74-99d07. General powers of authority; annual report; termination of authority. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this act, the authority shall have all the powers necessary to carry out the purposes and provisions of this act, including, without limitation:

(1) Having the duties, privileges, immunities, rights, liabilities and disabilities of a body corporate and a political instrumentality of the state;

(2) having perpetual existence and succession;

(3) adopting, having and using a seal and altering the same at its pleasure;

(4) suing and being sued in its own name;

(5) adopting bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business;

(6) adopting such rules and regulations as the authority deems necessary for the conduct of the business of the authority;

(7) employing consulting engineers, attorneys, accountants, construction and financial experts, superintendents, managers and such other employees and agents as the authority deems necessary and fixing the compensation thereof;

(8) making and executing all contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the performance of the authority's duties and the execution of the authority's powers under this act;

(9) receiving and accepting from any federal agency grants, or any other form of assistance, for or in aid of the planning, financing, construction, development, acquisition or ownership of any property, structures, equipment, facilities and works of public improvement necessary or useful for the accomplishment of the purposes for which the authority was created and receiving and accepting aid or contributions from any source of either 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;

(10) borrowing funds to carry out the purposes of the authority and mortgaging and pledging any lease or leases granted, assigned or subleased by the authority;

(11) purchasing, leasing, trading, exchanging or otherwise acquiring, maintaining, holding, improving, mortgaging, selling, leasing and disposing of personal property, whether tangible or intangible, and any interest therein; and purchasing, leasing, trading, exchanging or otherwise acquiring real property or any interest therein, and maintaining, holding, improving, mortgaging, leasing and otherwise transferring such real property, so long as such transactions do not conflict with the mission of the authority as specified in this act;

(12) as provided by K.S.A. 2012 Supp. 74-99d09, and amendments thereto, incurring or assuming indebtedness and entering into contracts with the Kansas development finance authority, which is authorized to borrow money, issue bonds and provide financing for: (A) The construction, upgrading or repair of transmission facilities of the Kansas electric transmission authority or the acquisition of right-of-way for such facilities, or both, and any such bonds shall be payable from and be secured by the pledge of revenues derived from the operation of such electric transmission facilities; or (B) making loans to finance the construction, upgrading or repair of transmission facilities not owned by the Kansas electric transmission authority or the acquisition of right-of-way for such facilities, or both, upon such terms and conditions as required by the authority, including a requirement that any entity receiving a loan under this act shall maintain records and accounts relating to receipt and disbursements of loan proceeds, transportation costs and information on energy sales and deliveries and make the records available to the authority for inspection, and any such bonds shall be payable from and be secured by the pledge of revenues derived from the operation of such electric transmission facilities;

(13) depositing any moneys of the authority in any banking institution within or without the state or in any depository authorized to receive such deposits, one or more persons to act as custodians of the moneys of the authority, to give surety bonds in such amounts in form and for such purposes as the board requires;

(14) recovering its costs through tariffs of the southwest power pool regional transmission organization, or its successor, and, if all costs are not recovered through such tariffs, through assessments against all electric public utilities, electric municipal utilities and electric cooperative utilities receiving benefits of the construction or upgrade and having retail customers in this state. Each such utility's assessment shall be based on the benefits the utility receives from the construction or upgrade, as determined by the state corporation commission upon application by the authority. In determining allocation of benefits and costs to utilities, the commission may take into account funding and cost recovery mechanisms developed by regional transmission organizations and shall take into account financial payments by transmission users and approved by the federal energy regulatory commission or regional transmission organization. Each electric public utility shall recover any such assessed costs from the utility's customers in a manner approved by the commission and each electric municipal or cooperative utility shall recover such assessed costs from the utility's customers in a manner approved by the utility's governing body;

(15) participating in and coordinating with the planning activities of the southwest power pool regional transmission organization, or its successor, and adjoining regional transmission organizations, or their successors;

(16) participating in and coordinating with the planning activities of the southwest power pool regional reliability organization, or its successor, and adjoining regional reliability organizations, or their successors; and

(17) establish and charge reasonable fees, rates, tariffs or other charges, unless costs are recoverable under paragraph (14), for the use of all facilities owned, financed or administered by it and for all services rendered by it, and, if all costs are not recovered under paragraph (14), such costs shall be recovered through assessments against any entity or entities requesting use of facilities owned, financed or administered by the authority or for all requested services provided by the authority, or both.

(b) On or before the first day of the regular legislative session each year, the authority shall submit to the governor and to the legislature a written report of the authority's activities for the preceding fiscal year. Such report shall include the report of any audit conducted pursuant to K.S.A. 2012 Supp. 74-99d10, and amendments thereto, of the preceding fiscal year.

(c) The authority shall continue until terminated by law. No such law terminating the authority shall take effect while the authority has bonds, debts or obligations outstanding unless adequate provision has been made for the payment or retirement of such bonds, debts or obligations. Upon dissolution of the authority, all property, funds and assets thereof shall be disposed of as provided by law.

History: L. 2005, ch. 169, § 7; L. 2007, ch. 55, § 1; L. 2009, ch. 141, § 29; May 28.