(a)  The corporation shall have all the powers necessary or incidental to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this chapter including:

(1)  To receive and disburse such funds from the state as may be available for the purpose of the fund subject to the provisions of this chapter;

(2)  To make and enter into binding commitments to provide financial assistance to cities, towns, and local education agencies from amounts on deposit in the fund;

(3)  To enter into binding commitments to provide subsidy assistance for loans and city, town, and local education agency obligations from amounts on deposit in the fund;

(4)  To levy administrative fees on cities, towns, and local education agencies as necessary to effectuate the provisions of this chapter; provided that the total amount of all such fees does not exceed one tenth of one percent (0.001) of the original principal amount;

(5)  To engage the services of third-party vendors to provide professional services;

(6)  To establish one or more accounts within the fund; and

(7)  Such other authority as granted to the corporation under chapter 38.1 of this title.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 45-38.2-3

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Department: means the department of elementary and secondary education as established under title 16;

    (5)  "Eligible project" means an application, or a portion of an application, that meets the project evaluation criteria and approved by the council on elementary and secondary education;

    (6)  "Financial assistance" means any form of financial assistance provided by the corporation to a city, town, or LEA in accordance with this chapter for all or any part of the cost of an approved project, including, without limitation, loans, guarantees, insurance, subsidies for the payment of debt service on loans, lines of credit, and similar forms of financial assistance;

    (7)  "Fund" means the school building authority capital fund;

    (8)  "LEA" means a local education agency, a public board of education, school committee or other public authority legally constituted within the state for administrative control or direction of one or more Rhode Island public elementary or secondary schools;

    (9)  "Market rate" means the rate the city, town, or LEA would receive on the open market at the time of the original loan agreement as determined by the corporation in accordance with its rules and regulations;

    (10)  "Project evaluation criteria" means the criteria used by the school building authority to evaluate applications and rank eligible projects;

    (11)  "Project priority list" means the list of eligible projects approved by the council on elementary and secondary education ranked in the order in which financial assistance shall be awarded by the corporation; and

    (12)  "Subsidy assistance" means the credit enhancements and other measures to reduce the borrowing costs for a city, town, or LEA. See Rhode Island General Laws 45-38.2-1

  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.

(b)  Subject to the provisions of this chapter, and to any agreements with the holders of any bonds of the corporation or any trustee therefor, amounts held by the corporation for the account of the fund shall be applied by the corporation, either by direct expenditure, disbursement, or transfer to one or more other funds and accounts held by the corporation or a trustee under a trust agreement or trust indenture entered into by the corporation with respect to bonds or notes issued by the corporation under this chapter or by a holder of bonds or notes issued by the corporation under this chapter, either alone or with other funds of the corporation, to the following purposes:

(1)  To provide financial assistance to cities, towns, and local education agencies to finance costs of approved projects, and to refinance the costs of the projects, subject to such terms and conditions, if any, as are determined by the department and/or the corporation;

(2)  To fund reserves for bonds of the corporation and to purchase insurance and pay the premiums therefor, and pay fees and expenses of letters or lines of credit and costs of reimbursement to the issuers thereof for any payments made thereon or on any insurance, and to otherwise provide security for, and a source of payment for obligations of the corporation, by pledge, lien, assignment, or otherwise as provided in chapter 38.1 of this title;

(3)  To pay or provide for subsidy assistance as determined by the school building authority;

(4)  To provide a reserve for, or to otherwise secure, amounts payable by cities, towns, and local education agencies on loans and city, town, and local education agency obligations outstanding in the event of default thereof; amounts in any account in the fund may be applied to defaults on loans outstanding to the city, town, or local education agency for which the account was established and, on a parity basis with all other accounts, to defaults on any loans or city, town, or local education agency obligations outstanding; and

(5)  To provide a reserve for, or to otherwise secure, by pledge, lien, assignment, or otherwise as provided in chapter 38.1 of this title, any bonds or notes of the corporation issued under this chapter.

(c)  The repayment obligations of the city, town, or local education agency for loans shall be in accordance with its eligibility for state aid for school housing as set forth in §§ 16-7-39, 16-77.1-5, and 16-105-3(19).

(d)  In addition to other remedies of the corporation under any loan or financing agreement or otherwise provided by law, the corporation may also recover from a city, town, or local education agency, in an action in superior court, any amount due the corporation together with any other actual damages the corporation shall have sustained from the failure or refusal of the city, town, or local education agency to make the payments or abide by the terms of the loan or financing agreement.

History of Section.
P.L. 2015, ch. 141, art. 9, § 4; P.L. 2018, ch. 47, art. 9, § 4; P.L. 2019, ch. 88, art. 9, § 15.