Section 8-10-5-8.7 - Bonding(a) The board of directors may, by resolution, recommend to the governing body of the municipality or municipalities creating the port authority that they authorize general obligations, mortgage, or revenue bonds for any one (1) or more of the following purposes:(1) To acquire or improve port or harbor sites.(2) To acquire, construct, extend, alter, or improve structures, ways, facilities, or equipment necessary for the proper operation of the port authority or the port or harbor within its jurisdiction.(3) To refund outstanding bonds and matured interest coupons and issue and sell refunding bonds for that purpose.(b) Before making a recommendation authorized by subsection (a), the board shall give notice of a public hearing at which time the board shall disclose the purpose for which the bond issue is proposed, the amount of the proposed issue, and all other pertinent data. At least ten (10) days before the date set for hearing, the board shall publish in two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the city, county, counties, or other municipalities involved, a notice of the date, time, place, and purpose of the hearing. If there is only one (1) newspaper, one (1) notice is sufficient.(c) The governing body shall review the proposal of the board of directors of the port authority and if it approves shall provide for the advertisement and sale of the issue in compliance with IC 5-1-11. For purposes of this chapter, IC 5-1-11 applies as fully to mortgage bonds as to general obligation or revenue bonds.(d) Bonds issued under the authority of this chapter are not subject to limitations on interest rates.(e) The governing body shall fix the date, time, and place of payment of principal and interest, but no issue may have a maturity date later than:(1) forty (40) years after date of issue, in the case of bonds issued before July 1, 2011; or(2) twenty-five (25) years after date of issue, in the case of bonds issued after June 30, 2011.(f) Bonds issued under this chapter, together with the interest thereon, are tax exempt.(g) The governing body shall apply the proceeds from the sale of bonds exclusively to the purposes for which the bonds were issued and only to the extent necessary therefor. Any remaining balance shall be placed in a sinking fund for the payment of the bonds and the interest on the bonds.(h) This chapter does not affect obligations existing before July 1, 2010, on outstanding bonds. If a board of directors or a port authority is discontinued, as provided in section 4 of this chapter, the primary obligations on its bonds remain unaffected. In addition, the city or county or municipalities involved in the issuance of bonds shall assume liability for the payment of the bonds according to their terms and in relation to their interest or proportion in the bonds.Amended by P.L. 229-2011, SEC. 101, eff. 7/1/2011.As added by P.L. 49-2010, SEC.4.