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2014 Op. Or. Att'y Gen. 1 (2014)

handle is hein.sag/sagor0082 and id is 1 raw text is: ELLEN F. ROSENBLUM                                                               FREDERICK M. BOSS
Attorney Genekal                                                                  oDeputy Attorney General
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
GENERAL COUNSEL DIVISION
October 1, 2014
Darren Bond, Deputy State Treasurer
Oregon State Treasury
350 Winter Street NE, Suite 100
Salem, OR 97301-3896
Re:    Opinion Request OP-2014-1
Dear Mr. Bond:
The State Treasurer asks a question about the payment of bonds issued by or for the
benefit of Oregon public universities with institutional governing boards. Below we set out your
question and our short answer followed by a discussion.
QUESTION AND SHORT ANSWER
Question: Does the requirement in ORS 351.379(3) that a university pay the debt
service on bonds issued by the state for the benefit of a university with a governing board on a
par passu basis with the payment of university-issued revenue bonds mean that, if a university
has a revenue shortfall, it must use the available funds to pay the debt service on both in
proportion to the amounts owed?
Short Answer: No. We interpret the pari passu language to require universities to time
payments to the State Treasurer and revenue bond holders roughly equally within a fiscal period
but not to require lien parity.
DISCUSSION
I.     Background
Before 2011, Oregon's seven public universities were part of the Oregon University
System (OUS), a state agency. The State Treasurer issued bonds for universities as for any other
state agency. In 2011, Senate Bill 242 (2011) changed OUS's status from a state agency to a
'public university system. Or Laws 2011, ch 637, § 19; ORS 351.011(1). In 2013, the
legislature enacted Senate Bill 270 (2013) authorizing universities to establish their own
institutional governing boards. Or Laws 2013, ch 768, § 3; ORS 352.054.'
I 162 Court Street NE, Salem, OR 97301-4096
Telephone: (503) 947-4540 Fax: (503) 378-3784 TTY: (503) 378-5938 wwwdoj.state.or.us

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