Section 21A. The city council of a city, the board of selectmen of a town and the prudential committee, if any, otherwise, the commissioners of a district, may authorize and provide for the issuance of refunding bonds or notes of the city, town or district for the purpose of paying or refunding all or any designated part of an issue of bonds or notes then outstanding, including the amount of any redemption premium thereon; provided, however, that no such refunding bonds or notes shall be payable over a period longer than the period during which the original bonds or notes so refunded must be paid pursuant to law; and provided, further, that, notwithstanding any provision of any general or special law, city charter, city ordinance or city council rule or order to the contrary, any vote of the city council of a city authorizing and providing for the issuance of refunding bonds or notes of the city may be introduced and given final passage at 1 meeting of the city council, shall not be subject to any publication requirement, shall not be subject to any referendum provision, and shall be effective upon passage. The first annual payment of principal on account of an issue of refunding bonds or notes shall not be later than the last day of the fiscal year in which any of the bonds or notes being refunded would otherwise have been payable and the annual payments thereafter shall be arranged in accordance with the provisions of section 19; provided, however, that any annual payment earlier than the date on which the first annual payment is required to be made, may be in any amount. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the issuance of such refunding bonds or notes shall be governed by the applicable provisions of this chapter. Refunding bonds or notes issued under this section shall be subject to the same limit of indebtedness, if any, as the bonds or notes refunded by them; provided, however, that upon the issuance of such refunding bonds or notes, the bonds or notes refunded shall no longer be counted in determining any limit of indebtedness of the city, town or district under this chapter or any other applicable provision of law. If such refunding bonds or notes are issued prior to the maturity or redemption date of the original bonds or notes refunded, an amount of the proceeds of the refunding bonds or notes and other moneys then available or to become available to the city, town or district, which moneys may include income to be derived from the investment of such proceeds, sufficient to pay or provide for the payment of the principal, redemption premium, if any, and interest on the bonds or notes so refunded to the date fixed for their payment or redemption shall be held in a separate fund and in trust solely for the payment of such principal, redemption premium and interest. The funds so held may be invested pursuant to section 55 and the income derived from such investment may be expended by the treasurer to pay the principal, redemption premium, if any, and interest on the bonds or notes refunded until they are paid or redeemed; provided, however, that notwithstanding any limitations on the maturity of investments under section 55, any such investment may have a maturity not later than the date fixed for the payment or redemption of the bonds or notes refunded.

The present value of the principal and interest payments due on refunding bonds issued under this section shall not exceed the present value of the principal and interest payments to be paid on the bonds to be refunded, except as otherwise provided in this section. The city, town, or regional school district shall notify the department of education in the event that bonds or notes issued for an approved school project under chapter 645 of the acts of 1948 are refunded under this section and the amount of the state construction grant payable to the city, town, or regional school district shall not be affected by any increase in the amount of interest payable on the refunding bonds or notes, but shall be affected by any decrease in the amount of interest payable on the refunding bonds or notes for school building projects approved after July 1, 1995. Upon receipt of notification from a city, town or regional school district of a decrease in the amount of interest payable related to such projects, the department of education shall recalculate the amount of the state construction grant that is payable to such city, town or regional school district.

If the mayor or city manager in a city, the board of selectmen of a town or the prudential committee of a district determines that the issuance of refunding bonds is reasonable and necessary in order to maintain the tax-exempt status of outstanding bonds or notes of the city, town or district, the official, board or committee may authorize refunding bonds for that purpose, even if the present value of the principal and interest payments due on the refunding bonds exceeds the present value of the principal and interest payments otherwise payable on the bonds to be refunded.