CHAPTER 12. AIRPORT FINANCING
IC 8-21-12
Chapter 12. Airport Financing
IC 8-21-12-1
"Aircraft" defined
Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "aircraft" means a vehicle used or
designed for navigation or flight in the air.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.
IC 8-21-12-2
"Airport" defined
Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "airport" means a location on land
or water or a building or other structure that is used for the landing
and taking off of aircraft, and that also provides for the shelter,
supply, or care of aircraft, or a place used for receiving or
discharging passengers or cargo by air.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.
IC 8-21-12-3
"Authority" defined
Sec. 3. As used in this chapter, "authority" refers to the Indiana
finance authority established under IC 4-4-11.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.235-2005,
SEC.119.
IC 8-21-12-4
"Aviation related property or facilities" defined
Sec. 4. (a) As used in this chapter, "aviation related property or
facilities" means those properties or facilities that are utilized by a
lessee, or a lessee's assigns, who provides services or
accommodations:
(1) for scheduled or unscheduled air carriers and air taxis, and
their passengers, air cargo operations, and related ground
transportation facilities;
(2) for fixed based operations;
(3) for general aviation or military users; and
(4) as aviation maintenance and repair facilities.
(b) The term includes any property leased to the United States, or
its agencies or instrumentalities, and any leased property identified
as clear zones, aviation easements, or safety and transition areas, as
defined by the Federal Aviation Administration.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.
IC 8-21-12-5
"District" defined
Sec. 5. As used in this chapter, "district" means an airport district
established under section 11(9) of this chapter.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.
IC 8-21-12-6
"Landing area" defined
Sec. 6. As used in this chapter, "landing area" is that part of an
airport or landing field designated and used for the landing or taking
off of aircraft.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.
IC 8-21-12-7
"Landing field" defined
Sec. 7. As used in this chapter, "landing field" means a location
on land or water or a building or other structure that is used for the
landing and taking off of aircraft, but that provides no other facilities
or services.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.
IC 8-21-12-8
"Loan contract" defined
Sec. 8. As used in this chapter, "loan contract" means a debt
instrument other than a revenue bond, such as a note.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.
IC 8-21-12-9
"Local entity" defined
Sec. 9. As used in this chapter, "local entity" means a county, city,
town, or other municipal corporation (as defined in IC 36-1-2-10).
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.
IC 8-21-12-10
"Person" defined
Sec. 10. As used in this chapter, "person" means:
(1) an individual, partnership, firm, company, limited liability
company, corporation, association, trust, or estate; or
(2) the legal representative or agent of the individual or entity
described in subdivision (1).
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.8-1993, SEC.151.
IC 8-21-12-10.5
Applicability to the authority
Sec. 10.5. This chapter:
(1) applies to the authority only when acting for the purposes
set forth in this chapter; and
(2) does not apply to the authority when acting under any other
statute for any other purpose.
As added by P.L.235-2005, SEC.120.
IC 8-21-12-11
Purpose
Sec. 11. The authority may do all acts necessary or reasonably
incident to carrying out the purposes of this chapter, including the
following:
(1) To protect a district and all property owned or managed by
the authority and, to carry out this subdivision, to employ
special police or hire guards.
(2) To incur indebtedness in the name of the authority in
accordance with this chapter.
(3) To adopt administrative procedures, rules, and regulations,
including emergency rules under IC 4-22-2-37.1.
(4) To:
(A) acquire real, personal, or mixed property by deed,
purchase, lease, condemnation, or otherwise and dispose of
it for use, in connection with, or for administrative purposes
of the airport;
(B) receive gifts, donations, bequests, and public trusts and
to agree to conditions and terms accompanying them and to
bind the authority to carry them out;
(C) receive and administer federal or state aid; and
(D) erect buildings or structures that may be needed to
administer and carry out this chapter.
(5) To determine matters of policy regarding internal
organization and operating procedures not specifically provided
for otherwise.
(6) To adopt a schedule of reasonable charges and to collect
them from all users of facilities and services within the district.
(7) To purchase supplies, materials, equipment, and services to
carry out the duties and functions of the authority, in
accordance with procedures adopted by the authority.
(8) To employ personnel that are necessary to carry out the
duties, functions, and powers of the authority.
(9) To:
(A) acquire, establish, construct, improve, equip, maintain,
control, lease, and regulate airports, landing fields, and other
air navigation facilities;
(B) acquire by lease (with or without the option to purchase)
airports, landing fields, or navigation facilities, and any
structures, equipment, or related improvements; and
(C) erect, install, construct, and maintain at the airport or
airport's facilities for the servicing of aircraft and for the
comfort and accommodation of air travelers and the public.
The Indiana department of transportation must grant approval
before land may be purchased or leased for the establishment of
an airport or landing field and before an airport or landing field
may be established and shall establish the boundaries of a
district or districts from time to time.
(10) To fix and determine exclusively the uses to which the
airport lands may be put. All uses must be necessary or
desirable to the airport or the aviation industry and must be
compatible with the uses of the surrounding lands as far as
practicable.
(11) To employ or contract with an airport director,
superintendents, managers, financial advisers, engineers,
surveyors, bond counsel, disclosure counsel, and other
attorneys, clerks, mechanics, laborers, and all employees the
authority considers expedient, and to prescribe and assign the
respective duties and authorities and to fix and regulate the
compensation to be paid to the persons employed by the
authority. Employees shall be selected irrespective of their
political affiliations.
(12) To make all rules and regulations, consistent with laws
regarding air commerce, for the management and control of
airports, landing fields, air navigation facilities, and other
property within a district or otherwise under the authority's
control.
(13) To acquire by lease the use of an airport or landing field
for aircraft pending the acquisition and improvement of an
airport or landing field.
(14) To manage and operate airports, landing fields, and other
air navigation facilities acquired or maintained by the authority;
to lease all or part of an airport, landing field, or any buildings
or other structures, and to fix, charge, and collect rentals, tolls,
fees, and charges to be paid for the use of the whole or a part of
the airports, landing fields, or other air navigation facilities by
aircraft landing there and for the maintenance or servicing of
the aircraft; to construct public recreational facilities that will
not interfere with air operational facilities; to fix, charge, and
collect fees for public admissions and privileges; and to make
contracts for the operation and management of the airports,
landing fields, and other air navigation facilities; and to provide
for the use, management, and operation of the air navigation
facilities through lessees, its own employees, or otherwise.
Contracts or leases for the maintenance, operation, or use of the
airport or any part of it may be made for a term not exceeding
forty (40) years, and may be extended for similar terms of years.
If a person whose character, experience, and financial
responsibility has been determined satisfactory by the authority,
offers to erect a permanent structure that facilitates and is
consistent with the operation, use, and purpose of the airport on
land owned or otherwise controlled by the authority, a lease
may be entered into for a period not to exceed ninety-nine (99)
years. The authority may not grant an exclusive right for the use
of a landing area under the authority's jurisdiction. However,
this does not prevent the making of leases in accordance with
other provisions of this chapter. All contracts and leases are
subject to restrictions and conditions that the authority
prescribes. The authority may lease property and facilities for
any commercial or industrial use the authority considers
necessary and proper, including the use of providing airport
motel facilities.
(15) To sell machinery, equipment, or material that is not
required for aviation purposes. The proceeds shall be deposited
with the authority or in accordance with an applicable trust
agreement.
(16) To negotiate and execute contracts for sale or purchase,
lease, personal services, materials, supplies, equipment, or any
other transaction or business relative to an airport under the
authority's control and operation in accordance with the terms
and conditions the authority may determine.
(17) To vacate all or parts of roads, highways, streets, or alleys
within a district.
(18) To approve any state, county, city, or other highway, road,
street, or other public way, railroad, power line, or other
right-of-way to be laid out or opened across an airport or in
such proximity as to affect the safe operation of the airport.
(19) To construct drainage and sanitary sewers with
connections and outlets as are necessary for the proper drainage
and maintenance of an airport or landing field acquired or
maintained under this chapter, including the necessary buildings
and improvements and for the public use of them in the same
manner that the authority may construct sewers and drains.
However, with respect to the construction of drains and sanitary
sewers beyond the boundaries of the airport or landing field, the
authority may negotiate with the departments, bodies, and
officers of a local entity to secure the proper orders and
approvals; and to order a public utility or public service
corporation or other person to remove or to install in
underground conduits wires, cables, and power lines passing
through or over the airport or landing field or along the borders
or within a reasonable distance that may be determined to be
necessary for the safety of operations, upon payment to the
utility or other person of due compensation for the expense of
the removal or reinstallation. The authority must consent before
any franchise may be granted by state authorities or local
entities for the construction of or maintenance of railway,
telephone, telegraph, electric power, pipe, or conduit line upon,
over, or through a district or within a reasonable distance of the
district that is necessary for the safety of operation. The
authority must also consent before overhead electric power
lines carrying a voltage of more than four thousand four
hundred (4,400) volts and having poles, standards, or supports
over thirty (30) feet in height within one-half (1/2) mile of a
landing area acquired or maintained under this chapter may be
installed.
(20) To contract with any other state agency or instrumentality
or any political subdivision for the rendition of services, the
rental or use of equipment or facilities, or the joint purchase and
use of equipment or facilities that are necessary for the
operation, maintenance, or construction of an airport operated
under this chapter.
(21) To provide air transportation in furtherance of the duties
and responsibilities of the authority.
(22) To promote or encourage aviation related trade or
commerce at the airports that it operates.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.
IC 8-21-12-12
Recovery of damages
Sec. 12. The authority may take action to recover damages for the
breach of an agreement, expressed or implied, relating to the
operation, control, leasing, management, or improvement of the
property under the authority's control, to impose the penalties for the
violation of resolutions or of the authority's rules or regulations, and
for injury to the personal or real property under the authority's
control, and to recover possession of any such property.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.
IC 8-21-12-13
Zoning restrictions
Sec. 13. (a) To provide free air space for the safe descent and
ascent of aircraft and for the proper and safe use of an airport or
landing field acquired or maintained under this chapter, the authority
may establish by resolution or resolutions a restricted zone or zones
of a distance in any direction from the boundaries of the district so
that no building or other structure is erected high enough to interfere
with the descent of an aircraft at an approach angle necessary for
safety for the usual type of operation that is conducted at the airport
or landing field.
(b) The authority may acquire by condemnation or purchase, upon
the payment of due compensation, the right to prevent the erection
of, and to require the removal of, all buildings, towers, poles, wires,
cables, other structures, and trees within the zone that interfere with
the gliding angle or as much of any structure or trees that interfere
with the gliding angles. When a restricted zone or zones has been
established, a permit issued by a department or office of a local
entity or by any state or other authority for the erection of any
structure extending into a zone is effective only if approved by the
authority. Establishment of a restricted zone outside of a district, in
connection with the condemnation of the rights in the land,
constitutes condemnation and the perpetual annihilation of all rights
of the owners of the property within the zone to erect or maintain any
building or structure that will interfere with the gliding angle. This
result may be accomplished by absolute condemnation of the land,
with perpetual and irrevocable free license to use and occupy the
land within the zone for all purposes except the erection of buildings
or other structures above the height so prescribed.
(c) The part of a restricted zone that extends below fifty (50) feet
measured vertically from the land may be established only by
purchase or proceedings in eminent domain. That part of a restricted
zone that is at least fifty (50) feet above the surface of the land is in
effect immediately upon the adoption by the authority of zoning
rules. However, the owners of land beneath a restricted zone have the
right to recover damages that may be proven in an action brought for
that purpose. In an action for damages, the owner has the burden of
proving damage by reason of the establishment of the restricted zone.
(d) The zoning jurisdiction granted in this section is exclusive
against jurisdiction granted by any other statute unless the other
statute specifically provides otherwise. In case of conflict with any
airport zoning or other regulations promulgated by a local entity, the
zoning rules adopted under this section prevail.
(e) All zoning rules adopted under this chapter must be reasonable
and may not impose a requirement or restriction that is not
reasonably necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter. In
determining what regulations to adopt, the authority shall consider,
among other things, the character of the flying operations expected
to be conducted at the airport, the nature of the terrain within the
airport hazard area, the character of the neighborhood, and the uses
to which the property to be zoned is put and adaptable. However, this
section does not apply to the location, relocation, erection,
construction, change, alteration, maintenance, removal, use, or
enlargement of any buildings or structures on lands owned by a
public utility or railroad.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.
IC 8-21-12-14
Eminent domain; public utility property
Sec. 14. (a) The authority may exercise the power of eminent
domain to carry out this chapter and may award damages to
landowners for real estate and property rights appropriated. If the
authority cannot agree with the owners, lessees, or occupants of real
estate selected by the authority for the purposes in this chapter, the
authority may procure the condemnation of the property. The
authority may proceed under IC 32-24-1. IC 32-24-1 applies to
airports, landing fields, districts, and restricted zones adjoining them
to the extent that IC 32-24-1 is not inconsistent with this chapter.
(b) If:
(1) it is necessary to establish and fix a restricted zone on and
across land that:
(A) is already in use for another public purpose; or
(B) has been condemned or appropriated for a use authorized
by statute; and
(2) the land is being used for that purpose by the corporation so
appropriating it;
the public use or prior condemnation does not bar the right of the
authority to condemn the use of ground for aviation purposes. Use by
the authority does not permanently prevent the use of the land for the
prior public use or by the corporation condemning or appropriating
it.
(c) The authority may not take or disturb property or facilities
belonging to a public utility or common carrier engaged in interstate
commerce if the property or facilities are required for the proper and
convenient operation of the utility or carrier, unless provision is
made for the restoration, relocation, or duplication of the property or
facilities elsewhere, at the sole cost of the authority.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.2-2002, SEC.45.
IC 8-21-12-15
Finances of authority; bonds
Sec. 15. (a) The authority may:
(1) finance improvements related to an airport or aviation
related property or facilities, including the acquisition of real
estate;
(2) refund any bonds; or
(3) pay any loan contract;
by borrowing money and issuing revenue bonds from time to time
under this section.
(b) The issuance of revenue bonds must be authorized by a
resolution of the authority.
(c) The bonds or the trust agreement securing the bonds must
indicate:
(1) the maturity date or dates;
(2) the interest rate or rates (whether fixed, variable, or a
combination of fixed or variable) or the manner in which the
interest rate or rates will be determined if a variable or an
adjustable rate is used;
(3) the registration privileges and the place of payment;
(4) the conditions and terms under which the bonds may be
redeemed or prepaid before maturity; and
(5) the source of payment.
(d) The bonds must be executed in the name of the authority by
the chairman or vice chairman of the authority and attested by the
secretary-treasurer, and interest coupons may be executed by placing
on the interest coupons the facsimile signature of the chairman or
vice chairman of the authority. The bonds are valid and binding
obligations of the authority for all purposes, notwithstanding that
before delivery of the bonds any of the persons whose signatures
appear on the bonds have ceased to be officers of the authority, as if
the persons had continued to be officers of the authority until after
delivery. The validity of the authorization and issuance of the bonds
is not dependent on or affected in any way by proceedings taken for
the improvement for which the bonds are to be issued, or by
contracts made in connection with the improvement. A resolution
authorizing revenue bonds must provide that a revenue bond contain
a recital that the bond is issued under this chapter, and a bond
containing the recital under authority of a resolution is considered
valid and issued in conformity with this chapter.
(e) At the discretion of the authority, the revenue bonds shall be
sold either under the procedures for selling public bonds or at a
negotiated sale with such terms as are consistent with the provisions
of the resolution authorizing the sale. The resolution may delegate to
the chairman or the secretary-treasurer the authority to conduct the
sale. The bonds may be sold in installments at different times, or an
entire issue or series may be sold or exchanged at one (1) time. Any
issue or series of the bond may be sold in part or sold in part in
installments at different times or at one (1) time.
(f) The bonds are special obligations of the authority and are
payable solely from and secured by a lien upon the revenues of all or
part of the facilities of the authority, as shall be more fully described
in the resolution of the authority or trust agreement authorizing the
issuance of the bonds, and, subject to the constitution and to the prior
or superior rights of any person, the authority may by resolution
pledge and assign for the security of the bonds all or part of the gross
or net revenues of the authority and the authority's facilities.
(g) The bonds and interest on the bonds are not a debt of the
authority, nor a charge, a lien, or an encumbrance, legal or equitable,
upon property of the authority, or upon income, receipts, or revenues
of the authority other than those revenues of the facilities that have
been pledged to the payment of the bonds. Every bond must recite in
substance that the bond, including interest, is payable solely from the
revenues pledged to the bond's payment, and that the authority is
under no obligation to pay the bond, except from those revenues.
(h) The bonds, when issued, have all the qualities of negotiable
instruments, subject to provisions for registration, under IC 26 and
are incontestable in the hands of a bona fide purchaser or owner of
the bonds for value.
(i) The proceeds of the bonds are appropriated for the purpose for
which the bonds may be issued and the proceeds shall be deposited
and disbursed in accordance with any provisions and restrictions that
the authority may provide in the resolution or trust agreement
authorizing the issuance of the bonds.
(j) All bonds issued under this article are issued by a body
corporate and politic of this state, but not a state agency, and for an
essential public and governmental purpose. The bonds, the interest
on the bonds, the proceeds received by an owner from the sale of the
bonds to the extent of the owner's cost of acquisition, the proceeds
received upon redemption before maturity, the proceeds received at
maturity, and the receipt of the interest and proceeds are exempt
from taxation as provided in IC 6-8-5.
(k) Notwithstanding any other law, all financial institutions,
investment companies, insurance companies, insurance associations,
executors, administrators, guardians, trustees, and other fiduciaries
may legally invest sinking funds, money, or other funds belonging to
them or within their control in bonds issued under this chapter.
(l) Bonds issued under this chapter are exempt from the
registration requirements of IC 23-19 and any other state securities
registration statutes.
(m) The authority may obtain from a department or agency of the
state or of the United States, or from a nongovernmental insurer,
available insurance or guaranty for the payment or repayment of
interest or principal, or both, or any part of the interest or principal,
or any debt service reserve funds, on bonds issued by the authority,
or on securities purchased or held by the authority.
(n) The authority may enter into agreements with an entity to
provide credit enhancement or liquidity support for any bonds issued
by the authority, or for any debt service reserves securing any bonds,
with terms that are reasonable and proper, in the discretion of the
authority, and not in violation of law.
(o) The authority may enter into agreements or contracts with any
financial institution as may be necessary, desirable, or convenient in
the opinion of the authority for rendering services in connection
with:
(1) the care, custody, or safekeeping of securities or other
investments held or owned by the authority;
(2) the payment or collection of amounts payable as to principal
or interest; and
(3) the delivery to the authority of securities or other
investments purchased or sold by it.
The authority may also, in connection with any of the services
rendered by a financial institution as to custody and safekeeping of
the authority's securities or investments, require security in the form
of collateral bonds, surety agreements, or security agreements as, in
the opinion of the authority, is necessary or desirable.
(p) In the discretion of the authority, any bonds issued under this
chapter may be secured by a trust agreement by and between the
authority and a corporate trustee, which may be any trust company
or bank having the powers of a trust company in Indiana. Such a trust
agreement may also provide for a cotrustee, which may be any trust
company or bank in Indiana or another state.
(q) The trust agreement or the resolution providing for the
issuance of the bonds may contain provisions for protecting and
enforcing the rights and remedies of the owners of bonds as may be
reasonable and proper, in the discretion of the authority, and not in
violation of law.
(r) Any trust agreement or resolution may contain other provisions
that the authority considers reasonable and proper for the security of
the owners of bonds.
(s) All expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of the
trust agreement or resolution may be paid from money pledged or
assigned to the payment of the principal of and interest on bonds or
from any other funds available to the authority.
(t) Funds or money held by the authority under any trust
agreement or resolution may be invested pending disbursement as
provided in the trust agreement or the resolution. Such an investment
is not restricted by or subject to the provisions of any other law.
(u) Refunding or refunding and improvement revenue bonds may
be issued in accordance with the provisions for the refinancing or
refinancing and improving of any of the facilities for which revenue
bonds or a loan contract have been issued or made under this section
or section 16 of this chapter.
(v) This section constitutes full authority for the issuance of
revenue bonds. No procedure, proceedings, publications, notices,
consents, approvals, orders, acts, or things by the authority, by a
board, an officer, a commission, a department, an agency, or an
instrumentality of the state, or by an eligible entity is required to
issue revenue bonds or to do any act or perform anything under this
chapter, except as presented by this chapter. The powers conferred
by this chapter are in addition to, and not in substitution for, and the
limitations imposed by this section do not affect the powers
conferred in another section of this chapter or by any other statute.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.27-2007, SEC.8.
IC 8-21-12-16
Loans to the authority
Sec. 16. The authority may negotiate terms and borrow money
from any source under a loan contract, subject to the following
requirements:
(1) The loan contract must be approved by resolution of the
authority.
(2) The loan contract must provide for the repayment of the
loan in not more than forty (40) years.
(3) The loan contract must state that the indebtedness is that of
the authority, is payable solely from revenues of the authority
that are derived from either airport operations or from revenue
bonds, and may not be paid by a tax levied on property located
within the state.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.
IC 8-21-12-17
Loan contracts; tax exemptions
Sec. 17. Any loan contract issued under this chapter is issued by
a body corporate and politic of this state, but not a state agency, and
for essential public and governmental purposes. A loan contract, the
interest on it, the proceeds received by a holder from the sale of a
loan contract to the extent of the holder's cost of acquisition, the
proceeds received upon redemption before maturity, the proceeds
received at maturity, and the receipt of the interest and proceeds are
exempt from taxation as provided in IC 6-8-5.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.
IC 8-21-12-18
Officers and employees; bonds; surety
Sec. 18. The authority may require a bond from any of the officers
or employees of the authority in an amount, upon terms and
conditions, and with surety that the authority designates.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.
IC 8-21-12-19
Airports and landing fields; establishment; tax exemption
Sec. 19. (a) The acquisition, establishment, construction,
improvement, equipment, maintenance, control, and operation of
airports and landing fields for aircraft under this chapter is a
governmental function of general public necessity and benefit, and
is for the use and general welfare of all the people of the state.
(b) Notwithstanding any other statute, the leasehold estate of any
lessee created pursuant to a lease by the authority of the authority's
aviation related property or facilities, together with any permanent
structure erected on the property by the lessee is exempt from
property taxation.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.
IC 8-21-12-20
Bonds; issuance by fiscal bodies of local entities
Sec. 20. Whenever the fiscal body of a local entity determines that
the public interest of the local entity will be served by assisting the
authority in executing the powers granted by this chapter, the local
entity may furnish assistance by gift, or lease with or without rental,
of real property, by donation, lease with or without rental, or loan, of
personal property, and by the appropriation of money that may be
provided for by taxation or the issuance of bonds in the same manner
as funds might be provided for the same purpose if the local entity
was exercising the powers granted in the local entity's own behalf.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.
IC 8-21-12-21
Airports and other navigation facilities; receipt of funds; grants
Sec. 21. (a) The authority may accept, receive, and receipt for
federal, other public, or private money for the acquisition,
construction, enlargement, improvement, maintenance, equipment,
or operation of airports, other air navigation facilities, and sites for
them, and comply with federal laws made for the expenditure of
federal money upon airports and other air navigation facilities.
(b) Subject to IC 8-21-8, the authority has exclusive power to
submit to the proper state and federal agencies applications for grants
of funds for airport development and to make or execute
representations, assurances, and contracts, to enter into covenants
and agreements with a state or a federal agency relative to the
development of an airport, and to comply with all federal and state
laws pertaining to the acquisition, development, operation, and
administration of airports and properties by the authority.
As added by P.L.28-1991, SEC.2.