In addition to having all of the powers granted it by virtue of its being a nonprofit corporation created pursuant to the Louisiana Nonprofit Corporation Law, each authority may exercise all additional powers necessary, appurtenant, convenient, or incidental to the carrying out of its purposes, including but not limited to the following rights and powers:

(1)  To adopt and amend bylaws, regulations, and procedures for the governance of its affairs and the conduct of its business and to designate an official journal which shall be a newspaper of general circulation within the geographical boundary of the authority.

(2)  To adopt, use, and alter at will an official seal.

(3)  To construct, reconstruct, maintain, improve, install, extend, develop, equip, repair, operate, own, and lease projects within the geographic boundaries of the authority in the manner to be determined by the authority, including in segments, phases, or stages, and all rights-of-way and to pay all project costs in connection therewith.

(4)  To sue and be sued in its own name, plead, and be impleaded; however, any and all actions at law or in equity* against the authority shall be brought in the parish where the cause of action arises, and if land is involved, including condemnation proceedings, suit shall be brought in the parish where the land is situated.

(5)(a)  To fix, revise, and adjust, from time to time, tolls, fees, and charges in connection with each project sufficient to pay all maintenance, operation, debt service and reserve or replacement costs, and other necessary or usual charges, and to regulate speed limits on the tollways consistent with state speed limits.  In all cases, however, the amount of the toll charged to commercial vehicles shall be multiples of the two-axle rate such that an increase equal to approximately one-half the two-axle rate is realized for each axle over two.

(b)  No toll shall be charged or collected from vehicles which will only travel over a portion of a tollway which was in existence as a non-toll route prior to construction of the tollway project and which was not substantially reconstructed by the tollway project.

(6)  To contract with any person, partnership, association, or corporation desiring the use of any part of a project, including the right-of-way adjoining the paved portion, for placing thereon telephone, fiber optic, telegraph, electric light, or power lines, gas stations, garages, and restaurants, or for any other purpose, and to fix the terms, conditions, rents, and rates of charges for such use.  Any utilities which are placed within the right-of-way shall be locatable by the one-call system and the utilities shall place locator strips on any buried objects.  The contract or lease shall require the removal at the expense of the lessee of any utilities or other obstructions placed within the right-of-way at the request of such private utility owner when expansion of the toll facility requires such removal. Installation and removal of utility facilities shall be consistent with rules and regulations promulgated by the federal government and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.

(7)  To acquire, hold, and dispose of real and personal property in the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties under this Chapter in accordance with existing state law.

(8)  To acquire in the name of the authority by purchase, gift, transfer, foreclosure, lease, or otherwise, including rights or easements, or by the exercise of the power of eminent domain in the manner hereinafter provided, such public or private lands, including public parks, playgrounds or reservations, or parts thereof or rights therein, rights-of-way, property rights, easements, and interests, as it may deem necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Chapter.  Eminent domain shall be used for the sole purpose of constructing tollways and for the other public purposes set forth in this Chapter, and not for the exercise of, or accommodation for, private development interests, including but not limited to service stations, food marts, restaurants, truck stops, or other private enterprises.

(9)  To hold, sell, assign, lease, or otherwise dispose of any real or personal property or any interest therein; to release or relinquish any right, title, claim, lien, interest, easement, or demand however acquired, including any equity or right of redemption in property foreclosed by it; to take assignments of leases and rentals; to proceed with foreclosure actions; or to take any other actions necessary or incidental to the performance of its corporate purposes.

(10)  To designate the location, and establish, limit, and control points of ingress and egress for each project as may be necessary or desirable in the judgment of the authority to ensure the proper operation and maintenance of such project, and to prohibit entrance to such project from any point or points not so designated.  Creation of new points of ingress and egress or substantial reconstruction or redesign of the same shall be made only after public hearing.  Where the state highway system is affected, the concurrence of the department shall be obtained for any such matters set forth in this Paragraph.

(11)  In all cases where parish, municipal, or other public roads are affected or severed, the authority is hereby empowered and required to move and replace the same with equal or better facilities, and all expenses and resulting damages, if any, shall be paid by the authority.

(12)  To enter, or authorize its agents to enter, upon any lands, waters, and premises within the geographic boundaries of the authority for the purpose of making surveys, soundings, drillings, and examinations as it may deem necessary or appropriate for the purposes of this Chapter, and such entry shall not be deemed a trespass or unlawful.  The authority shall make reimbursement for any actual damages resulting to such lands, waters, and premises as a result of such activities.

(13)  To procure liability, casualty, and other insurance in such amount or amounts appropriate to the size of the project, as determined by the board, insuring the authority against all losses, risk, and liability arising out of the construction, operation, maintenance, and ownership of any project.

(14)  To apply for, receive, and accept subventions, grants, loans, advances, and contributions from any source of money, property, labor, or other things of value, to be held, used, and applied for its corporate purposes.

(15)  To open accounts at financial institutions as necessary for the conduct of its business and to invest any funds held in reserves or sinking funds, or any funds not required for immediate disbursement in such investments as may be provided in any financing document relating to the use of such funds, or, if not so provided, as the board may determine, subject to compliance with state laws relative to investments by political subdivisions.

(16)  To borrow money and issue bonds for any corporate purpose, including the development, construction, or financing of any project which the authority is authorized to acquire or construct, including all costs in connection with and incidental to such acquisition or construction and the financing thereof.

(17)  To enter into contracts and agreements and execute all instruments necessary or convenient thereto for accomplishing the purposes of this Chapter.  Such contracts and agreements may include, without limiting the foregoing, construction agreements, purchase or acquisition agreements, loan or lease agreements, partnership agreements, including limited partnership agreements, joint venture, participation agreements, or loan agreements with leasing corporations or other financial institutions or intermediaries.

(18)  To enter into agreements with a public or private entity, to permit the entity, independently or jointly with the authority, to construct, maintain, repair, and/or operate projects, and to authorize the investment of public and private money to finance such projects, subject to compliance with state law relative to use of public funds.

(19)  To employ consultant engineers, attorneys, accountants, construction and financial experts, superintendents, managers, and such other employees and agents as may be necessary for the accomplishment of its corporate purposes, and to fix their compensation.

(20)  To exercise the power of eminent domain in accordance with general law or, at the option of the authority, Part XVII of Chapter 1 of this Title, and the provisions relating to acquisition of property prior to judgment found therein, provided that any property so acquired by an authority which is not used for an authorized public purpose of the authority within three years of such acquisition shall be reconveyed by the authority to the prior owners thereof at current market value.  Upon refusal or failure to accept reconveyance of such property by the prior owner, the authority may use or dispose of such property as provided for in this Chapter.

(21)  To do all acts and things necessary or convenient for the powers granted to it by law.

Acts 1997, No. 1017, §1, eff. July 11, 1997.

*As appears in enrolled bill.