9-4-1001. Guarantee program for school district bonds.

(a) The state loan and investment board shall administer a school district bond guarantee program in accordance with this section and may promulgate rules to implement it. This program applies to bonds issued by school districts under W.S. 21-13-701 through 21-13-721 on or before November 1, 2001, only. The program is intended to benefit school districts by guaranteeing payment of bonded indebtedness of creditworthy districts by reducing the interest rate at which the bonds may be issued.

(b) A school district that seeks the guarantee of bonds under this program shall apply to the board on forms prescribed by the board. The board shall review the application, investigate the applicant district and determine whether to approve the application based upon:

(i) The purpose of the bond issue, the district's need for it, including information from the needs assessment under W.S. 21-15-115, whether the district would likely remain within constitutional debt limits after the issue and whether a guarantee under this section would likely result in reduced costs;

(ii) The district's financial status and stability;

(iii) The status of the accreditation of the district by the department of education;

(iv) Any other factor relevant to the issue and guarantee of the bonds which are the subject of the application.

(c) The board may determine to guarantee bonds under this section and may impose terms, conditions and limits on that guarantee as it finds, in its discretion, are necessary to protect state funds and ensure the viability of the program. In addition, the board may guarantee the refunding of bonds issued on or before November 1, 2001, provided the refunding is not combined with any bonds issued after November 1, 2001. A decision by the board not to guarantee bonds under this section is not subject to judicial review under the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act (W.S. 16-3-101 through 16-3-115).

(d) As a condition of participating in the bond guarantee program under this section, a school district shall enter into agreements necessary to provide that:

(i) The state of Wyoming, through the state treasurer, shall assume responsibility for and make all payments to the district's paying agent in the amount necessary to pay principal and interest on the bonds subject to the guarantee;

(ii) The district shall deposit funds with the state by a certain date and in a sufficient amount so that the state can make the entire principal and interest payment to the district's paying agent in a timely manner;

(iii) If the district fails to comply with paragraph (ii) of this subsection:

(A) The state shall make the full payment due from funds in the common school account in the permanent land fund available under W.S. 9-4-715(g) for this purpose;

(B) To the extent that the district has not deposited sufficient funds with the state to comply with paragraph (ii) of this subsection, the state is deemed to have loaned and the district is deemed to have borrowed those funds subject to the following terms and conditions:

(I) The loan shall bear interest at a rate equal to the average interest earned on investments of the common school account in the permanent land fund in the four (4) calendar quarters preceding the quarter in which the loan occurred;

(II) The loan, including principal and interest, shall be repaid from the district's next major maintenance payments under W.S. 21-15-109 and the next payments from the school foundation program account under W.S. 21-13-313. The loan is not deemed to be a general obligation of the district, and the state shall not require repayment from any source other than as provided in this subdivision;

(III) The district may make additional payments on the loan.

(C) The state loan and investment board may require the district to modify its fiscal practices and its general operations if the board determines that there is a substantial likelihood that the district will not be able to make future payments required under paragraph (ii) of this subsection.

(e) This section is repealed effective July 1, 2020.