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2003 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That Chapter 544 of the Acts of Assembly of 1977 is amended and reenacted as follows:
Whereas, Article VII, Section 10(a) of the Constitution of Virginia provides that in determining the debt limitation of a city or town there shall not be included contract obligations of such city or town to provide payments over a period of more than one year to any publicly owned or controlled regional project if the General Assembly by general law or special act has authorized an exclusion for such project purposes; and
Whereas, the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and
Virginia Beach and the counties of Isle of Wight and Southampton have
heretofore created the Southeastern Public Service Authority of Virginia
pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 28, 51 (§ 15.2-5100 et seq.) of Title
15.1, 15.2 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, for the purpose of
providing for the acquisition, financing, construction, operation and
maintenance of water system and a garbage and refuse collection and disposal
system, which will be publicly owned and controlled regional projects within
the meaning of Article VII, Section 10(a)(4) of the Constitution of Virginia;
and
Whereas, the councils governing bodies of said cities and the County of Isle of
Wight may determine that in order to enhance the marketability of any revenue
bonds to be issued by said Authority on account of such water system and such
garbage and refuse collection and disposal system said councils governing
bodies will require the power to contract obligations to provide payments over
a period or periods of more than one year to said Authority to guarantee the
payment of all or any part of the principal of and the interest of such revenue
bonds issued from time to time by said Authority which contract obligations
shall be an excluded indebtedness within the meaning of and for the purposes of
Article VII, Section 10(a)(4) of the Constitution of Virginia; now, therefore,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. § 1. The cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and
Virginia Beach, and the county of Isle of Wight, being six seven of the eight
incorporating political subdivisions comprising the Southeastern Public Service Authority of Virginia created
pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 28, 51 of Title 15.1, 15.2 of the Code of
Virginia, 1950, as amended, for the purpose of providing for the acquisition,
financing, construction, operation and maintenance of a water system and a garbage and
refuse collection and disposal system as authorized by such Chapter 28 51 and
for the purpose of exercising the powers conferred by such Chapter 28 51, are
hereby authorized from time to time or at any time to contract obligations to provide payments over a
period or periods of more than one year to such Authority to guarantee the payment of all or any part
of the principal of and the interest on bonds issued from time to time by such
Authority on account of its water system and its garbage and refuse collection
and disposal system and such contract obligations shall be an excluded
indebtedness within the meaning of and for the purpose of Article VII, Section
10(a) of the Constitution of Virginia.
§ 2. No contract obligation incurred pursuant to § 1 of this act shall be
considered a debt of the city political subdivision incurring such obligation
or the issuance of bonds by such city political subdivision for the purpose of
any present or future charter limitation on the amount of debt or bonds of, or the method of
incurring debt or issuing bonds by, such city political subdivision.
§ 3. The term "garbage and refuse collection and disposal system" as used in
Chapter 28, 51 of Title 15.1, 15.2 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended,
means, in the case of the Southeastern Public Service Authority of Virginia, a garbage and refuse collection and disposal system as
defined in § 15.1-1240(k) 15.2-5101 of such chapter and also includes any
system, plant and facilities for the recovery, processing, conversion, transportation and sale of solid
wastes and any by-products derived therefrom, including, without limitation, facilities utilizing such
wastes and by-products for the generation of steam and electricity.
§ 4. All proceedings taken in the creation of such Authority (formerly the Southeastern Water Authority of Virginia) and in the change of its name and purposes for which the Authority was formed are hereby ratified, validated and confirmed, notwithstanding any defects or irregularities that may exist in said proceedings.
2. That, in the event that the Authority should lease or sell and leaseback its interests in any property, the Authority is hereby authorized to agree to retain legal responsibility for and indemnify and hold harmless others against past, present and future liabilities associated with such property and transaction, provided that the board of directors shall specifically approve any such undertaking.