Sec. 2. (a) As used in this section, "retirement or severance liability" means the payments anticipated to be required to be made to employees of a school corporation upon or after termination of the employment of the employees by the school corporation under an existing or previous employment agreement.

(b) This section applies to each school corporation that:

(1) did not issue bonds under IC 20-5-4-1.7 before its repeal; or

(2) issued bonds under IC 20-5-4-1.7 (repealed):

(A) before April 14, 2003; or

(B) after April 13, 2003, if an order approving the issuance of the bonds was issued by the department of local government finance before April 14, 2003.

(c) In addition to the purposes set forth in section 1 of this chapter, a school corporation described in subsection (b) may issue bonds to implement solutions to contractual retirement or severance liability. The issuance of bonds for this purpose is subject to the following conditions:

(1) The school corporation may issue bonds under this section only one (1) time.

(2) A school corporation described in subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2)(A) must issue the bonds before July 1, 2006.

(3) The solution to which the bonds are contributing must be reasonably expected to reduce the school corporation's unfunded contractual liability for retirement or severance payments as it existed on June 30, 2001.

(4) The amount of the bonds that may be issued for the purpose described in this section may not exceed:

(A) two percent (2%) of the true tax value of property in the school corporation, for a school corporation that did not issue bonds under IC 20-5-4-1.7 (before its repeal); or

(B) the remainder of:

(i) two percent (2%) of the true tax value of property in the school corporation as of the date that the school corporation issued bonds under IC 20-5-4-1.7 (before its repeal); minus

(ii) the amount of bonds that the school corporation issued under IC 20-5-4-1.7 (before its repeal);

for a school corporation that issued bonds under IC 20-5-4-1.7 (repealed) as described in subsection (b)(2).

(5) Each year that a debt service levy is needed under this section, the school corporation shall reduce the total property tax levy for the school corporation's operations fund in an amount equal to the property tax levy needed for the debt service under this section. The property tax rate for the operations fund shall be reduced each year until the bonds are retired.

(6) The school corporation shall establish a separate debt service fund for repayment of the bonds issued under this section.

(d) Bonds issued for the purpose described in this section shall be issued in the same manner as other bonds of the school corporation.

(e) Bonds issued under this section are not subject to the petition and remonstrance process under IC 6-1.1-20 or to the limitations contained in IC 36-1-15.

[Pre-2006 Recodification Citation: 21-2-21-1.8.]

As added by P.L.2-2006, SEC.171. Amended by P.L.1-2007, SEC.155; P.L.1-2010, SEC.83; P.L.145-2012, SEC.27; P.L.244-2017, SEC.113.