2014 Tennessee Code
Title 12 - Public Property, Printing And Contracts
Chapter 10 - Public Building Authorities Act of 1971
§ 12-10-109 - Powers of authorities.

(a) Each public building authority created pursuant to this chapter shall be a public nonprofit corporation and a public instrumentality of the municipality with respect to which the authority is organized. The authority has the following powers, together with all powers incidental thereto or necessary for the performance of those hereinafter stated, to:

(1) Have succession by its corporate name for the period specified in the certificate of incorporation unless sooner dissolved as hereinafter provided;

(2) Sue and be sued and prosecute and defend, at law or in equity, in any court having jurisdiction of the subject matter and of the parties;

(3) Have and use a corporate seal and alter the same at pleasure;

(4) Acquire, whether by purchase, construction, exchange, gift, lease or otherwise, and improve, repair, extend, equip, furnish, operate and maintain one (1) or more projects, which projects may be within or without the municipality or municipalities with respect to which the authority shall have been created, including all real and personal properties which the board of directors of the authority may deem necessary in connection therewith, and regardless of whether or not any such projects shall then be in existence, and including the power to demolish such existing structures as may be on sites acquired when such structures are not needed for the project;

(5) Pave and improve streets within the area of a project and construct, repair and install sidewalks, sewers, gutters, water mains and other similar improvements and facilities in the area, and provide offstreet parking facilities in connection with any project;

(6) Operate, maintain, manage, and enter into contracts for the operation, maintenance and management of any project undertaken, and make rules and regulations with regard to such operation, maintenance and management;

(7) Employ, contract with, fix the compensation of, and discharge engineering, architectural, legal and financial experts and such other employees, both professional and other, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter and provide for the proper operation and maintenance of any project;

(8) Lease all or any part or parts of any project to any lessee and execute written leases therefor, for any period of time not to exceed forty (40) years, and charge and collect rent therefor and terminate any such lease upon the failure of the lessee to comply with any of the obligations thereof; and include in or exclude from any such lease, provisions that the lessee shall have the option to renew the term of the lease for such period or periods and at such rent as shall be determined by the board of directors, that such lessee may purchase the project being leased or that upon payment of the indebtedness of the authority incurred with respect to such project, it may lease or convey any or all of its projects to the lessee or lessees thereof with or without consideration;

(9) Lease such space in a project as from time to time may not be needed by any lessee to any other person, corporation, partnership or association for such purposes as the board of directors may determine will best serve the comfort and convenience of the occupants of such project and upon such terms and in such manner as the board may determine;

(10) Sell, exchange, donate and convey any or all of its properties whenever the board of directors shall find any such action to be in furtherance of the purposes for which the authority was organized, and enter into sales contracts with others in connection with the sale of any such properties;

(11) Procure and enter into contracts for any type of insurance or indemnity against loss or damage to property from any cause, including loss of use and occupancy, against death or injury of any person, against employer's liability, against any act of any member, officer or employee of the authority in the performance of the duties of such person's office or employment or any other insurable risk, as the board of directors in its discretion may deem necessary;

(12) Accept donations, contributions, capital grants or gifts from any individuals, associations, municipal or private corporations, the state of Tennessee and the United States, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, for or in aid of any of the purposes of this chapter and enter into agreements in connection therewith;

(13) Borrow money from time to time and in evidence of the obligation thereby incurred to issue and sell its revenue bonds in such amount or amounts as the board of directors may determine to provide funds for the purpose of financing, acquiring, erecting, extending, improving, equipping or repairing any project or for any combination of such purposes, and demolishing structures on the project site and acquiring a site or sites necessary and convenient for such project, including, but without in any way limiting the generality of the foregoing, architectural, engineering, legal, financing and bond insurance expenses, and including an amount sufficient to meet the interest charges on such revenue bonds during construction of any project and for two (2) years after the estimated date of completion; and refund and refinance, from time to time, revenue bonds so issued and sold, as often as may be deemed to be advantageous by the board of directors; and pending the issuance of its revenue bonds for the purposes in this chapter authorized, issue its interim certificates or notes or other temporary obligations;

(14) Enter into any agreement or contract with any lessee, who, pursuant to the terms of this chapter, is renting or is about to rent from the authority all or part of any building or buildings or facilities, whereby under such agreement or contract the lessee obligates itself to pay all or part of the cost of maintaining and operating the premises so leased. Such agreement may be included as a provision of any lease entered into pursuant to the terms of this chapter or may be made the subject of a separate agreement or contract between the authority and such lessee;

(15) As security for the payment of the principal of and interest on any bonds so issued and any agreements made in connection therewith, mortgage and pledge any or all of its projects or any part or parts thereof, whether then owned or thereafter acquired, and pledge the revenues and receipts therefrom or from any thereof, and/or assign and pledge all or any part of its interest in and rights under the leases, sales contracts or loan agreements relating thereto or any thereof;

(16) Exercise all powers expressly given in its certificate of incorporation and establish bylaws and make all rules and regulations not inconsistent with the certificate of incorporation or the provisions of this chapter deemed expedient for the management of the affairs of the authority;

(17) Enter into loan agreements with others with respect to one (1) or more projects for such payments and upon such terms as the board of directors of the authority may deem advisable in accordance with this chapter, including, but not limited to, the following:

(A) The board of directors of the authority may, by appropriate action, request the comptroller of the treasury or the comptroller's designee to review loan agreements entered into between the authority and a municipal corporation; and

(B) If the comptroller of the treasury or the comptroller's designee determines that it is advisable to review the loan agreements pursuant to a request by the authority, then prior to entering into a loan agreement with the authority, the municipal corporation must obtain the approval of the comptroller of the treasury or the comptroller's designee;

(18) Sell, lease, transfer or convey any air rights and appropriate easements, including easements for support, ingress and egress, in, above, under or adjacent to property acquired for the construction, maintenance and operation of a project. Sale, lease, transfer or conveyance may be accomplished either by public bid or by private sale in such manner, upon such terms and for such consideration as may be determined by the board of directors to be most advantageous to the authority;

(19) Enter into contracts with a municipal corporation respecting construction of improvements upon and/or operation and maintenance of any property owned by or leased by other than the authority to the municipal corporation. Such contracts shall specify the extent and nature of the services to be rendered by the authority; and

(20) Have control of its parking facilities with the right and duty to establish and charge fees, rentals, rates and other charges, and collect revenues therefrom, not inconsistent with the rights of the holders of its bonds.

(b) Except as otherwise approved by the comptroller of the treasury, any authority created pursuant to this chapter shall have the power and shall cause to be made an annual audit of the accounts and records of the authority. The audit shall include all funds of the authority whether held by the authority or pursuant to trust indentures. The comptroller of the treasury, through the department of audit, shall be responsible for ensuring that the audits are prepared in accordance with generally accepted governmental auditing standards and determining if the audits meet minimum audit standards which shall be prescribed by the comptroller of the treasury. No audit may be accepted as meeting the requirements of this subsection (b) until such audit has been approved by the comptroller of the treasury. The audits may be prepared by certified public accountants, public accountants or by the department of audit. In the event the authority shall fail or refuse to have the audit prepared, then the comptroller of the treasury may appoint a certified public accountant or public accountant or direct the department of audit to prepare the audit, the cost of such audit to be paid by the authority. All such audits shall be completed as soon as practicable after the end of the authority's fiscal year. One (1) copy of the audit shall be furnished to each member of the board of directors, the chief executive officer of the municipality with respect to which the authority has organized, and the comptroller of the treasury. Copies of each audit shall also be made available to the press.

(c) Any municipal corporation that has submitted a loan agreement to be entered into between the municipal corporation and the authority to the comptroller of the treasury or the comptroller's designee for approval pursuant to this section shall submit an annual budget in a form consistent with accepted governmental standards to the comptroller of the treasury or the comptroller's designee immediately upon its adoption, and each year thereafter, so long as the loan agreement is outstanding.

(d) An authority created by a utility district or jointly created by two (2) or more utility districts under § 12-10-120 shall only have the powers set forth in this section and in this chapter for projects that consist of utility infrastructure, improvements, facilities and buildings that are an integral part of a public utility's operations and that are used by a public utility in providing utility services to its customers.

(e) The powers granted by this chapter may be exercised without regard to requirements, restrictions or procedural provisions contained in § 55-21-105(a) or any other law or charter, except as expressly provided in this chapter.