(1) Any district now or hereafter created or organized under any general or special law heretofore or hereafter enacted by the state may, whenever in the judgment of the governing board thereof it is advisable and for the best interests of the landowners in the district, refund any or all of the then-outstanding bonded indebtedness of such district by taking up and canceling any or all of its outstanding bonds as and when they become due, or before they are due, if the holders thereof will surrender them, and issuing in lieu thereof new bonds of such district payable in such longer time, not to exceed 50 years from their date, as said governing board may determine.

(2) Such refunding bonds shall not exceed in the aggregate the amount of the bonds refunded thereby, and shall bear interest at a rate not exceeding 8 percent per annum, payable semiannually, and may be exchanged for the outstanding bonds at par or sold for not less than 95 cents on the dollar and accrued interest, and the proceeds used solely in the payment of outstanding bonds. Any discount or expense of such sale of the refunding bonds shall be paid out of the maintenance fund of the district, if any, or out of surplus in the sinking fund, if any.

(3) Any landowner shall have the right at any time within 30 days after the adoption of the resolution providing for the issuance of the refunding bonds, to pay the full amount of uncollected principal or assessment chargeable to his or her land for the payment of the bonds proposed to be refunded, and his or her lands shall thereby be released from any tax or assessment for the payment of said bonds. The landowner’s land shall remain liable, subject to the limitations prescribed in the law under which the original bonds were issued and the original or revised benefits assessed against said land, for any additional tax which may be required to pay said bonds by reason of other lands in the district not paying the tax or assessment.

(4) Unless and until refunding bonds shall have been authorized and issued, the governing board shall continue the levy of annual taxes sufficient to pay the outstanding bonds and interest thereon as they fall due. When any bonds of such district are refunded pursuant to the authority hereby conferred, the collection of corresponding installments of tax or assessment shall likewise be deferred. The governing board shall make proper provision for the payment of the principal and interest of said refunding bonds in like manner as was required in the case of the issuance of original bonds by the law under which such district is or may have been incorporated; and the holders of such refunding bonds shall have the same rights as are given the holders of bonds under the law under which such district is or may have been incorporated.

(5) Any landowner failing to avail himself or herself of the privilege conferred by this section of paying in full the unpaid principal tax or assessment against his or her land shall not be heard to complain by reason of additional interest to be collected from his or her lands by reason of the extension of the bonds.

(6) Taxes or assessments levied for the payment of refunding bonds and the interest thereon shall be secured by the same lien as other taxes of such district levied for the payment of the original bonds, and the additional interest which will accrue on account of such refunding bonds shall be included and added to the original drainage tax and shall be secured by the same lien; but the interest to accrue shall not be considered as a part of the cost of construction in determining whether the tax exceeds the benefits assessed.

(7) No proceedings shall be required for the issuance of refunding bonds other than those provided by this section; provided, however, that the validity of all bonds issued under this chapter and the validity of all proceedings had incident to and culminating in the issuance of such bonds shall, prior to the sale or delivery of such bonds, be determined and established in the manner now or hereafter provided by law for the validation of bonds issued by counties, municipalities, taxing districts or other political districts or subdivisions of this state.

History.—s. 1, ch. 13627, 1929; CGL 1936 Supp. 1493(1); s. 7, ch. 22858, 1945; s. 21, ch. 72-291; s. 21, ch. 79-5; s. 272, ch. 95-148.