Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Statutory
provision. The commissioner of education must administer the guarantee program
for open-enrollment charter school bonds according to the provisions of Texas
Education Code (TEC), Chapter 45, Subchapter C.
(b) Definitions. The following definitions
apply to the guarantee program for open-enrollment charter school bonds.
(1) Amortization expense--the annual expense
of any debt and/or loan obligations.
(2) Annual debt service--payments of
principal and noncapitalized interest on outstanding bonded debt scheduled to
occur during a charter district's fiscal year as reported by the Municipal
Advisory Council (MAC) of Texas or its successor, if the charter district is
responsible for outstanding bonded indebtedness.
(A) The annual debt service will be
determined by the current report of the bonded indebtedness of the charter
district as reported by the MAC of Texas or its successor as of the date of the
application deadline.
(B) Solely
for the purpose of this calculation, the debt service amounts for variable rate
bonds will be those that are published in the final official statement or, if
there is no official statement, debt service amounts based on the maximum rate
permitted by the bond resolution or other bond proceeding that establishes a
maximum interest rate for the bonds.
(C) Annual debt service includes required
payments into a sinking fund as authorized under 26 United States Code (USC)
§54A(d)(4)(C), provided that the sinking fund is maintained by a trustee
or other entity approved by the commissioner that is not under the control or
common control of the charter district.
(3) Application deadline--the last business
day of the month in which an application for a guarantee is filed. Applications
must be submitted electronically through the website of the MAC of Texas or its
successor by 5:00 p.m. on the last business day of the month to be considered
in that month's application processing. This application deadline does not
apply to applications for issues to refund bonds previously guaranteed by the
Bond Guarantee Program.
(4) Board
resolution--the resolution adopted by the governing body of an open-enrollment
charter holder that:
(A) requests guarantee
of bonds through the Bond Guarantee Program; and
(B) authorizes the charter holder's
administration to pursue bond financing.
(5) Bond--a debt security issuance approved
by the attorney general, issued under TEC, Chapter 53, to provide long-term
financing with a maturity schedule of at least three years.
(6) Bond Guarantee Program (BGP)--the
guarantee program that is described by this section and established under TEC,
Chapter 45, Subchapter C.
(7) Bond
resolution--the resolution, indenture, or other instrument adopted by the
governing body of an issuer of bonds authorizing the issuance of bonds for the
benefit of a charter district.
(8)
Charter district--an open-enrollment charter holder designated as a charter
district under subsection (e) of this section, as authorized by TEC, §
12.135.
(9) Combination issue--an issuance of bonds
for which an application for a guarantee is filed that includes both a new
money portion and a refunding portion, as permitted by TEC, Chapter 53. The
eligibility of combination issues for the guarantee is limited by the
eligibility of the new money and refunding portions as defined in this
subsection.
(10) Debt service
coverage ratio--a measure of a charter district's ability to pay interest and
principal with cash generated from current operations. The debt service
coverage ratio (total debt service coverage on all long-term capital debt)
equals the excess of revenues over expenses plus interest expense plus
depreciation expense plus amortization expense, all divided by annual debt
service. The calculation can be expressed as: (Excess of revenues over expenses
+ interest expense + depreciation expense + amortization expense)/ annual debt
service.
(11) Depreciation
expense--the audited amount of depreciation that was expensed during the fiscal
period.
(12) Educational
facility--a classroom building, laboratory, science building, faculty or
administrative office building, or other facility used exclusively for the
conduct of the educational and administrative functions of a charter
school.
(13) Foundation School
Program (FSP)--the program established under TEC, Chapters 41, 42, and 46, or
any successor program of state appropriated funding for school districts in the
state of Texas.
(14) Long-term
debt--any debt of the charter district that has a term of greater than three
years and is secured on a parity basis with the bonds to be
guaranteed.
(15) Maximum annual
debt service--as of any date of calculation, the highest annual debt service
requirements with respect to all outstanding long-term debt for any succeeding
fiscal year.
(16) Nationally
recognized investment rating firm--an investment rating firm that is designated
by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission as a nationally
recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) and is demonstrating that it
has:
(A) had its current NRSRO designation for
at least three consecutive years;
(B) provided credit ratings to each of the
following:
(i) fifteen or more fixed income
securities denominated in United States dollars and issued during the
immediately preceding three years;
(ii) ten or more school districts in the
United States;
(iii) one or more
charter schools in the United States; and
(C) a documented separation of duties between
employees involved in credit analysis and employees involved in business
relationships with clients.
(17) New money issue--an issuance of revenue
bonds under TEC, Chapter 53, for the purposes of:
(A) the acquisition, construction, repair, or
renovation of an educational facility of an open-enrollment charter school and
equipping real property of an open-enrollment charter school, provided that any
bonds for student or teacher housing must meet the following criteria:
(i) the proposed housing is contemplated in
the charter or charter application; and
(ii) the proposed housing is an essential and
integral part of the educational program included in the charter contract;
or
(B) the refinancing
of one or more promissory notes executed by an open-enrollment charter school,
each in an amount in excess of $500,000, that evidence one or more loans from a
national or regional bank, nonprofit corporation, or foundation that
customarily makes loans to charter schools, the proceeds of which loans were
used for a purpose described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph;
or
(C) both.
(18) Open-enrollment charter--this term has
the meaning assigned in §
100.1001 of this title (relating
to Definitions).
(19)
Open-enrollment charter holder--this term has the meaning assigned to the term
"charter holder" in TEC, §
12.1012.
(20) Open-enrollment charter school--this
term has the meaning assigned to the term "charter school" in §
100.1001 of this title.
(21) Open-enrollment charter school
campus--this term has the meaning assigned to the term "charter school campus"
in §
100.1001 of this title.
(22) Refunding issue--an issuance of bonds
under TEC, Chapter 53, for the purpose of refunding:
(A) bonds that have previously been issued
under that chapter and have previously been approved by the attorney general;
or
(B) bonds that have previously
been issued for the benefit of an open-enrollment charter school under Vernon's
Civil Statutes, Article 1528m, and have previously been approved by the
attorney general.
(c) Bond eligibility.
(1) Only those combination, new money, and
refunding issues as defined in subsection (b)(9), (17), and (22), respectively,
of this section are eligible to receive the guarantee. The bonds must, without
the guarantee, be rated as investment grade by a nationally recognized
investment rating firm and must be issued on or after September 28,
2011.
(2) Refunding issues must
comply with the following requirements to retain eligibility for the guarantee
for the refunding bonds.
(A) As with any
open-enrollment charter holder applying for approval for the guarantee, the
charter holder for which the refunding bonds are being issued must meet the
requirements for charter district designation specified in subsection (e)(2) of
this section and the requirements for initial approval specified in subsection
(f)(3)(A) of this section.
(B) The
charter holder must demonstrate that issuing the refunding bond(s) will result
in a present value savings to the charter holder. Present value savings is
determined by computing the net present value of the difference between each
scheduled payment on the original bonds and each scheduled payment on the
refunding bonds. Present value savings must be computed at the true interest
cost of the refunding bonds. If the commissioner approves refunding bonds for
the guarantee based on evidence of present value savings but at the time of the
sale of the refunding bonds a present value savings is not realized, the
commissioner may revoke the approval of the bonds for the guarantee.
(C) For issues that refund bonds previously
guaranteed by the BGP, the charter holder must demonstrate that the refunding
bond or bonds will not have a maturity date later than the final maturity date
of the bonds being refunded.
(D)
The refunding transaction must comply with the provisions of subsection
(f)(5)(A)-(C) and (E) of this section.
(3) If an open-enrollment charter holder
files an application for a combination issue, the application will be treated
as an application for a single issue for the purposes of eligibility for the
guarantee. A guarantee for the combination issue will be awarded only if both
the new money portion and the refunding portion meet all of the applicable
eligibility requirements described in this section. As part of its application,
the charter holder making the application must present data that demonstrate
compliance for both the new money portion of the issue and the refunding
portion of the issue.
(4) If the
commissioner determines that an applicant has deliberately misrepresented
information related to a bond issue to secure a guarantee, the commissioner
must revoke the approval of the bonds for the guarantee.
(d) Determination of Permanent School Fund
(PSF) capacity to guarantee bonds for charter districts.
(1) Each month the commissioner will estimate
the available capacity of the PSF to guarantee bonds for charter districts.
This capacity is determined by multiplying the net capacity determined under
§
33.6 of this title (relating to
Bond Guarantee Program for School Districts) by the percentage of the number of
students enrolled in open-enrollment charter schools in this state compared to
the total number of students enrolled in all public schools in this state, as
determined by the commissioner. The commissioner's determination of the number
of students enrolled in open-enrollment charter schools in this state and the
number of students enrolled in all public schools in this state is based on the
enrollment data submitted by school districts and charter schools to the Public
Education Information Management System (PEIMS) during the most recent fall
PEIMS submission. Annually, the commissioner will post the applicable student
enrollment numbers and the percentage of students enrolled in open-enrollment
charter schools on the Texas Education Agency (TEA) web page related to the
BGP. The commissioner shall hold the percentage established by the State Board
of Education (SBOE) under §
33.6(e)(2) of
this title of the charter school available capacity in reserve each
month.
(2) Up to half of the total
capacity of the PSF to guarantee bonds for charter districts may be used to
guarantee charter district refunding bonds.
(e) Application process and application
processing. An open-enrollment charter holder must apply to the commissioner
for the guarantee of eligible bonds by submitting an application electronically
through the website of the MAC of Texas or its successor. Before an application
for the guarantee will be considered, a charter holder must first be determined
by the commissioner to meet criteria for designation as a charter district for
purposes of this section. The application submitted through the website of the
MAC of Texas or its successor will serve as both a charter holder's application
for designation as a charter district and its application for the guarantee.
(1) Application submission and fee. As part
of its application, an open-enrollment charter holder must submit the
information required under TEC, §
45.055(b),
and this section and any additional information the commissioner may require.
The application and all additional information required by the commissioner
must be received before the application will be processed. The open-enrollment
charter holder may not submit an application for a guarantee before the
governing body of the charter holder adopts a board resolution as defined in
subsection (b)(4) of this section.
(A) The
amount of the application fee is the amount specified in §
33.6 of this title.
(B) The fee is due at the time the
application for charter district designation and the guarantee is submitted. An
application will not be processed until the fee has been remitted according to
the directions provided on the website of the MAC of Texas or its successor and
received by TEA.
(C) The fee will
not be refunded to an applicant that:
(i) is
designated a charter district but is not approved for the guarantee;
or
(ii) receives approval for the
guarantee but does not sell its bonds before the expiration of its approval for
the guarantee.
(D) The
fee may be transferred to a subsequent application for the guarantee by a
charter district that has been approved for the guarantee if the charter
district withdraws its application and submits the subsequent application
before the expiration of its approval for the guarantee.
(2) Eligibility to be designated a charter
district.
(A) To be designated a charter
district and have its application for the guarantee considered by the
commissioner, an open-enrollment charter holder must:
(i) have operated at least one
open-enrollment charter school in the state of Texas for at least three years
and have had students enrolled in the school for those three years;
(ii) identify in its application for which
open-enrollment charter school and, if applicable, for which open-enrollment
charter school campus the bond funds will be used;
(iii) in its application, agree that the
bonded indebtedness for which the guarantee is sought will be undertaken as an
obligation of all entities under common control of the open-enrollment charter
holder and agree that all such entities will be liable for the obligation if
the open-enrollment charter holder defaults on the bonded indebtedness,
provided that an entity that does not operate a charter school in Texas is
subject to this subparagraph only to the extent that it has received state
funds from the open-enrollment charter holder;
(iv) not have an unresolved corrective action
that is more than one year old, unless the open-enrollment charter holder has
taken appropriate steps, as determined by the commissioner, to begin resolving
the action;
(v) have had, for the
past three years, an audit as required by §
100.1047 of this title (relating
to Accounting for State and Federal Funds) that was completed with unqualified
or unmodified opinions;
(vi) have
received an investment grade credit rating from a nationally recognized
investment rating firm as defined in subsection (b)(16) of this section as
specified by TEC, §
45.0541, within the
last year; and
(vii) not have
materially violated a covenant relating to debt obligation in the immediately
preceding three years.
(B) For an open-enrollment charter holder to
be designated a charter district and have its application for the guarantee
considered by the commissioner, each open-enrollment charter school operated
under the charter must not have an accreditation rating of Not
Accredited-Revoked and must have a rating of met standard or met alternative
standard as its most recent state academic accountability rating. However, if
an open-enrollment charter school operated under the charter is not yet rated
because the school is in its first year of operation, that fact will not impact
the charter holder's eligibility to be designated a charter district and apply
for the guarantee.
(3)
Application processing. All applications received during a calendar month that
were submitted by open-enrollment charter holders determined to meet the
criteria in paragraph (2) of this subsection will be held until the 15th
business day of the subsequent month. On the 15th business day of each month,
the commissioner will announce the results of the pro rata allocation of
available capacity, if pro rata allocation is necessary, and process
applications for initial approval for the guarantee, up to the available
capacity as of the application deadline, subject to the requirements of this
section.
(A) If the available capacity is
insufficient to guarantee the total value of the bonds for all applicant
charter districts, the commissioner will allocate the available capacity on a
pro rata basis to each applicant charter district. For each applicant, the
commissioner will determine the percentage of the total amount of all
applicants' proposed bonds that the applicant's proposed bonds represent. The
commissioner will then allocate to that applicant the same percentage of the
available capacity, but in no event will an allocation be equal to an amount
less than $500,000.
(B) The actual
guarantee of the bonds is subject to the approval process prescribed in
subsection (f) of this section.
(C)
An applicant charter district is ineligible for consideration for the guarantee
if its lowest credit rating from any nationally recognized investment rating
firm as defined in subsection (b)(16) of this section is the same as or higher
than that of the PSF.
(4) Late application. An application received
after the application deadline will be considered a valid application for the
subsequent month, unless withdrawn by the submitting open-enrollment charter
holder before the end of the subsequent month.
(5) Notice of application status. Each
open-enrollment charter holder that submits a valid application will be
notified of the application status within 15 business days of the application
deadline.
(6) Reapplication. If an
open-enrollment charter holder does not receive designation as a charter
district, does not receive approval for the guarantee, or for any reason does
not receive approval of the bonds from the attorney general within the time
period specified in subsection (f)(5) of this section, the charter holder may
reapply in a subsequent month. An application that was denied approval for the
guarantee or that was submitted by a charter holder that the commissioner
determined did not meet the criteria for charter district designation will not
be retained for consideration in subsequent months. A reapplication fee will be
required unless the conditions described in subsection (e)(1)(D) of this
section apply to the charter holder.
(f) Approval for the guarantee; charter
district responsibilities on receipt of approval.
(1) Approval for the guarantee and charter
renewal or amendment.
(A) If an
open-enrollment charter holder applies for the guarantee within the 12 months
before the charter holder's charter is due to expire, application approval will
be contingent on successful renewal of the charter, and the bonds for which the
open-enrollment charter holder is applying for the guarantee may not be issued
before the successful renewal of the charter.
(B) If an open-enrollment charter holder
proposes to use the proceeds of the bonds for which it is applying for the
guarantee for an expansion that requires a charter amendment, application
approval will be contingent on approval of the amendment, and the bonds may not
be issued before approval of the amendment.
(2) Initial and final approval provisions.
(A) The commissioner may require an applicant
charter district to obtain final approval for the guarantee as described in
paragraph (4) of this subsection if:
(i)
during the monthly estimation of PSF capacity described in §
33.6 of this title, the
commissioner determines that the available capacity of the PSF as described in
§
33.6 of this title is 10% or less;
or
(ii) during the monthly
estimation of the available capacity of the PSF to guarantee bonds for charter
districts described in subsection (d) of this section, the commissioner
determines that the available capacity of the PSF to guarantee bonds for
charter districts is 10% or less.
(B) If the commissioner has not made such a
determination:
(i) the commissioner will
consider the initial approval described in paragraph (3) of this subsection as
both the initial and final approval; and
(ii) an applicant charter district that has
received notification of initial approval for the guarantee, as described in
paragraph (3) of this subsection, may consider that notification as
notification of initial and final approval for the guarantee and may complete
the sale of the applicable bonds.
(3) Initial approval.
(A) The following provisions apply to all
applications for the guarantee, regardless of whether an application is for a
new money, refunding, or combination issue. Under TEC, §
45.056, the
commissioner will investigate the financial status of the applicant charter
district and the accreditation status of all open-enrollment charter schools
operated under the charter. For the charter district's application to be
eligible for initial approval by the commissioner, each open-enrollment charter
school operated under the charter must be accredited, and the charter district
must be financially sound. The commissioner's review will include review of the
following:
(i) the purpose of the bond
issue;
(ii) the accreditation
status, as defined by §
97.1055 of this title (relating to
Accreditation Status), of all open-enrollment charter schools operated under
the charter in accordance with the following, except that, if an
open-enrollment charter school operated under the charter has not yet received
an accreditation rating because it is in its first year of operation, that fact
will not impact the charter district's eligibility for consideration for the
guarantee:
(I) if the accreditation status of
all open-enrollment charter schools operated under the charter is Accredited,
the charter district will be eligible for consideration for the
guarantee;
(II) if the
accreditation status of any open-enrollment charter school operated under the
charter is Accredited-Warned or Accredited-Probation, the commissioner will
investigate the underlying reason for the accreditation rating to determine
whether the accreditation rating is related to the open-enrollment charter
school's financial soundness. If the accreditation rating is related to the
open-enrollment charter school's financial soundness, the charter district will
not be eligible for consideration for the guarantee; or
(III) if the accreditation status of any
open-enrollment charter school operated under the charter is Not
Accredited-Revoked, the charter district will not be eligible for consideration
for the guarantee;
(iii)
the charter district's financial status and stability, regardless of each
open-enrollment charter school's accreditation rating, including approval of
the bonds by the attorney general under the provisions of TEC, §
53.40;
(iv) whether TEA has required the charter
district to submit a financial plan under §109.1101 of this title (relating
to Financial Solvency Review) in the last three years;
(v) the audit history of the charter district
and of all open-enrollment charter schools operated under the
charter;
(vi) the charter
district's compliance with statutes and rules of TEA and with applicable state
and federal program requirements and the compliance of all open-enrollment
charter schools operated under the charter with these statutes, rules, and
requirements;
(vii) any
interventions and sanctions to which the charter district has been subject; to
which any of the open-enrollment charter schools operated under the charter has
been subject; and, if applicable, to which any of the open-enrollment charter
school campuses operated under the charter has been subject;
(viii) formal complaints received by TEA that
have been made against the charter district, against any of the open-enrollment
charter schools operated under the charter, or against any of the
open-enrollment charter school campuses operated under the charter;
(ix) the state academic accountability rating
of all open-enrollment charter schools operated under the charter and the
campus ratings of all open-enrollment charter school campuses operated under
the charter;
(x) any unresolved
corrective actions that are less than one year old; and
(xi) whether the charter district is
considered a high-risk grantee by the TEA office responsible for planning,
grants, and evaluation.
(B) The commissioner will limit approval for
the guarantee to a charter district with a historical debt service coverage
ratio, based on annual debt service, of at least 1.1 for the most recently
completed fiscal year and a projected debt service coverage ratio, based on
projected revenues and expenses and maximum annual debt service, of at least
1.2. If the bond issuance for which an application has been submitted is the
charter district's first bond issuance, the commissioner will evaluate only
projected debt service coverage. Projections of revenues and expenses are
subject to approval by the commissioner.
(C) The commissioner will grant or deny
initial approval for the guarantee based on the review described in
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph and the limitation described in subparagraph
(B) of this paragraph and will provide an applicant charter district whose
application has received initial approval for the guarantee written notice of
initial approval.
(4)
Final approval. The provisions of this paragraph apply only as described in
paragraph (2) of this subsection. A charter district must receive final
approval before completing the sale of the bonds for which the charter district
has received notification of initial approval.
(A) A charter district that has received
initial approval must provide a written notice to TEA two business days before
issuing a preliminary official statement (POS) for the bonds that are eligible
for the guarantee or two business days before soliciting investment offers, if
the bonds will be privately placed without the use of a POS.
(i) The charter district must receive written
confirmation from TEA that the capacity continues to be available and must
continue to meet the requirements of subsection (e)(2) of this section before
proceeding with the public or private offer to sell bonds.
(ii) TEA will provide this notification
within one business day of receiving the notice of the POS or notice of other
solicitation offers to sell the bonds.
(B) A charter district that received
confirmation from TEA in accordance with subparagraph (A) of this paragraph
must provide written notice to TEA of the placement of an item to approve the
bond sale on the agenda of a meeting of the bond issuer's board of directors no
later than two business days before the meeting. If the bond sale is completed
pursuant to a delegation by the issuer to a pricing officer or committee,
notice must be given to TEA no later than two business days before the
execution of a bond purchase agreement by such pricing officer or committee.
(i) The charter district must receive written
confirmation from TEA that the capacity continues to be available for the bond
sale before the approval of the sale by the bond issuer or by the pricing
officer or committee.
(ii) TEA will
provide this notification within one business day before the date that the bond
issuer expects to complete the sale by official action of the bond issuer or of
a pricing officer or committee.
(C) TEA will process requests for final
approval from charter districts that have received initial approval on a first
come, first served basis. Requests for final approval must be received before
the expiration of the initial approval.
(D) A charter district may provide written
notification as required by this paragraph by facsimile transmission, by email,
or in another manner prescribed by the commissioner.
(5) Charter district responsibilities on
receipt of approval.
(A) Once a charter
district is awarded initial approval for the guarantee, each issuance of the
bonds must be approved by the attorney general within 180 days of the date of
the letter granting the approval for the guarantee. The initial approval for
the guarantee will expire at the end of the 180-day period. The commissioner
may extend the 180-day period, based on extraordinary circumstances, on
receiving a written request from the charter district or the attorney general
before the expiration of the 180-day period.
(B) If applicable, the charter district must
comply with the provisions for final approval described in paragraph (4) of
this subsection to maintain approval for the guarantee.
(C) If the bonds are not approved by the
attorney general within 180 days of the date of the letter granting the
approval for the guarantee, the commissioner will consider the application
withdrawn, and the charter district must reapply for a guarantee.
(D) A charter district may not represent
bonds as guaranteed for the purpose of pricing or marketing the bonds before
the date of the letter granting approval for the guarantee.
(E) The charter district must provide
evidence of the final investment grade rating of the bonds to TEA after
receiving initial approval but before the distribution of the preliminary
official statement for the bonds or, if the bonds are offered in a private
placement, before approval of the bond sale by the governing body of the
charter district.
(F) A charter
district must identify by legal description any educational facility purchased
or improved with bond proceeds no later than 30 days after entering into a
binding commitment to expend bond proceeds for that purpose. The charter
district must identify at that time whether and to what extent debt service
will be paid with any source of revenue other than state funds.
(g) Allocation of
specific holdings. If necessary to successfully operate the BGP, the
commissioner may allocate specific holdings of the PSF to specific bond issues
guaranteed under this section. This allocation will not prejudice the right of
the SBOE to dispose of the holdings according to law and requirements
applicable to the fund; however, the SBOE will ensure that holdings of the PSF
are available for a substitute allocation sufficient to meet the purposes of
the initial allocation. This allocation will not affect any rights of the bond
holders under law.
(h) Defeasance.
The guarantee will be completely removed when bonds guaranteed by the BGP are
defeased, and such a provision must be specifically stated in the bond
resolution. If bonds guaranteed by the BGP are defeased, the charter district
must notify the commissioner in writing within ten calendar days of the
action.
(i) Payments. For purposes
of the provisions of TEC, Chapter 45, Subchapter C, matured principal and
interest payments are limited to amounts due on guaranteed bonds at scheduled
maturity, at scheduled interest payment dates, and at dates when bonds are
subject to mandatory redemption, including extraordinary mandatory redemption,
in accordance with their terms. All such payment dates, including mandatory
redemption dates, must be specified in the bond order or other document
pursuant to which the bonds initially are issued. Without limiting the
provisions of this subsection, payments attributable to an optional redemption
or a right granted to a bondholder to demand payment on a tender of such bonds
according to the terms of the bonds do not constitute matured principal and
interest payments.
(j) Guarantee
restrictions. The guarantee provided for eligible bonds under the provisions of
TEC, Chapter 45, Subchapter C, is restricted to matured bond principal and
interest. The guarantee applies to all matured interest on eligible bonds,
whether the bonds were issued with a fixed or variable interest rate and
whether the interest rate changes as a result of an interest reset provision or
other bond resolution provision requiring an interest rate change. The
guarantee does not extend to any obligation of a charter district under any
agreement with a third party relating to bonds that is defined or described in
state law as a "bond enhancement agreement" or a "credit agreement," unless the
right to payment of such third party is directly as a result of such third
party being a bondholder.
(k)
Notice of default. A charter district that has determined that it is or will be
unable to pay maturing or matured principal or interest on a guaranteed bond
must immediately, but not later than the fifth business day before the maturing
or matured principal or interest becomes due, notify the
commissioner.
(l) Charter District
Bond Guarantee Reserve Fund. The Charter District Bond Guarantee Reserve Fund
is a special fund in the state treasury outside the general revenue fund and is
managed by the SBOE in the same manner that the PSF is managed by the
SBOE.
(m) Payment from Charter
District Bond Guarantee Reserve Fund and PSF.
(1) Immediately after the commissioner
receives the notice described in subsection (k) of this section, the
commissioner will notify the Texas PSF Corporation of the notice of default and
instruct the comptroller to transfer from the Charter District Bond Guarantee
Reserve Fund established under TEC, §
45.0571, to the
charter district's paying agent the amount necessary to pay the maturing or
matured principal or interest.
(2)
If money in the reserve fund is insufficient to pay the amount due on a bond
under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the commissioner will instruct the
comptroller to transfer from the appropriate account in the PSF to the charter
district's paying agent the amount necessary to pay the balance of the unpaid
maturing or matured principal or interest.
(3) Immediately after receipt of the funds
for payment of the principal or interest, the paying agent must pay the amount
due and forward the canceled bond or coupon to the comptroller. The comptroller
will hold the canceled bond or coupon on behalf of the fund or funds from which
payment was made.
(4) To ensure
that the charter district reimburses the reserve fund and the PSF, if
applicable, the commissioner will withhold from state funds otherwise payable
to the charter district the amount that the charter district owes in
reimbursement.
(5) Funds
intercepted for reimbursement under paragraph (4) of this subsection will be
used to fully reimburse the PSF before any funds reimburse the reserve fund. If
the funds intercepted under paragraph (4) of this subsection are insufficient
to fully reimburse the PSF with interest, subsequent payments into the reserve
fund will first be applied to any outstanding obligation to the PSF.
(6) Following full reimbursement to the
reserve fund and the PSF, if applicable, with interest, the comptroller will
further cancel the bond or coupon and forward it to the charter district for
which payment was made. Interest will be charged at the rate determined under
the Texas Government Code (TGC), §2251.025(b). Interest will accrue as
specified in the TGC, §2251.025(a) and (c). For purposes of this section,
the "date the payment becomes overdue" that is referred to in the TGC,
§2251.025(a), is the date that the comptroller makes the payment to the
charter district's paying agent.
(n) Bonds not accelerated on default. If a
charter district fails to pay principal or interest on a guaranteed bond when
it matures, other amounts not yet mature are not accelerated and do not become
due by virtue of the charter district's default.
(o) Reimbursement of Charter District Bond
Guarantee Reserve Fund or PSF. If payment from the Charter District Bond
Guarantee Reserve Fund or the PSF is made on behalf of a charter district, the
charter district must reimburse the amount of the payment, plus interest, in
accordance with the requirements of TEC, §
45.061.
(p) Repeated failure to pay. If a total of
two or more payments are made under the BGP on the bonds of a charter district,
the commissioner may take action in accordance with the provisions of TEC,
§
45.062.
(q) Report on the use of funds and
confirmation of use of funds by independent auditor. A charter district that
issues bonds approved for the guarantee must report to TEA annually in a form
prescribed by the commissioner on the use of the bond funds until all bond
proceeds have been spent. The charter district's independent auditor must
confirm in the charter district's annual financial report that bond funds have
been used in accordance with the purpose specified in the application for the
guarantee.
(r) Failure to comply
with statute or this section. An open-enrollment charter holder's failure to
comply with the requirements of TEC, Chapter 45, Subchapter C, or with the
requirements of this section, including by making any material
misrepresentations in the charter holder's application for charter district
designation and the guarantee, constitutes a material violation of the
open-enrollment charter holder's charter.