A. Any municipality may issue refunding bonds for the purpose of refinancing, paying and discharging all or any part of outstanding supplemental municipal gross receipts tax bonds of any one or more or all outstanding issues:

(1) for the acceleration, deceleration or other modification of the payment of such obligations, including without limitation any capitalization of any interest thereon in arrears or about to become due for any period not exceeding one year from the date of the refunding bonds;

(2) for the purpose of reducing interest costs or affecting other economies;

(3) for the purpose of modifying or eliminating restrictive contractual limitations pertaining to the issuance of additional bonds, otherwise concerning the outstanding bonds or to any facilities relating thereto; or

(4) for any combination of such purposes.

B. The municipality may pledge irrevocably for the payment of interest and principal on refunding bonds the appropriate pledged revenues, which may be pledged to an original issue of bonds as provided in the Supplemental Municipal Gross Receipts Tax Act. Nothing in this section shall permit the pledge of the gross receipts tax revenue to the payment of bonds that refund bonds issued under any other provision of law.

C. Refunding bonds may be issued separately or issued in combination in one series or more.

D. Refunding bonds issued pursuant to the Supplemental Municipal Gross Receipts Tax Act shall be authorized by ordinance. Any bonds that are refunded under the provisions of this section shall be paid at maturity or on any permitted prior redemption date in the amounts, at the time and places and, if called prior to maturity, in accordance with any applicable notice provisions, all as provided in the proceedings authorizing the issuance of the refunded bonds, or otherwise appertaining thereto, except for any such bond that is voluntarily surrendered for exchange or payment by the holder or owner.

E. Provision shall be made for paying the bonds refunded at the time or places provided in Subsection D of this section. The principal amount of the refunding bonds shall not exceed, but may be less than or be the same as the principal amount of the bonds being refunded so long as provision is duly and sufficiently made for the payment of the refunded bonds.

F. The proceeds of refunding bonds, including any accrued interest and premium appertaining to the sale of refunding bonds, shall either be immediately applied to the retirement of the bonds being refunded or be placed in escrow in a commercial bank or trust company that possesses and is exercising trust powers and that is a member of the federal deposit insurance corporation, to be applied to the payment of the principal of, interest on and any prior redemption premium due in connection with the bonds being refunded; provided that such refunding bond proceeds, including any accrued interest and any premium appertaining to a sale of refunding bonds, may be applied to the establishment and maintenance of a reserve fund and to the payment of expenses incidental to the refunding and the issuance of the refunding bonds, the interest on the refunding bonds and the principal of the refunding bonds or both interest and principal as the municipality may determine. Nothing in this section requires the establishment of an escrow if the refunded bonds become due and payable within one year from the date of the refunding bonds and if the amounts necessary to retire the refunded bonds within that time are deposited with the paying agent for the refunded bonds. Any such escrow shall not necessarily be limited to proceeds of refunding bonds but may include other money available for its escrow purpose. Any proceeds in escrow pending such use may be invested or reinvested in bills, certificates of indebtedness, notes or bonds that are direct obligations of or the principal and interest of which obligations are unconditionally guaranteed by the United States or in certificates of deposit of banks that are members of the federal deposit insurance corporation, the par value of which certificates of deposit is collateralized by a pledge of obligations of or the payment of which is unconditionally guaranteed by the United States, the par value of which obligations is [at] least seventy-five percent of the par value of the certificates of deposit. Such proceeds and investments in escrow together with any interest or other income to be derived from any such investment shall be in an amount at all times sufficient as to principal, interest, any prior redemption premium due and any charges of the escrow agent payable therefrom to pay the bonds being refunded as they become due at their respective maturities or due at any designated prior redemption date in connection with which the municipality shall exercise a prior redemption option. Any purchaser of any refunding bond issued pursuant to the provisions of the Supplemental Municipal Gross Receipts Tax Act is in no manner responsible for the application of the proceeds thereof by the municipality or any of its officers, agents or employees.

G. Refunding bonds may be sold at a public or negotiated sale and may bear such additional terms and provisions as may be determined by the municipality subject to limitations in the Supplemental Municipal Gross Receipts Tax Act. The terms, provisions and authorization of the refunding bonds are not subject to the provisions of any other statute, provided that the Public Securities Limitation of Action Act [6-14-4 to 6-14-7 NMSA 1978] shall be fully applicable to the issuance of refunding bonds.

H. The municipality shall receive from the department of finance and administration written approval of any refunding bonds issued pursuant to the provisions of this section.

History: Laws 1997, ch. 219, § 4.

Effective dates. — Laws 1997, ch. 219 contained no effective date provision, but, pursuant to N.M. Const., art. IV, § 23, was effective June 20, 1997, 90 days after the adjournment of the legislature.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.