55:19-24. Powers of authority

5. The authority shall have the following powers:

a. to sue and be sued;

b. to have a seal and alter the same at the authority's pleasure;

c. to enter into contracts upon such terms and conditions as the authority shall determine to be reasonable, including, but not limited to, reimbursement for the planning, designing, financing, construction, reconstruction, improvement, equipping, furnishing, operation and maintenance of the project and to pay or compromise any claims arising therefrom;

d. to make and alter bylaws for its organization and internal management and, subject to agreements with noteholders or bondholders, to make rules and regulations with respect to its projects, operations, properties and facilities;

e. to invest any funds held in reserve or sinking funds, or any moneys not required for immediate use and disbursement, at the discretion of the authority, in obligations of this State or of the United States, or obligations the principal and interest of which are guaranteed by this State or the United States;

f. to sell, lease, assign, transfer, convey, exchange, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of or encumber any project, and in the case of the sale of any project, to accept a purchase money mortgage in connection therewith; and to lease, repurchase or otherwise acquire and hold any project which the corporation has theretofore sold, leased or otherwise conveyed, transferred or disposed of;

g. to acquire or contract to acquire from any individual, partnership, trust, association or corporation, or any public agency, by grant, purchase or otherwise, real or personal property or any interest therein; to own, hold, clear, improve, rehabilitate and develop, and to sell, assign, exchange, transfer, convey, lease, mortgage or otherwise dispose of or encumber the same;

h. to acquire in the name of the authority by purchase or otherwise, on such terms and conditions and such manner as it may deem proper any lands or interests therein or other property which it may determine is reasonably necessary for any project;

i. to acquire, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate, improve, alter or repair or provide for construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, improvement, alteration or repair of any project;

j. to arrange or contract with a municipality for the planning, replanning, opening, grading or closing of streets, roads, roadways, alleys or other places, or for the furnishing of facilities or for the acquisition by a municipality of property or property rights or for the furnishing of property or services, in connection with a project;

k. to grant options to purchase any project or to renew any leases entered into by it in connection with any of its projects, on such terms and conditions as it may deem advisable;

l. to prepare or cause to be prepared plans, specifications, designs and estimates of costs for the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, improvement, alteration or repair of any project, and from time to time to modify such plans, specifications, designs or estimates;

m. to manage any project, whether then owned or leased by the authority, and to enter into agreements with any individual, partnership, trust, association or corporation, or with any public agency, for the purpose of causing any project to be managed;

n. to hold any property owned or acquired by the authority in the name of the authority;

o. to provide advisory, consultative, training and educational services, technical assistance and advice to any individual, partnership, trust, association or corporation, or to any public agency, in order to carry out the purposes of P.L.1996, c.62 (C.55:19-20 et al.);

p. to issue, purchase, pledge and sell stock in projects of the authority and to purchase, sell or pledge the shares, or other obligations or securities of any subsidiary corporation, on such terms and conditions as the authority or subsidiary corporation may deem advisable;

q. subject to the provisions of any contract with noteholders, to consent to the modification, with respect to rate of interest, time of payment or any installment of principal or interest, security, or any other terms, of any loan, mortgage, commitment, contract or agreement of any kind to which the authority is a party;

r. in connection with any property on which it has made a mortgage loan, to foreclose on the property or commence any action to protect or enforce any right conferred upon it by any law, mortgage, contract or other agreement, and to bid for or purchase the property at any foreclosure or at any other sale, or acquire or take possession of the property; and in such event the authority may complete, administer, pay the principal of and interest on any obligations incurred in connection with the property, dispose of and otherwise deal with the property, in such manner as may be necessary or desirable to protect the interests of the authority therein;

s. to acquire, purchase, manage and operate, hold and dispose of real and personal property or interests therein, take assignments of rentals and leases and make and enter into all contracts, leases, agreements and arrangements necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties;

t. to purchase, acquire and take assignments of notes, mortgages and other forms of security and evidences of indebtedness;

u. to extend credit or make loans to any person for the planning, designing, acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, improving, equipping and furnishing of a project, which credits or loans may be secured by loan and security agreements, mortgages, leases and any other instruments, upon such terms and conditions as the authority shall deem reasonable, including provision for the establishment and maintenance of reserve and insurance funds, and to require the inclusion in any mortgage, lease, contract, loan and security agreement or other instrument, such provisions for the construction, use, operation and maintenance and financing of a project as the authority may deem necessary or desirable;

v. to borrow money, secure credit against the assets of the authority on a temporary, short-term, interim or long-term basis and to issue bonds of the authority and to provide for the rights of the holders thereof, as provided in P.L.1996, c.62 (C.55:19-20 et al.);

w. to make short-term loans or advances to developers for construction in anticipation of the issuance of permanent loans;

x. to exercise sole authority for investment, reinvestment or expenditure of its revenues, fund balances and appropriations consistent with the purposes of P.L.1996, c.62 (C.55:19-20 et al.) on projects and investments utilizing revenues from the sale of revenue bonds, which projects shall be subject to the approval of the State Treasurer, and the Treasurer's actions shall be based solely on his fiduciary role to ensure that all applicable federal and State tax laws are adhered to regarding the investment of bond funds;

y. notwithstanding any law to the contrary, and upon resolution of the municipal governing body, to act as the redevelopment agency of any municipality in which there is not established a redevelopment agency pursuant to subsection a. of section 11 of P.L.1992, c.79 (C.40A:12A-11) and which is not precluded from establishing such an agency;

z. in connection with any application for assistance under P.L.1996, c.62 (C.55:19-20 et al.) or commitments therefor, to require and collect such fees and charges as the authority shall determine to be reasonable;

aa. to establish, levy and collect, in connection with any civic project or utilities project managed or operated by the authority, whether then owned or leased by the authority, user fees and facility charges;

bb. to procure insurance against any loss in connection with its property and other assets and operations, in such amounts and from such insurers as it deems desirable;

cc. to employ consulting engineers, architects, attorneys, real estate counselors, appraisers, and such other consultants and employees as may be required in the judgment of the authority to carry out the purposes of the act, and to fix and pay their compensation from funds available to the authority therefor, all without regard to the provisions of Title 11A, Civil Service, of the New Jersey Statutes;

dd. to contract for, and to accept, any gifts or grants or loans of funds or property or financial or other aid in any form from the federal government or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or from the State or a municipality or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or from any other source, and, subject to the provisions of P.L.1996, c.62 (C.55:19-20 et al.) and any other applicable law, to comply with the terms and conditions thereof;

ee. to create subsidiary corporations as provided in section 8 of P.L.1996, c.62 (C.55:19-27);

ff. to assist municipalities, counties, public or private county and municipal development agencies, district management corporations created pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1972, c.134 (C.40:56-68), community action boards established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1991, c.51 (C.52:27D-398), or sponsors of neighborhood empowerment organizations, in formulating and implementing community redevelopment plans, which shall include, but not be limited to, neighborhood restoration, residential development, and industrial and commercial development;

gg. to fund, or assist in funding, community redevelopment projects by municipalities, counties, public or private county and municipal development agencies, district management corporations created pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1972, c.134 (C.40:56-68), community action boards established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1991, c.51 (C.52:27D-398), or sponsors of neighborhood empowerment organizations, which shall include, but not be limited to, direct loan assistance, including loan guarantees, procuring capital from private developers and lending institutions, and facilitating access to State, federal, and private sources of loans or grants, including, but not limited to, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the Casino Redevelopment Authority;

hh. to assist in providing access to support services, including technical assistance and job training programs, for projects developed in connection with comprehensive community redevelopment plans and neighborhood empowerment programs established pursuant to this act;

ii. to provide assistance to urban areas in attracting industrial and commercial projects, in rehabilitating existing industrial and commercial facilities to restore them to productive use through the establishment of marketing programs and incentive programs;

jj. to assist in facilitating the work of the Office of Neighborhood Empowerment established pursuant to this act, which assistance shall include, but not be limited to, providing professional or technical expertise and funding for the establishment and implementation of neighborhood empowerment plans developed pursuant to this act;

kk. to enter into partnerships with private developers, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority or any other public entity, for the purpose of community redevelopment, and establish fees therefor;

ll. to enter into agreements with municipalities or counties regarding projects to be financed through the use of payment in lieu of taxes, as provided for in section 33 of P.L.1996, c.62 (C.55:19-52); and

mm. to do any and all things necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes and exercise the powers given and granted in P.L.1996, c.62 (C.55:19-20 et al.).

L.1996,c.62,s.5.