§2180.  General grant of powers and duties

In addition to having all of the powers granted, each compact 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 compact.

(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 compact in the manner to be determined by the compact, 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 compact 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)  To fix, revise, and adjust, from time to time, fees and charges in connection with each project sufficient to pay all or a portion of maintenance, operation, debt service and reserve or replacement costs, and other necessary or usual charges and to regulate speed limits on the railway transportation system.

(6)  To contract with any person, partnership, association, or corporation desiring the use of any part of a project, including the rights-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 loadable 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 rail transportation facility requires such removal.

(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 compact 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 a railway transportation system 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; proceed with foreclosure actions; or 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 compact 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 railway transportation 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 compact is hereby empowered and required to move and replace the roads with equal or better facilities, and all expenses and resulting damages, if any, shall be paid by the compact.

(12)  To enter, or authorize its agents to enter upon any lands, waters, and premises within the geographic boundaries of the compact 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 compact 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 compact 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 compact 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 compact, to construct, maintain, repair, 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 compact, Part XII of Chapter 1 of Title 48 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, and the provisions relating to acquisition of property prior to judgment found therein, provided that any property so acquired by a compact which is not used for an authorized public purpose of the compact within three years of such acquisition shall be reconveyed by the compact to the prior owners thereof at current market value.  Upon refusal or failure to accept reconveyance of such property by the prior owner, the compact 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.

(22)  No freight railroad system or any of its infrastructure or assets shall be taken or included within the operational activities of any compact unless specifically agreed to by the freight railroad company.

Acts 2010, No. 838, §2, eff. July 1, 2010; Acts 2010, No. 858, §1, eff. June 30, 2010.