Section 55 - [Authorization of one or more line of credit facilities and other similar revolving financing arrangements]1. Findings and declaration of need. (a) The state of New York finds and determines that the global spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease is having and is expected to continue to have a significant impact on the health and welfare of individuals in the state as well as a significant financial impact on the state. The serious threat posed by the COVID-19 coronavirus disease has caused governments, including the state, to adopt policies, regulations and procedures to suspend various legal requirements in order to: (i) respond to and mitigate the impact of the outbreak; and (ii) address budgetary pressures to the state arising from anticipated shortfalls and deferrals in the state's fiscal 2021 financial plan receipts, thereby requiring that certain fiscal management authorization measures be authorized and established. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, including, specifically, the provisions of chapter 59 of the laws of 2000 and section 67-b of the state finance law, during the state's 2021 fiscal year, the dormitory authority of the state of New York and the urban development corporation are authorized to: (i) enter into commitments with financial institutions for the establishment of one or more line of credit facilities and other similar revolving financing arrangements not in excess of three billion dollars in aggregate principal amount outstanding at any one time; (ii) draw, at one or more times at the direction of the director of the budget, upon such line of credit facilities and provide to the state the amounts so drawn for the purpose of assisting the state to temporarily finance its budgetary needs; and(iii) secure repayment of such draws under such line of credit facilities with a service contract of the state, which payment obligation thereunder shall not constitute a debt of the state within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory provision and shall be deemed executory only to the extent moneys are available and that no liability shall be incurred by the state beyond the moneys available for such purpose, and that such payment obligation is subject to annual appropriation by the legislature. Any line of credit facility agreements entered by the dormitory authority of the state of New York and/or the urban development corporation with financial institutions pursuant to this section may contain such provisions that the dormitory authority of the state of New York and/or the urban development corporation deem necessary or desirable for the establishment of such credit facilities. The maximum original term of any line of credit facility shall be one year from the date of incurrence; provided however that any such line of credit facility may be extended, renewed or refinanced for up to two additional one year terms. If on or before the maturity date of the original term of such line of credit facility or any renewal or extension term thereof, the director of the division of the budget shall determine that all or a portion of any outstanding line of credit facility shall be refinanced on a long-term basis, the dormitory authority of the state of New York and/or the urban development corporation are authorized to refinance such line of credit facility with state personal income tax revenue bonds and/or state service contract bonds in one or more series in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed the then outstanding principal amount of such line of credit facility and any accrued interest thereon, plus an amount necessary to finance one or more debt service reserve funds and to pay costs of issuance of such state personal income tax revenue bonds and/or state service contract bonds. (c) Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to deposit to the credit of the general fund, all amounts provided by the dormitory authority of the state of New York and/or the urban development corporation to the state from draws made on any line of credit facility authorized by paragraph (b) of this subdivision. (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, including specifically the provisions of subdivision 3 of section 67-b of the state finance law, no capital work or purpose shall be required for any indebtedness incurred in connection with any line of credit facility authorized by paragraph (b) of this subdivision and any extensions or renewals thereof, or for any state personal income tax revenue bonds and/or state service contract bonds issued to refinance any of the foregoing, or for any service contract entered into in connection with any line of credit facility, all in accordance with this section. (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, for so long as any such line of credit facility shall remain outstanding, the restrictions, limitations and requirements contained in article 5-B of the state finance law shall not apply. In addition, such restrictions, limitations and requirements shall not apply to any state personal income tax revenue bonds and/or state service contract bonds issued to refund such line of credit facility for so long as such state personal income tax revenue bonds and/or state service contract bonds shall remain outstanding, including any state-supported debt issued to refund such state personal income tax revenue bonds and/or state service contract bonds. Any such line of credit facility, including any extensions or renewals thereof, and any state personal income tax revenue bonds and/or state service contract bonds issued to refund such line of credit facilities shall be deemed to be incurred or issued for an authorized purpose within the meaning of subdivision 2 of section 68-a of the state finance law. As applicable, all of the provisions of the state finance law, the dormitory authority act and the New York state urban development corporation act relating to notes and bonds which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this section shall apply to any issuance of state personal income tax revenue bonds and/or state service contract bonds issued to refinance any line of credit facility authorized by paragraph (b) of this subdivision. The issuance of any state personal income tax revenue bonds and/or state service contract bonds issued to refinance any such line of credit facility shall further be subject to the approval of the director of the division of the budget. (f) Any draws on a line of credit facility authorized by paragraph (b) of this subdivision shall only be made and the service contract entered into in connection with such line of credit facilities shall only be executed and delivered to the dormitory authority of the state of New York and/or the urban development corporation if the legislature has enacted sufficient appropriation authority to provide for the repayment of all amounts expected to be drawn by the dormitory authority of the state of New York and/or the urban development corporation under such line of credit facility during fiscal year 2021. Amounts repaid under a line of credit facility during fiscal year 2021 may be re-borrowed during such fiscal year provided that the legislature has enacted sufficient appropriation authority to provide for the repayment of any such re-borrowed amounts. Neither the dormitory authority of the state of New York nor the urban development corporation shall have any financial liability for the repayment of draws under any line of credit facility authorized by paragraph (b) of this subdivision beyond the moneys received for such purpose under the service contract authorized by para- graph (g) of this subdivision. (g) The director of the budget is authorized to enter into one or more service contracts or other agreements, none of which shall exceed 30 years in duration, with the dormitory authority of the state of New York and/or the urban development corporation, upon such terms and conditions as the director of the budget and dormitory authority of the state of New York and/or the urban development corporation shall agree. Any service contract or other agreements entered into pursuant to this para- graph shall provide for state commitments to provide annually to the dormitory authority of the state of New York and/or the urban development corporation a sum or sums, upon such terms and conditions as shall be deemed appropriate by the director of the budget and the dormitory authority of the state of New York and/or the urban development corporation, to fund the payment of amounts due under any line of credit facility and any state personal income tax revenue bonds and/or state service contract bonds issued to refinance such line of credit facility. Any such service contract or other agreements shall provide that the obligation of the director of the budget or of the state to fund or to pay the amounts therein provided for shall not constitute a debt of the state within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory provision and shall be deemed executory only to the extent moneys are available and that no liability shall be incurred by the state beyond the moneys available for such purpose, and that such obligation is subject to annual appropriation by the legislature. (h) Any service contract or other agreements entered into pursuant to paragraph (g) of this subdivision or any payments made or to be made thereunder may be assigned and pledged by the dormitory authority of the state of New York and/or the urban development corporation as security for any related payment obligation it may have with one or more financial institutions in connection with a line of credit facility authorized by paragraph (b) of this subdivision. (i) In addition to the foregoing, the director of the budget, the dormitory authority of the state of New York and the urban development corporation shall each be authorized to enter into such other agreements and to take or cause to be taken such additional actions as are necessary or desirable to effectuate the purposes of the transactions contemplated by a line of credit facility and the related service contract. (j) No later than seven days after a draw occurs on the line of credit facility, the director of the budget shall provide notification of such draw to the president pro tempore of the senate and the speaker of the assembly. (k) The authorization, establishment and use by the dormitory authority of the state of New York and the urban development corporation of a line of credit facility authorized by paragraph (b) of this subdivision, and the execution, sale and issuance of state personal income tax revenue bonds and/or state service contract bonds to refinance any such line of credit facility shall not be deemed an action, as such term is defined in article 8 of the environmental conservation law, for the purposes of such article. Such exemption shall be strictly limited in its application to such financing activities of the dormitory authority of the state of New York and the urban development corporation undertaken pursuant to this section and does not exempt any other entity from compliance with such article. (l) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to limit the abilities of the director of the budget and the authorized issuers of state-supported debt to perform their respective obligations on existing service contracts or other agreements entered into prior to April 1, 2020. 2. Effect of inconsistent provisions. Insofar as the provisions of this section are inconsistent with the provisions of any other law, general, special, or local, the provisions of this act shall be controlling. 3. Severability; construction. The provisions of this section shall be severable, and if the application of any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of this section to any person or circumstance shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not necessarily affect, impair or invalidate the application of any such clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, part of this section or remainder thereof, as the case may be, to any other person or circumstance, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.N.Y. Urban Development Corporation Act Law § 55
Added by New York Laws 2020, ch. 56,Sec. JJ-49-b, eff. 4/3/2020, op. 4/1/2020.