229.48 Issuance of bonds.

(1) A district may issue bonds for costs and purposes that are related to an exposition center or an exposition center facility or sports and entertainment arena or sports and entertainment arena facilities, including all of the following:

(a) Costs of acquiring, constructing, equipping, maintaining or improving an exposition center or an exposition center facility or initially developing and constructing a sports and entertainment arena or sports and entertainment arena facilities.

(b) Costs of acquiring or improving an exposition center site or sports and entertainment arena facilities site.

(c) Engineering, architectural or consultant fees, costs of environmental or feasibility studies, permit and license fees and similar planning or preparatory costs, that are related to an exposition center or exposition center facility or sports and entertainment arena or sports and entertainment arena facilities.

(d) Funding budgeted costs for an exposition center or exposition center facility or sports and entertainment arena or sports and entertainment arena facilities for the 6-month period immediately following the completion of its construction or acquisition.

(e) Interest on bonds or on any debt that is retired with the proceeds of bonds, if the interest is incurred or is reasonably expected to be incurred during the time period beginning a reasonable time period prior to the construction or acquisition of an exposition center or exposition center facility or sports and entertainment arena or sports and entertainment arena facilities and ending 6 months after the completion of the construction or acquisition.

(f) Expenses related to the authorization, issuance and sale of the bonds.

(g) Funding reserves authorized by the bond resolution.

(1m) For financing purposes, exposition centers and exposition center facilities and sports and entertainment arenas and sports and entertainment arena facilities are public utilities and tax revenues imposed under s. 66.0615 (1m) (a) and (b) and subchs. VIII and IX of ch. 77 are property or income of the public utility.

(2) All bonds are negotiable for all purposes, notwithstanding their payment from a limited source. A district may retain the building commission, the department of administration, or any other person as its financial consultant to assist with and coordinate the issuance of bonds and shall use the building commission as its financial consultant for bonds secured by a special debt service reserve fund under s. 229.50.

(3) The bonds of each issue shall be payable solely out of revenues of the district specified in the bond resolution under which the bonds are issued.

(4) A district may not issue bonds unless the issuance is first authorized by a bond resolution. Bonds shall bear the dates, mature at the times not exceeding 40 years from their dates of issue, be payable at the times, be in the denominations, be in the form, carry the registration and conversion privileges, be executed in the manner, be payable in lawful money of any sovereign government at the places, and be subject to the terms of redemption, that the bond resolution provides. Bonds shall bear interest at fixed, variable or no interest, as provided in the bond resolution. The bonds shall be executed by the manual or facsimile signatures of the officers of the district designated by the board of directors. The bonds may be sold at public or private sale at the price, in the manner and at the time determined by the board of directors. Pending preparation of definitive bonds, a district may issue interim receipts or certificates that shall be exchanged for the definitive bonds.

(5) A bond resolution may contain provisions, which shall be a part of the contract with the holders of the bonds that are authorized by the bond resolution, regarding any of the following:

(a) Pledging or assigning specified assets or revenues of the district.

(b) Setting aside reserves or sinking funds, and the regulation, investment and disposition of these funds.

(c) Limitations on the purpose to which or the investments in which the proceeds of the sale of any issue of bonds may be applied.

(d) Limitations on the issuance of additional bonds, the terms upon which additional bonds may be issued and secured and the terms upon which additional bonds may rank on a parity with, or be subordinate or superior to, other bonds.

(e) Funding, refunding, advance refunding or purchasing outstanding bonds.

(f) Procedures, if any, by which the terms of any contract with bondholders may be amended, the amount of bonds the holders of which must consent to the amendment and the manner in which this consent may be given.

(g) Defining the acts or omissions to act that constitute a default in the duties of the district issuing the bonds to the bondholders, and providing the rights and remedies of the bondholders in the event of a default.

(h) Other matters relating to the bonds that the board of directors considers desirable.

(6) Neither the members of the board of directors nor any person executing the bonds is liable personally on the bonds or subject to any personal liability or accountability by reason of the issuance of the bonds, unless the personal liability or accountability is the result of willful misconduct.

(7) The maximum amount of bond proceeds that a district may receive from bonds issued to fund the development and construction of sports and entertainment arena facilities is $203,000,000. The district may receive additional proceeds from the bonds to pay issuance or administrative costs related to the bonds, to make deposits in reserve funds related to the bonds, to pay accrued or funded interest on the bonds, and to pay the costs of credit enhancement for the bonds.

History: 1993 a. 263; 1999 a. 150 s. 672; 2015 a. 60.