Section 385. Additional powers of the authority to issue special dedicated highway and bridge trust fund bonds

1.  (a)  The  authority  is  hereby  authorized,  as  an  additional  corporate purpose thereof: (i) to enter
  into a dedicated highway and bridge trust fund cooperative agreement  or
  agreements  with the commissioner of transportation for the financing by
  the authority of disbursements made by the state or project sponsor  for
  any  of  the activities authorized pursuant to the provisions of section
  eighty-nine-b of the state finance law in any  case  where  the  expense
  thereof is paid in whole or in part by the state or project sponsor; and
  (ii) to issue use permits or leases to the department of transportation,
  or  project  sponsor,  as  the case may be, for projects financed by the
  authority of disbursements made by  the  state  or  project  sponsor  in
  accordance  with  the provisions of a dedicated highway and bridge trust
  fund cooperative agreement or agreements, provided  that  such  projects
  are  maintained  and operated under the supervision of the department of
  transportation without cost to the New York state thruway authority  for
  the full term of such agreement or agreements, and provided further that
  such  use  permit  or  lease shall be granted by the authority on a toll
  free basis. Provided, however, that  at  any  time  after  April  first,
  nineteen hundred ninety-five, no dedicated highway and bridge trust fund
  cooperative  agreement  with the commissioner of transportation pursuant
  to this section, nor any supplement thereto, need provide any conveyance
  of an interest in the property to the New York state  thruway  authority
  in  connection  with  any obligations incurred pursuant to this section;
  and any such conveyance evidenced by  a  dedicated  highway  and  bridge
  trust fund cooperative agreement before such date shall, consistent with
  the  rights of holders of any such obligations incurred pursuant to this
  section, revert to the people of the state of New  York  by  appropriate
  instrument   or   instruments,   by  quitclaim  deed  or  otherwise,  in
  confirmation of such reversion and any  related  use  permits  shall  be
  voided.
    (b)  The  authority  is  hereby  authorized,  as  additional corporate
  purposes thereof solely upon the request of the director of the  budget:
  (i)  to  issue special emergency highway and bridge trust fund bonds and
  notes for a term not to exceed thirty years  and  to  incur  obligations
  secured by the moneys appropriated from the dedicated highway and bridge
  trust  fund  established  in  section eighty-nine-b of the state finance
  law; (ii) to make available the proceeds in accordance with instructions
  provided by the director of the budget from the  sale  of  such  special
  emergency   highway   and  bridge  trust  fund  bonds,  notes  or  other
  obligations, net of all costs to the authority in connection  therewith,
  for  the  purposes  of  financing  all  or  a  portion  of  the costs of
  activities for which moneys in the dedicated highway  and  bridge  trust
  fund  established  in section eighty-nine-b of the state finance law are
  authorized to be utilized or for the financing of disbursements made  by
  the   state   for   the   activities   authorized  pursuant  to  section
  eighty-nine-b of  the  state  finance  law;  and  (iii)  to  enter  into
  agreements  with  the commissioner of transportation pursuant to section
  ten-e of the highway law with respect to financing  for  any  activities
  authorized  pursuant  to section eighty-nine-b of the state finance law,
  or agreements  with  the  commissioner  of  transportation  pursuant  to
  sections  ten-f  and  ten-g  of  the  highway  law  in  connection  with
  activities on state highways pursuant to these  sections,  and  (iv)  to
  enter  into  service  contracts, contracts, agreements, deeds and leases
  with the director of the budget or the  commissioner  of  transportation
  and  project  sponsors  and  others  to provide for the financing by the
  authority of activities authorized pursuant to section eighty-nine-b  of
  the  state  finance  law, and each of the director of the budget and the

  commissioner of transportation  are  hereby  authorized  to  enter  into
  service  contracts,  contracts,  agreements,  deeds  and leases with the
  authority, project sponsors or others to provide for such financing. The
  authority  shall  not issue any bonds or notes in an amount in excess of
  $16.5 billion, plus a principal amount of bonds or notes:  (A)  to  fund
  capital  reserve funds; (B) to provide capitalized interest; and, (C) to
  fund other costs of issuance.   In computing for the  purposes  of  this
  subdivision, the aggregate amount of indebtedness evidenced by bonds and
  notes  of the authority issued pursuant to this section, as amended by a
  chapter of the laws of  nineteen  hundred  ninety-six,  there  shall  be
  excluded  the  amount  of  bonds  or  notes issued that would constitute
  interest under the United States  Internal  Revenue  Code  of  1986,  as
  amended,  and  the  amount of indebtedness issued to refund or otherwise
  repay bonds or notes.
    (c) Such obligations shall be issued or incurred with the approval  of
  the  director  of  the  budget  and  shall be special obligations of the
  authority secured by and payable solely out of amounts  appropriated  by
  the  legislature  as authorized pursuant to section eighty-nine-b of the
  state finance law without recourse against any other assets, revenues or
  funds of or other payments due to the authority. Upon payments  of  such
  appropriated  amounts  from  the  fund  established  pursuant to section
  eighty-nine-b of the state finance law to the account of the  authority,
  such  funds  may  be pledged by the authority to secure its bonds, notes
  and other obligations authorized by paragraph (b)  of  this  subdivision
  and  shall be held free and clear of any claim by any person arising out
  of or in connection with articles twelve-A, thirteen-A and twenty-one of
  the tax law. Without  limiting  the  generality  of  the  foregoing  and
  without  limiting  the rights and duties of the commissioner of taxation
  and finance under articles twelve-A, thirteen-A and  twenty-one  of  the
  tax  law,  no  taxpayer, or any other person, including the state, shall
  have any right or claim against the authority or any of its  bondholders
  to  any  moneys  appropriated and transferred from the dedicated highway
  and bridge trust fund established by section eighty-nine-b of the  state
  finance law for or in respect of a refund, rebate, credit, reimbursement
  or other repayment of taxes paid under such articles of the tax law.
    (d)  The notes, bonds or other obligations of the authority authorized
  by this section shall not be a debt of the state and the state shall not
  be liable thereon, nor shall they be payable out of any funds other than
  those of the authority pledged therefor; and such bonds and notes  shall
  contain on the face thereof a statement to such effect. In addition, any
  agreements  entered into by the department of transportation pursuant to
  sections ten-e, ten-f and ten-g of the highway law or any  other  entity
  on  behalf  of  the  state  to  effect  the implementation of any of the
  activities financed in whole or in part with proceeds of the obligations
  of the authority authorized in this section do not constitute or  create
  a  debt  of  the  state,  nor  a contractual obligation in excess of the
  amounts appropriated therefor and the state has no continuing  legal  or
  moral  obligation  to  appropriate  money  for  payments  due under such
  contracts.
    (e) All of the provisions of this title relating to bonds  and  notes,
  which  are  not  inconsistent with the provisions of this section, shall
  apply to obligations authorized  by  this  section,  including  but  not
  limited  to  the  power  to  establish adequate reserves therefor and to
  issue renewal notes or refunding bonds thereof, provided, however,  that
  the  authority shall be authorized to issue variable rate bonds or notes
  pursuant to this section only until June thirtieth, two thousand,  after
  which  date  no  bonds or notes issued by the authority pursuant to this
  section may have interest rates which vary, provided  further  that  the

  expiration  of  such  authority shall not affect any such bonds or notes
  issued prior to such date.
    2.  Not less than one hundred twenty days before the beginning of each
  state fiscal year, the chairman of the authority shall  certify  to  the
  comptroller  and to the director of the budget a schedule of anticipated
  cash requirements for  such  fiscal  year  pursuant  to  any  agreements
  entered  into  by  the authority with the commissioner of transportation
  pursuant to sections ten-e, ten-f and ten-g  of  the  highway  law.  The
  amounts  so  certified  shall  constitute required dedicated highway and
  bridge trust fund cooperative agreement payments due  pursuant  to  such
  agreements under sections ten-e, ten-f and ten-g of the highway law. The
  total  amount  so  certified  for such fiscal year shall be equal to the
  total amount of the debt service due or expected to be due  during  such
  fiscal  year  on  obligations  of  the  authority  incurred  pursuant to
  subdivision one of this section,  including  payments  of  interest  and
  principal (including sinking fund payments), together with:
    (a)  the  amount, if any, due to any provider of any insurance policy,
  letter of credit or other letter of enhancement or  a  related  facility
  with  respect  to  such obligations, representing payments made by it as
  provided in the applicable resolution or trust indenture as a result  of
  any  previous  failure  of the state to make any payment provided for in
  this section, including any related reasonable interest, fees or charges
  so provided;
    (b) the amount, if any, required to  restore  any  applicable  reserve
  fund  to  the  applicable  reserve  fund  requirement  to the extent any
  deficiency therein has resulted directly or indirectly from  failure  by
  the state to make any payment provided for in this section;
    (c) the amount, if any, required to be rebated to the United States to
  provide for continued exclusion from federal income taxation of interest
  on obligations of the authority; and
    (d) the expenses of the establishment and continued operating expenses
  of  the authority related to the financing of activities funded with the
  proceeds of obligations authorized by subdivision one of  this  section,
  including, but not limited to, trustees' fees, fees payable to providers
  of  credit  facilities,  fees for issuing and paying agents, remarketing
  agents and dealers,  legal  counsel,  financial  or  other  advisors  or
  consultants,   independent   auditors,   rating  agencies,  transfer  or
  information agents,  the  publication  of  advertisements  and  notices,
  surety  arrangements,  and  printers'  fees  or  charges incurred by the
  authority to comply with applicable federal and state securities and tax
  laws; and any other costs of issuance in excess of the  amount  provided
  therefor  from  the  proceeds  of  the  sale of such obligations, to the
  extent that any of the foregoing amounts or expenses are not to be  paid
  from other resources available to the authority for such purpose.
    3. The chairman of the authority may revise such certification at such
  times  as  shall  be determined by the chairman; provided, however, that
  the chairman of the authority shall revise such certification not  later
  than  thirty  days  after  the  issuance  of  any obligations authorized
  pursuant to subdivision one of this section including  refunding  bonds,
  and affecting the cash requirements of the authority with respect to the
  obligations incurred pursuant to this section.
    4.  Such certification shall provide for payments on such dates as the
  authority and the director of the budget  deems  appropriate  to  ensure
  that  sufficient  funds will be available from the sources identified in
  this section to enable it to meet its current obligations  with  respect
  to  those  obligations  incurred pursuant to this section as they become
  due.

    5. Upon receipt of such certification, or any  revision  thereof,  the
  comptroller  shall  pay  such  dedicated  highway  and bridge trust fund
  cooperative agreement payments to the authority in accordance with  such
  certification,   from  the  dedicated  highway  and  bridge  trust  fund
  established  by  section  eighty-nine-b  of  the state finance law. Such
  payments shall  be  made  on  or  before  the  date  specified  in  each
  certificate  or  within  thirty  days  after  such receipt, whichever is
  later, provided that all such amounts shall have been first appropriated
  by the state.
    6. The agreement of the state  contained  in  this  section  shall  be
  deemed  executory  only  to  the  extent of appropriations available for
  payments under this section and no liability  on  account  of  any  such
  payment  shall  be incurred by the state beyond such appropriations. The
  state, acting through the director of the budget, and the authority  may
  enter  into,  amend, modify, or rescind one or more agreements providing
  for the specific manner, timing, and amount of payments to be made under
  this section, but only in conformity with this section.
    7. The authorization, sale and  issuance  of  bonds,  notes  or  other
  obligations  pursuant  to  this section shall not be deemed an action as
  such term is defined in article eight of the environmental  conservation
  law  for  the purposes of such article. Such exemption shall be strictly
  limited in its application to such financing activities of the authority
  and does not exempt the department of transportation or any other entity
  from compliance with such article.
    8. The state of New York shall and hereby agrees to and does indemnify
  and save harmless the New York state thruway authority from and  against
  any  and  all  liability,  loss,  damage,  interest, judgments and liens
  growing out of, and any and all costs and expenses (including,  but  not
  limited  to,  counsel fees and disbursements) arising out of or incurred
  in connection with any  and  all  claims,  demands,  suits,  actions  or
  proceedings  which  may  be  made  or brought against the New York state
  thruway authority arising out of  any  determinations  made  or  actions
  taken or omitted to be taken or compliance with any obligations under or
  pursuant to this section.
    9.  Nothing  contained in this section shall be deemed to restrict the
  right of the state to amend, repeal, modify or otherwise alter  statutes
  imposing  or  relating to any taxes or fees, including the taxes imposed
  pursuant to section two hundred  eighty-four,  articles  thirteen-A  and
  twenty-one  of  the tax law and fees imposed by section four hundred one
  of the vehicle and traffic law. The authority shall not  include  within
  any  resolution,  contract or agreement with holders of the bonds, notes
  and other obligations  issued  under  this  title  any  provision  which
  provides  that  a default occurs as a result of the state exercising its
  right to amend, repeal, modify or otherwise alter  any  such  taxes  and
  fees.
    10. Any resolution authorizing bonds, notes or other obligations shall
  reserve  the  right  of  the state, upon amendment of the New York state
  constitution allowing the issuance, or assumption, of  bonds,  notes  or
  other  obligations  secured  by revenues, which may include the revenues
  securing bonds, notes or other obligations  of  the  authority,  (i)  to
  assume,  in  whole or in part, such bonds, notes or other obligations of
  the authority, (ii) to extinguish the existing lien of such  resolution,
  and  (iii)  to  substitute  security  for  the  bonds,  notes,  or other
  obligations of the  authority,  in  each  case  only  so  long  as  such
  assumption,  extinguishment  or  substitution is done in accordance with
  such resolution.