§163D-8  Project facility program.  (a) The corporation may develop a project to identify necessary project facilitieswithin a project area.

(b)  Unless and except as otherwise provided bylaw, whenever the corporation undertakes, or causes to be undertaken, anyproject facility as part of a project, the cost of providing the projectfacilities shall be assessed against the real property in the project areaspecially benefiting from the project facilities.  Subject to the expresswritten consent of the landowners directly affected, the corporation shalldetermine the properties that will benefit from the project facilities to beundertaken and may establish assessment areas that include the propertiesspecially benefiting from the project facilities.  The corporation may issueand sell bonds in such amounts as may be authorized by the legislature toprovide funds to finance the project facilities.  The corporation shall fix theassessments against the real property specially benefited.

(c)  Unless and except as otherwise provided bylaw, the corporation may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to establish themethod of undertaking and financing project facilities in a project area.

(d)  Unless and except as otherwise provided bylaw, bonds issued to provide funds to finance project facilities shall besecured solely by the real properties benefited or improved and the assessmentsthereon, or by the revenues derived from the project for which the bonds wereissued, including reserve accounts and earnings thereon, insurance proceeds,and other revenues, or any combination thereof.  The bonds may be additionallysecured by the pledge or assignment of loans and other agreements or any noteor other undertaking, obligation, or property held by the corporation.  Thebonds shall be issued according to and subject to the rules adopted pursuant tothis section.  Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, in assessing realproperty for project facilities, the corporation shall assess the real propertywithin a project area according to the special benefits conferred upon the realproperty by the project facilities.  These methods may include assessment on afrontage basis or according to the area of real property within a project area,or any other assessment method that assesses the real property according to thespecial benefit conferred, or any combination thereof.  No such assessmentlevies against real property specially benefited under this chapter shallconstitute a tax on real property within the meaning of any law.

(e)  The rules adopted pursuant to this sectionmay include, but are not limited to:

(1)  The methods of establishing assessment areaswithin a project area;

(2)  The method of assessing real properties speciallybenefited;

(3)  The costs to be borne by the corporation, thecounty in which the project facilities are situated, and the property owners;

(4)  The procedures before the corporation relating tothe creation of the assessment areas by the owners of real property therein,including provisions for petitions, bids, contracts, bonds, and notices;

(5)  Provisions relating to assessments;

(6)  Provisions relating to financing, such as bonds,the Hawaii agricultural development revolving fund, advances from availablefunds, special funds for the payment of bonds, the payment of principal andinterest, and the sale and use of bonds;

(7)  Provisions relating to funds and the refunding ofoutstanding debts; and

(8)  Provisions relating to limitations on time tosue, and other related provisions.

(f)  Any other provisions to the contrarynotwithstanding, the corporation, at its discretion, may enter into anyagreement with the county in which project facilities are located, to implementthe purposes of this section.

(g)  All sums collected under this sectionshall be deposited in the fund established by section 163D-17, except that allmoneys collected on account of assessments and interests thereon for anyspecific project facilities financed by the issuance of bonds, shall be setapart in a separate special fund and applied solely to the payment of:

(1)  The principal and interest on these bonds;

(2)  The cost of administering, operating, andmaintaining the program;

(3)  The establishment of reserves; and

(4)  Other purposes as may be authorized in theproceedings providing for the issuance of the bonds.

If any surplus remains in any special fundafter the payment of the bonds chargeable against that special fund, thesurplus shall be credited to and become a part of the fund.  Notwithstandingany other law to the contrary, moneys in the fund may be used to make up anydeficiencies in the special fund.

(h)  If the project facilities to be financedthrough bonds by the corporation may be dedicated to the county in which theproject facilities are to be located, the corporation shall ensure that theproject facilities are designed and constructed to meet county requirements. [L1994, c 264, pt of §1; am L 1998, c 111, §7]