The legislature hereby finds and declares that this state urgently needs to do the following: Promote higher employment; encourage the development of new jobs; maintain and supplement the capital investments in industry that currently exist in this state; encourage future employment by ensuring future capital investment; attract environmentally sound industry to the state; protect and enhance the quality of natural resources and the environment; and promote the production and conservation of energy.

As used in this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Board of directors" means the board of directors of a public corporation.

(2) "Construction" or "construct" means construction and acquisition, whether by devise, purchase, gift, lease, or otherwise.

(3) "Facilities" means land, rights in land, buildings, structures, docks, wharves, machinery, transmission equipment, public broadcast equipment, landscaping, utilities, approaches, roadways and parking, handling and storage areas, and similar ancillary facilities.

(4) "Financing document" means a lease, sublease, installment sale agreement, conditional sale agreement, loan agreement, mortgage, deed of trust guaranty agreement, or other agreement for the purpose of providing funds to pay or secure debt service on revenue bonds.

(5) "Improvement" means reconstruction, remodeling, rehabilitation, extension, and enlargement; and "to improve" means to reconstruct, to remodel, to rehabilitate, to extend, and to enlarge.

(6) "Industrial development facilities" means manufacturing, processing, research, production, assembly, warehousing, transportation, public broadcasting, pollution control, solid waste disposal, energy facilities, sports facilities, parking facilities associated with industrial development facilities as defined in this section or with historic properties as defined in RCW 84.26.020 and industrial parks. For the purposes of this section, the term "sports facilities" shall not include facilities which are constructed for use by members of a private club or as integral or subordinate parts of a hotel or motel, or which are not available on a regular basis for general public use.

(7) "Industrial park" means acquisition and development of land as the site for an industrial park. For the purposes of this chapter, "development of land" includes the provision of water, sewage, drainage, or similar facilities, or of transportation, energy, or communication facilities, which are incidental to the use of the site as an industrial park, but does not include the provision of structures or buildings.

(8) "Municipality" means a city, town, county, or port district of this state.

(9) "Ordinance" means any appropriate method of taking official action or adopting a legislative decision by any municipality, whether known as a resolution, ordinance, or otherwise.

(10) "Project costs" means costs of (a) acquisition, construction, and improvement of any facilities included in an industrial development facility; (b) architectural, engineering, consulting, accounting, and legal costs related directly to the development, financing, and construction of an industrial development facility, including costs of studies assessing the feasibility of an industrial development facility; (c) finance costs, including discounts, if any, the costs of issuing revenue bonds, and costs incurred in carrying out any trust agreement; (d) interest during construction and during the six months after estimated completion of construction, and capitalized debt service or repair and replacement or other appropriate reserves; (e) the refunding of any outstanding obligations incurred for any of the costs outlined in this subsection; and (f) other costs incidental to any of the costs listed in this section.

(11) "Revenue bond" means a nonrecourse revenue bond, nonrecourse revenue note, or other nonrecourse revenue obligation issued for the purpose of financing an industrial development facility on an interim or permanent basis.

(12) "User" means one or more persons acting as lessee, purchaser, mortgagor, or borrower under a financing document and may include a party who transfers the right of use and occupancy to another party by lease, sublease, or otherwise.

Reviser's note: This section was amended by 1986 c 308 s 2 and by 1986 c 309 s 1, each without reference to the other. Both amendments are incorporated in the publication of this section pursuant to RCW 1.12.025(2). For rule of construction, see RCW 1.12.025(1).

Severability—1986 c 308: "If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected." [ 1986 c 308 s 3.]

(1) For the purpose of facilitating economic development and employment opportunities in the state of Washington through the financing of the project costs of industrial development facilities, a municipality may enact an ordinance creating a public corporation for the purposes authorized in this chapter. The ordinance creating the public corporation shall approve a charter for the public corporation containing such provisions as are authorized by and not in conflict with this chapter. Any charter issued under this chapter shall contain in substance the limitations set forth in RCW 39.84.060. In any suit, action, or proceeding involving the validity or enforcement of or relating to any contract of the public corporation, the public corporation is conclusively presumed to be established and authorized to transact business and exercise its powers under this chapter upon proof of the adoption of the ordinance creating the public corporation by the governing body. A copy of the ordinance duly certified by the clerk of the governing body of the municipality shall be admissible in evidence in any suit, action, or proceeding.

(2) A public corporation created by a municipality pursuant to this chapter may be dissolved by the municipality if the public corporation: (a) Has no property to administer, other than funds or property, if any, to be paid or transferred to the municipality by which it was established; and (b) all its outstanding obligations have been satisfied. Such a dissolution shall be accomplished by the governing body of the municipality adopting an ordinance providing for the dissolution.

(3) The creating municipality may, at its discretion and at any time, alter or change the structure, organizational programs, or activities of a public corporation, including termination of the public corporation if contracts entered into by the public corporation are not impaired. Any net earnings of a public corporation, beyond those necessary for retirement of indebtedness incurred by it, shall not inure to the benefit of any person other than the creating municipality. Upon dissolution of a public corporation, title to all property owned by the public corporation shall vest in the municipality.

The ordinance creating a public corporation shall include provisions establishing a board of directors to govern the affairs of the public corporation, what constitutes a quorum of the board of directors, and how the public corporation shall conduct its affairs.

It shall be illegal for a director, officer, agent, or employee of a public corporation to have, directly or indirectly, any financial interest in any property to be included in or any contract for property, services, or materials to be furnished or used in connection with any industrial development facility financed through the public corporation. Violation of any provision of this section is a gross misdemeanor.

No municipality may give or lend any money or property in aid of a public corporation. The municipality that creates a public corporation shall annually review any financial statements of the public corporation and at all times shall have access to the books and records of the public corporation. No public corporation may issue revenue obligations under this chapter except upon the approval of both the municipality under the auspices of which it was created and the county, city, or town within whose planning jurisdiction the proposed industrial development facility lies. No revenue bonds may be issued pursuant to this chapter unless the board of directors of the public corporation proposing to issue revenue bonds makes a finding that in its opinion the interest paid on the bonds will be exempt from income taxation by the federal government. Revenue bonds issued by a public corporation under this chapter shall not be considered to constitute a debt of the state, of the municipality, or of any other municipal corporation, quasi municipal corporation, subdivision, or agency of this state or to pledge any or all of the faith and credit of any of these entities. The revenue bonds shall be payable solely from both the revenues derived as a result of the industrial development facilities funded by the revenue bonds, including, without limitation, amounts received under the terms of any financing document or by reason of any additional security furnished by the user of the industrial development facility in connection with the financing thereof, and money and other property received from private sources. Each revenue bond shall contain on its face statements to the effect that: (1) Neither the state, the municipality, or any other municipal corporation, quasi municipal corporation, subdivision, or agency of the state is obligated to pay the principal or the interest thereon; (2) no tax funds or governmental revenue may be used to pay the principal or interest thereon; and (3) neither any or all of the faith and credit nor the taxing power of the state, the municipality, or any other municipal corporation, quasi municipal corporation, subdivision, or agency thereof is pledged to the payment of the principal of or the interest on the revenue bond. A public corporation may incur only those financial obligations which will be paid from revenues received pursuant to financing documents, from fees or charges paid by users or prospective users of the industrial development facilities funded by the revenue bonds, or from the proceeds of revenue bonds. A public corporation established under the terms of this chapter constitutes an authority and an instrumentality (within the meaning of those terms in the regulations of the United States treasury and the rulings of the Internal Revenue Service prescribed pursuant to section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended) and may act on behalf of the municipality under whose auspices it is created for the specific public purposes authorized by this chapter. The public corporation is not a municipal corporation within the meaning of the state Constitution and the laws of the state, or a political subdivision within the meaning of the state Constitution and the laws of the state, including without limitation, Article VIII, section 7, of the Washington state Constitution. A municipality shall not delegate to a public corporation any of the municipality's attributes of sovereignty, including, without limitation, the power to tax, the power of eminent domain, and the police power.

The finances of any public corporation are subject to examination by the state auditor's office pursuant to RCW 43.09.260.

(1) A public corporation created under this chapter has the following powers with respect to industrial development facilities together with all powers incidental thereto or necessary for the performance thereof:

(a) To construct and maintain one or more industrial development facilities;

(b) To lease to a lessee all or any part of any industrial development facility for such rentals and upon such terms and conditions, including options to purchase, as its board of directors considers advisable and not in conflict with this chapter;

(c) To sell by installment contract or otherwise and convey all or any part of any industrial development facility for such purchase price and upon such terms and conditions as its board of directors considers advisable which are not in conflict with this chapter;

(d) To make secured loans for the purpose of providing temporary or permanent financing or refinancing of all or part of the project cost of any industrial development facility, including the refunding of any outstanding obligations, mortgages, or advances issued, made, or given by any person for the project costs; and to charge and collect interest on the loans for the loan payments upon such terms and conditions as its board of directors considers advisable which are not in conflict with this chapter;

(e) To issue revenue bonds for the purpose of financing all or part of the project cost of any industrial development facility and to secure the payment of the revenue bonds as provided in this chapter;

(f) As security for the payment of the principal of and interest on any revenue bonds issued and any agreements made in connection therewith, to mortgage, pledge, or otherwise encumber any or all of its industrial development facilities or any part or parts thereof, whether then owned or thereafter acquired, and to assign any mortgage and repledge any security conveyed to the public corporation, to secure any loan made by the public corporation and to pledge the revenues and receipts therefrom;

(g) To sue and be sued, complain, and defend in its corporate name;

(h) To make contracts and to execute all instruments necessary or convenient for the carrying out of its business;

(i) To have a corporate seal and to use the same by causing it, or a facsimile thereof, to be impressed or affixed or in any other manner reproduced;

(j) Subject to the limitations of RCW 39.84.060, to borrow money, accept grants from, or contract with any local, state, or federal governmental agency or with any financial, public, or private corporation;

(k) To make and alter bylaws not inconsistent with its charter for the administration and regulation of the affairs of the corporation;

(l) To collect fees or charges from users or prospective users of industrial development facilities to recover actual or anticipated administrative costs;

(m) To execute financing documents incidental to the powers enumerated in this subsection.

(2) No public corporation created under this chapter may operate any industrial development facility as a business other than as lessor, seller, or lender. The purchase and holding of mortgages, deeds of trust, or other security interests and contracting for any servicing thereof is not considered the operation of an industrial development facility.

(3) No public corporation may exercise any of the powers authorized in this section or issue any revenue bonds with respect to any industrial development facility unless the industrial development facility is located wholly within the boundaries of the municipality under whose auspices the public corporation is created or unless the industrial development facility comprises energy facilities or solid waste disposal facilities which provide energy for or dispose of solid waste from the municipality or the residents thereof.

(1) Prior to issuance of any revenue bonds, each public corporation shall submit a copy of its enabling ordinance and charter, a description of any industrial development facility proposed to be undertaken, and the basis for its qualification as an industrial development facility to the department of commerce.

(2) If the industrial development facility is not eligible under this chapter, the department of commerce shall give notice to the public corporation, in writing and by certified mail, within twelve working days of receipt of the description.

(3) The department of commerce shall provide such advice and assistance to public corporations and municipalities which have created or may wish to create public corporations as the public corporations or municipalities request and the department of commerce considers appropriate.

Explanatory statement—2023 c 470: See note following RCW 10.99.030.

Effective date—Severability—1985 c 466: See notes following RCW 43.31.125.

Department of commerce: Chapter 43.330 RCW.

(1) The principal of and the interest on any revenue bonds issued by a public corporation shall be payable solely from the funds provided for this payment from the revenues of the industrial development facilities funded by the revenue bonds. Each issue of revenue bonds shall be dated, shall bear interest at such rate or rates, and shall mature at such time or times as may be determined by the board of directors, and may be made redeemable before maturity at such price or prices and under such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the board of directors prior to the issuance of the revenue bonds or other revenue obligations.

(2) The board of directors shall determine the form and the manner of execution of the revenue bonds and shall fix the denomination or denominations of the revenue bonds and the place or places of payment of principal and interest. If any officer whose signature or a facsimile of whose signature appears on any revenue bonds or any coupons ceases to be an officer before the delivery of the revenue bonds, the signature shall for all purposes have the same effect as if he or she had remained in office until delivery. The revenue bonds may be issued in coupon or in registered form, as provided in RCW 39.46.030, or both as the board of directors may determine, and provisions may be made for the registration of any coupon revenue bonds as to the principal alone and also as to both principal and interest and for the reconversion into coupon bonds of any bonds registered as to both principal and interest. A public corporation may sell revenue bonds at public or private sale for such price and bearing interest at such fixed or variable rate as may be determined by the board of directors.

(3) The proceeds of the revenue bonds of each issue shall be used solely for the payment of all or part of the project cost of or for the making of a loan in the amount of all or part of the project cost of the industrial development facility for which authorized and shall be disbursed in such manner and under such restrictions, if any, provided in the resolution authorizing the issuance of the revenue bonds or in the trust agreement securing the bonds. If the proceeds of the revenue bonds of any series issued with respect to the cost of any industrial development facility exceeds the cost of the industrial development facility for which issued, the surplus shall be deposited to the credit of the debt service fund for the revenue bonds or used to purchase revenue bonds in the open market.

(4) A public corporation may issue interim notes in the manner provided for the issuance of revenue bonds to fund industrial development facilities prior to issuing other revenue bonds to fund such facilities. A public corporation may issue revenue bonds to fund industrial development facilities that are exchangeable for other revenue bonds when these other revenue bonds are executed and available for delivery.

(5) The principal of and interest on any revenue bonds issued by a public corporation shall be secured by a pledge of unexpended bond proceeds and the revenues and receipts received by the public corporation from the industrial development facilities funded by the revenue bonds pursuant to financing documents. The resolution under which the revenue bonds are authorized to be issued and any financing document may contain agreements and provisions respecting the maintenance or use of the industrial development facility covered thereby, the fixing and collection of rents, purchase price payments or loan payments, the creation and maintenance of special funds from such revenues or from revenue bond proceeds, the rights and remedies available in the event of default, and other provisions relating to the security for the bonds, all as the board of directors consider advisable which are not in conflict with this chapter.

(6) The governing body of the municipality under whose auspices the public corporation is created shall approve by resolution any agreement to issue revenue bonds adopted by a public corporation, which agreement and resolution shall set out the amount and purpose of the revenue bonds. Additionally, no issue of revenue bonds, including refunding bonds, may be sold and delivered by a public corporation without a resolution of the governing body of the municipality under whose auspices the public corporation is created, adopted no more than sixty days before the date of sale of the revenue bonds specifically, approving the resolution of the public corporation providing for the issuance of the revenue bonds.

(7) All revenue bonds issued under this chapter and any interest coupons applicable thereto are negotiable instruments within the meaning of Article 8 of the Uniform Commercial Code, Title 62A RCW, regardless of form or character.

(8) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2) of this section, such bonds and interim notes may be issued and sold in accordance with chapter 39.46 RCW.

Liberal construction—Severability—1983 c 167: See RCW 39.46.010 and note following.

Each public corporation may provide by resolution for the issuance of revenue refunding bonds for the purpose of refunding any revenue bonds issued for an industrial development facility under this chapter, including the payment of any redemption premium thereon and any interest accrued or to accrue to the date of redemption or maturity of the revenue bonds and, if considered advisable by the public corporation, for the additional purpose of financing improvements, extensions, or enlargements to the industrial development facility for another industrial development facility. The issuance of the revenue bonds, the maturities and other details thereof, the rights of the holders thereof, and the rights, duties, and obligations of the public corporation in respect to the same shall be governed by this chapter insofar as applicable.

Any bonds issued under this chapter may be secured by a trust agreement between the public corporation and a corporate trustee, which may be any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within or without the state. The trust agreement may evidence a pledge or assignment of the financing documents and lease, sale, or loan revenues to be received from a lessee or purchaser of or borrower with respect to an industrial development facility for the payment of principal of and interest and any premium on the bonds as the same shall become due and payable and may provide for creation and maintenance of reserves for these purposes. A trust agreement or resolution providing for the issuance of the revenue bonds may contain such provisions for protecting and enforcing the rights and remedies of the bondholders as may be reasonable and proper and not in violation of law, including covenants setting forth the duties in relation to the acquisition of property and the construction, improvement, maintenance, use, repair, operation, and insurance of the industrial development facility for which the bonds are authorized, and the custody, safeguarding, and application of all money. Any bank or trust company incorporated under the laws of the state which may act as depository of the proceeds of revenue bonds or of revenues may furnish such indemnifying bonds or pledge such securities as may be required by the corporation. A trust agreement may set forth the rights and remedies of the bondholders and of the trustee and may restrict the individual right of action by bondholders as is customary in trust agreements or trust indentures securing bonds and debentures of private corporations. In addition, a trust agreement may contain such provisions as the public corporation considers reasonable and proper for the security of the bondholders which are not in conflict with this chapter.

No part of the proceeds received from the sale of any revenue bonds under this chapter, of any revenues derived from any industrial development facility acquired or held under this chapter, or of any interest realized on moneys received under this chapter may be commingled by the public corporation with funds of the municipality creating the public corporation. However, those funds of the public corporation, other than proceeds received from the sale of revenue bonds, that are not otherwise encumbered for the payment of revenue bonds and are not reasonably anticipated by the board of directors to be necessary for administrative expenses of the public corporation may be transferred to the creating municipality and used for growth management, planning, or other economic development purposes.

A lessee or contracting party under a sale contract or loan agreement shall not be required to be the eventual user of an industrial development facility if any sublessee or assignee assumes all of the obligations of the lessee or contracting party under the lease, sale contract, or loan agreement, but the lessee or contracting party or their successors shall remain primarily liable for all of its obligations under the lease, sale contract, or loan agreement and the use of the industrial development facility shall be consistent with the purposes of this chapter.

Before entering into a lease, sale contract, or loan agreement with respect to any industrial development facility, the public corporation shall determine that there are sufficient revenues to pay (1) the principal of and the interest on the revenue bonds proposed to be issued to finance the industrial development facility; (2) the amount necessary to be paid each year into any reserve funds which the public corporation considers advisable to establish in connection with the retirement of the proposed bonds and the maintenance of the industrial development facility; and (3) unless the terms of the lease, sale contract, or loan agreement provide that the lessee or contracting party shall maintain the industrial development facility and carry all proper insurance with respect thereto, the estimated cost of maintaining the industrial development facility in good repair and keeping it properly insured.

The proceedings authorizing any revenue bonds under this chapter or any financing document securing the revenue bonds may provide that if there is a default in the payment of the principal of or the interest on the bonds or in the performance of any agreement contained in the proceedings or financing document, the payment and performance may be enforced by mandamus or by the appointment of a receiver in equity with power to charge and collect rents, purchase price payments, and loan repayments, and to apply the revenues from the industrial development facility in accordance with the proceedings or provisions of the financing document. Any financing document entered into under this chapter to secure revenue bonds issued under this chapter may also provide that if there is a default in the payment thereof or a violation of any agreement contained in the financing document, the industrial development facility may be foreclosed and sold under proceedings in equity or in any other manner now or hereafter permitted by law. Any financing document may also provide that any trustee under the financing document or the holder of any revenue bonds secured thereby may become the purchaser at any foreclosure sale if it is the highest bidder.

Funds received by a port district under RCW 39.84.130 may be transferred to a nonprofit corporation created or re-created for the exclusive purpose of providing training, education, and general improvement to the public sector management skills necessary to implement the economic development programs of the port district. The nonprofit corporation selected for that purpose may be, without limitation, a corporation formed by the Washington public ports association.

Any nonprofit corporation selected for the purposes of this section must have tax exempt status under 26 U.S.C. Sec. 501(c)(3).

Transfers and expenditures of funds shall be deemed to be for industrial development and trade promotion as provided in Article VIII, section 8 of the Washington state Constitution.

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit the receipt of additional public or private funds by a nonprofit corporation for the purposes described in this section.

The community economic revitalization board under chapter 43.160 RCW shall have all the powers of a public corporation under this chapter. To the extent applicable, all duties of a public corporation apply to the community economic revitalization board in exercising its powers under this chapter.

This chapter supplements and neither restricts nor limits any powers which a municipality or presently authorized public corporation might otherwise have under any laws of this state.

As used in this chapter, captions constitute no part of the law.