41-1504. Powers and duties; e-verify requirement

A. The board of directors, on behalf of the authority, may:

1. Adopt and use a corporate seal.

2. Sue and be sued.

3. Enter into contracts as necessary to carry out the purposes and requirements of this chapter, including intergovernmental agreements pursuant to title 11, chapter 7, article 3 and interagency service agreements as provided by section 35-148.

4. Lease real property and improvements to real property for the purposes of the authority. Leases by the authority are exempt from chapter 4, article 7 of this title, relating to management of state properties.

5. Employ or retain legal counsel and other consultants as necessary to carry out the purposes of the authority.

6. Develop and use written policies, procedures and guidelines for the terms and conditions of employing officers and employees of the authority and may include background checks of appropriate personnel.

B. The board of directors, on behalf of the authority, shall:

1. Develop comprehensive long-range strategic economic plans for this state and submit the plans to the governor.

2. Annually update a strategic economic plan for submission to the governor.

3. Accept gifts, grants and loans and enter into contracts and other transactions with any federal or state agency, municipality, private organization or other source.

C. The authority shall:

1. Assess and collect fees for processing applications and administering incentives. The board shall adopt the manner of computing the amount of each fee to be assessed. Within thirty days after proposing fees for adoption, the chief executive officer shall submit a schedule of the fees for review by the joint legislative budget committee. It is the intent of the legislature that a fee shall not exceed one percent of the amount of the incentive.

2. Determine and collect registry fees for the administration of the allocation of federal tax exempt industrial development bonds and student loan bonds authorized by the authority. Such monies collected by the authority shall be deposited, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, in an application fees fund. Monies in the fund shall be used, subject to annual appropriation by the legislature, by the authority to administer the allocations provided in this paragraph and are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to the lapsing of appropriations.

3. Determine and collect security deposits for the allocation, for the extension of allocations and for the difference between allocations and principal amounts of federal tax exempt industrial development bonds and student loan bonds authorized by the authority. Security deposits forfeited to the authority shall be deposited in the state general fund.

4. At the direction of the board, establish and supervise the operations of full-time or part-time offices in other states and foreign countries for the purpose of expanding direct investment and export trade opportunities for businesses and industries in this state if, based on objective research, the authority determines that the effort would be beneficial to the economy of this state.

5. Establish a program by which entrepreneurs become aware of permits, licenses or other authorizations needed to establish, expand or operate in this state.

6. Post on its website on an annual basis a report containing at least the following information:

(a) The cumulative progress made toward its goals for job creation, capital investment and higher average wages.

(b) To the extent not prohibited by law, information on each incentive application approved by the authority in the fiscal year, including the amount of the incentive approved or awarded and the applicant's activity that is projected or has been achieved, whichever is applicable, to qualify for the incentive.

(c) Rural economic development outreach and impact data.

(d) Small business outreach and impact data.

7. Develop and implement written policies and procedures relating to the administration of grants from the Arizona competes fund established by section 41-1545.01, including the following elements:

(a) Procedures for documenting grantee selection and due diligence.

(b) Procedures for verification of information submitted by grantees.

(c) Procedures for evaluating requests to amend grant terms and for documenting decisions relating to those requests.

8. Notwithstanding any other law, on request of the office of economic opportunity, disclose to the office of economic opportunity applicant information for incentives administered, in whole or in part, by the authority. Any confidentiality requirements provided by law applicable to the information disclosed pursuant to this paragraph apply to the office of economic opportunity.

D. The authority, through the chief executive officer, may:

1. Contract and incur obligations reasonably necessary or desirable within the general scope of the authority's activities and operations to enable the authority to adequately perform its duties.

2. Use monies, facilities or services to provide matching contributions under federal or other programs that further the objectives and programs of the authority.

3. Accept gifts, grants, matching monies or direct payments from public or private agencies or private persons and enterprises for the conduct of programs that are consistent with the general purposes and objectives of this chapter.

4. Assess business fees for promotional services provided to businesses that export products and services from this state. The fees shall not exceed the actual costs of the services provided.

5. Establish and maintain one or more accounts in banks or other depositories, for public or private monies of the authority, from which operational activities, including payroll, vendor and grant payments, may be conducted. Individual funds that are established by law under the jurisdiction of the authority may be maintained in separate accounts in banks or other depositories, but shall not be commingled with any other monies or funds of the authority.

E. The chief executive officer shall:

1. Hire employees and prescribe the terms and conditions of their employment as necessary to carry out the purposes of the authority. The board of directors shall adopt written policies, procedures and guidelines, similar to those adopted by the department of administration, regarding officer and employee compensation, observed holidays, leave and reimbursement of travel expenses and health and accident insurance. The officers and employees of the authority are exempt from any laws regulating state employment, including:

(a) Chapter 4, articles 5 and 6 of this title, relating to state service.

(b) Title 38, chapter 4, article 1 and chapter 5, article 2, relating to state personnel compensation, leave and retirement.

(c) Title 38, chapter 4, article 2, relating to reimbursement of state employee expenses.

(d) Title 38, chapter 4, article 4, relating to health and accident insurance.

2. Maintain three full-time employees to serve as advocates for small and rural businesses on economic development and regulatory matters before cities, towns, counties or state agencies. Two of the full-time employees shall be dedicated to small business growth, support and regulation, one of whom shall serve as a small business ombudsman. One of the full-time employees shall be dedicated to rural economic development.

3. On a quarterly basis, provide public record data in a manner prescribed by the department of administration related to the authority's revenues and expenditures for inclusion in the comprehensive database of receipts and expenditures of state monies pursuant to section 41-725.

F. In addition to any other requirement, in order to qualify for any grant, loan, reimbursement, tax incentive or other economic development incentive pursuant to this chapter, an applicant that is an employer must register with and participate in the e-verify program in compliance with section 23-214. The authority shall require verification of compliance with this subsection as part of any application process.

G. Notwithstanding any other law, the authority is subject to chapter 3.1, article 1 of this title, relating to risk management.

H. The authority is exempt from title 18, chapter 1, articles 1 and 2, relating to statewide information technology. The authority shall adopt policies, procedures and guidelines regarding information technology.

I. The authority is exempt from state general accounting and finance practices and rules adopted pursuant to chapter 4, article 3 of this title, but the board shall adopt written accounting practices, systems and procedures for the economic and efficient operation of the authority.

J. The authority is exempt from section 41-712, relating to the installation and maintenance of telecommunication systems.

K. The authority may lease or purchase motor vehicles for use by employees to conduct business activities. The authority is exempt from section 41-803, relating to the state motor vehicle fleet, and title 38, chapter 3, article 10, relating to vehicle usage and markings.

L. Any tangible or intangible record submitted to or compiled by the board or the authority in connection with its work, including the award of monies, is subject to title 39, chapter 1, unless an applicant shows, or the board or authority determines, that specific information meets either of the following:

1. If made public, the information would divulge the applicant's or potential applicant's trade secrets, as defined in section 44-401.

2. If made public, the information could potentially harm the applicant's, the potential applicant's or this state's competitive position relating to potential business development opportunities and strategies.

M. The authority is exempt from chapter 25, article 1 of this title, relating to government competition with private enterprise.