TITLE 32 HIGHWAYS, BRIDGES, AND FERRIES

Section 10. Public Authorities, 32-10-1 through 32-10-133.

ARTICLE 2 STATE ROAD AND TOLLWAY AUTHORITY

32-10-63. Powers of authority generally.

The authority shall have, in addition to any other powers conferred in this article, the following powers:

1. To have a seal and alter the same at its pleasure;
2. To acquire by purchase, lease, exchange, or otherwise and to hold, lease, and dispose of real and personal property of every kind and character for its corporate purposes;
3. To appoint such additional officers, who need not be members of the authority, as the authority deems advisable and to employ such experts, employees, and agents as may be necessary, in its judgment, to carry on properly the business of the authority; to fix their compensation; and to promote and discharge same;
4. To acquire in its own name by purchase, on such terms and conditions and in such manner as it may deem proper, or by condemnation in accordance with any and all existing laws applicable to the condemnation of property for public use, including but not limited to those procedures in Article 1 of Chapter 3 of this title, real property or rights or easements therein or franchises necessary or convenient for its corporate purposes; and to use the same so long as its corporate existence shall continue and to lease or make contracts with respect to the use of or to dispose of the same in any manner it deems to the best advantage of the authority, the authority being under no obligation to accept and pay for any property condemned under this article except from the funds provided under the authority of this article; and, in any proceedings to condemn, such order may be made by the court having jurisdiction of the action or proceedings as may be just to the authority and to the owners of the property to be condemned; and no property shall be acquired under this article upon which any lien or other encumbrance exists unless at the time such property is so acquired a sufficient sum of money be deposited in trust to pay and redeem such lien or encumbrance in full;
5. To make such contracts, leases, or conveyances as the legitimate and necessary purposes of this article shall require, including but not limited to contracts for construction or maintenance of projects, provided that the authority shall consider the possible economic, social, and environmental effects of each project, and the authority shall assure that possible adverse economic, social, and environmental effects relating to any proposed project have been fully considered in developing such project and that the final decision on the project is made in the best overall public interest, taking into consideration the need for fast, safe, and efficient transportation, public services, and the cost of eliminating or minimizing adverse economic, social, and environmental effects. Furthermore, in order to assure that adequate consideration is given to economic, social, and environmental effects of any tollway project under consideration, the authority shall:
   1. Follow the processes required for federal-aid highway projects, as determined by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, except that final approval of the adequacy of such consideration shall rest with the Governor, as provided in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, acting as the chief executive of the state, upon recommendation of the commissioner, acting as chief administrative officer of the Department of Transportation;
   2. In the location and design of any project, avoid the taking of or disruption of existing public parkland or public recreation areas unless there are no prudent or feasible project location alternates. The determination of prudency and feasibility shall be the responsibility of the authority as part of the consideration of the overall public interest;
   3. Not approve and proceed with acquisition of rights of way and construction of a project until: (i) there has been held, or there has been offered an opportunity to hold, a public hearing or public hearings on such project in compliance with requirements of the Federal-aid Highway Act of 1970, as amended, except that neither acquisition of right of way nor construction shall be required to cease on any federal-aid project which has received federal approval pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and is subsequently determined to be eligible for construction as an authority project utilizing, in whole or in part, a mix of federal funds and authority funds; and (ii) the adequacy of environmental considerations has been approved by the Governor, for which said approval of the environmental considerations may come in the form of the Governor's acceptance of a federally approved environmental document; and
   4. Let by public competitive bid upon plans and specifications approved by the chief engineer or his or her successors all contracts for the construction of projects, except as otherwise provided for projects authorized under any provisions of Code Sections 32-2-78 through 32-2-81;
6. To construct, erect, acquire, own, repair, maintain, add to, extend, improve, operate, and manage projects, as defined in paragraph (5) of Code Section 32-10-60, the cost of any such project to be paid in whole or in part from the proceeds of revenue bonds of the authority, from other funds available to the authority, or from any combination of such sources;
7. 1. To accept and administer any federal highway funds and any other federal highway assistance received from time to time for the State of Georgia and to accept, with the approval of the Governor, loans and grants, either or both, of money or materials or property of any kind from the United States government or the State of Georgia or any political subdivision, authority, agency, or instrumentality of either of them, upon such terms and conditions as the United States government or the State of Georgia or such political subdivision, authority, agency, or instrumentality of either of them shall impose;
   2. (Repealed effective July 1, 2021.) To accept and administer any federal transit funds and any other federal transit assistance received from time to time for the State of Georgia. This subparagraph shall stand repealed by operation of law on July 1, 2021;
8. 1. To borrow money for any of its corporate purposes, to issue negotiable revenue bonds payable from revenues of such projects, and to provide for the payment of the same and for the rights of the holders thereof; and
   2. To enter into credit enhancement or liquidity agreements with any person, firm, corporation, limited liability company, or other type of entity for the planning, design, construction, acquisition of land for, financing, refinancing, operating, maintaining, or carrying out of any project. Such credit enhancement or liquidity agreements may be secured by the authority's loan agreements, deeds to secure debt, security agreements, contracts, or other instruments or funds derived from tolls, fees, or other charges, upon such terms and conditions as the authority shall determine reasonable, including provision for the establishment and maintenance of reserves and insurance funds, provided that the obligation of the authority under any such agreements shall not be general obligation of the authority, but shall be a limited obligation of the authority payable from a specific source of funds identified for such purpose. Any such agreements may further include provisions for guaranty, insurance, construction, use, operation, maintenance, and financing of a project as the authority may deem necessary or desirable;
9. To exercise any power usually possessed by private corporations performing similar functions, which power is not in conflict with the Constitution and laws of Georgia;
10. To covenant with bondholders for the preparation of annual budgets for each project and for approval thereof by engineers or other representatives designated by the bondholders of each project, as may be provided for in any bond issue resolutions or trust indentures, and to covenant for the employment of experts or traffic engineers;
11. To lease its property to the United States government, the State of Georgia, or its political subdivisions, including any agency, authority, or instrumentality of the foregoing governments or political subdivisions, as well as to persons, public or private, for the construction or operation of facilities of benefit to the general public;
12. By or through its authorized agents or employees, to enter upon any lands, waters, and premises in the state for the purpose of making surveys, soundings, drillings, and examinations as the authority may deem necessary or convenient for the purposes of this article; and such entry shall not be deemed a trespass. The authority shall, however, make reimbursement for any actual damages resulting from such activities;
13. To make reasonable regulations for the installation, construction, maintenance, repairs, renewal, and relocation of pipes, mains, conduits, cables, wires, towers, poles, and other equipment and appliances of any public utility in, on, along, over, or under any project;
14. 1. To pledge, mortgage, convey, assign, hypothecate, or otherwise encumber any property of the authority, including but not limited to real property, fixtures, personal property, intangible property, revenues, income, charges, fees, or other funds and to execute any lease, trust indenture, trust agreement, resolution, agreement for the sale of the authority's bonds, loan agreement, mortgage, deed to secure debt, trust deed, security agreement, assignment, or other agreement or instrument as may be necessary or desirable, in the judgment of the authority, to secure such bonds; and
    2. 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 repayment under a credit enhancement or liquidity agreement and taking into consideration the public benefit to be derived from such transfer; and
15. To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly given in this article.

(Ga. L. 1953, Jan.-Feb. Sess., p. 302, § 4; Ga. L. 1972, p. 179, §§ 9-13; Code 1933, § 95A-1241, enacted by Ga. L. 1973, p. 947, § 1; Ga. L. 1974, p. 1422, § 45; Ga. L. 1988, p. 227, §§ 2-4; Ga. L. 1994, p. 591, § 11; Ga. L. 2001, p. 1251, § 1-9; Ga. L. 2009, p. 8, § 32/SB 46; Ga. L. 2017, p. 760, § 2/SB 183; Ga. L. 2018, p. 377, § 4-3/HB 930.)

The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, added ", except as otherwise provided for projects authorized under any provisions of Code Sections 32-2-78 through 32-2-81" at the end of subparagraph (5)(D); designated the existing provisions of paragraph (8) as subparagraph (8)(A); in subparagraph (8)(A), added "and" at the end; added subparagraph (8)(B); designated the existing provisions of paragraph (14) as subparagraph (14)(A); and added subparagraph (14)(B).

The 2018 amendment, effective May 3, 2018, designated the existing provisions of paragraph (7) as subparagraph (7)(A), and, in subparagraph (7)(A), deleted "or federal transit" following "federal highway" near the beginning and deleted "or transit" following "federal highway" near the middle; and added subparagraph (7)(B).