(b)

1. (1) Notwithstanding any provision of this division or the Improvement Act of 1915 (Division 10 (commencing with Section 8500)), a public agency may transfer its right, title, and interest in and to any voluntary contractual assessments, if bonds have not been issued pursuant to subdivision (a). The public agency and the transferee shall enter into an agreement that, among other things, identifies the specific period of time during which the transfer of voluntary contractual assessments will be operative, not to exceed three years. Except as provided in paragraph (2), a transfer of any voluntary contractual assessments under this subdivision shall be treated as a true and absolute transfer of the asset so transferred for the period of the transfer and not as a pledge or grant of a security interest by the public agency for any borrowing. The characterization of the transfer of any of those assets as an absolute transfer by the public agency shall not be negated or adversely affected by the fact that only a portion of any voluntary contractual assessment is transferred, nor by any characterization of the transferee for purposes of accounting, taxation, or securities regulation, nor by any other factor whatsoever. As used in this section, “transfer” means sale, assignment, or other transfer.
2. (2) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to authorize the transferee to initiate and prosecute a foreclosure action resulting from a delinquency in the payment of the voluntary contractual assessment. Initiation and prosecution of a foreclosure action shall remain the responsibility of the public agency, which shall retain the sole right to enforce its senior lien status.

(e)

1. (1) Without the prior written approval of the property owner, and notwithstanding any other law, a public agency may issue bonds pursuant to this chapter to refinance outstanding bonds payable from contractual assessments levied pursuant to this chapter if all of the following are true:

   1. (A) The total interest cost to maturity on the refunding bonds is less than the total interest cost to maturity on the bonds to be refunded.
   2. (B) The final maturity date of the refunding bonds is not later than the final maturity date of the refunded bonds, except that if the bonds to be refunded are variable rate bonds, the final maturity date of the refunding bonds may extend to, but not beyond, the useful life of the financed improvements.
   3. (C) The total interest component of the scheduled contractual assessment installments to maturity, after issuance of the refunding bonds, is less than the total interest component of the scheduled contractual assessment installments to maturity prior to issuance of the refunding bonds.
2. (2) For purposes of this section, in connection with the issuance of fixed rate bonds to refinance variable rate bonds, the interest rate on the refunded bonds for purpose of demonstrating compliance with this section may be assumed to be the maximum possible interest rate on the bonds to be refunded as long as the legislative body concludes that the public interest will be served by issuing fixed rate bonds to refinance the outstanding variable rate bonds. In connection with an issuance of refunding bonds under this chapter, the legislative body may direct that an amendment to the document required by subdivision (d) of Section 5898.24 be recorded to reflect the revised contractual assessment installment schedule.