AMENDMENT 122 RATIFIED

Bonds of Mobile County for Public School Buildings.

Mobile county is hereby authorized to become indebted for school building purposes and in evidence of the indebtedness so incurred, to sell and issue, in addition to all other bonds of the county, interest bearing bonds of the county not exceeding three million dollars ($3,000,000) in principal amount.

The bonds issued hereunder, together with the bonds now or hereafter outstanding under authority of amendment XVIII [18], proposed by Acts 1923, page 594, and proclaimed ratified November 15, 1924 (Proclamation Record D., page 107) and amendment C, proposed by Acts 1953, page 436, and proclaimed ratified December 28, 1953 (Proclamation Record, Volume I, page 144), together with redemption premiums thereon, shall be payable from any funds heretofore and hereafter derived from the proceeds of the tax at such rate or rates not exceeding one-half of one per centum of the assessed value of the property situated in the county which may from time to time be levied and which has been levied under amendment XVIII [18] and also from the proceeds of any tax or taxes levied under this amendment; and the board of revenue and road commissioners or other governing body of Mobile county is hereby vested with full authority to continue to levy a tax in the amount authorized by said amendment XVIII [18], until all bonds issued pursuant to this amendment have been paid in full, or provision for such payment made, without again submitting the question of levying such tax and issuing such bonds to the qualified voters of Mobile county.

The proceeds from each sale of any of the bonds shall, after payment of the expenses of issuing the same, be covered into the county treasury and set apart therein in a special trust fund to be designated the "Public School Bond Fund." The money paid into such fund shall be disbursed to the custodian of county school funds, and shall be used solely for the acquisition of public school sites, for the construction, reconstruction, alteration and improvement of public school building facilities, for the procurement of equipment therefor, and for payment of obligations incurred for any of such purposes in Mobile county.

The board of revenue and road commissioners or other governing body of Mobile county is hereby vested with full authority except as limited herein, to provide the terms of the bonds and to provide for the sale and issuance thereof; and such county governing body is hereby specifically authorized to pledge to the payment of such bonds so much of the proceeds of any tax hereinbefore or hereafter levied pursuant to amendment XVIII [18], which has not already been pledged to the payment of other bonds of the county, and so much of the proceeds of any tax levied pursuant to this amendment as are needed for the payment of the bonds hereby authorized. The bonds may be sold, executed and delivered at any time and from time to time, may be in such forms, denominations, series and numbers, may be of such tenor and maturities, may bear such date or dates, may be in registered or bearer form either as to principal or interest or both with rights of conversion into another form, may be payable in such installments and at such place or places, may bear interest at such rate or rates payable and evidenced in such manner, and may contain provisions for redemption at the option of Mobile county to be exercised by said board of revenue and road commissioners or other governing body of Mobile county at such date or dates prior to their maturity and upon payment of such redemption price or prices, all as shall be provided by said county governing body in the resolution or resolutions whereunder the bonds are issued. The principal of each series of bonds shall mature in annual installments in such amounts as shall be specified in the resolution or resolutions of the said county governing body under which they were issued, the first of which installments shall mature not later than one year after the date of the bonds of such series and the last of which installments shall mature not later than twenty-five years after the date of the bonds of the same series. When each series of bonds is issued, the maturities of the bonds of that series shall, to such extent as may be practicable, be so arranged that during each then succeeding fiscal year of the county the aggregate installments of principal and interest that will mature on all bonds that will be outstanding hereunder, immediately following the issuance of the bonds of that series, will be substantially equal; provided, that the determination by the said county governing body that the requirements of this sentence have been complied with shall be conclusive of such compliance and the purchasers of the bonds with respect to which such determination is made and all subsequent holders thereof shall be fully protected by such determination. None of the bonds shall be sold for less than face value plus accrued interest thereon to the date of delivery, and all of the bonds shall be sold only at public sale or sales, either on sealed bids or at public auction, after such advertisement as may be prescribed by the said county governing body, to the bidder whose bid reflects the lowest net interest cost to the county computed to the respective maturities of the bonds sold; provided, that if no bid deemed acceptable by the said county governing body is received all bids may be rejected.

The bonds shall be signed in the name of the county of Mobile by the chairman of the board of revenue and road commissioner or other presiding officer of the county governing body and shall be countersigned by the county treasurer, and the seal of the county, if any, or a facsimile thereof, shall be impressed, printed or otherwise reproduced thereon and shall be attested by the signature of the clerk of the county governing body; provided that a facsimile of the signature of any one or any two (but not all) of the officers whose signatures appear on the bonds may be reproduced on any of the bonds in lieu of being manually signed thereon. Any coupons attached to the bonds and representing installments of interest thereon shall be signed with the facsimile signature of the chairman of the county governing body, which facsimile signature shall constitute sufficient authentication of said coupons.

All bonds issued under the provisions of this amendment, together with the interest income therefrom, shall forever be exempt from all taxation in this state.

The provisions of this amendment shall be self-executing, and authorization from or other action by the legislature shall not be a prerequisite to the issuance of bonds hereunder; provided, however, that the legislature may enact appropriate legislation, not inconsistent with this amendment, respecting the use of the proceeds from the bonds and providing for the payment of the principal thereof and the interest thereon.