HB241 Alabama 2016 Session

This bill would authorize public universities operating schools of medicine to form a new type of public corporation to be called an authority

This bill would provide procedures for the incorporation, reincorporation, and dissolution of an authority

This bill would prescribe powers of an authority, including the power to form university affiliates, the power of eminent domain, and the power to incur indebtedness

This bill would authorize an authority to exercise its powers even if doing so would be deemed anticompetitive or monopolistic under federal or state antitrust laws

This bill would authorize liens on the revenues and assets of an authority or university affiliate

This bill would exempt an authority and university affiliate from state taxation and exempt indebtedness issued by an authority or university affiliate from state taxation

This bill would make further findings with respect to the application and effect of this act on existing law

Relating to universities; to enact the University Authority Act of 2016, to authorize public universities operating schools of medicine to form a new type of public corporation to be called an authority; to express legislative intent; to establish procedures for incorporation of authorities by universities; to prescribe requirements for and powers of a board of directors and officers of an authority; to prescribe powers of an authority, which includes the power to form university affiliates; to authorize authorities to exercise their powers even if the exercise of such powers would be deemed anticompetitive or monopolistic under federal or state antitrust laws; to grant authorities the power of eminent domain; to authorize authorities to issue obligations such as bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness; to authorize liens on the revenues and assets of an authority or a university affiliate; to provide that obligations of an authority are not debts or other obligations of the state, any university, or any other governmental entity or public corporation; to provide that neither the state nor the sponsoring university shall act to impair the obligations of an authority; to provide that obligations issued by an authority are legal investments for trustees and other fiduciaries in the state; to authorize certain remedies upon default by an authority with respect to its obligations; to exempt authorities and university affiliates from state taxation; to exempt indebtedness issued by an authority or university affiliate from state taxation; to require each authority to provide annual audits to the sponsoring university; to authorize other public entities in the state to support authorities or university affiliates with tax revenue or otherwise; to make further findings with respect to competitive impact and antitrust immunity of authorities and university affiliates; to clarify that the act is not intended to extend sovereign immunity where otherwise not applicable under existing law or to restrict sovereign immunity where otherwise applicable under existing law; to provide that authorities and university affiliates may be entitled to certain damage limitations only under specified circumstances; to provide for reincorporation of certain existing public corporations as authorities under the act; to provide for disposition of excess revenues of an authority; to provide procedures for dissolution of an authority; to provide that the provisions of the act are cumulative; and to provide the provisions of the act are severable.