Sec. 3.

(1) The authority is hereby authorized and empowered to do the following:

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

(b) Adopt an official seal and alter the same at pleasure.

(c) Maintain an office at the place or places within the state as it may designate.

(d) Sue and be sued in its own name, plead, and be impleaded.

(e) Determine the location of the project, determine, in its discretion and without reference to any other provisions of this act or any other law, the design standards and the materials of construction, and construct, maintain, repair, and operate the project.

(f) Issue revenue bonds of the authority for any of its corporate purposes, payable solely from the tolls and revenues pledged for their payment, and to refund its bonds, all as provided in this act.

(g) Fix and revise from time to time and charge and collect tolls and other charges for the use of the project.

(h) Establish rules and regulations for the use of the project.

(i) Acquire, hold, and dispose of real and personal property in the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties under this act.

(j) Acquire the existing ferry system, or any portion of that system, operating between Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste. Marie, in the province of Ontario, Canada, and maintain, repair, and operate this ferry system or portion of this system until the project is opened for traffic.

(k) Acquire, maintain, repair, and operate buses between Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste. Marie in the province of Ontario, Canada.

(l) Make and enter into all contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers under this act.

(m) Employ consulting engineers, attorneys, accountants, construction and financial experts, superintendents, managers, and other employees and agents as may be necessary in its judgment and fix their compensation.

(n) Receive and accept from any federal agency grants for or in aid of the construction, repair, or improvement of the project, and receive and accept aid or contributions from any source of money, property, labor, or other things of value, to be held, used, and applied only for the purposes for which such grants and contributions may be made.

(o) Enter into contracts and leases to provide for the development and use of any real property owned by the authority in the United States or Canada for customs brokering or for the sale of articles for export and consumption outside the United States or Canada, respectively, to the extent that this use is not restricted by federal or Canadian law. The authority shall obtain proposals before entering into any contracts or leases for the development and use of its real property for the sale of articles for export and consumption outside of the United States. The authority shall advertise for proposals once each week for 2 successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in this state. The authority shall open and examine all proposals at a public meeting of the authority. The authority may reject any or all proposals, and shall readvertise, in the event of rejection of all proposals, in the manner required by this section. The revenue from these contracts or leases shall be deposited in the fund created by section 7. This subdivision does not exempt a person from the payment of any motor fuel, sales, or other taxes required to be paid under the laws of this state on articles or fuel sold or brought into this state irrespective of whether the articles or fuel is for export or consumption outside the United States or Canada.

(p) Enter into an interlocal agreement with the owner of the Canadian portion of the project or its authorized agent under 1967 (Ex Sess) PA 7, MCL 124.501 to 124.512, to provide for joint operational and policy oversight and for operation, maintenance, repair, and improvement of the project in the United States and Canada by an administrative unit within the state transportation department. The governor shall appoint the Michigan members of a separate joint United States-Canadian body created under the interlocal agreement to provide joint operational and policy oversight of the project. An employee of the state transportation department is not eligible for appointment to this body.

(q) Do all acts and things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly granted in this act.

(2) Nothing in this act or the interlocal agreement shall preclude the joint United States-Canadian body created under the interlocal agreement entered into under subsection (1)(p) from appraising the fair market value of assets, from exploring opportunities to create efficiencies, or from studying proposals that may maximize the value of assets associated with the bridge project and be in the best interest of the people of the State of Michigan.

History: 1954, Act 99, Imd. Eff. Apr. 12, 1954 ;-- Am. 1994, Act 44, Imd. Eff. Mar. 23, 1994 ;-- Am. 2000, Act 243, Imd. Eff. June 29, 2000