2020 Georgia Code
Title 8 - Buildings and Housing
Chapter 3 - Housing Generally
Article 1 - Housing Authorities
Part 1 - General Provisions
§ 8-3-17. Powers of Authorities and Board of Regents as to Dormitories; Venue for Actions Regarding Rights in Projects and Questions as to Issuance of Bonds; Validation and Confirmation of Bonds

1. The great increase in population in the State of Georgia which has taken place in recent years has created a serious shortage in dormitory housing accommodations at the various units of the University System of Georgia, causing overcrowded and congested conditions which are unsafe and undesirable and seriously impair the proper operation of such institutions. In addition, at some institutions now in operation or in the process of construction, there is a total lack of dormitory housing accommodations. This situation constitutes an emergency; and it is imperative that provisions be made to alleviate the overcrowded, congested, and unsafe accommodations and to supply accommodations where the same are now nonexistent by the construction of dormitory facilities or additional facilities for such institutions so as to make adequate, safe, and uncongested dormitory housing available for students enrolled at such institutions.
2. Any housing authority now or hereafter established may undertake the construction, acquisition, remodeling, and improvement of, the addition to, and the maintenance and operation of projects to provide dormitory housing at any unit of the University System of Georgia located within its area of operation so as to provide housing for students enrolled at such institution, if the authority finds and determines that an acute shortage of housing for such persons exists or impends in its area of operation or any part thereof, and that necessary and adequate housing would not otherwise be provided when needed. In the ownership, development, or administration of dormitory housing projects, a housing authority shall have all the rights, powers, privileges, and immunities that it may now or hereafter have under any provision of law relating to the ownership, development, and administration of low rent housing and slum clearance projects or any other projects it is now or hereafter authorized to undertake, in the same manner as though all laws applicable thereto were applicable to dormitory housing projects. Such rights shall include specifically, but without limitation, the right to issue bonds from time to time, in the authority's discretion, in order to provide funds to pay the cost, in whole or in part, of constructing, acquiring, remodeling, improving, and adding to any dormitory housing project; and the right to issue refunding bonds for the purpose of refunding or retiring bonds previously issued by the authority for any such project. Such bonds may be of such type as the housing authority may determine, including bonds on which the principal and interest are payable:
   1. Exclusively from the income and revenues of the dormitory project financed in whole or in part from the proceeds of such bonds, or with such proceeds together with a grant from the federal government or the State of Georgia, or from any other source in aid of such project;
   2. Exclusively from the income and revenues of certain designated projects of the authority, including projects other than dormitory housing projects of the authority even though the same were not financed in whole or in part with the proceeds of the bonds; or
   3. From its revenues generally that are not otherwise pledged or obligated.

      Any of such bonds may be additionally secured by a pledge of any revenues of any project or projects or other properties of the authority. A housing authority may, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, make and agree to make with respect to any dormitory housing project owned and administered by it under this article such payments as may be agreed upon for facilities and services furnished to such dormitory housing project by the city, county, or other political subdivision of the state in which such dormitory housing project is located, or by the unit of the University System of Georgia which such dormitory housing project serves. In the operation of such dormitory housing projects the housing authority owning and administering the same shall not be subject to the limitations provided in Code Section 8-3-12, in the second sentence of Code Section 8-3-11, and in Code Section 8-3-74.

3. A housing authority may exercise any or all of its powers to aid or cooperate with the state and federal governments in making dormitory housing available at units of the University System of Georgia, may act as agent for the state or federal governments in developing and administering dormitory housing projects undertaken by either of them, and may lease such dormitory housing projects from either of them. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, authority is also specifically granted to the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, for and on behalf of the units and institutions under its control, and any housing authority to enter into leases of any such project or projects for a term of not exceeding 50 years; and the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, for and on behalf of any unit or institution or combination of units or institutions, may obligate itself to pay an agreed sum for the use of such property so leased and also to obligate itself, as a part of the lease contract, to pay the cost of maintaining, repairing, and operating the property so leased from the authority, and may arrange with public bodies and private agencies for such services and facilities as may be necessary or desirable for such dormitory housing projects.
4. Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, if the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and a housing authority determine it expedient to construct any dormitory housing project on any lands, title to which is held by any unit or institution under the control of the board of regents, the board is authorized to execute a lease upon such lands, whether improved or unimproved, to the authority for such parcel or parcels as shall be needed for a period of not to exceed 50 years at such annual rental, which may be purely nominal, as the board and the housing authority may agree upon, provided that, at the expiration of such term, title to said land and all improvements thereon shall revert to and vest in such unit or institution under the control of said board. The board of regents shall also have the right, any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, should it determine with the housing authority that it is necessary and desirable to do so, to convey, by a deed executed by the chairman of the board of regents upon resolution of said board, for such consideration as may be agreed upon (which consideration may be nominal), to a housing authority for a dormitory housing project title to any land, whether improved or unimproved, owned by any unit or institution under its control which is to be served by such dormitory housing project, including land to which the regents of the University System of Georgia hold title, provided that title to such land and all improvements thereon shall revert or be reconveyed by the housing authority to such unit or institution when all bonds, and the interest thereon, which were issued by the housing authority to finance such construction, or bonds issued to refinance such obligations, or to finance in whole or in part any additions or improvements thereto, have been paid in full.
5. Any action to protect or enforce any right in connection with the construction, acquisition, ownership, maintenance, alteration, expansion, improvement, or operation of dormitory housing projects, or involving any question in connection with the issuance of bonds to finance any such undertaking, or with the rights of the holders thereof or the security therefor, shall be brought in the superior court of the county in which the dormitory housing project is located. Any action pertaining to the validation of any bonds issued to finance in whole or in part the cost of any such dormitory housing project or any refunding bonds shall likewise be brought in said court, which shall have exclusive, original jurisdiction of such actions.
6. Bonds of the authority issued to finance in whole or in part the cost of any dormitory housing project and any refunding bonds shall be confirmed and validated in accordance with the procedure set forth in Article 3 of Chapter 82 of Title 36, the "Revenue Bond Law," and the judgment of validation shall have the same effect as is provided in that chapter.

(Ga. L. 1959, p. 65, § 3; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 8.)

- Authority of board of regents to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of property that can no longer be advantageously used in the university system, § 20-3-60 et seq.

PART 2 POWERS OF HOUSING AUTHORITIES GENERALLY

8-3-30. General powers; applicability of laws as to acquisition, operation, or disposition of property by other public bodies.

1. An authority shall constitute a public body corporate and politic exercising public and essential governmental functions and having all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this article, including the following powers in addition to others granted by this article:
   1. To sue and be sued; to have a seal and to alter the same at pleasure; to have perpetual succession; to make and execute contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers of the authority; and to make and from time to time amend and repeal bylaws, rules, and regulations, not inconsistent with this article, to carry into effect the powers and purposes of the authority;
   2. Within its area of operation, to prepare, carry out, acquire, lease, and operate housing projects; to provide for the construction, reconstruction, improvement, alteration, or repair of any housing project or any part thereof;
   3. To arrange or contract for the furnishing by any person or agency, public or private, of services, privileges, works, or facilities for, or in connection with, a housing project or the occupants thereof; and, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this article or in any other provision of law, to include in any contract let in connection with a project stipulations requiring that the contractor and any subcontractors comply with requirements as to minimum wages and maximum hours of labor and comply with any conditions which the federal government may have attached to its financial aid of the project;
   4. To lease or rent any dwellings, houses, accommodations, lands, buildings, structures, or facilities embraced in any housing project and, subject to the limitations contained in this article, to establish and revise the rents or charges therefor; to own, hold, and improve real or personal property; to purchase, lease, obtain options upon, or acquire by gift, grant, bequest, devise, or otherwise any real or personal property or any interest therein; to acquire by the exercise of the power of eminent domain any real property; to sell, lease, exchange, transfer, assign, pledge, or dispose of any real or personal property or any interest therein; to insure or provide for the insurance of any real or personal property or operations of the authority against any risks or hazards; to procure insurance or guarantees from the federal government of the payment of any debts or parts thereof, whether or not incurred by said authority, secured by mortgages on any property included in any of its housing projects;
   5. Subject to any agreement with bondholders, to invest moneys of the authority not required for immediate use to carry out the purposes of this part, including the proceeds from the sale of any bonds and any moneys held in reserve funds, in obligations which shall be limited to the following:
      1. Bonds or other obligations of the state or other states or of other counties, municipal corporations, and political subdivisions of this state or bonds or other obligations the principal and interest of which are guaranteed by the state;
      2. Bonds or other obligations of the United States or of subsidiary corporations of the United States government fully guaranteed by such government;
      3. Obligations of and obligations guaranteed by agencies or instrumentalities of the United States government, including those issued by the Federal Land Bank, Federal Home Loan Bank, Federal Intermediate Credit Bank, Bank for Cooperatives, and any other such agency or instrumentality now or hereafter in existence; provided, however, that all such obligations shall have a current credit rating from a nationally recognized rating service of at least one of the three highest rating categories available and have a nationally recognized market;
      4. Bonds or other obligations issued by any public housing agency or municipality in the United States, which bonds or obligations are fully secured as to the payment of both principal and interest by a pledge of annual contributions under an annual contributions contract or contracts with the United States government, or project notes issued by any public housing agency, urban renewal agency, or municipality in the United States and fully secured as to payment of both principal and interest by a requisition, loan, or payment agreement with the United States government;
      5. Certificates of deposit of national or state banks located within the state which have deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Georgia Deposit Insurance Corporation, including the certificates of deposit of any bank, savings and loan association, or building and loan association acting as depository, custodian, or trustee for any such bond proceeds; provided, however, that the portion of such certificates of deposit in excess of the amount insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Georgia Deposit Insurance Corporation, if any such excess exists, shall be secured by deposit with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Georgia, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, Georgia, any national or state bank located within the state, or with a trust office within this state, or one or more of the following securities in an aggregate principal amount equal at least to the amount of such excess:
         1. Direct and general obligations of the state or other states or of any county or municipality in the state;
         2. Obligations of the United States or subsidiary corporations included in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph;
         3. Obligations of agencies and instrumentalities of the United States government included in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph; or
         4. Bonds, obligations, or project notes of public housing agencies, urban renewal agencies, or municipalities included in subparagraph (D) of this paragraph;
      6. Interest-bearing time deposits, repurchase agreements, reverse repurchase agreements, rate guarantee agreements, or other similar banking arrangements with a bank or trust company having capital and surplus aggregating at least $50 million or with any government bond dealer reporting to, trading with, and recognized as a primary dealer by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York having capital aggregating at least $50 million or with any corporation which is subject to registration with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System pursuant to the requirements of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, provided that each such interest-bearing time deposit, repurchase agreement, reverse repurchase agreement, rate guarantee agreement, or other similar banking arrangement shall permit the moneys so placed to be available for use at the time provided with respect to the investment or reinvestment of such moneys;
      7. Any and all other obligations of investment grade quality having a credit rating from a nationally recognized rating service of at least one of the three highest rating categories available and having a nationally recognized market, including, but not limited to, collateralized mortgage obligations, owner trusts offering collateralized mortgage obligations, guaranteed investment contracts offered by any firm, agency, business, governmental unit, bank, insurance company, corporation chartered by the United States Congress, or other entity, real estate mortgage investment conduits, mortgage obligations, mortgage pools, and pass-through securities; and
      8. Securities of or other interests in any no-load, open-end management type investment company or investment trust registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or any common trust fund maintained by any bank or trust company which holds such proceeds as trustee or by an affiliate thereof so long as:
         1. The portfolio of such investment company or investment trust or common trust fund is limited to the obligations referenced in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of this paragraph and repurchase agreements are fully collateralized by any such obligations;
         2. Such investment company or investment trust or common trust fund takes delivery of such collateral either directly or through an authorized custodian;
         3. Such investment company or investment trust or common trust fund is managed so as to maintain its shares at a constant net asset value; and
         4. Securities of or other interests in such investment company or investment trust or common trust fund are purchased and redeemed only through the use of national or state banks located within this state having corporate trust powers;
   6. Within its area of operation, to investigate into living, dwelling, and housing conditions and into the means and methods of improving such conditions; to determine where slum areas exist or where there is a shortage of decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling accommodations for persons of low income; to make studies and recommendations relating to the problem of clearing, replanning, and reconstructing slum areas, and the problem of providing dwelling accommodations for persons of low income and to cooperate with the city, the county, or the state or any political subdivision thereof in action taken in connection with such problem; and to engage in research, studies, and experimentation on the subject of housing;
   7. Acting through one or more commissioners or other person or persons designated by the authority, to conduct examinations and investigations and to hear testimony and take proof under oath at public or private hearings on any matter material for its information; to administer oaths, issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses or the production of books and papers, and issue commissions for the examination of witnesses who are outside of the state or unable to attend before the authority, or who are excused from attendance; to make available to appropriate agencies, including those charged with the duty of abating or requiring the correction of nuisances or like conditions or of demolishing unsafe or insanitary structures within its area of operation, its findings and recommendations with regard to any building or property where conditions exist which are dangerous to the public health, morals, safety, or welfare;
   8. To exercise all or any part or combination of powers granted by this Code section;
   9. To invest moneys held in debt service reserve funds or sinking funds not required for immediate use or disbursement in obligations of the types specified in paragraph (5) of this subsection, provided that, for the purpose of this paragraph, the amounts and maturities of such obligations shall be based upon and correlated to the debt service (principal installments and interest payments) schedule for which moneys are to be supplied;
   10. To incorporate one or more nonprofit corporations as subsidiary corporations of the authority for the purpose of carrying out any of the powers of the authority and accomplishing any of the purposes of the authority. Any such subsidiary corporation shall be a nonprofit corporation and a public body corporate and politic exercising public and essential governmental functions. Any subsidiary corporations created pursuant to this power shall be created pursuant to Chapter 3 of Title 14, the "Georgia Nonprofit Corporation Code," and the Secretary of State shall be authorized to accept such filings. Some or all of the members of the board of directors of the authority shall constitute the members of and shall serve as directors of any subsidiary corporation and such service shall not constitute a conflict of interest. Upon dissolution of any subsidiary corporation of the authority, any assets shall revert to the authority or to any successor to the authority or, failing such succession, to the city or the county, as applicable. The authority shall not be liable for the debts or obligations or bonds of any subsidiary corporation or for the actions or omissions to act of any subsidiary corporation unless the authority expressly so consents; and
   11. To incorporate one or more corporations as subsidiary corporations of the authority for the purpose of carrying out any of the powers of the authority and accomplishing any of the purposes of the authority. Any subsidiary corporations created pursuant to this paragraph shall be created pursuant to Chapter 2 of Title 14, the "Georgia Business Corporation Code," and the Secretary of State shall be authorized to accept such filings. Some or all of the members of the board of commissioners of the authority may serve as directors of any subsidiary corporation and such service shall not constitute a conflict of interest; provided, however, that no member of the board of commissioners of the authority shall be eligible to serve as a director of any subsidiary corporation if that member has any financial interest in the subsidiary corporation. Upon dissolution of any subsidiary corporation of the authority, any assets shall be distributed to the authority as the sole shareholder or to any successor to the authority or, failing such succession, to the city or county, as applicable. The authority shall not be liable for the debts, obligations, or bonds of any subsidiary corporation or for the actions or omissions to act of any subsidiary corporation unless the authority expressly so consents.
2. No provisions of law with respect to the acquisition, operation, or disposition of property by other public bodies shall be applicable to an authority unless the legislature shall specifically so state.
3. No loan made by an authority to an entity with which the authority has entered into a private enterprise agreement shall be deemed usurious or otherwise in violation of Code Section 7-4-17 so long as such loan complies with Code Section 7-4-18.

(Ga. L. 1937, p. 210, § 8; Ga. L. 1939, p. 126, § 2; Ga. L. 1951, p. 127, § 2; Ga. L. 1959, p. 141, § 2; Ga. L. 1962, p. 734, § 2; Ga. L. 1987, p. 283, § 3; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1067, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1996, p. 1417, § 6; Ga. L. 1998, p. 857, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1428, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 2001, p. 4, § 8; Ga. L. 2010, p. 404, § 1/SB 369.)

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1993, a period was substituted for a semicolon at the end of paragraph (a)(9).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Construction.

- In proceedings under statutory authority whereby a person may be deprived of one's property, the statute must be strictly construed. Cobb v. Housing Auth., 210 Ga. 676, 82 S.E.2d 848 (1954).

Taking or injuring of private property for the public benefit is the exercise of a high power, and all the conditions and limitations provided by law, under which it may be done, should be closely followed. Cobb v. Housing Auth., 210 Ga. 676, 82 S.E.2d 848 (1954).

- To "acquire" is treated as something entirely different from the construction, reconstruction, improvement, alteration, or repair of an existing facility; and there is no reason to hold that a different meaning is attributable when the word "acquisition" is used in Ga. L. 1962, p. 734, § 2. Housing Auth. v. Marbut Co., 127 Ga. App. 379, 193 S.E.2d 574 (1972).

Right of eminent domain rests largely in the discretion of the housing authority as to what and how much land is to be taken. The owner of land sought to be condemned cannot prevent such taking merely because there is other property which might have been more suitable for the purpose. Housing Auth. v. Hall, 217 Ga. 856, 126 S.E.2d 223 (1962).

- In order for an authority to be liable for the defamatory remarks of its employee, evidence must be offered that the authority as a public body corporate and politic as contemplated by the terms of O.C.G.A. § 8-3-30, had through its board of commissioners either authorized, approved, or ratified the alleged slanderous statements. Anderson v. Housing Auth., 171 Ga. App. 841, 321 S.E.2d 378 (1984).

Cited in Housing Auth. v. Ayers, 211 Ga. 728, 88 S.E.2d 368 (1955); Brown v. Housing Auth., 240 Ga. 647, 242 S.E.2d 143 (1978).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Preparation, operation of projects, cooperation.

- Under Ga. L. 1962, p. 734, § 2, authorities may prepare, carry out, lease, and operate projects; and under that Code section, they can cooperate with "the city, the county, the state, or any political subdivision"; none of these powers include management contracts with private organizations, and powers are strictly construed. 1972 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U72-50.

- State bank may purchase obligations of a public housing agency and pledge them as security for the repayment of a deposit of funds made with the bank by the housing agency provided the purchase of such obligations does not exceed 10 percent of the capital and unimpaired surplus of the bank. 1957 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 7.

- Funds of a local housing authority held exclusively for a public purpose are public funds within the meaning of former Code 1933, §§ 89-812 and 89-813 (see now O.C.G.A. §§ 45-8-13 and45-8-15). 1957 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 7.

- Although a city housing authority is an instrumentality of the state, it is not an agency, board, or department of the state and, therefore, employees of the housing authority of a city are not required to sign the loyalty oath. 1950-51 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 98.

Geographic jurisdiction of a city housing authority established under the Housing Authority Law is governed primarily by the definition of "area of operation" in O.C.G.A. § 8-3-3(1). 1997 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U97-22.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

- Constitutionality, construction, and application of statutes or governmental projects for improvement of housing conditions (slum clearance), 172 A.L.R. 966.

Suability and liability for torts of public housing authority, 61 A.L.R.2d 1246.

Validity and construction of statute or ordinance providing for repair or destruction of residential building by public authorities at owner's expense, 43 A.L.R.3d 916.

What entities or projects are "public" for purposes of state statutes requiring payment of prevailing wages on public works projects, 5 A.L.R.5th 470.

What are "prevailing wages," or the like, for purposes of state statute requiring payment of prevailing wages on public works projects, 7 A.L.R.5th 400.

Employers subject to state statutes requiring payment of prevailing wages on public works projects, 7 A.L.R.5th 444.