§ 55 — No title

§ 55. 1. Findings and declaration of need. (a) The state of New York\nfinds and determines that the global spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus\ndisease is having and is expected to continue to have a significant\nimpact on the health and welfare of individuals in the state as well as\na significant financial impact on the state. The serious threat posed by\nthe COVID-19 coronavirus disease has caused governments, including the\nstate, to adopt policies, regulations and procedures to suspend various\nlegal requirements in order to: (i) respond to and mitigate the impact\nof the outbreak; and (ii) address budgetary pressures to the state\narising from anticipated shortfalls and deferrals in the state's fiscal\n2021 financial plan receipts, thereby requiring that certain fiscal\nmanagement authorization measures be authorized and established.\n (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,\nincluding, specifically, the provisions of chapter 59 of the laws of\n2000 and section 67-b of the state finance law, during the state's 2021\nfiscal year, the dormitory authority of the state of New York and the\nurban development corporation are authorized to: (i) enter into\ncommitments with financial institutions for the establishment of one or\nmore line of credit facilities and other similar revolving financing\narrangements not in excess of three billion dollars in aggregate\nprincipal amount outstanding at any one time; (ii) draw, at one or more\ntimes at the direction of the director of the budget, upon such line of\ncredit facilities and provide to the state the amounts so drawn for the\npurpose of assisting the state to temporarily finance its budgetary\nneeds; and (iii) secure repayment of such draws under such line of\ncredit facilities with a service contract of the state, which payment\nobligation thereunder shall not constitute a debt of the state within\nthe meaning of any constitutional or statutory provision and shall be\ndeemed executory only to the extent moneys are available and that no\nliability shall be incurred by the state beyond the moneys available for\nsuch purpose, and that such payment obligation is subject to annual\nappropriation by the legislature. Any line of credit facility agreements\nentered by the dormitory authority of the state of New York and/or the\nurban development corporation with financial institutions pursuant to\nthis section may contain such provisions that the dormitory authority of\nthe state of New York and/or the urban development corporation deem\nnecessary or desirable for the establishment of such credit facilities.\nThe maximum original term of any line of credit facility shall be one\nyear from the date of incurrence; provided however that any such line of\ncredit facility may be extended, renewed or refinanced for up to two\nadditional one year terms. If on or before the maturity date of the\noriginal term of such line of credit facility or any renewal or\nextension term thereof, the director of the division of the budget shall\ndetermine that all or a portion of any outstanding line of credit\nfacility shall be refinanced on a long-term basis, the dormitory\nauthority of the state of New York and/or the urban development\ncorporation are authorized to refinance such line of credit facility\nwith state personal income tax revenue bonds and/or state service\ncontract bonds in one or more series in an aggregate principal amount\nnot to exceed the then outstanding principal amount of such line of\ncredit facility and any accrued interest thereon, plus an amount\nnecessary to finance one or more debt service reserve funds and to pay\ncosts of issuance of such state personal income tax revenue bonds and/or\nstate service contract bonds.\n (c) Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or regulation to the\ncontrary, the comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to deposit\nto the credit of the general fund, all amounts provided by the dormitory\nauthority of the state of New York and/or the urban development\ncorporation to the state from draws made on any line of credit facility\nauthorized by paragraph (b) of this subdivision.\n (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,\nincluding specifically the provisions of subdivision 3 of section 67-b\nof the state finance law, no capital work or purpose shall be required\nfor any indebtedness incurred in connection with any line of credit\nfacility authorized by paragraph (b) of this subdivision and any\nextensions or renewals thereof, or for any state personal income tax\nrevenue bonds and/or state service contract bonds issued to refinance\nany of the foregoing, or for any service contract entered into in\nconnection with any line of credit facility, all in accordance with this\nsection.\n (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, for so\nlong as any such line of credit facility shall remain outstanding, the\nrestrictions, limitations and requirements contained in article 5-B of\nthe state finance law shall not apply. In addition, such restrictions,\nlimitations and requirements shall not apply to any state personal\nincome tax revenue bonds and/or state service contract bonds issued to\nrefund such line of credit facility for so long as such state personal\nincome tax revenue bonds and/or state service contract bonds shall\nremain outstanding, including any state-supported debt issued to refund\nsuch state personal income tax revenue bonds and/or state service\ncontract bonds. Any such line of credit facility, including any\nextensions or renewals thereof, and any state personal income tax\nrevenue bonds and/or state service contract bonds issued to refund such\nline of credit facilities shall be deemed to be incurred or issued for\nan authorized purpose within the meaning of subdivision 2 of section\n68-a of the state finance law. As applicable, all of the provisions of\nthe state finance law, the dormitory authority act and the New York\nstate urban development corporation act relating to notes and bonds\nwhich are not inconsistent with the provisions of this section shall\napply to any issuance of state personal income tax revenue bonds and/or\nstate service contract bonds issued to refinance any line of credit\nfacility authorized by paragraph (b) of this subdivision. The issuance\nof any state personal income tax revenue bonds and/or state service\ncontract bonds issued to refinance any such line of credit facility\nshall further be subject to the approval of the director of the division\nof the budget.\n (f) Any draws on a line of credit facility authorized by paragraph (b)\nof this subdivision shall only be made and the service contract entered\ninto in connection with such line of credit facilities shall only be\nexecuted and delivered to the dormitory authority of the state of New\nYork and/or the urban development corporation if the legislature has\nenacted sufficient appropriation authority to provide for the repayment\nof all amounts expected to be drawn by the dormitory authority of the\nstate of New York and/or the urban development corporation under such\nline of credit facility during fiscal year 2021. Amounts repaid under a\nline of credit facility during fiscal year 2021 may be re-borrowed\nduring such fiscal year provided that the legislature has enacted\nsufficient appropriation authority to provide for the repayment of any\nsuch re-borrowed amounts. Neither the dormitory authority of the state\nof New York nor the urban development corporation shall have any\nfinancial liability for the repayment of draws under any line of credit\nfacility authorized by paragraph (b) of this subdivision beyond the\nmoneys received for such purpose under the service contract authorized\nby paragraph (g) of this subdivision.\n (g) The director of the budget is authorized to enter into one or more\nservice contracts or other agreements, none of which shall exceed 30\nyears in duration, with the dormitory authority of the state of New York\nand/or the urban development corporation, upon such terms and conditions\nas the director of the budget and dormitory authority of the state of\nNew York and/or the urban development corporation shall agree. Any\nservice contract or other agreements entered into pursuant to this\nparagraph shall provide for state commitments to provide annually to the\ndormitory authority of the state of New York and/or the urban\ndevelopment corporation a sum or sums, upon such terms and conditions as\nshall be deemed appropriate by the director of the budget and the\ndormitory authority of the state of New York and/or the urban\ndevelopment corporation, to fund the payment of amounts due under any\nline of credit facility and any state personal income tax revenue bonds\nand/or state service contract bonds issued to refinance such line of\ncredit facility. Any such service contract or other agreements shall\nprovide that the obligation of the director of the budget or of the\nstate to fund or to pay the amounts therein provided for shall not\nconstitute a debt of the state within the meaning of any constitutional\nor statutory provision and shall be deemed executory only to the extent\nmoneys are available and that no liability shall be incurred by the\nstate beyond the moneys available for such purpose, and that such\nobligation is subject to annual appropriation by the legislature.\n (h) Any service contract or other agreements entered into pursuant to\nparagraph (g) of this subdivision or any payments made or to be made\nthereunder may be assigned and pledged by the dormitory authority of the\nstate of New York and/or the urban development corporation as security\nfor any related payment obligation it may have with one or more\nfinancial institutions in connection with a line of credit facility\nauthorized by paragraph (b) of this subdivision.\n (i) In addition to the foregoing, the director of the budget, the\ndormitory authority of the state of New York and the urban development\ncorporation shall each be authorized to enter into such other agreements\nand to take or cause to be taken such additional actions as are\nnecessary or desirable to effectuate the purposes of the transactions\ncontemplated by a line of credit facility and the related service\ncontract.\n (j) No later than seven days after a draw occurs on the line of credit\nfacility, the director of the budget shall provide notification of such\ndraw to the president pro tempore of the senate and the speaker of the\nassembly.\n (k) The authorization, establishment and use by the dormitory\nauthority of the state of New York and the urban development corporation\nof a line of credit facility authorized by paragraph (b) of this\nsubdivision, and the execution, sale and issuance of state personal\nincome tax revenue bonds and/or state service contract bonds to\nrefinance any such line of credit facility shall not be deemed an\naction, as such term is defined in article 8 of the environmental\nconservation law, for the purposes of such article. Such exemption shall\nbe strictly limited in its application to such financing activities of\nthe dormitory authority of the state of New York and the urban\ndevelopment corporation undertaken pursuant to this section and does not\nexempt any other entity from compliance with such article.\n (l) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to limit the\nabilities of the director of the budget and the authorized issuers of\nstate-supported debt to perform their respective obligations on existing\nservice contracts or other agreements entered into prior to April 1,\n2020.\n 2. Effect of inconsistent provisions. Insofar as the provisions of\nthis section are inconsistent with the provisions of any other law,\ngeneral, special, or local, the provisions of this act shall be\ncontrolling.\n 3. Severability; construction. The provisions of this section shall be\nseverable, and if the application of any clause, sentence, paragraph,\nsubdivision, section or part of this section to any person or\ncircumstance shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to\nbe invalid, such judgment shall not necessarily affect, impair or\ninvalidate the application of any such clause, sentence, paragraph,\nsubdivision, section, part of this section or remainder thereof, as the\ncase may be, to any other person or circumstance, but shall be confined\nin its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision,\nsection or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which\nsuch judgment shall have been rendered.\n