Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. In this act unless a contrary intention clearly appears, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

(a) "City", the city of Leominster.

(b) "Corporation", the Economic Development and Industrial Corporation of Leominster created by section three.

(c) "Cost of a project", all costs, whether incurred prior to or after the issue of bonds or notes hereunder, of acquisition, site development, construction, improvement, enlargement, reconstruction, alteration, machinery, equipment, furnishings, demolition or removal of existing buildings or structures, including the cost of acquiring any lands to which such buildings or structures, including the cost of acquiring any lands to which such buildings or structures may be moved, financing charges, interest prior to and during the carrying out of any project, interest for up to two years after the completion or estimated completion date of any project, planning, engineering and legal services, administrative expenses, the funding of notes issued for capital purposes, such reserves for debt service or other capital or current expenses as may be required by a trust agreement or resolution securing notes or bonds and all other expenses incidental to the determination of the feasibility of any project or to carrying out the project or the placing the project in operation.

(d) "Economic development area", any blighted open area or any decadent area, as respectively defined in section one of chapter one hundred and twenty-one B of the General Laws, which is located in the city, and is zoned for general or restricted manufacturing uses or for general or waterfront industrial uses, whether restricted or not, and within which there are not more than forty-five dwelling units.

(e) "Economic development plan", a detailed plan, as it may be approved from time to time by the city council and the mayor under section six, for one or more economic development projects within an economic development area, which plan shall be consistent with local objectives respecting appropriate land uses, and shall be sufficiently complete to indicate the boundaries of the area, such land acquisition, such demolition, removal, and rehabilitation of structures, and such development, redevelopment and general public improvements as may be proposed to be carried out within such area, zoning and planning charges, if any, and proposed land uses, maximum densities and building requirements; provided, however, that without specific approval of the city council and of the mayor, no economic development plan shall propose zoning changes to or from business or residential uses or provide for any office building other than one wholly incidental to a manufacturing or industrial use within the area.

(f) "Economic development project", (1) a project to be undertaken in accordance with an economic development plan for acquisition by the corporation of land and the improvements thereon, if any, within an economic development area covered by an economic development plan and for clearance and development of the land so acquired; or (2) a project for the rehabilitation or conservation of an economic development area, or for restoration and renewal of any such area or portion thereof, or for the demolition, removal or rehabilitation of improvements on land within an economic development area whenever necessary to eliminate unhealthful, unsanitary or unsafe conditions, lessen density, mitigate or eliminate traffic congestion, reduce traffic hazards or eliminate obsolete or other uses detrimental to the public welfare; or (3) a project involving any combination of the foregoing types of project. An economic development project may include improvements necessary for carrying out the objectives of the economic development project, together with such site improvements as are necessary for the preparation for any site for uses in accordance with the economic development plan and making any land or improvements acquired in the area of the project available for redevelopment or rehabilitation by private enterprise, including sale, initial leasing or retention by the corporation for industrial or manufacturing uses in accordance with the economic development plan. An economic development project may also include the construction by the corporation of any of the buildings, structures or other facilities for industrial or manufacturing uses contemplated by the economic development plan and the repair, removal or rehabilitation by the corporation of any of the buildings, structures or other facilities located in the area covered by the economic development plan and which, under such plan, are to be repaired, moved or rehabilitated.

(g) "Pollution control facilities", facilities for the prevention, avoidance, reduction, control, abatement or elimination of pollution of air or waters by industrial establishments by any means.

SECTION 2. It is hereby declared that decadent or blighted open areas exist in parts of the city of Leominster zoned for industrial or manufacturing uses; that each such area constitutes a serious and growing menace, injurious and inimical to the safety, health, morals and welfare of the residents of the city; that each such area constitutes an economic liability, substantially impairs or arrests the sound growth of the city and retards the economic well being of the commonwealth; that each such area decreases the value of private investments and threatens the sources of public revenue; that redevelopment of each such area in accordance with an economic development plan for the elimination of substandard conditions and the prevention of their recurrence is necessary to retain existing industries, and attract new industries, and promote the sound economic growth of the city; that the menace of such decadent or blighted open areas is beyond remedy and control solely by regulatory process in the exercise of the police power and cannot be dealt with effectively by the ordinary operations of private enterprise without the aids herein provided, that the acquisition of property for the purpose of eliminating decadent, substandard or blighted open conditions therein, preventing recurrence of such conditions in the area, the removal of structures, improvements of sites for manufacturing and industrial uses, the disposition of the property for redevelopment incidental to the foregoing, the exercise of powers by the corporation and any assistance which may be given by the city or any other public body in connection therewith are public uses and purposes for which public money may be expended and the power of eminent domain exercised; and that the acquisition, planning, clearance, development, rehabilitation or rebuilding of such decadent and blighted open areas for industrial or manufacturing purposes are public uses and benefits for which private property may be acquired by eminent domain or regulated by wholesome and reasonable orders, laws and directions and for which public funds may be expended for the good and welfare of the city and the commonwealth.

It is hereby further found and declared that there exists in the city a condition of substantial and persistent unemployment and underemployment which causes hardship to many individuals and families, wastes vital human resources, increases the public assistance burdens, impairs the security of family life, impedes the economic and physical development of the city and adversely affects the welfare and prosperity of the people; that unemployment and underemployment have been caused in part by industrial and manufacturing companies moving from the city; that many existing industrial and manufacturing facilities within the city are obsolete and inefficient; that such facilities are underutilized or vacated, thereby creating additional unemployment; that such obsolescence and abandonment of existing facilities are causing serious injury to the economy of the city; that the manufacturing and industrial section of the economy provides the best opportunity for better jobs at higher wages for inhabitants of the city; that new industrial and manufacturing sites are required to attract and house new industries and to retain existing industries in need of expansion space; that the unaided efforts of private enterprise have not provided and cannot provide the necessary industrial sites within the urban environment due to problems encountered in the assembly of suitable building sites, the provision of adequate public services, the unavailability of private capital for development and the inability of private enterprise alone to plan, finance and coordinate industrial development projects.

SECTION 3. There is hereby created a public body politic and corporate, to be known as the Economic Development and Industrial Corporation of Leominster, hereinafter in this act called the corporation, which shall be a public instrumentality, consisting of seven persons appointed by the mayor subject to confirmation by the city council, one person who has experience in industrial development activities, one person experienced in financial matters, one person experienced in real estate matters, one person experienced in municipal government, one person of low income, and two additional persons. The mayor, in making said appointments to the corporation may give priority to residents of the city of Leominster. The mayor shall designate one of the seven members so appointed as chairman and another as vice-chairman. Each of the seven members shall be sworn to the faithful performance of his official duties as a member of the corporation. A majority of the seven members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business. The action of a majority of the entire membership shall be required for any transaction. For the purposes of section eleven A of chapter thirty A of the General Laws, the corporation shall be deemed to be a governmental body established by the general court to serve a public purpose.

Of the members of the corporation first appointed, two shall be appointed to serve for one year from the first day of July in the current year, two for two years from said date and three for three years from said date. Upon the expiration of the term of office of any such member, or any subsequent member, his successor shall be appointed in like manner for a term of three years. In the event of a vacancy in the office of a member, his successor shall be appointed in like manner to serve for the unexpired term. Unless reappointed, no member of the corporation shall hold office after the expiration of his term; and the appointment of a successor to any person whose term has expired shall be for the remainder of the term which would have begun at such expiration if the successor had then been appointed.

Any member may be removed by the mayor for malfeasance, misfeasance or willful neglect of duty, but only after reasonable notice and a public hearing, unless the same are in writing expressly waived. For the purposes of chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A of the General Laws, the members of the corporation shall be deemed to be special municipal employees.

Before the issuance of any bonds under the provisions of this act, each member of the corporation shall execute a surety bond with a surety company authorized to transact business in this commonwealth as surety, in the penal sum of fifty thousand dollars conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties of his office, each such surety bond to be approved by the city solicitor and filed in the office of the state secretary. The members of the corporation shall receive no compensation for the performance of their duties hereunder, but each member shall be reimbursed for expenses actually incurred in the performance of his duties. Each such reimbursement shall be open to public inspection from and after the requisition therefor.

SECTION 4. The members of the corporation shall adopt a corporate seal for the corporation and designate the custodian thereof; may from time to time appoint and at pleasure remove a director, a clerk, a treasurer or such other officers of the corporation as they may deem necessary and may determine their duties and their compensation, which shall be paid by the corporation; shall cause at all times accurate accounts to be kept of all receipts and expenditures of the funds of the corporation and shall make a report annually in December to the mayor, the city council and the city clerk, containing an abstract of such accounts and detailed information of all receipts and expenditures, including prices paid for land purchased or taken and any buildings constructed thereon, contracts for construction of facilities and for the leasing thereof and such other detailed information as may be deemed helpful. The offices of treasurer and clerk may be held by the same person. The corporation shall cause an audit of its books and accounts to be made at least once in each fiscal year by certified public accountants and the cost thereof shall be treated as an item of current expense. Except as otherwise provided in this act, the corporation shall have full power to exercise care of its property and the management of its business and affairs and to sell and convey any real estate or other property determined unnecessary for its business or affairs, by deed or other instrument sealed with the corporate seal, signed and acknowledged by a majority of the members, or in like manner to authorize such sale and conveyance by any of its officers or agents. The treasurer shall give bond for the faithful performance of his duties, with a surety company authorized to do business in this commonwealth as surety, in such sum as the members may determine, the premium therefor to be paid by the corporation. Neither chapter thirty-one of the General Laws nor any rule made thereunder shall apply to any person employed or engaged by the corporation under this act.

SECTION 5. The corporation is hereby authorized:

(a) To sue and be sued in its own name and plead and be impleaded;

(b) To adopt by-laws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business and to alter the same at its pleasure;

(c) To make and enter into all contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers under this act, and to employ consulting engineers, superintendents, managers, and such other engineers, construction and accounting experts and attorneys and such other employees, agents and consultants as may be necessary in its judgment and to fix their compensation;

(d) To receive and accept from any federal agency, the commonwealth or the city, grants, loans or advances for or in aid of an economic development project or projects and to receive and accept contributions from any source of either money, property, labor or other things of value, to be held, used and applied for the purposes for which such grants, loans, advances and contributions may be made;

(e) To borrow money, and, from time to time, to make, accept, endorse, execute and issue bonds, debentures, promissory notes, bills of exchange, and other obligations of the corporation, for moneys borrowed or in payment for property acquired or for any of the other purposes of the corporation and to secure the payment of such obligations by mortgage, pledge, deed, indenture, agreement, or other instrument of trust, or by other lien upon, assignment of, or agreement in regard to all or any part of the property, rights or privileges of the corporation;

(f) To issue revenue bonds of the corporation, payable solely from revenues, for the purpose of paying all or any part of the cost of a project or projects;

(g) To invest any funds not required for immediate use or disbursement in certificates of deposit, in obligations of the government of the United States or in obligations the payment of the principal of, and interest on, which is guaranteed by the government of the United States;

(h) To provide such advisory services and technical assistance as may be desirable to carry out the purposes of this act;

(i) To prepare or cause to be prepared plans, designs, drawings, specifications and estimates of cost for the construction, reconstruction, development, redevelopment, rehabilitation, remodeling, alteration or repair of economic development projects and from time to time modify such plans, designs, drawings, specifications and estimates;

(j) To designate areas of the city as economic development areas subject to the approval of the city council and of the mayor;

(k) To acquire and hold by bequest, devise, grant, gift, purchase, exchange, lease, judicial order or decree, or otherwise, for any of its objects and purposes, any property, either real or personal, or any interest therein; and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, to acquire by purchase or otherwise, on such terms and conditions and in such manner as it may deem proper, or by the exercise of the power of eminent domain in accordance with the provisions of chapter seventy-nine or chapter eighty A of the General Laws insofar as such provisions may be applicable, such private lands, or any interest herein, as it may deem necessary for carrying out of the provisions of this act or for providing for the relocation of the persons and business displaced as a result of carrying out an economic development plan. The provisions of section forty of said chapter seventy-nine shall apply to any taking by the corporation, except that the security therein required shall be deposited with the collector-treasurer of the city and shall be in an amount at least twenty-five percent higher than the aggregate average assessed valuations in the three previous calendar years of all real estate to be taken by eminent domain. Prior to the approval of an economic development plan by the city council and the mayor, the corporation shall neither acquire any property nor institute any proceeding under chapter eighty A, except for purposes of relocation; provided, however, that if an economic development plan contemplates the taking by eminent domain of lands particularly described therein, and if said plan is approved by the city council and the mayor, the date as of which the value of such lands shall be determined for eminent domain purposes shall be the date on which said economic development plan was first submitted to the city council;

(l) To make relocation payments to persons and businesses displaced as a result of carrying out an economic development plan, including such payments on a pro tanto basis;

(m) To procure insurance against any loss in connection with its property and other assets and operations in such amounts and from such insurers as it deems desirable;

(n) To clear and improve property acquired by it and to engage in or contract for the construction, reconstruction, development, redevelopment, rehabilitation, remodeling, alteration or repair thereof;

(o) To arrange or contract with the city for the planning, replanning, opening, grading or closing of streets, roads, alleys or other places or for the furnishing of facilities or for the acquisition by the city of property or property rights or for the furnishing of property or services in connection with a project or projects;

(p) To sell, convey, mortgage, lease, transfer, option, exchange or otherwise dispose of any property, either real or personal, or any interest therein, as the objects and purposes of the corporation may require, subject to such limitations as may be prescribed by law;

(q) To loan on mortgages, including purchase money mortgages, on real estate and personal property within economic development areas, to foreclose the same when in default and to bid for the purchase property at any foreclosure or other sale, and in such event, to deal with such property in such manner as may be necessary or desirable to protect the interests of the corporation therein;

(r) To manage any project whether owned or leased by the corporation and to enter into agreements with the commonwealth or the city or any agency or instrumentality thereof or with any person, firm, partnership or corporation either public or private for the purpose of causing any project to be managed;

(s) To act with respect to one or more projects as a corporation organized under section three or section eighteen B of chapter one hundred and twenty-one A of the General Laws; provided, however, that the accounts for each project shall be kept separately and the income of one project shall not be expended upon or the benefit of another project;

(t) To do all acts and things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly granted in this ordinance;

The corporation is hereby directed to pay the reasonable relocation costs of persons and businesses displaced as a result of carrying out an economic development plan as authorized by clause (l) of this section; provided, however, that the corporation shall not be required hereby to pay or contribute to the payment of such costs of any relocatee in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars.

(u) To borrow money for the purposes of aiding in the construction of equipment required by the commonwealth and the United States to abate air or water pollution.

SECTION 6. No economic development project shall be undertaken until (a) a public hearing relating to the economic development plan covering such project has been held by the corporation after due notice and (b) the economic development plan has been approved by a two-thirds vote of the city council and the approval of the mayor, except that if within ninety days after the submission of an economic development plan to the city council for approval the city council has not voted, such plan shall be deemed to have been disapproved without prejudice by the city council. If no economic development project covered by an economic development plan is commenced within seven years after the approval of such plan, the approval of such plan shall lapse.

Every economic development plan submitted to the city council for approval under this ordinance shall require that every person occupying the whole or any part of the economic development area covered by such plan during the period of forty years after the approval of such plan shall make every reasonable effort, in employing persons in his business, to give to the fullest practicable extent preference to residents of the city and shall be accompanied by a report on such plan by the planning agency of the city to whom such plan shall have been submitted before its submission to the city council, by a statement of the proposed method for financing each project covered by such plan, by a comprehensive relocation plan and by such other information as the corporation deems advisable.

Notice of the public hearing shall be given by the corporation to (1) such persons, groups and organizations as have requested in writing that such notice be given them, (2) every public agency, whether of the city or of the commonwealth, likely in the judgment of the corporation to have an actual or potential interest in the economic development plan, (3) the senator for every senatorial district of the commonwealth, and the representative for every representative district thereof, within the economic development area or any part thereof, and (4) each publicly appointed or elected local advisory committee, and each community group supported in whole or in part by public funds, whose territory covers all or part of the economic development area. In the course of preparing an economic development plan, the corporation shall consult with each of the aforesaid so far as in the judgment of the corporation it is practicable.

If an economic development plan is approved by the city council and the mayor, the corporation shall have the powers and duties imposed by this act to undertake and carry out the economic development projects covered by such plan. The corporation shall not be required to submit an economic development plan so approved to the department of community affairs for further approval.

SECTION 7. Rents and charges for services of facilities furnished or supplied by the corporation shall not be subject to supervision or regulation by any department, division, commission, board, bureau or agency of the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof and, if derived from a project in connection with which revenue bonds have been issued, shall, with all other revenues derived from the project, except such part thereof as may be necessary to pay such cost of maintenance, repair and operation and to provide such reserves therefor as may be provided for in the resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds or in the trust agreement, but including such part therefor as may be necessary to provide such reserves for the payment of the principal of and the interest on said revenue bonds as may be provided for in such resolution or trust agreement, and including also the proceeds of any and all sales by the corporation of property within the project area, be set aside at such regular intervals as may be provided or in such resolution or trust agreement, in a sinking fund which is hereby pledged to and charged with the payment of (1) the interest upon such bonds as such interest shall become due, (2) the principal of the bonds as the same shall fall due, (3) the necessary charges of paying agents for paying principal and interest and (4) the redemption price or the purchase price of bonds retired by call or purchase as therein provided.

SECTION 8. The corporation shall be liable in contract or in tort in the same manner as private corporation. The members, employees, officers and agents of the corporation shall not be liable as such in its contracts or for torts not committed or directly authorized by them. The property or funds of the corporation shall not be subject to attachment or to levy and sale on execution, but if the corporation refuses to pay a judgment entered against it in any court of competent jurisdiction, the superior court, sitting within and for the county in which the corporation is situated, may, by writ of mandamus, direct the treasurer of such agency to pay such judgment. The real estate of the corporation shall not be subject to liens under chapter two hundred and fifty-four of the General Laws, but the provisions of sections twenty-eight and twenty-nine of chapter one hundred and forty-nine of the General Laws shall be applicable to any construction work by the corporation.

SECTION 9. The real estate and tangible personal property of the corporation shall be deemed to be public property used for essential public and governmental purposes and shall be exempt from taxation and from betterments and special assessments; provided, however, that in lieu of such taxes, betterments and special assessments, a city may determine a sum to be paid to it annually in any year or period of years, such sum to be in any year not in excess of the amount that would be levied at the then current tax rate upon the average of the assessed value of such real estate, including buildings and other structures, for the three years preceding the year of acquisition thereof, the valuation for each year being reduced by all abatements thereon.

The city may, however, agree with the corporation upon the payments to be made to the city or the corporation may make and the city may accept such payments, the amount of which shall not in either case be subject to the foregoing limitation.

Nothing in this act shall be construed to prevent the taxation to the same extent and in the same manner as other real estate acquired by the corporation for an economic development project and sold by it, or the taxation to the same extent and in the same manner as real estate of the commonwealth is taxed of real estate so acquired by the corporation and sold or leased to an urban redevelopment corporation or the entity operating under chapter one hundred and twenty-one A of the General Laws, or to an insurance company or savings bank or group of savings banks operating under said chapter, shall be taxed as provided in said chapter and not otherwise.

The corporation and the debentures, revenue bonds and revenue refunding bonds issued under the provisions of this act, their transfer and the income therefrom, including any profit made on the sale thereof, shall at all times be free from taxation by the commonwealth or any subdivision thereof, to the extent permitted by law.

SECTION 10. To provide funds for the general purposes of the corporation, including working capital, the corporation may from time to time issue debentures; provided, however, that such debentures outstanding at any one time shall not exceed five million dollars. Such debentures shall not be deemed to constitute a debt of the commonwealth or of the city or a pledge of the faith and credit of the commonwealth or of the city and shall be subordinated to all other obligations of the corporation and shall be payable at such time or times and in such installments, if any, as the corporation shall determine, but solely out of the net assets of the corporation; and the holders thereof shall be entitled to interest thereon but only out of the net earnings of the corporation and in no event at a rate higher than the rate specified therein.

Such debentures may be secured by a trust agreement by and between the corporation and a corporate trustee, which shall be located within the commonwealth and shall be a trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company. Such trust agreement shall contain such provisions for protecting and enforcing the rights and remedies of the debenture holders as may be reasonable and proper and not in violation of law. It shall be lawful for any bank or trust company incorporated under the laws of the commonwealth which may act as depository under such trust agreement to furnish such indemnifying bonds or to pledge such securities as may be required by the corporation. Such trust agreement shall set forth the rights and remedies of the debenture holders and of the trustee and may restrict the individual right of action by debenture holders. In addition to the foregoing, the trust agreement may contain such other provisions as the corporation may deem reasonable and proper for the security of the debenture holders. All expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of such trust agreement may be treated as an item of current expense.

Debentures may be issued under the provisions of this act without obtaining the consent of any department, division, commission, board, bureau or agency of the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof and without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things other than those proceedings, conditions, or things which are specifically required by this act.

SECTION 11. The city may raise and appropriate or may borrow or may agree with the corporation or with the federal government or the commonwealth to raise and appropriate or to borrow, in aid of the corporation, such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes and powers of the corporation including defraying part of the development, acquisition and operating costs of any project; provided, however, that the city shall not borrow, nor agree to borrow, as aforesaid, unless authorized by a vote of two-thirds of the full membership of the city council passed only after two separate readings and by two separate votes, the second of such readings and votes to be had not less than fourteen days after the first. Indebtedness of the city authorized under this section shall be outside the limit of indebtedness prescribed in section ten of chapter forty-four of the General Laws and shall be payable within twenty years and otherwise subject to sections sixteen to twenty-seven, inclusive, of said chapter forty-four; provided, however, that the total amount of indebtedness of the city outstanding at any one time under this section and clauses (1), (2) and (4) of section twenty of chapter one hundred and twenty-one B of the General Laws shall not exceed five percent of the city's equalized valuation as defined in section one of said chapter forty-four. Indebtedness incurred under this ordinance shall be subject to approval under section twenty-two of said chapter one hundred and twenty-one B in like manner as indebtedness incurred under said section twenty.

SECTION 12. The corporation is hereby authorized to provide by resolution, at one time or from time to time, for the issuance of revenue bonds of the corporation for the purpose of paying all or any part of the cost of a project or projects. The principal of and interest on such bonds shall be payable solely from the funds herein provided for such payment. The bonds of each issue shall be dated, and bear interest at such rates, and shall mature at such time or times not exceeding forty years from their date or dates, as may be determined by the corporation, and may be made redeemable before maturity, at the option of the corporation, at such price or prices and under such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the corporation prior to the issuance of the bonds. The corporation shall determine the form of the bonds, including any interest coupons to be attached thereto, and the manner of execution of the bonds, and shall fix the denomination, or denominations of the bonds and the place or places of payment of principal and interest, which may be at any bank or trust company within or without the commonwealth. In case any officer whose signature or a facsimile of whose signature shall appear on any bonds or coupons shall cease to be such officer before the delivery of such bonds, such signature or such facsimile shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes the same as if he had remained in office until such delivery. The bonds may be issued coupon or registered form, or both, as the corporation may determine and provision may be made for the registration of any coupon bonds as to 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. The corporation may sell such bonds in such manner, either at public or at private sale, and for such price, as it may determine to be for the best interests of the corporation.

The proceeds of such bonds shall be used solely for the payment of the cost of the projects and shall be disbursed in such manner and under such restrictions, if any, as the corporation may provide. Prior to the preparation of definitive bonds, the corporation may, under like restrictions, issue interim receipts or temporary bonds, with or without coupons, exchangeable for definitive bonds when such bonds have been executed and are available for delivery. The corporation may also provide for the replacement of any bonds which shall become mutilated or shall be destroyed or lost. Revenue bonds may be issued under the provisions of this act without obtaining the consent of any department, division, commission, board, bureau or agency of the commonwealth or of any political subdivision thereof and without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things other than those proceedings, conditions or things which are specifically required by this act.

The corporation is hereby authorized to provide by resolution for the issuance of revenue refunding bonds of the corporation for the purpose of refunding any revenue bonds then outstanding and issued under the provisions of this act, including the payment of any redemption premium thereon and any interest accrued or to accrue to the date of redemption of such bonds, and, if deemed advisable by the corporation, for the additional purpose of constructing or reconstructing any extensions or improvements of the project. The issue of such bonds, the maturities and other details thereof, the rights of the holders thereof, and the duties of the corporation in respect of the same shall be governed by the provisions of this act insofar as the same may be applicable.

While any bonds issued by the corporation remain outstanding, the powers, duties or existence of the corporation shall not be diminished or impaired in any way that will affect adversely the interests and rights of the holders of such bonds.

Revenue and revenue refunding bonds issued under the provisions of this section, unless otherwise authorized by law, shall not be deemed to constitute a debt of the commonwealth or of the city or a pledge of the faith and credit of the commonwealth or of the city, but such bonds shall be payable solely from the funds herein provided therefor from revenues. All such revenue and revenue refunding bonds shall contain on the face thereof a statement to the effect that neither the corporation nor the commonwealth nor the city shall be obliged to pay the same or the interest thereon except from revenues and that neither the faith and credit nor the taxing power of the commonwealth or of the city is pledged to the payment of the principal of or the interest on such bonds.

All revenue and revenue refunding bonds issued under the provisions of this act shall have and are hereby declared to have all the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments as defined in section 3-104 of chapter one hundred and six of the General Laws.

SECTION 13. In the discretion of the corporation such revenue bonds or revenue refunding bonds may be secured by a trust agreement by and between the corporation and a corporate trustee, which may be any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within the commonwealth. Such trust agreement may pledge or assign the revenues to be received, but shall not convey or mortgage any project or part thereof.

Either the resolution providing for the issuance of bonds or such trust agreement 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, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, provisions defining defaults and providing for remedies in the event thereof, which may include the acceleration of maturities, and covenants setting forth the duties of, and limitations on, the corporation in relation to the acquisition, construction, improvement, enlargement, alteration, equipping, furnishing, maintenance, operation, repair, insurance and disposition of property, the custody, safeguarding, investment and application of moneys, the use of any surplus bond or notes proceeds and the establishment of reserves. Such resolution or trust agreement may also contain covenants by the corporation in relation to, among other things, (a) the establishment, revision and collection of such rents and charges for services or facilities furnished or supplied by the corporation as shall provide revenues sufficient with other revenues of the project, if any, to pay (i) the cost of maintaining, repairing and operating the project and of making renewals and replacements in connection therewith, (ii) the principal of and the interest on said revenue bonds as the same shall become due and payable, (iii) payments in lieu of taxes, betterments, and special assessments, and (iv) reserves for all of such purposes, (b) the purpose or purposes for which the proceeds of the sale of the bonds will be applied and the use and disposition thereof, (c) the use and disposition of the gross revenues of the corporation from the project, any additions thereto and extensions and improvements thereof, including the creation and maintenance of funds for working capital and for renewals and replacements to the project, (d) the amount, if any, of additional revenue bonds payable from the revenues of the project and the limitations, terms, and conditions on which such additional revenue bonds may be issued, and (e) the operation, maintenance, management, accounting, and auditing of the project and of the income and revenues of the corporation. It shall be lawful for any bank or trust company incorporated under the laws of the commonwealth to act as depository of the proceeds of bonds or of revenues and to furnish such indemnifying bonds or to pledge such securities as may be required by the corporation. Such 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 corporations. In addition to the foregoing, such trust agreement may contain such other provisions as the corporation may deem reasonable and proper for the security of the bondholders. All expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of such trust agreement may be treated as a part of the cost of the operation of the project. The pledge by any such trust agreement or resolution shall be valid and binding from the time when the pledge is made; the revenues or other moneys so pledged and then held or thereafter received by the corporation shall immediately be subject to the lien of such pledge without any physical delivery thereof or further act; and the lien of any such pledge shall be valid and binding as against all parties having claims of any kind in tort, contract, or otherwise against the corporation, irrespective of whether such parties have notice thereof. Neither the resolution nor any trust agreement by which a pledge is created need be filed or recorded except in the records of the corporation, and no filing need be made under chapter one hundred and six of the General Laws.

SECTION 14. Revenue bonds and revenue refunding bonds issued under the provisions of this act are hereby made securities in which all public officers and public bodies of the commonwealth and its political subdivisions, all insurance companies, trust companies in their commercial departments and within the limits set by section fourteen of chapter one hundred and sixty-seven E of the General Laws, banking associations, investment companies, executors, trustees and other fiduciaries, and all other persons whatsoever who are now or may hereafter be authorized to invest in bonds or other obligations of a similar nature may properly and legally invest funds, including capital in their control or belonging to them; and such bonds are hereby made obligations which may properly and legally be made eligible for the investment of savings deposits and the income thereof in the manner provided by section two of chapter one hundred and sixty-seven F of the General Laws. Such bonds are hereby made securities which may properly and legally be deposited with and received by any state or municipal officer or any agency or political subdivision of the commonwealth for any purpose for which the deposit of bonds or other obligations of the commonwealth is now or may hereafter be authorized by law.