The authority may do any of the following:

(a) Adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business.

(b) Adopt an official seal.

(c) Sue and be sued in its own name.

(d) Receive and accept from any agency of the United States, any agency of the state, or any municipality, county, or other political subdivision thereof, or from any individual, association, or corporation gifts, grants, or donations of moneys for achieving any of the purposes of this chapter.

(e) Engage the services of private consultants to render professional and technical assistance and advice in carrying out the purposes of this part.

(f) Determine the location and character of any project to be financed under this part, and to acquire, construct, enlarge, remodel, renovate, alter, improve, furnish, equip, fund, finance, own, maintain, manage, repair, operate, lease as lessee or lessor, and regulate the same, to enter into contracts for any or all of those purposes, to enter into contracts for the management and operation of a project or other health facilities owned by the authority, and to designate a participating health institution as its agent to determine the location and character of a project undertaken by that participating health institution under this chapter and as the agent of the authority, to acquire, construct, enlarge, remodel, renovate, alter, improve, furnish, equip, own, maintain, manage, repair, operate, lease as lessee or lessor, and regulate the same, and as the agent of the authority, to enter into contracts for any or all of those purposes, including contracts for the management and operation of that project or other health facilities owned by the authority.

(g) Acquire, directly or by and through a participating health institution as its agent, by purchase solely from funds provided under the authority of this part, or by gift or devise, and to sell, by installment sale or otherwise, any lands, structures, real or personal property, rights, rights-of-way, franchises, easements, and other interests in lands, including lands lying under water and riparian rights, that are located within the state that the authority determines necessary or convenient for the acquisition, construction, or financing of a health facility or the acquisition, construction, financing, or operation of a project, upon the terms and at the prices considered by the authority to be reasonable and that can be agreed upon between the authority and the owner thereof, and to take title thereto in the name of the authority or in the name of a participating health institution as its agent.

(h) Receive and accept from any source loans, contributions, or grants for, or in aid of, the construction, financing, or refinancing of a project or any portion of a project in money, property, labor, or other things of value.

(i) Make secured or unsecured loans to, or purchase secured or unsecured loans of, any participating health institution in connection with the financing of a project or working capital in accordance with an agreement between the authority and the participating health institution. However, no loan to finance a project shall exceed the total cost of the project, as determined by the participating health institution and approved by the authority. Funds for secured loans may be provided from the California Health Facilities Financing Authority Fund pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 15439 to small or rural health facilities pursuant to authority guidelines.

(j) (1) Make secured or unsecured loans to, or purchase secured or unsecured loans of, any participating health institution in accordance with an agreement between the authority and the participating health institution to refinance indebtedness incurred by that participating health institution or a participating health institution that controls or manages, is controlled or managed by, is under common control or management with, or is affiliated with that participating health institution, in connection with projects undertaken or for health facilities acquired or for working capital.

(2) Make secured or unsecured loans to, or purchase secured or unsecured loans of, any participating health institution in accordance with an agreement between the authority and the participating health institution to refinance indebtedness incurred by that participating health institution or a participating health institution that controls or manages, is controlled or managed by, is under common control or management with, or is affiliated with that participating health institution, payable to the authority or assigned or pledged to authority issued bonds.

(3) Funds for secured loans may be provided from the California Health Facilities Financing Authority Fund pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 15439 to small or rural health facilities pursuant to authority guidelines.

(k) Mortgage all or any portion of interest of the authority in a project or other health facilities and the property on which that project or other health facilities are located, whether owned or thereafter acquired, including the granting of a security interest in any property, tangible or intangible, and to assign or pledge all or any portion of the interests of the authority in mortgages, deeds of trust, indentures of mortgage or trust, or similar instruments, notes, and security interests in property, tangible or intangible, of participating health institutions to which the authority has made loans, and the revenues therefrom, including payments or income from any thereof owned or held by the authority, for the benefit of the holders of bonds issued to finance the project or health facilities or issued to refund or refinance outstanding indebtedness of participating health institutions as permitted by this part.

(l) Lease to a participating health institution the project being financed or other health facilities conveyed to the authority in connection with that financing, upon the terms and conditions the authority determines proper, charge and collect rents therefor, terminate the lease upon the failure of the lessee to comply with any of the obligations of the lease, and include in that lease, if desired, provisions granting the lessee options to renew the term of the lease for the period or periods and at the rent, as determined by the authority, purchase any or all of the health facilities or that upon payment of all of the indebtedness incurred by the authority for the financing of that project or health facilities or for refunding outstanding indebtedness of a participating health institution, then the authority may convey any or all of the project or the other health facilities to the lessee or lessees thereof with or without consideration.

(m) Charge and equitably apportion among participating health institutions, the administrative costs and expenses incurred by the authority in the exercise of the powers and duties conferred by this part.

(n) Obtain, or aid in obtaining, from any department or agency of the United States or of the state, any private company, or any insurance or guarantee as to, of, or for the payment or repayment of, interest or principal, or both, or any part thereof, on any loan, lease, or obligation, or any instrument evidencing or securing the loan, lease, or obligation, made or entered into pursuant to this part; and notwithstanding any other provisions of this part, to enter into any agreement, contract, or any other instrument whatsoever with respect to that insurance or guarantee, to accept payment in the manner and form as provided therein in the event of default by a participating health institution, and to assign that insurance or guarantee as security for the authority’s bonds.

(o) Enter into any and all agreements or contracts, including agreements for liquidity or credit enhancement, bond exchange agreements, interest rate swaps or hedges, 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 granted by this part.

(p) 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 any obligations authorized by the resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds secured thereof or authorized by law for the investment of trust funds in the custody of the Treasurer.

(q) Award grants to any eligible clinic pursuant to Section 15438.6.

(r) Award grants to any eligible health facility pursuant to Section 15438.7.

(s) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, provide a working capital loan of up to five million dollars ($5,000,000) to assist in the establishment and operation of the California Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange) established under Section 100500. The authority may require any information it deems necessary and prudent prior to providing a loan to the Exchange and may require any term, condition, security, or repayment provision it deems necessary in the event the authority chooses to provide a loan. Under no circumstances shall the authority be required to provide a loan to the Exchange.

(2) Prior to the authority providing a loan to the Exchange, a majority of the board of the Exchange shall be appointed and shall demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the authority, that the federal planning and establishment grants made available to the Exchange by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services are insufficient or will not be released in a timely manner to allow the Exchange to meet the necessary requirements of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148).

(3) The Exchange shall repay a loan made under this subdivision no later than June 30, 2016, and shall pay interest at the rate paid on moneys in the Pooled Money Investment Account.

(t) Award grants pursuant to Section 15438.10.

(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 23, Sec. 4. (AB 1467) Effective June 27, 2012.)