58-841. Authority; bonds; issuance; form; proceeds; how used; replacement; liability; liability insurance; indemnification.

The authority is hereby authorized to provide by resolution, at one time or from time to time, for the issuance of bonds for the purpose of (1) paying, refinancing, or reimbursing all or any part of the cost of a project, (2) administering and operating the Nebraska Health Education Assistance Loan Program and the Nebraska Student Loan Assistance Program, or (3) making loans to any eligible institution in anticipation of the receipt of tuition or other revenue by the eligible institution. Except to the extent payable from payments to be made on securities or federally guaranteed securities as provided in sections 58-844 and 58-845, the principal of and the interest on such bonds shall be payable solely out of the revenue of the authority derived from the project or program to which they relate and from any other facilities or assets pledged or made available therefor by the eligible institution for whose benefit such bonds were issued. The bonds of each issue shall be dated, shall bear interest at such rate or rates, including variations of such rates, without regard to any limit contained in any other statute or law of the State of Nebraska, shall mature at such time or times not exceeding forty years from the date thereof, all as may be determined by the authority, and may be made redeemable before maturity, at the option of the authority, at such price or prices, which may be at a premium or discount, and under such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the authority in the authorizing resolution and any trust indenture. Except to the extent required by the Nebraska Educational, Health, Cultural, and Social Services Finance Authority Act and for bonds issued to fund the Nebraska Student Loan Assistance Program, such bonds are to be paid out of the revenue of the project to which they relate and, in certain instances, the revenue of certain other facilities, and subject to the provisions of sections 58-844 and 58-845 with respect to a pledge of securities or government securities, the bonds may be unsecured or secured in the manner and to the extent determined by the authority in its discretion.

The authority shall determine the form of the bonds, including any interest coupons to be attached thereto, and shall fix the denomination or denominations of the bonds and the place or places of payment of principal and interest which may be at any bank or trust company within or without the state. The bonds shall be signed in the name of the authority, by its chairperson or vice-chairperson or by a facsimile signature of such person, the official seal of the authority or a facsimile thereof shall be affixed thereto or printed or impressed thereon and attested by the manual or facsimile signature of the executive director or assistant executive director of the authority, except that facsimile signatures of members of the authority shall be sufficient only if the resolution or trust indenture requires that the trustee for such bond issue manually authenticate each bond and the resolution or trust indenture permits the use of facsimile signatures, and any coupons attached to the bonds shall bear the facsimile signature of the executive director or assistant executive director of the authority. The resolution or trust indenture authorizing the bonds may provide that the bonds contain a recital that they are issued under the Nebraska Educational, Health, Cultural, and Social Services Finance Authority Act, and such recital shall be deemed conclusive evidence of the validity of the bonds and the regularity of the issuance. The provisions of section 10-126 shall not apply to bonds issued by the authority. The provisions of section 10-140 shall apply to bonds issued by the authority. In case any official of the authority whose signature or a facsimile of whose signature appears on any bonds or coupons ceases to be such an official before the delivery of such bonds, such signature or such facsimile shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes the same as if he or she had remained an official of the authority until such delivery.

All bonds issued under the act shall have and are hereby declared to have all the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments under the law of the State of Nebraska. The bonds may be issued in coupon or in registered form, or both, and one form may be exchangeable for the other in such manner as the authority may determine. Provision may be made for the registration of any coupon bonds as to principal alone and also as to both principal and interest and for the reconversion into coupon bonds of any bonds registered as to both principal and interest. The bonds may be sold in such manner, either at public or private sale, as the authority may determine.

The proceeds of the bonds of each issue shall be used solely for the payment of the costs of the project or program for which such bonds have been issued and shall be disbursed in such manner and under such restrictions, if any, as the authority may provide in the resolution authorizing the issuance of such bonds or in the trust indenture provided for in section 58-843 securing the same. If the proceeds of the bonds of any issue, by error of estimates or otherwise, are less than such costs, additional bonds may in like manner be issued to provide the amount of such deficit and, unless otherwise provided in the resolution authorizing the issuance of such bonds or in the trust indenture securing the same, shall be deemed to be of the same issue and shall be entitled to payment from the same fund without preference or priority of the bonds first issued. If the proceeds of the bonds of any issue exceed the cost of the project or program for which they were issued, the surplus shall be deposited to the credit of the sinking fund for such bonds or shall be applied as may otherwise be permitted by applicable federal income tax laws relating to the tax exemption of interest.

Prior to the preparation of definitive bonds, the authority may under like restrictions issue interim receipts or temporary bonds, with or without coupons, exchangeable for definitive bonds when such bonds have been executed and are available for delivery.

The authority may also provide for the replacement of any bonds which become mutilated or are destroyed or lost. Bonds may be issued under the act without obtaining the consent of any officer, department, division, commission, board, bureau, or agency of the state and without any other proceedings or conditions other than those proceedings and conditions which are specifically required by the act. The authority may out of any funds available therefor purchase its bonds. The authority may hold, pledge, cancel, or resell such bonds, subject to and in accordance with any agreement with the bondholders.

Members of the authority shall not be liable to the state, the authority, or any other person as a result of their activities, whether ministerial or discretionary, as authority members, except for willful dishonesty or intentional violations of law. Members of the authority and any person executing bonds or policies of insurance shall not be liable personally thereon or be subject to any personal liability or accountability by reason of the issuance thereof. The authority may purchase liability insurance for members, officers, and employees and may indemnify any authority member to the same extent that a school district may indemnify a school board member pursuant to section 79-516.

Source