Qualified Veterans Housing Bonds Amendment

I. The Legislature shall have the power to authorize the issuing and selling of general obligation bonds of the State which shall be in addition to all other state bonds heretofore authorized. The aggregate annual amount payable on all such bonds, including both principal and interest, shall be limited such that the debt service accruing on such bonds in any fiscal year shall not exceed $35,000,000, exclusive of any amounts payable on such bonds for which moneys or securities have been irrevocably set aside and dedicated solely for the purpose of such payment. The proceeds of the bonds hereby authorized to be issued and sold shall be used and appropriated to provide financing for owner-occupied residences for persons determined by the Legislature to be qualified veterans, except that: (i) Part of the proceeds from each separate issuance of bonds may be set aside as a reserve for the purposes of the Veterans' Mortgage Fund herein authorized; and (ii) proceeds may be dedicated for the payment of principal, redemption price or interest on any such bonds to be refunded. Such bonds may be issued and sold at such time or times and in such amount or amounts as the Legislature shall authorize. All proceeds of such bonds, and all revenues derived from the use and investment of such proceeds, shall be deposited in a separate fund of the State, designated as the Veterans' Mortgage Fund. Amounts in such fund shall be used solely for the purposes of making loans for qualified veterans, providing for the payment or redemption of such bonds and the interest thereon, and providing for the payment of necessary expenses in connection therewith. When a bond issue as aforesaid is authorized, the Legislature shall at the same time provide for the collection of an annual state tax sufficient to pay as it may accrue the interest on such bonds and the principal thereof within and not exceeding forty years, and all such taxes so levied shall be irrevocably dedicated for the payment of principal of and interest on such bonds until the obligation of the State with respect to the payment of such principal and interest has been discharged, and any of the covenants, agreements or provisions in the Acts of the Legislature levying such taxes shall be enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction by any of the holders of such bonds. Such tax shall be levied in any year only to the extent that the moneys on deposit in the Veteran's Mortgage Fund are insufficient to pay all amounts accruing on such bonds in such year.
II. The Legislature shall have the power to enact legislation to implement the provisions of this amendment.