The Florida Senate

348.754  Purposes and powers.--

(1)(a)  The authority created and established by the provisions of this part is hereby granted and shall have the right to acquire, hold, construct, improve, maintain, operate, own and lease in the capacity of lessor, the Orlando-Orange County Expressway System hereinafter referred to as "system."

(b)  It is the express intention of this part that said authority, in the construction of said Orlando-Orange County Expressway System, shall be authorized to construct any extensions, additions or improvements to said system or appurtenant facilities, including all necessary approaches, roads, bridges and avenues of access, with such changes, modifications or revisions of said project as shall be deemed desirable and proper.

(2)  The authority is hereby granted, and shall have and may exercise all powers necessary, appurtenant, convenient or incidental to the carrying out of the aforesaid purposes, including, but without being limited to, the following rights and powers:

(a)  To sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, complain and defend in all courts.

(b)  To adopt, use and alter at will a corporate seal.

(c)  To acquire by donation or otherwise, purchase, hold, lease as lessee and use any franchise, property, real, personal or mixed, tangible or intangible, or any options thereof in its own name or in conjunction with others, or interest therein, necessary or desirable for carrying out the purposes of the authority, and to sell, lease as lessor, transfer and dispose of any property or interest therein at any time acquired by it.

(d)  To enter into and make leases for terms not exceeding 40 years, as either lessee or lessor, in order to carry out the right to lease as set forth in this part.

(e)  To enter into and make lease-purchase agreements with the department for terms not exceeding 40 years, or until any bonds secured by a pledge of rentals thereunder, and any refundings thereof, are fully paid as to both principal and interest, whichever is longer.

(f)  To fix, alter, charge, establish and collect rates, fees, rentals, and other charges for the services and facilities of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway System, which rates, fees, rentals and other charges shall always be sufficient to comply with any covenants made with the holders of any bonds issued pursuant to this part; provided, however, that such right and power may be assigned or delegated, by the authority, to the department.

(g)  To borrow money, make and issue negotiable notes, bonds, refunding bonds, and other evidences of indebtedness or obligations, either in temporary or definitive form, hereinafter in this chapter sometimes called "bonds" of the authority, for the purpose of financing all or part of the improvement or extension of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway System, and appurtenant facilities, including all approaches, streets, roads, bridges and avenues of access for said Orlando-Orange County Expressway System and for any other purpose authorized by this part, said bonds to mature in not exceeding 40 years from the date of the issuance thereof, and to secure the payment of such bonds or any part thereof by a pledge of any or all of its revenues, rates, fees, rentals or other charges, including all or any portion of the Orange County gasoline tax funds received by the authority pursuant to the terms of any lease-purchase agreement between the authority and the department; and in general to provide for the security of said bonds and the rights and remedies of the holders thereof. Provided, however, that no portion of the Orange County gasoline tax funds shall be pledged for the construction of any project for which a toll is to be charged unless the anticipated tolls are reasonably estimated by the board of county commissioners, at the date of its resolution pledging said funds, to be sufficient to cover the principal and interest of such obligations during the period when said pledge of funds shall be in effect.

1.  The authority shall reimburse Orange County for any sums expended from said gasoline tax funds used for the payment of such obligations. Any gasoline tax funds so disbursed shall be repaid when the authority deems it practicable, together with interest at the highest rate applicable to any obligations of the authority.

2.  In the event the authority shall determine to fund or refund any bonds theretofore issued by said authority, or by said commission as aforesaid prior to the maturity thereof, the proceeds of such funding or refunding bonds shall, pending the prior redemption of the bonds to be funded or refunded, be invested in direct obligations of the United States, and it is the express intention of this part that such outstanding bonds may be funded or refunded by the issuance of bonds pursuant to this part.

(h)  To make contracts of every name and nature, including, but not limited to, partnerships providing for participation in ownership and revenues, and to execute all instruments necessary or convenient for the carrying on of its business.

(i)  Without limitation of the foregoing, to borrow money and accept grants from, and to enter into contracts, leases or other transactions with any federal agency, the state, any agency of the state, the County of Orange, the City of Orlando or with any other public body of the state.

(j)  To have the power of eminent domain, including the procedural powers granted under both chapters 73 and 74.

(k)  To pledge, hypothecate or otherwise encumber all or any part of the revenues, rates, fees, rentals or other charges or receipts of the authority, including all or any portion of the Orange County gasoline tax funds received by the authority pursuant to the terms of any lease-purchase agreement between the authority and the department, as security for all or any of the obligations of the authority.

(l)  To enter into partnership and other agreements respecting ownership and revenue participation in order to facilitate financing and constructing the Western Beltway, or portions thereof.

(m)  To do all acts and things necessary or convenient for the conduct of its business and the general welfare of the authority, in order to carry out the powers granted to it by this part or any other law.

(n)  With the consent of the county within whose jurisdiction the following activities occur, the authority shall have the right to construct, operate, and maintain roads, bridges, avenues of access, thoroughfares, and boulevards outside the jurisdictional boundaries of Orange County, together with the right to construct, repair, replace, operate, install, and maintain electronic toll payment systems thereon, with all necessary and incidental powers to accomplish the foregoing.

(3)  The authority shall have no power at any time or in any manner to pledge the credit or taxing power of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof, including the City of Orlando and the County of Orange, nor shall any of the authority's obligations be deemed to be obligations of the state or of any political subdivision or agency thereof, nor shall the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof, except the authority, be liable for the payment of the principal of or interest on such obligations.

(4)  Anything in this part to the contrary notwithstanding, acquisition of right-of-way for a project of the authority which is within the boundaries of any municipality in Orange County shall not be begun unless and until the route of said project within said municipality has been given prior approval by the governing body of said municipality.

(5)  The authority shall have no power other than by consent of Orange County or any affected city, to enter into any agreement which would legally prohibit the construction of any road by Orange County or by any city within Orange County.

History.--s. 4, ch. 63-573; s. 1, ch. 68-8; ss. 23, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 59, ch. 95-257; s. 29, ch. 97-280.

Note.--Former s. 348.0103.