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This entry was published on 2014-09-22
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SECTION 2431
Legislative findings
Public Authorities (PBA) CHAPTER 43-A, ARTICLE 8, TITLE 18
§ 2431. Legislative findings. It is hereby declared to be in the
public interest and to be the policy of the state to foster and promote
by all reasonable means the provision of adequate capital markets and
facilities for borrowing money by its several municipalities for the
financing of their public improvements or purposes from proceeds of
bonds or notes issued by those municipalities, and to assist those
municipalities in fulfilling their needs for improvements by use of
creation of indebtedness and to the extent possible to reduce costs of
indebtedness to taxpayers and residents of the state and to encourage
continued investor interest in the purchase of bonds or notes of
municipalities as sound and preferred securities for investment. It is
in the public interest and is the policy of the state to encourage its
municipalities to continue their independent undertakings of public
improvements and purposes and the financing thereof and to assist them
therein by making funds available at reduced interest costs for orderly
financing of public improvements and purposes, particularly for those
municipalities not otherwise able to borrow for those purposes. It is
further declared the state should exercise its power in the interest of
its municipalities to further and implement those policies by
authorizing a state instrumentality to be created as a body corporate
and politic to have full powers to borrow money and to issue its bonds
and notes to make funds available through the facilities of that
instrumentality at reduced rates and on more favorable terms for
borrowing by municipalities through the purchase by that instrumentality
of the bonds or notes of municipalities and by granting broad powers to
the instrumentality to accomplish and to carry out the aforesaid
policies of the state which are in the public interest of the state and
of its taxpayers and residents. It is further declared to be in the
public interest and is the policy of the state that such instrumentality
should so conduct its operations, including the full utilization of
existing public corporations, as to provide the lowest rates in terms of
borrowing to municipalities as is consistent with a self-supporting
operation with no expectation of subsidization with state funds.

It is further declared to be in the public interest and it is the
policy of the state to provide a means by which certain cities may
receive moneys to refund certain property taxes determined to be in
excess of state constitutional tax limits or to reimburse such cities
for the prior refunding of such taxes.

It is further declared to be in the public interest and it is the
policy of the state to provide a means by which certain special program
municipalities may receive moneys for the purpose of paying the cost of
settling litigation involving the city school districts of such special
program municipalities and the teachers' unions thereof.

It is hereby further declared that many municipalities are owed
millions of dollars annually in unpaid property taxes. Such uncollected
taxes adversely impact the municipalities' ability to timely collect the
moneys necessary to meet their operating expenditures and provide for
the delivery of necessary local government services, amplifying the risk
of future real property tax increases and negatively impacting those
taxpayers who timely remit payment. It is hereby further declared that
limited means exist for municipalities to expedite the collection of
such delinquent taxes and that as a result such delinquencies often
remain unpaid thereby creating a lien against the affected real property
and that the sale of such tax liens will enable municipalities to
expedite the receipt of anticipated revenues and provide a funding
source which will enable municipalities to more effectively carry out
their public purposes. It is further declared that the state should
exercise its power in the interest of its municipalities to facilitate
the sale and purchase of tax liens by authorizing such instrumentality,
a trust or other single purpose entity or entities created by such
instrumentality, to have full powers to borrow money and to issue its
bonds, notes, certificates of participation or other obligations to make
funds available to municipalities through the facilities of said
instrumentality by the purchase through that instrumentality of the
delinquent tax liens created and held by municipalities and by granting
broad powers to such instrumentality to accomplish and to carry out the
aforesaid policies of the state which are in the public interest of the
state and of its taxpayers and residents.

It is hereby further found and declared that, on September eleventh,
two thousand one, events occurred that resulted in dramatic and
unforeseen negative fiscal changes which affected the state and certain
municipalities thereof. The impact of these events, if left
unremediated, is contrary to the public interest of the state and such
municipalities, and threatens a decline in the general prosperity and
economic welfare of the inhabitants of such municipalities and the
people of the state. Accordingly, it is a matter of substantial and
imperative state concern that such municipalities not fail to address
local needs and thereby suffer adverse consequences. It is further
declared to be in the public interest and it is the policy of the state
to provide a means for such municipalities to receive assistance to meet
their obligations and thereby be assisted in relieving the effects of
the negative fiscal changes caused by the September eleventh, two
thousand one events.

It is further declared to be in the public interest and it is the
policy of the state to provide a means by which the enlarged city school
district of the city of Troy may receive moneys for the specific object
and purpose of liquidating the projected accumulated deficit in its
general fund at the close of its fiscal year ending June thirtieth, two
thousand two, including any budget notes and revenue anticipation notes
which may be a part of the deficit.

It is further declared to be in the public interest and it is the
policy of the state to provide a means by which the Shoreham-Wading
River Central School District may receive moneys for the specific object
and purpose of mitigating the adverse fiscal impact resulting from the
loss to the district of a significant majority of the taxable property
that it depended on for support of its educational programs.

It is further declared to be in the public interest and it is the
policy of the state to provide a means by which a municipality in the
state can take advantage of the opportunities for borrowing to provide
for public improvements afforded by the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 and to do so by authorizing a state
instrumentality to borrow money and use the proceeds to purchase
obligations issued by a municipality under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009, thereby resulting in efficiencies and interest
rate savings to the municipality.

It is further declared to be in the public interest and it is the
policy of the state to provide a means by which state and local first-
responder public safety agencies can establish regional communications
capabilities, intended to serve as a part of a statewide interoperable
network, and to do so by authorizing a state instrumentality to borrow
money and use the proceeds to purchase obligations issued by a
municipality to fund these communications capabilities, thereby
resulting in savings for taxpayers.