The Legislature hereby finds and declares that it is necessary, desirable, and in the public interest that the state provide adequate forensic sciences laboratories and educational facilities for the provision of instruction and research in the field of forensic sciences. It is the intention of the Legislature by the passage of this article to authorize the formation of a public corporation for the purposes of providing for the acquisition, provision, construction, improvement, renovation, equipping, and maintenance of such facilities and to authorize the corporation to provide for payment of the costs of accomplishing the stated purposes by implementing that certain constitutional amendment authorizing the issuance by the state of up to $17,500,000 principal amount of its general obligation bonds, which amendment was proposed by Act 98-337, and by issuing and selling for the state, subject to the approval of the Governor, interest bearing general obligation bonds of the state not in excess of $17,500,000 in principal amount, as authorized by said constitutional amendment.

The bonds of each series thereof issued pursuant to this article shall be sold by said corporation at public sale as provided in the amendment. The bonds shall be executed in the name of the state by the Governor and countersigned by the secretary of the corporation, and the Great Seal of the State shall be impressed thereon and attested by the Secretary of State. A facsimile of the signature of each such official may be imprinted on any of the bonds in lieu of being manually inscribed thereon, and a facsimile of the Great Seal of the State may be printed on the bonds in lieu of such seal being manually impressed thereon. Each such facsimile signature shall be valid in all respects as if the officials whose facsimile signatures are so used had signed the bonds in person, and any facsimile of the Great Seal of the State so used shall be valid in all respects as if such seal had been manually impressed on the bonds. In the event any official who shall sign any of the bonds or whose facsimile signature shall appear thereon shall thereafter cease to hold office before such bonds are delivered and paid for, such bonds shall nevertheless be valid for all purposes to the same extent as if the official who signed such bonds or whose facsimile signature appears thereon had remained in office until all of the bonds bearing such signature or facsimile thereof shall have been delivered and paid for.

The proceeds derived from the sale of each series of the bonds issued pursuant to this article other than refunding bonds shall be paid into the State Treasury upon receipt thereof, and the State Treasurer shall keep such proceeds, as well as all income received from the investment and reinvestment of such proceeds (including income derived from the investment and reinvestment of previously derived income), in a special fund in the State Treasury, designated "The Alabama Forensic Sciences Bond Fund," pending the expenditure of such proceeds and income for the purposes hereinafter authorized and as required by said amendment. All proceeds so deposited in the State Treasury shall be continuously invested by the State Treasurer in permitted investments, and as and when income from the investment of such proceeds is received, such income shall be kept continuously invested in the same manner as such proceeds. The State Treasurer, acting on projections of expenditures provided by the Director of Finance, shall keep all such proceeds, together with the income derived from the investment and reinvestment thereof, invested in investments which shall mature or otherwise be subject to liquidation on such terms as will provide cash when required for the purposes for which bonds may be issued pursuant to this article.

Upon order of the board of directors of the corporation, all expenses incurred in connection with the authorization, preparation, sale, and issuance of bonds authorized herein and by the amendment shall be paid out of the proceeds thereof. The proceeds thereof remaining after payment of such expenses, together with the income derived from the investment and reinvestment of such proceeds (including income derived from the investment and reinvestment of previously derived income) shall be disbursed from time to time on the order of said corporation upon the approval of the Director of Finance; provided however, such disbursements shall be used solely for the purpose of acquiring, providing, constructing, improving, renovating, equipping and maintenance of forensic sciences laboratories and educational facilities for the provision of instruction and research in the field of forensic sciences.

Pursuant to the provisions of the aforesaid amendment and this article, the corporation may, at any time and from time to time, issue for the state refunding bonds of the state for the purpose of refunding any or all of the bonds authorized by the amendment then outstanding (including any refunding bonds that may have been previously issued), whether such refunding shall occur before, at or after the maturity of the bonds to be refunded. In the discretion of the corporation, refunding bonds may be issued in exchange for such outstanding bonds or they may be sold and the proceeds thereof applied to the purchase, redemption or payment of outstanding bonds. Refunding bonds to be sold pursuant hereto may be issued in such principal amount or amounts as shall be determined by the corporation. Pending the application of the proceeds of refunding bonds issued in accordance with this section, such proceeds, together with investment income therefrom, and moneys in any sinking fund for the bonds to be refunded, together with investment income therefrom, may be held by the State Treasurer, in trust, or may be deposited by the State Treasurer, in trust, on such terms as the State Treasurer shall approve, with one or more trustees or escrow agents which trustees or escrow agents shall be trust companies or national or state banks having powers of a trust company within or without the state, for investment in direct general obligations of, or obligations the payment of the principal of and interest on which are unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by, the United States of America. The proceeds of refunding bonds, together with the investment income therefrom, and moneys in any sinking fund for the bonds to be refunded, together with investment income therefrom, shall be available for the payment of all or any part of the principal, interest, and redemption premium, if any, of the bonds to be refunded and of such refunding bonds, or any of them, as the corporation in its discretion shall prescribe. Proceeds of refunding bonds shall be so invested and applied as to assure that the principal, interest, and redemption premium, if any, on the bonds to be refunded thereby shall be paid in full on their respective maturity, interest, or redemption payment dates. The State Treasurer may contract with respect to the safekeeping and application of proceeds derived from the sale and issuance of refunding bonds and other funds included therewith and the income therefrom, including the right to appoint a trustee which may be any trust company or national or state bank having powers of a trust company within or without the state. As provided in the amendment, refunding bonds issued pursuant to the provisions of this article shall not be obligations of the Alabama Forensic Sciences Bond Authority, but shall be general obligations of the State of Alabama, and the full faith and credit and taxing power of the state are hereby irrevocably pledged for the prompt and faithful payment of the principal of all refunding bonds and the interest and redemption premium (if any) thereon. Except as herein expressly provided otherwise, all provisions of this article regarding the terms and conditions of the bonds to be issued pursuant to this article, as well as the sale, issuance, and execution thereof and the security therefor, shall apply to all refunding bonds issued hereunder; provided, however, that no refunding bonds shall be issued unless the present value of all debt service on the refunding bonds (computed with a discount rate equal to the true interest rate of the refunding bonds and taking into account all underwriting discount and other issuance expenses) shall not be greater than 95% of the present value of all debt service on the bonds to be refunded (computed using the same discount rate and taking into account the underwriting discount and other issuance expenses originally applicable to such bonds) determined as if such bonds to be refunded were paid and retired in accordance with the schedule of maturities (considering mandatory redemption as a scheduled maturity) provided at the time of their issuance. Provided further that the average maturity of the refunding bonds, as measured from the date of issuance of such refunding bonds, shall not exceed by more than three years the average maturity of the bonds to be refunded, as also measured from such date of issuance, with the average maturity of any principal amount of bonds to be determined by multiplying the principal of each maturity by the number of years (including any fractional part of a year) intervening between such date of issuance and each such maturity, taking the sum of all such products, and then dividing such sum by the aggregate principal amount of bonds for which the average maturity is to be determined.

All bonds (including refunding bonds) issued pursuant hereto, and the income therefrom (including the interest income thereon) shall be free from all taxation by the state or any county, municipality, or other political subdivision or instrumentality of the state, excepting inheritance, estate, and gift taxes. Any bonds issued by the corporation may be used by the holder thereof as security for any funds belonging to the state or to any instrumentality or agency of the state in any instance where security for such deposits may be required by law. Unless otherwise directed by the court having jurisdiction thereof, or by the document that is the source of authority, a trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, or one acting in any other fiduciary capacity may, in addition to any other investment powers conferred by law and with the exercise of reasonable business prudence, invest trust and other fiduciary funds in bonds of the corporation.

All contracts for the acquisition, provision, construction, improvement, renovation, equipping and maintenance of forensic sciences laboratories and educational facilities for the provision of instruction and research in the field of forensic sciences shall be in writing.

There is hereby appropriated so much of the bond proceeds and interest income thereon as may be necessary for the acquisition, provision, construction, improvement, renovation, equipping and maintenance of forensic sciences laboratories and educational facilities for the provision of instruction and research in the field of forensic sciences. Moneys in the fund (whether original proceeds from the sale of the bonds or principal proceeds of matured permitted investments) shall be paid out from time to time in orders or warrants issued by or on the direction of the corporation for the purposes specified in this article that may be deemed by the corporation to be most advantageous to the state, and such moneys shall be allocated and expended by the corporation, subject to all the provisions of this article, in the amounts set out as follows:

(1) $10,000,000 to plan, design, inspect, construct, reconstruct, enlarge, improve, repair, renovate, and equip the core facility for education, training, scientific research, and highly specialized testing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham-Department of Justice to include the National Institute for Forensic Sciences.

(2) $7,500,000 to plan, design, inspect, construct, reconstruct, enlarge, improve, repair, renovate, and equip the core facility for education, training, scientific research, and highly specialized testing at Alabama State University.

At any time when no bonds of the corporation are outstanding the corporation may be dissolved upon the filing with the Secretary of State of an application for dissolution, which shall be subscribed by each of the members of the corporation and which shall be sworn to by each such member before an officer authorized to take acknowledgments to deeds. Upon the filing of said application for dissolution, the corporation shall cease and any property owned by it at the time of its dissolution shall pass to the State of Alabama. The Secretary of State shall file and record the application for dissolution in an appropriate book of record in his office, and shall make and issue, under the Great Seal of the State, a certificate that the corporation is dissolved, and shall record the certificate with the application for dissolution.

The Alabama Forensic Sciences Bond Authority shall, to the extent possible and practical, utilize businesses and companies in all aspects of the bond and construction sections of this article that reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the state.

The corporation on behalf of the state shall have the power to provide for such payments to the United States of America as the directors deem necessary to cause the interest on any bonds to be and remain exempt from federal income taxation. The corporation shall have the power to make agreements respecting the investment of the proceeds of the bonds or other funds of the corporation necessary in order that the interest income on bonds of the corporation be and remain exempt from federal income taxation.

Where used in this article the following words and terms shall be given the following respective meanings unless the context hereof clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) AMENDMENT. The amendment to the constitution of the state authorizing the issuance of the bonds.

(2) CORPORATION. The public corporation authorized to be created by this article.

(3) BOARD OF DIRECTORS. The board of directors of the corporation.

(4) BONDS. The bonds issued under this article.

(5) CODE. The Code of Alabama 1975, as amended.

(6) GOVERNMENT SECURITIES. Any bonds or other obligations which as to principal and interest constitute direct obligations of, or are unconditionally guaranteed by, the United States of America, including obligations of any federal agency to the extent such obligations are unconditionally guaranteed by the United States of America and any certificates or any other evidences of an ownership interest in such obligations of, or unconditionally guaranteed by, the United States of America or in specified portions thereof (which may consist of the principal thereof or the interest thereon).

(7) GOVERNOR. The Governor of the state.

(8) LEGISLATURE. The Legislature of the state.

(9) PERMITTED INVESTMENTS:

a. Government securities;

b. Bonds, debentures, notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued by any of the following agencies, to the extent that such obligations are secured by the full faith and credit of the United States: Bank for Cooperatives; federal intermediate credit banks; Federal Financing Bank; federal home loan banks or federal land banks; or any other agency or corporation which has been or may hereafter be created by or pursuant to an act of the Congress of the United States as an agency or instrumentality thereof, the bonds, debentures, participation certificates or notes of which are unconditionally guaranteed by the United States of America;

c. Bonds, notes, pass through securities or other evidences of indebtedness of Government National Mortgage Corporation and participation certificates of Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation;

d. Full faith and credit obligations of any state, provided that at the time of purchase such obligations are rated at least "AA" by Standard & Poor's Rating Group and at least "Aa" by Moody's Investors Service;

e. Public housing bonds issued by public agencies or municipalities and fully secured as to the payment of both principal and interest by contracts with the United States of America, or temporary notes, preliminary notes or project notes issued by public agencies or municipalities, in each case fully secured as to the payment of both principal and interest by a requisition or payment agreement with the United States of America;

f. Time deposits evidenced by certificates of deposit issued by banks or savings and loan associations which are members of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, provided that, to the extent such time deposits exceed available federal deposit insurance, such time deposits are fully secured by obligations described in clauses a, b, c and e above, which at all times have a market value (exclusive of accrued interest) at least equal to such bank time deposits so secured, including interest, and which meet the greater of 100 percent collateralization or the "AA" collateral levels established by Standard & Poor's Rating Group for structured financings;

g. Repurchase agreements for obligations of the type specified in clauses a, b, c, and e above, provided such repurchase agreements are fully collateralized and secured by such obligations which have a market value (exclusive of accrued interest) at least equal to the purchase price of such repurchase agreements and which are held by a depository satisfactory to the State Treasurer in such a manner as may be required to provide a perfected security interest in such obligations, and which meet the greater of 100 percent collateralization or the "AA" collateral levels established by Standard & Poor's Rating Group for structured financings; and

h. Uncollateralized investment agreements with, or certificates of deposit issued by, banks or bank holding companies, the senior long-term securities of which are rated at least "AA" by Standard & Poor's Rating Group and at least "Aa" by Moody's Investors Service.

(10) STATE. The State of Alabama.

(11) "Herein," "hereby," "hereunder," "hereof," and other equivalent words refer to this article as an entirety and not solely to the particular section or portion thereof in which such words are used.

The definitions set forth above shall be deemed applicable whether the words defined are used in the singular or plural. Whenever used herein, any pronoun or pronouns shall be deemed to include both singular and plural and to cover all genders.

The Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the State Treasurer, and the Director of Finance of the state may become a corporation, with the powers and authorities hereinafter provided, by proceeding according to the provisions of this article. To become a corporation, the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the State Treasurer, and the Director of Finance shall present to the Secretary of State of Alabama an application signed by them which shall set forth:

(1) The name, official designation and official residence of each of the applicants, together with a certified copy of the commission evidencing each applicant's right to office;

(2) The date on which each applicant was inducted into office and the term of office of each of the applicants;

(3) The name of the proposed corporation, which shall be the Alabama Forensic Sciences Bond Authority;

(4) The location of the principal office of the proposed corporation, which shall be Montgomery, Alabama; and

(5) Any other matter relating to the incorporation which the applicants may choose to insert and which is not inconsistent with this article or the laws of the State of Alabama.

The application shall be subscribed and sworn to by each of the applicants before an officer authorized by the laws of the State of Alabama to take acknowledgments to deeds. The Secretary of State shall examine the application and, if he finds that it substantially complies with the requirements of this section, he shall receive and file it and record it in an appropriate book of records in his office.

When the application has been made, filed and recorded, as herein provided, the applicants shall constitute a public corporation under the name proposed in the application and the Secretary of State shall make and issue to the applicants a certificate of incorporation pursuant to this article, under the Great Seal of the State, and shall record the same with the application. There shall be no fees paid to the Secretary of State for any work in connection with the incorporation or dissolution of the corporation so organized (which, for convenience, is herein referred to as "the corporation").

The applicants named in the application and their respective successors in office shall constitute the members of the corporation. The Governor shall be the president of the corporation and the Director of Finance shall be the secretary of the corporation. The State Treasurer shall be the treasurer of the corporation and shall act as custodian of its funds. The members of the corporation shall constitute all the members of the board of directors of the corporation, and any three members of the board of directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Should any of said officials of the state die or should his term of office as Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Director of Finance, or State Treasurer expire or should he resign therefrom, his successor in office shall take his place as a member, officer and director of the corporation, as the case may be. No member, officer or director of the corporation shall draw any salary, in addition to that now authorized by law, for any service he may render or any duty he may perform in connection with the corporation. All proceedings had and done by the board of directors shall be reduced to writing by the secretary of the corporation and recorded in a substantially bound book. Copies of such proceedings, when certified by the secretary of the corporation under the seal of the corporation, shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidence of the matters and things therein certified.

The corporation shall have the following powers:

(1) To have succession by its corporate name without time limit;

(2) To sue and be sued and to prosecute and defend, at law or in equity, in any court having jurisdiction of the subject matter and of the parties;

(3) To have and to use a corporate seal and to alter the same at pleasure;

(4) To acquire, provide, construct, improve, renovate, equip, and maintain, or transfer to public institutions in the state, forensic sciences laboratories and educational facilities for the provision of instruction and research in the field of forensic sciences;

(5) To receive, take and hold by sale, gift, lease, devise or otherwise, real and personal estate of every description, and to manage the same;

(6) To acquire by purchase, gift, or the exercise of the power of eminent domain, or any other lawful means, and to transfer, convey or cause to be conveyed to the state, any real, personal or mixed property necessary or convenient in connection with the acquiring, providing, constructing, improving, renovating, equipping and maintenance of, or transfer to public institutions in the state, forensic sciences laboratories and educational facilities for the provision of instruction and research in the field of forensic sciences;

(7) To exercise the right of eminent domain as freely and completely as, and in the same manner as, the state is empowered to exercise such right;

(8) To sell and issue for the state bonds and refunding bonds as provided in this article;

(9) To appoint and employ such attorneys, accountants, financial advisors, underwriters, trustees, depositories, registrars and other advisors, agents and independent contractors as the business of the corporation may require; and

(10) To enter into contracts with municipalities, counties, state agencies or institutions, or political subdivisions of the state or any other state, private persons, firms, corporations and any branch of the federal government, in furtherance of its public purposes and objects either relative to work done or to be done.

The bonds issued pursuant to this article shall not be obligations of said corporation but shall be general obligations of the state with the full faith and credit and taxing power of the state to be pledged to the prompt and faithful payment of the principal thereof and the interest and redemption premium (if any) thereon. The proceeds from the sale of the bonds shall be used exclusively for the purposes described in the aforesaid constitutional amendment. The bonds may be sold and issued in one or more series at any time and from time to time, may have such series designations, may be in such forms, principal amounts, denominations and numbers, may be of such tenor and maturities, may bear such date or dates, may be payable in such installments and at such time or times, may be payable at such place or places within or without the state, may bear interest at such rate or rates payable and evidenced in such manner, may contain provisions for redemption at the option of the state to be exercised by said corporation on such date or dates prior to their respective maturities and upon payment of such redemption price or prices, and may contain such other provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of the amendment and this article, all as shall be provided by the board of directors of the corporation in the resolution or resolutions pursuant to which the bonds shall be authorized, sold, and issued.

The State Treasurer is authorized and directed to pay the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the bonds issued under the provisions of this article, as such principal, premium, if any, and interest shall respectively mature, and he is further authorized and directed to set up and maintain appropriate records pertaining thereto.

The bonds of each series issued pursuant to this article may be issued as serial bonds payable in annual installments or as term bonds or as a combination thereof, and the principal of the bonds of each such series shall mature or be subject to mandatory redemption according to such schedule as the board of directors of said corporation shall determine in the resolution authorizing the issuance of such series. The bonds may be made subject to redemption prior to their respective maturities, at the option of the state, on such terms and conditions as shall be provided by the board of directors of the corporation in the resolution authorizing the issuance of such series. Any or all of such bonds subject to redemption at the option of the state may be called for redemption by the corporation pursuant to a resolution adopted by the board of directors thereof if pursuant to appropriations theretofore made by the Legislature the moneys required for such redemption are at the time held in the State Treasury or if such redemption is to be effected with moneys provided by the sale and issuance of refunding bonds issued pursuant to the amendment and as provided for in this article. The corporation may specify the terms and conditions under which any of the bonds authorized pursuant to the amendment may be exchanged for like bonds of other denominations as the corporation may prescribe.