TITLE 20 EDUCATION

Section 16. Georgia Higher Education Facilities Authority, 20-16-1 through 20-16-18.

ARTICLE 3 OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

20-16-4. Powers.

The authority shall have power:

1. To have a seal and alter it at pleasure;
2. To acquire by purchase, lease, or otherwise and to hold, lease, and dispose of real and personal property of every kind and character for its corporate purposes;
3. To acquire in its own name by purchase, on such terms and conditions, and in such manner as it may deem proper, real property or estates for years, usufructs, or rights of easements therein or franchises necessary or convenient for its corporate purposes and to use them so long as its corporate existence shall continue and to lease or make contracts with respect to the use of or dispose of them in any manner it deems to the best advantage of the authority; and if the authority shall deem it expedient to construct or finance any project on lands which are a part of the campus, grounds, or other real estate holdings of a unit, the Governor and the board of regents, as may be applicable, are authorized to execute for and on behalf of the state a lease for the term of the financing, such lease to terminate when the bonds for the project are retired, upon such lands to the authority or to an entity borrowing funds from the authority for such parcel or parcels as shall be needed for a period not to exceed 50 years, provided that such lands shall remain subject to the police power jurisdiction of the board of regents or the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia, as may be applicable;
4. To appoint an executive director who shall be the executive officer and administrative head of the authority. The executive director shall be appointed by and shall serve at the pleasure of the members of the authority. The executive director shall hire officers, agents, and employees, prescribe their duties and qualifications and fix their compensation, and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the members of this authority. Such officers, agents, and employees shall serve at the pleasure of the executive director;
5. To make and execute contracts, leases, rental agreements, and other instruments necessary or convenient to exercise the powers of the authority, including contracts for construction of projects and leases of projects or contracts with respect to the use or operation of projects which the authority causes to be erected or acquired;
6. To construct, erect, acquire, own, repair, remodel, maintain, add to, extend, improve, equip, operate, and manage projects to be located on property owned by or leased by the authority;
7. To extend credit or make loans to any person, firm, corporation, limited liability company, or other type of entity for the planning, design, construction, acquisition, refinancing, or carrying out of any project, which credit or loans shall be secured by loan agreements, deeds to secure debt, security agreements, contracts, and all other instruments, fees, or charges, upon such terms and conditions as the authority shall determine reasonable in connection with such loans, including provision for the establishment and maintenance of reserves and insurance funds, and to require the inclusion in any contract, loan agreement, deed to secure debt, security agreement, or other instrument, of such provisions for guaranty, insurance, construction, use, operation, maintenance, and financing of a project as the authority may deem necessary or desirable;
8. To acquire, accept, or retain equitable interests, security interests, or other interests in any property, real or personal, by deed to secure debt, assignment, security agreement, pledge, conveyance, contract, lien, loan agreement, or other consensual transfer, with any such instrument terminating when the bonds for the project are retired, in order to secure the repayment of any moneys loaned or credit extended by the authority;
9. To accept loans or grants of money or materials or property of any kind from the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof upon such terms and conditions as the United States or such agency or instrumentality may impose;
10. To borrow money for any of its corporate purposes and to issue negotiable revenue bonds payable solely from funds pledged for that purpose and to provide for the payment of such bonds and for the rights of the holders thereof;
11. To borrow money for any of its corporate purposes, on either an unsecured or secured basis, and to execute loan agreements, promissory notes, and other contracts and instruments in connection therewith and to provide for the repayment of such loans and for the rights of the lenders thereof;
12. As security for repayment of its revenue bonds, loans, or notes, to pledge, mortgage, convey, assign, hypothecate, or otherwise encumber any property, real or personal, of such authority, to the extent of its interest therein, and to execute any trust agreement, indenture, or security agreement containing any provisions not in conflict with law, which trust agreement, indenture, or security agreement may provide for foreclosure or forced sale of any property of the authority upon default on such bonds, loans, or notes, either in payment of principal or interest or in the performance of any term or condition as are contained in such agreement or indenture. The state waives any right which it may have to prevent the forced sale or foreclosure of any property of the authority so mortgaged or encumbered, to the extent of the interest of the authority therein but not any interest of the state therein, and any such mortgage or encumbrance may be foreclosed in accordance with law and the terms thereof;
13. To procure or to provide insurance against any loss in connection with its programs, property, and other assets;
14. To receive and administer gifts, grants, and devises of money and property of any kind from any source and to administer trusts;
15. To exercise any power usually possessed by private corporations performing similar functions which is not in conflict with the Constitution and laws of this state; and
16. To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly given in this chapter.

(Code 1981, §20-16-4, enacted by Ga. L. 2006, p. 783, § 1/SB 562; Ga. L. 2007, p. 47, § 20/SB 103; Ga. L. 2011, p. 632, § 3/HB 49.)