2020 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 59 - Education
Chapter 133 - Francis Marion University
Section 59-133-340. Powers and duties of trustees as to issuance and repayment of bonds.

To the end that the payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds authorized hereby are adequately secured, the trustees are empowered in their discretion:

(1) to issue bonds in such amount, within the limitations herein provided for, as the trustees consider necessary, it is lawful for the trustees to use a portion of the principal proceeds derived from any sale of bonds, except bonds issued to effect refunding of outstanding bonds, to meet the payment of interest on such bonds for a period equal to the period of construction or renovation of the athletic facilities to be financed with the proceeds of such bonds, plus a period not exceeding six months, it being recognized by the General Assembly, that until the athletic facilities to be constructed or renovated with the proceeds of the bonds are completed, an undue burden may be imposed upon then existing revenues or other sources of payment of the bonds;

(2) to impose admissions fees and a special student fee upon such basis and in such amounts as the trustees shall determine;

(3) to pledge the revenues or the net revenues as designated by the trustees, and the proceeds of any admissions fees and special student fee, as security for the payment of such bonds, whether then or thereafter to be existing. However, any surplus of such revenues or net revenues available after the payment of costs of operation and maintenance of the athletic department and of athletic facilities and of debt service on such bonds, and the establishment of any debt service reserve obligation in a bond reserve fund under the proceedings providing for the issuance of such bonds, may be placed in a contingency and improvement fund for athletic facilities in order to restore depreciated or obsolete athletic facilities, to make improvements to such athletic facilities, to defray the cost of unforeseen contingencies with regard to such athletic facilities, to prevent defaults under such bonds or to redeem any of such bonds, or may be reflected in the opening balance of the operating fund of the department for the next succeeding fiscal year and used for any purpose approved by the trustees;

(4) to further secure the bonds with a pledge of any additional revenues or fees of Francis Marion as may be authorized under other laws of the State;

(5) to specify and limit the athletic facilities which may be made use of free of charge;

(6) to covenant to establish and maintain such system of rules as will ensure the continuous and effective use of the athletic facilities;

(7) to covenant that an adequate schedule of rates and charges for attendance at events held at any athletic facilities will be maintained, and that net athletic revenues plus any proceeds of the admissions fees and the special student fee will be sufficient to:

(a) pay the cost of operating and maintaining the athletic department and the athletic facilities, including the cost of fire, extended coverage and use, and occupancy insurance;

(b) pay the principal and interest of the bonds as they respectively become due;

(c) provide any necessary debt service coverage ratios;

(d) create and maintain any bond reserve fund established to meet the payment of principal and interest of any of the bonds; and

(e) create and at all times maintain an adequate reserve for contingencies and for major repairs and replacement of athletic facilities;

(8) to covenant against the mortgaging or disposing of the athletic facilities and against permitting or suffering any lien to be created thereon, equal or superior to any lien created thereon for the benefit of the holders of such bonds. However, the trustees reserve the right, under such terms as they shall prescribe, to issue additional bonds on a parity with, or subordinate to, the bonds authorized by this article;

(9) to covenant as to the use of the proceeds derived from the sale of any bonds issued pursuant to this article;

(10) to provide for the terms, form, registration, exchange, execution, and authentication of bonds, and for the replacement of lost, destroyed, or mutilated bonds;

(11) to make covenants with respect to the operation of the athletic department and the athletic facilities;

(12) to covenant that all revenues or net revenues pledged for the payment of the bonds must be duly segregated into special funds and that such funds will be used solely for the purposes for which they are intended and for no other purpose;

(13) to covenant for the mandatory redemption of bonds on such terms and conditions as the resolutions authorizing such bonds shall prescribe;

(14) to provide for early defeasance of bonds through the establishment of special escrow accounts maintained by a corporate trustee, which may be the State Treasurer, of cash, or United States government obligations, or obligations of agencies thereof, which escrows may be funded with proceeds of bonds issued hereunder or revenues or net revenues or other funds available to Francis Marion;

(15) to prescribe the procedure, if any, by which the terms of the contract with the bondholders may be amended, the number of bonds whose holders must consent thereto, and the manner in which consent shall be given;

(16) to covenant as to the maintenance of the athletic facilities, the insurance to be carried thereon, and the use and disposition of proceeds from any insurance policy;

(17) to prescribe the events of default and the terms and conditions upon which all or any bonds become or may be declared due before maturity, and the terms and conditions upon which such declaration and its consequences may be waived;

(18) to impose a statutory lien upon any athletic facilities as security for the payment of the bonds. The lien shall extend to such athletic facilities, to their appurtenances and extensions, to their additions, improvements, and enlargements to the extent specified in the resolutions and shall inure to the benefit of the holders of the bonds secured thereby. These athletic facilities shall remain subject to such statutory lien until the payment in full of the principal and interest of the bonds. Any holder of any of the bonds, or any of the coupons representing interest thereon, may, either at law or in equity, by suit, action, mandamus, or other proceedings, protect and enforce the statutory lien, and may, by suit, action, mandamus, or other proceedings enforce and compel performance of all duties of the trustees, including the fixing of sufficient rates, the proper segregation of the revenues, and the proper application thereof. However, the statutory lien must not be construed to give any such bond or coupon holder authority to compel the sale of any of the athletic facilities or any part thereof;

(19) to covenant that, if there be any default in the payment of the principal of or interest upon any of the bonds, any court having jurisdiction in any proper action may appoint a receiver to administer and operate the athletic department, with power to fix rates and charges for athletic facilities and other activities of the athletic department, and to apply the income and revenues of the athletic department to the payment of such bonds and the interest thereon;

(20) to establish on or before the occasion of the delivery of any bonds issued pursuant to this article a bond reserve fund and to cause the same to be maintained by the State Treasurer or its corporate trustee designee, and to that end, the trustees are empowered to utilize any monies available for the funding of any such bond reserve fund, including revenues or net revenues previously accumulated prior to the issuance of bonds or available proceeds of the admissions fee or the special student fee. In the discretion of the trustees, in lieu of cash, such a bond reserve fund may be funded with a surety bond, insurance policy, letter of credit, line of credit, or similar guarantee. At the discretion of the trustees, Francis Marion may purchase an insurance policy ensuring payment of both principal and interest on any issuance of bonds hereunder;

(21) with the consent of the State Treasurer, to appoint a corporate trustee and a paying agent for the bondholders, either of whom may be the State Treasurer, and to prescribe the manner in which revenues or net revenues, as well as proceeds of admissions fees and special student fee shall be utilized and disposed of. Any such corporate trustee shall serve in a fiduciary capacity as trustee for the bondholders under the resolutions of the trustees authorizing the issuance of bonds.

HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 355, Section 8, eff June 25, 2008.