(a)

(1) Any municipality or any county is authorized to create one (1) or more public facilities boards and to empower each board to own, acquire, construct, reconstruct, extend, equip, improve, operate, maintain, sell, lease, contract concerning, or otherwise deal in or dispose of health care facilities, emergency medical health care facilities, residential housing facilities, off-street parking facilities, recreational and tourist facilities, waterworks facilities, sewer facilities, facilities for securing or developing industry, energy facilities, hydroelectric power projects, education facilities, other capital improvement facilities, or any combination of such facilities, or any interest in such facilities including, without limitation, leasehold interests in and mortgages on such facilities.

(2) Public facilities boards created under this chapter are not administrative boards under the County Government Code, § 14-14-101 et seq.

(b) The boards may be further empowered to make loans to mortgage lenders, defined as all banks or trust companies, industrial loan institutions, credit unions, mortgage banking firms, national banking associations, savings and loan associations and investment banking firms that maintain a principal office or place of business in the state, and all insurance companies authorized to do business in the state, on condition that the mortgage lenders use the proceeds of each loan to provide financing for either healthcare facilities, emergency medical health care facilities, residential housing facilities, off-street parking facilities, recreational and tourist facilities, waterworks facilities, sewer facilities, facilities for securing or developing industry, energy facilities, educational facilities, hydroelectric power projects, other capital improvement facilities, or any combination of such facilities.

(c) Any such undertaking by a board will be sometimes referred to in this chapter as a "public facilities project" or "project".

(d) As used in this section, the term "other capital improvement facilities" means, whether obtained by purchase, lease, construction, reconstruction, restoration, improvement, alteration, repair, or other means, any physical public betterment or improvement or any preliminary plans, studies, or surveys relative thereto; lands or rights in land, including without limitations, leases, air rights, easements, rights-of-way, or licenses; furnishings, machinery, vehicles, apparatus, equipment, or other personal property for use by the city or county; and any furnishings, machinery, vehicles, apparatus, or equipment for any public betterment or improvement, which shall include, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the following:

(1) Any and all facilities for city or town halls, courthouses, and administrative, executive, or other public offices;

(2) Court facilities, jails, and police and sheriff stations, apparatus, and facilities;

(3) Firefighting facilities and apparatus;

(4) Public health facilities and apparatus;

(5) Hospitals, nursing homes, and similar extended-care facilities;

(6) Residential housing for low and moderate income, elderly, or individuals with disabilities and families;

(7) Parking facilities and garages;

(8) Educational and training facilities for public employees;

(9) Auditoriums, stadiums, and convention, meeting, or entertainment facilities;

(10) Ambulance and other emergency medical service facilities;

(11) Civil defense facilities;

(12) Air and water pollution control facilities;

(13) Drainage and flood control facilities and storm sewers;

(14) Arts and crafts centers;

(15) Museums and libraries;

(16) Public parks, playgrounds, or other public open spaces;

(17) Marinas;

(18) Swimming pools, tennis courts, golf courses, camping facilities, gymnasiums, and other recreational facilities;

(19) Tourist information and assistance centers;

(20) Historical, cultural, natural, or folklore sites;

(21) Fair and exhibition facilities;

(22) Streets and street lighting, alleys, sidewalks, roads, bridges, and viaducts;

(23) Airports, passenger or freight terminals, and hangars and related facilities;

(24) Barge terminals, ports, harbors, ferries, wharves, docks, and similar marine services; and slack water harbors, water resource facilities, waterfront development facilities, and navigational facilities;

(25) Public transportation facilities;

(26) Public water systems and related transmission and distribution facilities; storage facilities, wells, and impounding reservoirs, treatment plants, lakes, dams, watercourses, and water rights;

(27) Sewer collection systems and treatment plants;

(28) Maintenance and storage buildings and facilities;

(29) Incinerators, and garbage and solid waste collection disposal, compacting, and recycling facilities of every kind; and

(30) Social and rehabilitative services facilities.