The state may covenant, pledge, and agree in the bond proceedings, with and for the benefit of the issuing authority, the holders and owners of obligations, and providers of any credit enhancement facilities, that it shall:
As further provided for in division (H) of this section, the bond proceedings may also include such other covenants, pledges, and agreements by the state to protect and safeguard the security and rights of the holders and owners of the obligations, and of the providers of any credit enhancement facilities, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any covenant, pledge, or agreement customary in transactions involving the issuance of securities the debt service on which is payable from or secured by amounts received under the tobacco master settlement agreement. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any covenant, pledge, and agreement of the state, if and when made in the bond proceedings, shall be controlling and binding upon, and enforceable against the state in accordance with its terms for so long as any obligations are outstanding under the applicable bond proceedings. The bond proceedings may also include limitations on the remedies available to the issuing authority, the holders and owners of the obligations, and the providers of any credit enhancement facilities, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, a provision that those remedies may be limited to injunctive relief in circumstances where there has been no prior determination by a court of competent jurisdiction that the state has not enforced Chapter 1346. of the Revised Code, the tobacco master settlement agreement, or the consent decree as may have been covenanted or agreed in the bond proceedings under division (B)(5) of this section.
Nothing in this section or the bond proceedings shall preclude or limit, or be construed to preclude or limit, the state from regulating or authorizing or permitting the regulation of smoking or from taxing and regulating the sale of cigarettes or other tobacco products, or from defending or prosecuting cases or other actions relating to the sale or use of cigarettes or other tobacco products. Except as otherwise may be agreed in writing by the attorney general, nothing in this section or the bond proceedings shall modify or limit, or be construed to modify or limit, the responsibility, power, judgment, and discretion of the attorney general to protect and discharge the duties, rights, and obligations of the state under the tobacco master settlement agreement, the consent decree, or Chapter 1346. of the Revised Code.
The governor and the director of budget and management, in consultation with the attorney general, on behalf of the state, and any member or officer of the issuing authority as authorized by that issuing authority, on behalf of the issuing authority, may take any action and execute any documents, including any purchase and sale agreements, necessary to effect the assignment and sale and the acceptance of the assignment and title to the receipts including, providing irrevocable direction to the escrow agent acting under the tobacco master settlement agreement to transfer directly to the issuing authority the amounts to be received under that agreement that are subject to such assignment and sale. Any purchase and sale agreement or other bond proceedings may contain the terms and conditions established by the state and the issuing authority to carry out and effectuate the purposes of this section, including, without limitation, covenants binding the state in favor of the issuing authority and its assignees and the owners of the obligations. Any such purchase and sale agreement shall be sufficient to effectuate such purchase and sale without regard to any other laws governing other property sales or financial transactions by the state.
Not later than two years following the date on which there are no longer any obligations outstanding under the bond proceedings, all assets of the issuing authority shall vest in the state, the issuing authority shall execute any necessary assignments or instruments, including any assignment of any right, title, or ownership to the state for receipt of amounts under the tobacco master settlement agreement, and the issuing authority shall be dissolved.
The purpose of the obligations may be stated in the bond proceedings in general terms, such as, as applicable, "paying costs of capital facilities for a system of common schools" and "paying costs of facilities for state-supported and state-assisted institutions of higher education." Unless otherwise provided in the bond proceedings or in division (C) of this section, the net proceeds from the issuance of the obligations shall be paid to the state for deposit into the applicable improvement fund. In addition to the investments authorized in Chapter 135. of the Revised Code, the net proceeds held in an improvement fund may be invested by the treasurer of state in guaranteed investment contracts with providers rated at the time of any investment in the three highest rating categories by two nationally recognized rating agencies, all subject to the terms and conditions set forth in those agreements or the bond proceedings. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Chapter 3318. of the Revised Code, net proceeds of obligations deposited into the school building program assistance fund created in section 3318.25 of the Revised Code may be used to pay basic project costs under that chapter at the times determined by the Ohio facilities construction commission without regard to whether those expenditures are in proportion to the state's and the school district's respective shares of that basic project cost; provided that this shall not result in any change in the state or school district shares of the basic project costs as determined under that chapter. As used in the preceding sentence, "Ohio facilities construction commission" and "basic project costs" have the same meanings as in section 3318.01 of the Revised Code.
The bond proceedings shall make provision for the payment of the expenses of the enforcement activity of the attorney general referred to in division (B) of this section from the amounts from the tobacco master settlement agreement assigned and sold to the issuing authority under that division or from the proceeds of obligations, or a combination thereof, which may include provision for both annual payments and a special fund providing reserve amounts for the payment of those expenses.
The issuing authority shall not, and shall covenant in the bond proceedings that it shall not, be authorized to and shall not file a voluntary petition under the United States Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. 101 et seq., as amended, or voluntarily commence any similar bankruptcy proceeding under state law including, without limitation, consenting to the appointment of a receiver or trustee or making a general or specific assignment for the benefit of creditors, and neither any public officer or any organization, entity, or other person shall authorize the issuing authority to be or become a debtor under the United States Bankruptcy Code or take any of those actions under the United States Bankruptcy Code or state law. The state hereby covenants, and the issuing authority shall covenant, with the holders or owners of the obligations, that the state shall not permit the issuing authority to file a voluntary petition under the United States Bankruptcy Code or take any of those actions under the United States Bankruptcy Code or state law during the period obligations are outstanding and for any additional period for which the issuing authority covenants in the bond proceedings, which additional period may, but need not, be a period of three hundred sixty-seven days or more.
R.C. § 183.51