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. The authority shall have power to do all of the following:
(a) Adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct
of its business.
(b) Adopt and have an official common seal and alter it at
pleasure.
(c) Sue and be sued in its own name, and plead and be impleaded.
(d) Borrow money, issue bonds and notes and other obligations of
the authority, and provide for the rights of the holders thereof as
provided in this chapter.
(e) Acquire, lease as lessee, hold, and dispose of real and
personal property or any interest therein, in the exercise of its
powers and the performance of its duties under this chapter.
(f) Acquire, in the name of the authority by purchase or
otherwise, on the terms and conditions and in the manner as it deems
proper, any land or interest in land and other property that it
determines is reasonably necessary for a project, including any lands
held by a county, municipality, or other governmental subdivision of
the state, to hold and use the property, and to sell, convey, lease,
or otherwise dispose of the acquired property that is no longer
necessary for the authority's purposes.
(g) Receive and accept, from any source, loans, contributions, or
grants for, or in aid of, the acquisition, construction, financing,
or refinancing of a project, or any portion of a project, in money,
property, labor, or other things of value.
(h) Prepare, or cause to be prepared, plans, specifications,
designs, and estimates of costs for the construction and equipment of
projects for participating colleges and participating nonprofit
entities under this chapter, and from time to time to modify those
plans, specifications, designs, or estimates.
(i) By contract or contracts, or by its own employees, to
construct, acquire, reconstruct, rehabilitate and improve, and
furnish and equip, projects for participating colleges and
participating nonprofit entities.
(j) Employ consulting engineers, architects, accountants,
construction and financial experts, superintendents, and other
employees and agents that may be necessary in its judgment and to fix
their compensation.
(k) Determine the location and character of any project to be
undertaken pursuant to this chapter, and construct, reconstruct,
repair, lease, as lessee or lessor, the project, enter into contracts
for any or all of those purposes, and designate a participating
private college or participating nonprofit entity as its agent to
determine the location and character of a project undertaken by the
participating private college or participating nonprofit entity under
this chapter and, as the agent of the authority, construct,
reconstruct, maintain, repair, operate, lease, as lessee or lessor,
and regulate the project and, as agent of the authority, to enter
into contracts for any and all of those purposes including contracts
for the management and operation of the project.
(l) Establish rules and regulations for the use of a project, or
any portion of a project, and to designate a participating private
college or participating nonprofit entity as its agent to establish
rules and regulations for the use of a project undertaken by the
participating private college or participating nonprofit entity.
(m) Generally establish, revise from time to time, and charge and
collect, rates, rents, fees, and other charges for the use of and for
the services furnished or to be furnished by a project, or any
portion of a project, and contract with holders of its bonds and with
any other person, party, association, corporation, or other body,
public or private, in respect thereof.
(n) Enter into any and all agreements or contracts, execute any
and all instruments, and do and perform any and all acts or things
necessary, convenient, or desirable for the purposes of the authority
or to carry out any power expressly given in this chapter.
(o) Invest any moneys held in reserve or sinking funds, or any
moneys not required for immediate use or disbursement, at the
discretion of the authority, in obligations that are authorized by
law for the investment of trust funds in the custody of the
Treasurer.
(p) Charge, and equitably apportion among participating private
colleges and participating nonprofit entities, its administrative
costs and expenses incurred in the exercise of the powers and duties
conferred by this chapter.
(q) Finance, directly or through an intermediary, or purchase or
take assignments of, or make commitments to finance, directly or
through an intermediary, or purchase or to take assignments of,
student loans, to contract in advance for those student loans, and to
contract in advance for that financing, purchase, or assignment, and
to pay any amounts payable in respect thereto. A student loan shall
be eligible for financing or purchase by the authority or for
assignment hereunder regardless of the repayment status of the loan.
A pledge made to secure authority financing for student loan project
purposes shall be valid and binding from the time the pledge is made.
The revenues and receipts of property or interest in the property
pledged and thereafter received by the authority, a participating
college or public institution of higher education, a servicer, a
trustee, or a custodian shall immediately be subject to the lien of
the pledge without any physical delivery thereof or further act, and
the lien of a pledge shall be valid and binding against all parties
having claims of any kind in tort, contract, or otherwise against the
authority, participating college or public institution of higher
education, servicer, trustee, or custodian irrespective of whether
the parties have notice thereof. Neither the resolution nor any other
instrument by which a pledge is created need be recorded.
(r) Hold or invest in student loans, create pools of student
loans, and sell bonds bearing interest on a taxable or tax-exempt
basis or other interests backed by the pools of student loans.
(s) Contract or otherwise provide for the distribution,
processing, origination, purchase, sale, servicing, securing, and
collection of student loans, the payment of fees, charges, and
administrative expenses in connection with student loans, and the
funding of reserves required or provided for in any resolution
authorizing, or trust agreement securing, authority financing for
student loan purposes.
(t) Assist in providing support to participating colleges or
participating nonprofit entities to enhance the market acceptance of
potential bond issues by the authority, including securing probable
or actual credit ratings from nationally recognized bond rating
agencies, providing or obtaining liquidity or credit enhancement,
providing or securing bond reserve funds, performing any other action
deemed necessary by the authority, and incurring necessary expenses,
payable from available authority funds, for any of these purposes.