5:12-162. Bonds

a. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority shall have the power and is authorized from time to time to issue its bonds to licensees in principal amounts as in the opinion of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority shall be necessary to provide sufficient funds for achieving any of its corporate purposes, or for the payment, funding or refunding of the principal of, or interest or redemption premiums on, any bonds issued by it, whether the bonds or interest to be funded or refunded have or have not become due, the establishment or increase of reserves to secure or to pay the bonds or interest thereon, and all other costs or expenses of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority incident to and necessary or convenient to carry out its corporate purposes and powers.

b. A contract for purchase of Casino Reinvestment Development Authority bonds entered into pursuant to sections 3 and 13 of this 1984 amendatory and supplementary act shall provide that an investment for any tax credit shall be paid by the licensee to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority upon entering into the contract or at any other times specified in the contract but not later than April 30 of each year. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority shall invest any moneys so received as provided in subsection m. of section 13 of this 1984 amendatory and supplementary act until such time as the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority determines what projects it will invest in or what other investments it will make and issues its bonds to the licensees to finance those projects or investments.

c. Except as may be otherwise expressly provided herein or by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, every issue of bonds shall be general obligations payable out of any moneys or revenues of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, subject only to any agreements with the holders of particular bonds pledging any particular moneys or revenues, but interest on the bonds shall not be payable out of proceeds of bonds issued by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority may issue the types of bonds as it may determine, including but not limited to bonds on which the principal and interest are payable (1) exclusively from the income and revenues of certain designated projects, whether or not they are financed in whole or in part with the proceeds of those bonds or (2) from its revenues generally.

d. Bonds of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority shall be authorized by or in accordance with a resolution of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and may be issued in one or more series and shall bear dates, mature at times not exceeding 50 years from the date thereof, bear interest at the rates specified in this subsection, be in denominations, be in registered form only, have a rank or priority, be executed in a manner, be payable from sources in a medium of payment at places within or without the State, and be subject to terms of redemption, with or without premium, as the resolution may provide. The bonds issued by the authority shall bear interest at the rate of 7% for those bonds issued for purchase by a licensee to satisfy the requirements of subsection h. of section 144 of P.L.1977, c. 110 (C. 5:12-144) and at the rate of 66 2/3 of the average rate of the Bond Buyer Weekly 25 Revenue Bond Index for bonds available for purchase during the last 26 weeks preceding the date the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority issues its bonds to a licensee to satisfy the requirements of subsection b. of section 3 of this 1984 amendatory and supplementary act. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 19 of this 1984 amendatory and supplementary act, if, however, for bonds issued by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to satisfy the requirements of subsection b. of section 3 of this 1984 amendatory and supplementary act, either (1) the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, pursuant to section 17 of this 1984 amendatory and supplementary act, consents, on any of its bonds being issued, to the inclusion of interest, or (2) the Internal Revenue Service determines that any of the interest on any of the bonds issued by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority must be included in the gross income of holders of those bonds under the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, or any subsequent federal law, to the same extent and in the same manner as the interest on bills, notes, bonds and other obligations of the United States, then those bonds issued by the authority shall bear interest at the rate of 66 2/3 of the average rate of Moody's A-rated Utility Index for bonds available for purchase during the last 26 weeks preceding the date the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority issues its bonds to a licensee to satisfy the requirements of subsection b. of section 3 of this 1984 amendatory and supplementary act. The written approval of the State Treasurer shall be obtained before the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority adopts any bond resolution or supplement to a bond resolution.

e. Interest earned on bonds issued by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority shall be paid annually. If, however, a licensee enters into a long-term contract with the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of this 1984 amendatory and supplementary act, in which the licensee agrees to purchase bonds issued by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority in each year for a period of at least 10 continuous years, the contract shall provide for the payment of interest earned on the bonds quarterly or at any other time agreed upon by the licensee and the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.

f. Whether or not bonds of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority are of the form and character as to be negotiable instruments under the terms of Title 12A of the New Jersey Statutes, the bonds are made negotiable instruments within the meaning of and for all the purposes of Title 12A of the New Jersey Statutes, subject only to the provisions of the bonds for registration.

g. Bonds of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority may be sold at prices as the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority shall determine. Bonds of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority may be sold at less than the current market rate of return but not less than the rate specified in subsection c. of this section.

h. Bonds may be issued by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority under the provisions of this act, without obtaining the consent of any department, division, commission, board, bureau or other agency of the State, and without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things other than those proceedings, conditions or things which are specifically required by this act.

i. Bonds of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority issued under the provisions of this act shall not be in any way a debt or liability of the State or of any political subdivision thereof other than the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and shall not create or constitute any indebtedness, liability or obligation of the State or of any of its political subdivisions or be or constitute a pledge of the faith and credit of the State or of any of its political subdivisions, but all the bonds, unless funded or refunded by bonds, shall be payable solely from revenues or funds pledged or available for their payment as authorized in this act. Each bond shall contain on its face a statement to the effect that the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority is obligated to pay the principal thereof or in interest thereon only from revenues or funds of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, that neither the State nor any political subdivision thereof is obligated to pay the principal or interest, and that neither the faith and credit nor the taxing power of the State or any political subdivision thereof is pledged in the payment of the principal of or the interest on the bonds.

j. As an alternative to bonds issued by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority may, in its sole discretion, offer for purchase by licensees bonds of the State of New Jersey, any political subdivision thereof, or any authority created by the State or any political subdivision thereof, as a means of fulfilling any investment obligation required of a licensee, provided those bonds fulfill the purposes of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and are in accordance with the requirements established pursuant to this section. A licensee may purchase such bonds through the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority only after approval by and in the sole discretion of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.

k. All expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of this act shall be payable solely from revenues or funds provided or to be provided under the provisions of this act and nothing in this act shall be construed to authorize the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to incur any indebtedness or liability on behalf of or payable by the State or any political subdivision thereof.

L.1984, c. 218, s. 14, eff. Dec. 19, 1984.