assets of the authority, including, but not limited to, the authority loans and education loans to secure such bonds or notes; (2) pledging all or any part of the revenues paid to the authority by any guarantor or insurance company; (3) pledging any revenue-producing contract or contracts made by the authority with any individual, partnership, corporation or association or other body, public or private, or any federally guaranteed security and moneys received or receivable therefrom whether such security is acquired by the authority or a participating institution for higher education to secure the payment of the revenue bonds or notes or of any particular issue of revenue bonds or notes, subject to such agreements with bondholders or noteholders as may then exist; (4) the fees and other amounts to be charged, and the sums to be raised in each year thereby, and the use, investment and disposition of such sums; (5) the establishment and setting aside of reserves or sinking funds, the setting aside of loan funding deposits, capitalized interest accounts, and cost of issuance accounts, and the regulation and disposition thereof; (6) limitations on the use of the education loans; (7) limitations on the purpose to which the proceeds of the sale of any issue of revenue bonds or notes then or thereafter to be issued may be applied, including as authorized purposes, all costs and expenses necessary or incidental to the issuance of bonds, to the acquisition of or commitment to acquire any federally guaranteed security and pledging such proceeds to secure the payment of the revenue bonds, notes or any issue of the revenue bonds or notes; (8) limitations on the issuance of additional bonds or notes, the terms upon which additional bonds or notes may be issued and secured and the terms on which additional bonds or notes rank on a parity with, or are subordinate or superior to, other bonds or notes; (9) the refunding of outstanding bonds or notes; (10) the procedure, if any, by which the terms of any contract with bondholders or noteholders may be amended or abrogated, the amount of bonds or notes the holders of which must consent thereto, and the manner in which such consent may be given; (11) limitations on the amount of moneys derived from the educational program to be expended for operating, administrative or other expenses of the authority; (12) defining the acts or omissions to act which shall constitute a default in the duties of the authority to holders of its obligations and providing the rights and remedies of such holders in the event of default; (13) the duties, obligations and liabilities of any trustee or paying agent; (14) providing for guarantees, pledges of endowments, letters of credit, property or other security for the benefit of the holders of such bonds or notes; and (15) any other matters relating to the bonds or notes which the authority deems desirable.

(e) Subject to the approval of the State Treasurer or the Treasurer's deputy appointed pursuant to section 3-12, required under subsection (b) of section 1-124, in connection with, or incidental to:

(1) The issuance or carrying of bonds, notes or other obligations of the authority, or the acquisition or carrying of any investment or program of investment, the authority may enter into any contract which the authority determines to be necessary or appropriate to place the obligation or investment of the authority, as represented by the bonds, notes or other obligations, investment or program of investment and the contract or contracts, in whole or in part, on the interest rate, cash flow or other basis desired by the authority, including, without limitation, contracts commonly known as interest rate swap agreements, forward payment conversion agreements, futures or contracts providing for payments based on levels of, or changes in, interest rates, stock or other indices, or contracts to exchange cash flows or a series of payments, or contracts, including, without limitation, interest rate floors or caps, options, puts or calls to hedge payment, rate, spread or similar exposure or contracts for the purchase of option rights with respect to the mandatory tender for purchase of bonds, notes or other obligations of the authority, which are subject to mandatory tender or redemption, including the issuance of certificates evidencing the right of the owner to exercise such option rights. Such contracts or agreements may also be entered into by the authority in connection with, or incidental to, entering into or maintaining any agreement which secures its bonds, notes or other obligations, subject to the terms and conditions of the agreement respecting outstanding obligations. In entering into any such contract or agreement, the authority shall give due consideration to the creditworthiness of the counter party or counter parties, including any rating by a nationally recognized rating agency, the impact on any rating on outstanding bonds or notes of the authority or any other criteria as the authority may deem appropriate, provided the unsecured long-term obligations of the counter party are rated the same or higher than the underlying rating of the authority on the applicable bonds or notes by at least one nationally recognized rating agency. For purposes of this subsection, counter party includes any party providing an unconditional guaranty of the obligations of the counter party under such contract or agreement; and

(2) The issuance or carrying of bonds, notes or other obligations or entering into any of the contracts or agreements referred to in subdivision (1) of this subsection, the authority may enter into credit enhancement or liquidity agreements, or other necessary or appropriate agreements, with payment, interest rate, security, default, remedy and other terms and conditions as the authority determines, and the authority may pledge all of any part of the collateral that secures the applicable bonds or notes, to the authority's payment obligations under any contract or agreement entered into pursuant to this subsection. Such pledge shall be valid and binding from the time when the pledge is made; the interest so pledged by the authority 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 against all parties having claims of any kind in tort, contract or otherwise against the authority or any participating institution of higher education, irrespective of whether such parties have notice thereof. Such lien shall have priority over all other liens, including, without limitation, the lien of any person who in the ordinary course of business furnishes services or materials to the authority. Notwithstanding the provisions of title 42a, neither the bond resolution nor any financing statement, continuation statement or other instrument by which a pledge or security interest is created or by which the authority's interest in such collateral is assigned need be filed in any public records in order to perfect the security interest or lien thereof as against third parties. The authority's obligations under any contract or agreement entered into pursuant to this subsection may be enforced as provided in section 10a-235.

(f) Neither the members of the board of directors of the authority nor any person executing the revenue bonds or notes shall be liable personally on the revenue bonds or notes or be subject to any personal liability or accountability by reason of the issuance thereof.

(g) The authority shall have power out of any funds available therefor to purchase its bonds or notes. The authority may hold, pledge, cancel or resell such bonds or notes subject to and in accordance with the agreements with bondholders.

(h) The authority is authorized and empowered to issue bonds, notes or other obligations under this section, the interest on which may be includable in the gross income of the holder or holders of such bonds, notes or obligations under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended, to the same extent and in the same manner that interest on bills, notes, bonds or other obligations of the United States is includable in the gross income of the holder or holders of such bonds, notes or obligations under any such internal revenue code, and to issue bonds, notes or other obligations under this section that may be eligible for tax credits or exemptions or payments from the federal government, or any other desired federal income tax treatment of such bonds, notes or other obligations. Any such bonds, notes or other obligations may be issued only upon a finding by the authority that such issuance is necessary, is in the public interest, and is in furtherance of the purposes and powers of the authority. The state hereby consents to such inclusion only for the bonds, notes or other obligations of the authority so authorized.

(P.A. 82-313, S. 10, 28; P.A. 88-266, S. 27, 28, 46; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 04-2, S. 60, 61; P.A. 07-108, S. 3; P.A. 08-116, S. 7; P.A. 15-200, S. 3.)

History: P.A. 88-266 inserted references to “board of directors” in Subsecs. (c) and (e); May Sp. Sess. P.A. 04-2 amended Subsec. (b) to allow revenue bonds under section to be payable from revenues from other authority loans and education loans and other funds or assets of the authority and amended Subsec. (d) to authorize the pledging of funds, moneys receivable and other assets of the authority to secure bonds under section, effective May 12, 2004, and applicable to any pledge, lien or security interest of this state or any political subdivision of this state in existence on October 1, 2003, or created after that date; P.A. 07-108 made a technical change in Subsec. (a), added new Subsec. (e) to allow authority to enter into arrangements to manage interest rate and cash flow fluctuations in connection with issuing, carrying, or securing its bonds or notes and redesignated existing Subsecs. (e) and (f) as Subsecs. (f) and (g), effective July 1, 2007; P.A. 08-116 made a technical change in Subsec. (d)(8), effective May 27, 2008; P.A. 15-200 added Subsec. (h) re issuance of bonds, notes or other obligations the interest on which may be includable in gross income and that may be eligible for tax credits, effective July 1, 2015.