PART XV. PUBLIC ENTITY FACILITIES FINANCING ACT

§1051. Public Entity Facilities Financing Act

A. Title. The provisions of this Part shall be known and may be cited as the "Public Entity Facilities Financing Act".

B. Creation or designation of public benefit corporations to finance the construction, renovation and operation of public properties and facilities. Public entities are hereby authorized to create one or more public benefit corporations or designate, by resolution or other authorized act, an existing nonprofit corporation to be such a public benefit corporation pursuant to this Part solely for the purpose of entering into agreements and engaging in financing arrangements, including new markets tax credit transactions, to plan, renovate, construct, lease, sublease, manage, operate and improve public property and facilities within the jurisdiction of the public entity, notwithstanding any restrictions and prohibitions in R.S. 12:202.1.

C. Transfers and dispositions of public properties and facilities to public benefit corporations. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary and in order to facilitate the construction of new and the renovation of existing public properties or facilities, public entities are hereby authorized to transfer their properties to public benefit corporations created or designated pursuant to this Part through financing arrangements, including without limitation sales, sale-leasebacks, leases, and lease-leasebacks, and such transfer shall be exempted from the limitations or requirements of R.S. 17:87.6 and R.S. 41:891 and 892. However, no transfer or disposition of public properties or facilities authorized by this Part shall result in such properties or facilities being used upon such transfer or thereafter for purposes other than public purposes. The dedication to public purposes of property transferred by a public entity pursuant to this Part shall be specifically stated in any transfer or disposition document, and such language shall also specifically provide that the title and control of the property shall automatically by operation of law revert to the public entity upon the property commencing to be used for a purpose other than a public purpose.

D. Authority of public entities to loan or guarantee loans. Public entities are hereby authorized to make and to guarantee loans to a public benefit corporation created or designated by such public entity hereunder or to other third parties in order to facilitate the construction of new public properties or facilities or the renovation of existing public properties or facilities, provided that as a condition to any such loan or guaranty the public entity shall demonstrate a public purpose for such loan or guaranty pursuant to Article VII, Section 14 of the Constitution of Louisiana. Such loans or guarantees shall further be subject to the approval of the State Bond Commission.

E. Partnerships and agreements with private entities for the construction, renovation and operation of properties by public benefit corporations. Public benefit corporations may act alone or in partnership and financing arrangements with private entities in order to leverage additional funds not otherwise available to public entities for the construction and renovation of properties transferred to or loaned or subleased by such public benefit corporations. However, the use of any funds loaned or made available to a public benefit corporation in partnership or other arrangement with private entities shall be dedicated solely for the construction of new public properties or facilities and the renovation of existing public properties or facilities or operation of public properties or facilities after the payment of all fees and costs related to any financings and partnerships and the setting aside of any reserves required in connection therewith. Such fees and the size of any reserves shall be subject to the approval of the State Bond Commission. Such partnerships or other arrangements shall include language specifically providing that title and control of property transferred to the public benefit corporation by the public entity shall automatically by operation of law revert to the public entity upon the property's ceasing, other than temporarily, to be used for public purposes.

F. Organization and governance of public benefit corporation. A public benefit corporation created pursuant to this Part shall not be a political subdivision of the state but shall be a nonprofit corporation organized and governed under the applicable provisions of Chapter 2 of Title 12 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as modified by this Part, and shall additionally have all of the powers defined in R.S. 41:1215(B) and R.S. 12:202.1(D), except that any contract for public work, as such term is defined in R.S. 38:2211 between the public benefit corporation and a third party shall be subject to the advertisement and bid requirements of R.S. 38:2212. Any public benefit corporation created or designated by a public entity pursuant to this Part shall be an instrumentality of the public entity by which it was created or designated as a public benefit corporation. Notwithstanding the limitations in R.S. 12:202.1(D) with respect to the right to issue negotiable revenue bonds, the public benefit corporations authorized to be created pursuant to this Part may issue negotiable revenue bonds in connection with a new markets tax credit transaction in any amount deemed necessary to accomplish the purposes set forth herein; provided further, however, that any and all obligations issued by, as well as any related financing arrangements entered into by such public benefit corporations created or designated pursuant to this Part, shall be subject to the approval of the State Bond Commission. Any security interest granted by a public benefit corporation created or designated by a public entity shall be subject to the terms and provisions of R.S. 39:1430.1.

G. Definitions. For purposes of this Part, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings set forth below:

(1) "Public entities" shall have the meaning given in R.S. 39:1421(2), except that "public entities" as used in this Part shall not include school boards that are subject to the terms of R.S. 17:100.10.

(2) "Public properties or facilities" means properties or facilities owned or leased by a public entity or public benefit corporation.

(3) "Public purposes" means the public purpose or purposes for which a particular piece of public property or a public facility is being used or is intended to be used by a public entity.

H. Intent. Nothing in this Part shall be construed as a restriction or a limitation upon any powers which any public entity might otherwise have under any laws of this state. This Part shall be regarded as supplemental and additional to other powers conferred by other laws.

Acts 2010, No. 1009, §1, eff. July 8, 2010.