27:25A-7. Powers of authority

The authority shall have the following powers:

a. To adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business;

b. To adopt an official common seal and alter it at its pleasure;

c. To maintain an office at a place or places within the State as it may designate;

d. To sue and be sued in its own name;

e. To acquire, construct, maintain, operate and support projects;

f. To assist in planning for the development of the transportation system in South Jersey, in conjunction with federal, State, local, and other public entities, as appropriate;

g. To acquire, construct, maintain, and operate feeder roads;

h. To issue bonds or notes of the authority for the purposes of this act and to provide for the rights of the holders thereof as provided in this act;

i. In the exercise of any of its powers, to fix and revise from time to time and charge and collect tolls, fares, passenger facility charges or other charges for transit over or use of any project of the authority, including but not limited to any reduced fare or charge programs as deemed appropriate by the authority; and to determine levels of service to be provided by the authority either directly or by contract. Any revenues collected shall be available to the authority for use in furtherance of any of the purposes of this act;

j. To set and collect rents, fees, charges or other payments for the lease, use, occupancy or disposition of properties owned or leased by the authority. Any revenues collected shall be available to the authority for use in furtherance of any of the purposes of this act;

k. To enter into contracts with any public or private entity to operate motorbus regular route service, motorbus charter service, marine passenger service, rail passenger service, and air passenger service or portions or functions thereof; however, these contracts shall not supplant any services operated pursuant to the "New Jersey Public Transportation Act of 1979," P.L.1979, c.150 (C.27:25-1 et seq.);

l. To acquire, lease as lessee or lessor, own, rent, use, hold and dispose of real property and personal property or any interest therein, in the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties under this act;

m. To acquire in the name of the authority by purchase, gift or otherwise, on terms and conditions and in a manner as the authority may deem proper, or by the exercise of the power of eminent domain except as against the State of New Jersey, any land and other property which the authority may determine is necessary for any project or for the relocation or reconstruction of any public highway by the authority under the provisions of this act or the construction of any feeder road which the authority is or may be authorized to construct and any and all rights, title and interest in that land and other property, including public lands, parks, playgrounds, reservations, highways or parkways owned by or in which the State of New Jersey or any county, municipality or other governmental subdivision of South Jersey or any other federal, State or local government entity has any right, title or interest, or parts thereof or rights therein, and any fee simple absolute or any lesser interest in private property, and any fee simple absolute in, easements upon, or the benefit of restrictions upon abutting property to preserve and protect projects;

n. To grant by franchise, lease or otherwise, the use of any project, facility or property owned and controlled by the authority to any person for the consideration and for the period or periods of time and upon terms and conditions as are agreed upon, including but not limited to, the condition that the lessee may construct or provide any buildings or structures for the project facility or property or portions thereof;

o. To locate and designate, and to establish, limit and control points of ingress to and egress from each project as may be necessary or desirable in the judgment of the authority to insure the proper operation and maintenance of that project and to prohibit entrance to a project from any point or points not so designated;

p. Subject to the limitations of this act, to acquire, construct, maintain, or operate any public highway connecting with any one or more projects which in the opinion of the authority will increase the use of a project or projects, to take over for construction, maintenance or operation any existing public highway as a feeder road and to realign any existing public highway and build additional sections of road over new alignment in connection with that existing public highway;

q. To establish rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) as are necessary for the management and regulation of its affairs, the use, maintenance and operation of the transportation system, any project, the properties of the authority and the provision of paratransit services to and from any transportation project and to establish a plan for the management, control and regulation of motorbus regular route and motorbus charter services, except for those services which are operated pursuant to the "New Jersey Public Transportation Act of 1979," P.L.1979, c.150 (C.27:25-1 et seq.);

r. To apply for, receive and accept from any federal agency, any bi-State agency, or the State and any subdivision thereof, subject to the approval of the commissioner, grants for or in aid of the planning, acquisition or construction of any project, and to receive and accept aid or contributions from any other public or private source, of either money, property, labor or other things of value, to be held, used and applied only for the purposes for which those grants and contributions may be made;

s. Subject to the limitations of this act, to determine the location, type and character of any project and all other matters in connection with the project;

t. Subject to the rights and security interests of the holders from time to time of bonds or notes issued by the authority, to enter into contracts with the State or the department or the Transportation Trust Fund Authority, providing for the payment from the revenues of the authority to the State or to the Transportation Trust Fund Authority of the amount or amounts of revenues that may be set forth in or determined in accordance with the contracts, provided, that the payments shall be used solely for financing projects in South Jersey, including the payment of principal and interest on any bonds, notes or other obligations issued or entered into by the Transportation Trust Fund Authority, the proceeds of which shall be allocated by the Transportation Trust Fund Authority to projects within South Jersey; any contracts authorized pursuant to this subsection may include conditions and covenants necessary and desirable to facilitate the issuance and sale of bonds, notes and other obligations of the Transportation Trust Fund Authority;

u. To enter into contracts or agreements with any entity for the entity to issue bonds or notes on behalf of the authority and to make payments to the entity to secure those bonds or notes;

v. To establish any reserves, funds or accounts as may be deemed necessary by the authority and to deposit authority revenues in interest bearing accounts or in the State of New Jersey Cash Management Fund established pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1977 c.281 (C.52:18A-90.4);

w. To procure and enter into contracts for any type of insurance and indemnify against loss or damage to property from any cause, including the loss of use and occupancy and business interruption, death or injury of any person, employee liability, any act of any member, officer, employee or servant of the authority, whether part-time, compensated or uncompensated, in the performance of the duties of office or employment or any other insurable risk or any other losses in connection with property, operations, assets or obligations in any amounts and from any insurers as are deemed desirable. In addition, the authority may carry its own liability insurance; and

x. To enter into any and all agreements or contracts, 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 given in this act.

L.1991,c.252,s.7.