§ 116-274. General powers.
§ 116‑274. Generalpowers.
(a) An authoritycreated under this Article has all powers that a city or county has underArticles 1 through 7 of Chapter 63 of the General Statutes and, in regard tofinancing capital expenditures and operations, shall have such powers as aredelegated to or conferred upon the constituent institutions or the Universityof North Carolina Health Care System. Notwithstanding other provisions of law,both regulations adopted by an authority under this Article and developmentregulations adopted by a county or municipality under Article 18 of Chapter153A or Article 19 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes shall be applicableto land owned by and the approaches to land owned by an authority created underthis Article. In the event the regulations conflict, the more restrictiveregulation applies.
(b) In addition to thepowers granted by subsection (a) of this section, an authority created underthis Article has the following powers:
(1) To sue and be suedin the name of the airport authority, and all pleadings served upon the airportauthority shall be served on the chairperson or secretary of the airportauthority.
(2) To expend fundsappropriated to it from time to time for airport purposes and to expend fundsreceived by the authority from fees, charges, rents, and dues arising out ofthe operation of the airport, the facilities, improvements, and concessionslocated thereat or operated thereon.
(3) To establish,construct, control, lease, maintain, improve, operate, and regulate an airporton lands acquired by it with buildings necessary to accommodate all types ofbusiness to operate an airport, runways, taxi ramps, parking ramps, and anyequipment to operate an airport, to have complete authority for rules andregulations over all airport property for the control of all types of vehiculartraffic, mobile or stationary, and pedestrian traffic with respect to areas orroadways not under the control of the Department of Transportation and anyrules adopted by the airport authority for property exclusively under itscontrol, and to have conjunctive authority to work with and cooperate with allduly constituted law enforcement agencies to enforce rules established by theState of North Carolina. The penalty for violation of rules established by theairport authority shall be a Class 3 misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall bepunishable by a fine not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) or imprisonment notto exceed 30 days. All rules and regulations so adopted by the airportauthority shall be recorded by delivering true copies thereof certified by thechairperson and secretary of the authority to the Secretary of the Board ofGovernors and to the Secretary of State.
(4) The authority mayacquire by purchase or gift any property for the purpose of establishing,extending, enlarging, or improving an airport. The authority does not possessthe power of eminent domain over property held on July 1, 2008 by a tax‑exemptInternal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) organization organized for educationalpurposes. In all other cases, the authority possesses the power of eminentdomain and may acquire property by eminent domain for the purpose ofestablishing, extending, enlarging, or improving an airport. In cases where theauthority may exercise the power of eminent domain, the authority is declaredto be a local public condemnor under the provisions of Chapter 40A of theGeneral Statutes and in exercising the powers of eminent domain shall followthe procedures of Article 3 of Chapter 40A of the General Statutes. Title tothe property and the right of immediate possession shall vest pursuant tosubsection (a) of G.S. 40A‑42. If property acquired by condemnationcontains a burial ground or graveyard, then it shall be lawful for the airportauthority after 30 days' notice to the surviving spouse, or the next of kin ofthe deceased buried therein, or the person in control of the graves, if any areknown, to remove the body interred therein and reinter the same in somecemetery in the same county. If no surviving spouse or next of kin or person incontrol can be found, then the airport authority can advertise for fourconsecutive weeks in a newspaper published in the county of the intendedremoval of the gravesite, and the removal shall be conducted under the supervisionof the clerk of the superior court for that county or his or herrepresentative, and the expense of such removal shall be borne by the airportauthority. The airport authority may dispose of any real or personal propertybelonging to it according to the procedures described in Article 12 of Chapter160A of the General Statutes.
(5) To lease to otherentities for a term not to exceed 20 years and for purposes not inconsistentwith airport purposes or usage, real or personal property or both, under thesupervision of or administered by the airport authority.
(6) To contract withpersons, firms, or corporations for terms not to exceed 20 years, for theoperation of passenger and freight flights, scheduled or nonscheduled, and anyother plane or flight activities not inconsistent with airport operations andto charge and collect reasonable fees, charges, and rents for the use of suchproperty and services rendered in the operation thereof.
(7) To operate, own,control, regulate, lease, or grant to others the license to operate amusementsor concessions for a term not exceeding 20 years.
(8) To enter intocontracts to pledge as security the property of the airport authority.
(9) To pledge any leaseagreement to which it is a party as security for any loan.
(10) To adopt and use aseal.
(11) To contract with theFederal Aviation Administration of the United States of America or with theState of North Carolina or with any of the agencies or representatives ofeither of said governmental bodies relating to the grading, constructing,equipping, improving, maintaining, or operating of an airport or itsfacilities, or both.
(12) To receive refunds ofsales and use taxes under G.S. 105‑164.14(c).
(13) To accept grants,loans, or contributions from the United States, the State of North Carolina, orany agency or instrumentality of either of them, or from any county or othermunicipality, and to expend the proceeds for any purposes of the authority.
(14) To accept grants,loans, or contributions from nonprofit organizations and to expend the proceedsfor any purposes of the authority.
(15) To adoptorganizational bylaws that shall include, but not be limited to, provision forelection, duties, and terms of a Chair and Secretary.
(16) To borrow money inaccordance with Article V of Chapter 159 of the General Statutes, provided thatall powers and duties conferred on the Local Government Commission shall forpurposes of this section be held by the Board of Governors.
(c) The authority shallenjoy governmental immunity, however, the authority may contract to insureitself and any of its officers, agents, or employees against liability forwrongful death or negligence or intentional damage to persons or property oragainst absolute liability for damage to persons or property caused by an actor omission of the authority or of any of its officers, agents, or employeeswhen acting within the scope of their authority and the course of theiremployment. The members of the authority shall determine what liabilities andwhat officers, agents, and employees shall be covered by any insurancepurchased pursuant to this provision.
Purchase of insurance pursuantto this provision waives the authority's governmental immunity to the extent ofinsurance coverage for any act or omission occurring in the exercise of agovernmental function. By entering into an insurance contract with theauthority, an insurer waives any defense based upon the governmental immunityof the authority.
If the authority has waivedits governmental immunity pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this section,any person, or if he dies, his personal representative, sustaining damages as aresult of an act or omission of the authority or any of its officers, agents,or employees occurring in the exercise of a governmental function, may sue theauthority for recovery of damages. To the extent of the coverage of insurancepurchased pursuant to this section, governmental immunity may not be a defenseto the action. Otherwise, however, the authority has all defenses available toprivate litigants in any action brought pursuant to these provisions withoutrestriction, limitation, or other effect whether the defense arises from commonlaw or by virtue of a statute. (2008‑204, s. 4.2.)