159-103. Authorization of project development financing debt instruments; purposes.

(a) Each unit of local government may issue project development financing debt instruments pursuant to this Article and use the proceeds for one or more of the purposes for which any unit may issue general obligation bonds pursuant to the following subdivisions of G.S. 159-48: (b)(1), (3), (7), (11), (12), (16), (17), (19), (21), (23), (24), or (25), (c)(1), (4), (4a), or (6), or (d)(3), (4), (5), (6) or (7), or (b)(13) excluding stadiums, arenas, golf courses, swimming pools, wading pools, or marinas. In addition, the proceeds may be used for any service or facility authorized by G.S. 160A-536 to be provided in a municipal service district, but no such district need be created.

For the purpose of this Article, the term "capital costs" as defined in G.S. 159-48(h) also includes (i) interest on the debt instruments being issued or on notes issued in anticipation of the instruments during construction and for a period not exceeding seven years after the estimated date of completion of construction and (ii) the establishment of debt service reserves and any other reserves reasonably required by the financing documents. The proceeds of the debt instruments may be used either in a development financing district established pursuant to G.S. 160A-515.1 or G.S. 158-7.3 or, if the use directly benefits private development forecast by the development financing plan for the district, outside the development financing district. The proceeds may be used only for projects that enable, facilitate, or benefit private development within the development financing district, the revenue increment of which is pledged as security for the debt instruments. This subsection does not prohibit the use of proceeds to defray the cost of providing water and sewer utilities to a private development in a project development financing district.

(b) Subject to agreement with the holders of its project development financing debt instruments and the limitation on duration of development financing districts set out in this Article, each unit of local government may issue additional project development financing debt instruments and may issue debt instruments to refund any outstanding project development financing debt instruments at any time before the final maturity of the instruments to be refunded. General obligation bonds issued to refund outstanding project development financing debt instruments shall be issued under the Local Government Bond Act, Article 4 of this Chapter. Revenue bonds issued to refund outstanding project development financing debt instruments shall be issued under the State and Local Government Revenue Bond Act, Article 5 of this Chapter.

Project development financing debt instruments may be issued partly for the purpose of refunding outstanding project development financing debt instruments and partly for any other purpose under this Article. Project development financing debt instruments issued to refund outstanding project development financing debt instruments shall be issued under this Article and not under Article 4 of this Chapter.

(c) If the private development project to be benefited by proposed project development financing debt instruments affects tax revenues in more than one unit of local government and more than one affected unit of local government wishes to provide assistance to the private development project by issuing project development financing debt instruments, then those units may enter into an interlocal agreement pursuant to Article 20 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes for the purpose of issuing the instruments. The agreement may include a provision that a unit may pledge all or any part of the taxes received or to be received on the incremental valuation accruing to the development financing district to the repayment of instruments issued by another unit that is a party to the interlocal agreement.