Code of Alabama
Article 6 - Commercial Development Authorities.
Section 11-54-178 - Powers of Authority; Location of Projects; Public Meetings.

(a) An authority shall have the following powers, together with all powers incidental thereto or necessary to the discharge thereof in corporate form:
(1) To have succession by its corporate name for the duration of time (which may be perpetuity, subject to the provisions of Section 11-54-189) specified in its certificate of incorporation.
(2) To sue and be sued in its own name and to prosecute and defend civil actions in any court having jurisdiction of the subject matter and of the parties.
(3) To adopt and make use of a corporate seal and to alter the same at pleasure.
(4) To adopt and alter bylaws for the regulation and conduct of its affairs and business.
(5) To acquire, whether by purchase, construction, exchange, gift, lease, or otherwise and to refinance existing indebtedness on, improve, maintain, equip, and furnish one or more projects, including all real and personal properties which the board of the authority may deem necessary in connection therewith, regardless of whether or not any such projects shall then be in existence.
(6) To lease to others any or all of its projects and to charge and collect rent therefor, and to terminate any such lease upon the failure of the lessee to comply with any of the obligations thereof.
(7) To sell, purchase, exchange, donate, or convey and to grant options to any lessee to acquire any of its projects and any or all of its properties whenever its board shall find any such action to be in furtherance of the purposes for which the authority was organized.
(8) To issue its bonds for the purpose of carrying out any of its powers.
(9) To mortgage and pledge any or all of its projects or any part or parts thereof, as security for the payment of the principal of and interest on any bonds so issued and any agreements made in connection therewith, whether then owned or thereafter acquired, and to pledge the revenues and receipts therefrom or from any thereof.
(10) To execute and deliver, in accordance with the provisions of this section and Section 11-54-179, mortgages and deeds of trust and trust indentures, or either.
(11) To appoint, employ, contract with, and provide for the compensation of, such officers, employees, and agents, including but without limitation to engineers, attorneys, management consultants, and fiscal advisers, as the board shall deem necessary for the conduct of the business of the authority.
(12) To provide for such insurance as the board may deem advisable.
(13) To make, enter into, and execute such contracts, agreements, leases, and other instruments and to take such other actions as may be necessary or convenient to accomplish any purpose for which the authority was organized or to exercise any power expressly granted hereunder.
(14) To require payments in lieu of taxes to be made by the lessee of the project to either the authority or the municipality.
(b) All projects of an authority shall be located wholly or partly within the corporate limits of its authorizing municipality and (1) shall be wholly within areas for which either a redevelopment plan has been prepared and approved pursuant to the provisions of Section 24-2-4, as the section may at any time exist, or an urban renewal plan has been prepared and approved pursuant to the provisions of Section 24-3-3 as the section may at any time exist, or (2) shall include as a part of the project facilities with respect to which an urban development action grant has been made under Section 119 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as the section may at any time exist.
(c) All meetings of the board of an authority for any purpose shall be open to the public.