A. An incorporated municipality shall have power to issue business improvement district revenue bonds from time to time in its discretion to finance the undertaking of any improvement within a district or the exercise of any power, authorized or delegated under the Business Improvement District Act, including but not limited to the issuance of bonds to pay the costs of installation, acquisition, construction or reconstruction of any public facility within the district's area of operation. An incorporated municipality shall also have power to issue refunding bonds for the payment or retirement of bonds previously issued by it pursuant to the Business Improvement District Act. These bonds shall be made payable as to both principal and interest solely from the income, proceeds, revenues and funds of the incorporated municipality derived from or held in connection with its undertakings and carrying out of authorized improvements within a district or activities under the Business Improvement District Act. Payment of these bonds, both as to principal and interest, may be further secured by a pledge of any loan, grant or contribution from the federal government or other source in aid of any improvements within a district under the Business Improvement District Act and by a mortgage or pledge of any of the real property acquired within a district or otherwise pursuant to the authority granted by the Business Improvement District Act.

B. Bonds issued under this section shall not constitute an indebtedness within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory debt limitation or restriction and shall not be subject to the provisions of any other law or charter relating to the authorization, issuance or sale of bonds. Bonds issued under the provisions of the Business Improvement District Act are declared to be issued for an essential public and governmental purpose and the bonds and interest and income from them shall be exempted from all taxes.

C. Bonds issued under this section shall be authorized by ordinance of the council if the authorization and planned issuance of the bonds was included in an improvement approved by the council and may be issued in one or more series and shall bear a date or dates, be payable upon demand or mature at a time or times, bear interest at a rate or rates not exceeding the legally authorized rate, be in a denomination or denominations, be in the form provided by the Supplemental Public Securities Act [6-14-8 to 6-14-11 NMSA 1978] as to registration, have rank or priority, be executed in a manner, be payable in a medium of payment at a place or places, be subject to the terms of redemption, with or without premium, be secured in a manner and have the other characteristics as may be provided by the resolution or trust indenture or mortgage issued pursuant thereto.

D. The bonds or any portion of the bonds may be sold at not less than par at public sales held after notice published prior to the sale in a newspaper having a general circulation in the area of operation and in any other medium of publication as the council may determine. The bonds may be exchanged for other bonds on the basis of par. The bonds may be sold to the federal government or to the state at private sale at not less than par, and, in the event less than all of the authorized principal amount of the bonds is sold to the federal government or to the state, the balance may be sold at private sale at not less than par at an interest cost to the incorporated municipality of not to exceed the interest cost to the incorporated municipality of the portion of the bonds sold to the federal government.

E. In case any of the public officials of the incorporated municipality whose signatures appear on any bonds or coupons issued under the Business Improvement District Act shall cease to be public officials before the delivery of the bonds, the signatures shall, nevertheless, be valid and sufficient for all purposes, the same as if the officials had remained in office until delivery. Any bonds issued pursuant to the Business Improvement District Act shall be fully negotiable.

F. In any suit, action or proceeding involving the validity or enforceability of any bond issued under the Business Improvement District Act or the security therefor, any bond reciting in substance that it has been issued by the incorporated municipality in connection with authorized improvements within a district shall be conclusively deemed to have been issued for that purpose, and the project shall be conclusively deemed to have been planned, located and carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Business Improvement District Act.

History: Laws 1988, ch. 32, § 12.