173.385. Authority, powers and duties--distribution to Lewis and Clark discovery fund, amount--immunity from liability, when.
Authority, powers and duties--distribution to Lewis and Clarkdiscovery fund, amount--immunity from liability, when.
173.385. 1. The authority shall have the following powers, togetherwith all powers incidental thereto or necessary for the performancethereof:
(1) To have perpetual succession as a body politic and corporate;
(2) To adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conductof its business;
(3) To sue and be sued and to prosecute and defend, at law or inequity, in any court having jurisdiction of the subject matter and of theparties;
(4) To have and to use a corporate seal and to alter the same atpleasure;
(5) To maintain an office at such place or places in the state ofMissouri as it may designate;
(6) To issue bonds or other forms of indebtedness to obtain funds topurchase student loan notes or finance student loans, or both, includingthose which are guaranteed under the provisions of sections 173.095 to173.187, or under the provisions of the federal Higher Education Act of1965, as amended, or secondary education loans, or scholarships which havebeen converted to loans under the Missouri teacher education scholarshipprogram provided for in sections 160.276 to 160.283, RSMo. Such bonds orother forms of indebtedness shall be payable from and secured by a pledgeof revenues derived from or by reason of the ownership of student loannotes or financing of student loans, or both, and investment income orshall be payable from and secured as may be designated in a bond resolutionauthorized by the authority. Such bonds or other forms of indebtednessshall not constitute a debt or liability of the state of Missouri or of anypolitical subdivision thereof;
(7) To cause proceeds of any bond or any other form of indebtednessto be used to purchase student loan notes or finance student loans, orboth, including those which are guaranteed under section 173.110, orguaranteed under the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, orsecondary education loans, or scholarships which have been converted toloans under the Missouri teacher education scholarship program provided forin sections 160.276 to 160.283, RSMo;
(8) To sell or enter into agreements to sell student loan notesacquired pursuant to subdivision (7) of this section, and any agreement tosell student loan notes guaranteed under section 173.110 shall be subjectto prior approval of the department. Such agreements to sell student loannotes shall be limited only by the terms of the bond resolution authorizingthe issue of the bonds or other forms of indebtedness, but shall not belimited by any other provision of law limiting the sale of such studentloan notes;
(9) To transfer assets of the authority to the Lewis and Clarkdiscovery fund established in section 173.392;
(10) To accept appropriations, gifts, grants, bequests, and devisesand to utilize or dispose of the same to carry out its purpose;
(11) To make and execute contracts, releases, compromises, and otherinstruments necessary or convenient for the exercise of its powers, or tocarry out its purpose;
(12) To collect reasonable fees and charges in connection with makingand servicing its loans, notes, bonds, obligations, commitments, and otherevidences of indebtedness, and in connection with providing technical,consultative and project assistant services. Such fees and charges shallbe used to pay the costs of the authority;
(13) To invest any funds not required for immediate disbursement inobligations of the state of Missouri or of the United States government orany instrumentality thereof, the principal and interest of which areguaranteed by the state of Missouri, or the United States government or anyinstrumentality thereof, or certificates of deposit or time deposits offederally insured banks, or federally insured savings and loan associationsor of insured credit unions, or, with respect to moneys pledged or heldunder a trust estate or otherwise available for the owners of bonds orother forms of indebtedness, any investment authorized under the bondresolution governing the security and payment of such obligations orrepurchase agreements for the specified investments;
(14) To acquire, hold and dispose of personal property to carry outits purposes;
(15) To enter into agreements or other transactions with any federalor state agency, any person and any domestic or foreign partnership,corporation, association or organization;
(16) To take any necessary actions to be qualified to issuetax-exempt bonds or other forms of tax-exempt indebtedness pursuant to theapplicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended,including the issuance of such bonds to fulfill the obligations of theauthority under subsection 2 of this section;
(17) To take any necessary actions to be qualified to issue bonds orother forms of indebtedness, the interest on which is not exempt fromfederal income taxation, including the issuance of such bonds to fulfillthe obligations of the authority under subsection 2 of this section;
(18) To service student loans for any owner thereof, regardless ofwhether such student loans are originated in this state or out of thisstate;
(19) To create, acquire, contribute to, or invest in any type offinancial aid program that provides grants and scholarships to students.
2. The authority shall distribute three hundred fifty million dollarsof assets of the authority to the Lewis and Clark discovery fundestablished in section 173.392 as follows: two hundred thirty milliondollars no later than September 15, 2007; five million dollars by December31, 2007; and five million dollars each quarter thereafter ending September30, 2013. Any investment earnings on the moneys in the Lewis and Clarkdiscovery fund shall be credited against the next distribution by theauthority and shall thereby reduce the amount of any such distribution bythe authority. The authority shall make any distributions to the Lewis andClark discovery fund pursuant to the dates scheduled in this subsection,provided, however, that the date of any such distribution may be delayed bythe authority if the authority determines that any such distribution maymaterially adversely effect the services and benefits provided Missouristudents or residents in the ordinary course of the authority's business,the borrower benefit programs of the authority, or the economic viabilityof the authority. Notwithstanding the ability of the authority to delayany distribution required by this subsection, the distribution of theentire three hundred fifty million dollars of assets by the authority tothe Lewis and Clark discovery fund shall be completed no later thanSeptember 30, 2013, unless otherwise approved by the authority and thecommissioner of the office of administration.
3. No member of the authority who lawfully acts or votes on anyagreement or other matter authorized under the powers granted to theauthority under this section shall incur any personal liability as a resultof such lawful deliberations, acts, or votes, and such members shall beimmune from suit for such deliberations, acts, or votes. In no event shallsuch deliberations, acts, or votes constitute a conflict of interest undersection 173.380.
4. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, in the eventof the initial distribution of two hundred thirty million dollars of assetsby the authority to the Lewis and Clark discovery fund created in section173.392, the director of the department of economic development shallallocate to and reserve for the authority during the year of such firstdistribution and in at least each of the next fourteen years thereafter apercentage of the state ceiling under sections 108.500 to 108.532, RSMo,which percentage shall at a minimum be equal to one and one-half percentless than the average percentage of the authority's allocation of stateceiling for the two calendar years 2005 and 2006 calculated annually. Thedollar amount of state ceiling to be received by the authority asdetermined under the provisions of this subsection for calendar year 2014and later years, not to exceed calendar year 2021, shall be reduced in anycalendar year by the percentage of the three hundred fifty million dollarsnot yet distributed by the authority to the Lewis and Clark discovery fundby the preceding calendar year end.
(L. 1981 H.B. 326, A.L. 1986 H.B. 1356, A.L. 1990 S.B. 740, A.L. 1994 S.B. 583, A.L. 2003 S.B. 371, A.L. 2007 S.B. 389)CROSS REFERENCE:
Multinational banks, securities and obligations of, investment in, when, RSMo 409.950