The following terms shall have the following meanings:

Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, the provisions of this article shall apply to all refunding bonds of any local agency, regardless of the authority for their issuance.

The proceedings of any local agency authorizing the issuance of bonds shall not require the deposit of any more moneys, obligations, and federal securities as are sufficient, taking into account both the principal amount of the moneys, obligations, and securities and the interest to become due thereon, to implement the refunding of those bonds. Federal securities and the interest thereon shall be used to satisfy any requirement of cash, money, specie, or lawful money in any proceeding conducted by a local agency before September 19, 1975.

If the original bonds to be refunded under this article were issued under Section 33760, 34312, or 52080 of the Health and Safety Code, the refunding bonds shall require a regulatory agreement that complies with subdivision (d) of Section 33760 of, or paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 34312 of, or subdivision (g) of Section 52080 of, the Health and Safety Code.

The proceeds of refunding bonds may be applied to the purchase, retirement at maturity, or redemption of the bonds to be refunded either at their earliest redemption date or dates, any subsequent redemption date or dates, upon their purchase or retirement maturity, or paid to a third person to assume the local agency’s obligation to make the payments, and may, pending that application, be placed in escrow and invested or reinvested in any obligations or securities, and any interest or other increment earned or realized on any such investment may be applied to the payment of the bonds to be refunded or to the payment of interest on the refunding bonds, as provided in the proceedings of the local agency authorizing the issuance of the refunding bonds.

In issuing refunding bonds to honor warrants to school districts, community college districts, and other local agencies in settlement of bankruptcy, the Board of Supervisors of Orange County may provide in the resolution authorizing the issuance of those refunding bonds for the pledge of any taxes, income, revenue, cash receipts, rents, or other moneys of Orange County, including moneys deposited in inactive or term deposit accounts, or rights to receive the same, to the extent that the taxes, income, revenue, cash receipts, rents, or other moneys could have been used to pay principal or interest on the refunded bonds. The priority and perfection of the pledge shall be governed by Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 5450) of Division 6 of Title 1.

A local agency that issues refunding bonds may obtain insurance or other credit enhancement of the refunding bonds or of the escrow referred to in Section 53584 and may enter into any credit reimbursement agreement or other agreement with any person or entity. The agreement shall contain the terms of the credit reimbursement, interest rate, security, and any other terms the local agency deems necessary or appropriate.

Notwithstanding Section 53583, the outstanding bonds of the project areas of the redevelopment agency of the City of San Bernardino, which were merged into one and designated Central City by Chapter 1227 of the Statutes of 1983, may be refunded on the first date on which the bonds may legally be called, or on any date or dates thereafter, or at the maturity date or dates of the outstanding bonds without regard to the dates on which the outstanding bonds may legally be called.

Nothing in this section shall be construed as modifying the requirements for low- and moderate-income housing set forth in Section 33471.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

In determining the amount of refunding bonds to be issued, the local agency may include all costs of issuing the refunding bonds and of refunding the bonds to be refunded, including the amount of any premium required to be paid to redeem any of the bonds to be refunded, any capitalized interest or bond reserve funds which the local agency determines to be reasonably required, and the cost of any insurance or other credit enhancement authorized by Section 53585.

The issuance, transfer, and interest income earned on any bonds issued by a local agency under this article is exempt from taxation of every kind by any state or local entity. The local agency shall not be required to pay any taxes on, or with respect to, the income earned on the investment of proceeds of the bonds placed in escrow or otherwise.

This article provides a complete, additional, and alternative method for doing the things authorized by this article and shall be regarded as supplemental and additional to the powers conferred by any other laws. The issuance of bonds and the entering into any credit reimbursement or other agreement under this article does not need to comply with the requirements of any other law applicable to the local agency or the issuance of bonds or the incurring of indebtedness, except that bonds which were subject to investigations, reports, and approval or certification by the Treasurer pursuant to the District Securities Investigation Law of 1965, Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 58750) of Division 2 of Title 6, and the Districts Securities Law, Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 20000) of Division 10 of the Water Code prior to the adoption of this article shall continue to be subject to the investigations, reports, and approval or certification.

An action may be brought pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 860) of Title 10 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure to determine the validity of any issuance or proposed issuance of refunding bonds under this article, and the legality and validity of all proceedings previously taken or proposed to be taken in a resolution or ordinance adopted by the local agency for the authorization, issuance, sale, and delivery of the bonds, for entering into any credit reimbursement or other agreement in connection therewith, for the use of the proceeds of the bonds, and for the payment of the principal of, and interest on, the bonds.