§1325. Corporation status; tax exempt

A. The corporation shall be a public corporation and an instrumentality of the state. The corporation's purpose and function is an integral part of the state. The corporation shall be exempt from any state corporate income tax and corporate franchise tax. The system restoration charges, their collection, their sale and transfer, and the income therefrom shall at all times be free from taxation of every kind by the state and any political subdivision or other instrumentality thereof. However, the corporation is not and shall not be deemed a department, unit, agency, board, or commission of the state nor a political subdivision. All debts, claims, obligations, and liabilities of the corporation, whenever and however incurred, shall be the debts, claims, obligations, and liabilities of the corporation only, and not of the state, its agencies, officers, or employees. System restoration charges authorized by the commission shall be regulatory fees designed to implement a regulatory program for the public good and shall not be considered taxes intended to raise revenue for the maintenance of government or governmental services. Corporation funds shall not be considered part of the general fund of the state, and the state shall not budget for or provide general fund appropriations to the corporation.

B. Any system restoration bonds issued under the provisions of this Part by the issuer on behalf of the corporation, their transfer, and the income therefrom, including any profit made on the sale thereof, shall at all times be free from taxation of every kind by the state and any political subdivision or other instrumentality thereof.

C. Because it is essential for the corporation to have the maximum financial resources to provide contributions as described in this Part following catastrophic natural disasters, it is the intent of the legislature that the corporation, as an instrumentality of the state, be exempt from federal income taxation.

Acts 2007, No. 55, §3, eff. June 18, 2007.