(1) Except as otherwise limited by this article, the authority, acting through the board, has the power: (a) To have the duties, privileges, immunities, rights, liabilities, and disabilities of a body corporate and political subdivision of the state; (b) To sue and be sued; (c) To have an official seal and to alter the same at pleasure; (d) To make and alter bylaws for its organization and internal management and for the conduct of its affairs and business; (e) To maintain an office at such place or places within the state as it may determine; (f) To acquire, hold, use, and dispose of its income, revenues, funds, and moneys; (g) To charge, alter, and collect rentals or other charges for the use or services of any project, to contract in the manner provided in this article with one or more persons or governmental agencies or combinations thereof desiring the use or services thereof, and to fix the terms, conditions, rentals, or other charges for such use or services; (h) To acquire, lease as lessee or lessor, rent, hold, use, and dispose of real or personal property, including water rights, for its purposes; except that the acquisition by the authority of existing decreed water rights of a governmental agency shall not occur without the consent of the affected governmental agency and that negotiation by the authority for the purchase of water rights shall not proceed without first notifying any affected agency when an existing governmental agency has initiated negotiations for the purchase of such rights. The submission of a bona fide offer by a governmental agency for the purchase of such water rights shall be deemed evidence of such initiated negotiations. (i) To deposit any moneys of the authority in any banking institution within or outside the state; (j) To fix the time and place or places at which its regular and special meetings are to be held; (k) (I) To plan, design, develop, acquire, construct, reconstruct, enlarge, extend, improve, furnish, equip, maintain, repair, manage, operate, dispose of, and participate in one or more projects within or without the state and to appropriate water for said projects; (II) To designate the Colorado water conservation board or, with said board's permission, one or more other persons or governmental agencies participating in a project to act as its agent, in connection with the planning, designing, development, acquisition, construction, reconstruction, enlargement, extension, improvement, furnishing, equipping, maintenance, repair, management, operation, disposition of, or participation in such projects; (III) To establish rules and regulations for the use of such projects; and (IV) To finance or participate in the financing of a project, or any interest therein, acquired or constructed or to be acquired or constructed by any governmental agency; (l) To make available the use or services of any project to one or more persons, one or more governmental agencies, or any combination thereof; (m) To borrow money and to issue its negotiable bonds or notes in furtherance of its purposes and to provide for the rights of the holders thereof; (n) To have and exercise the power of eminent domain and, in general, to have and exercise rights and powers of eminent domain conferred upon other agencies as provided in articles 1 to 7 of title 38, C.R.S.; but the authority shall neither have nor exercise the power of eminent domain against the state nor acquire thereby any electric generation facilities, electric distribution lines, or any conditional or absolute water rights; (o) To contract with any person or governmental agency within or without the state for the construction of any project, or for the sale of the output of any project, or for any interest therein or any right to capacity thereof, on such terms and for such period of time as the board shall determine; (p) To purchase, sell, exchange, transmit, or distribute the power generated by any project within or without the state, in such amounts as it shall determine to be necessary and appropriate to make the most effective use of its powers and to meet its responsibilities, and to enter into agreements with any person or governmental agency with respect to such purchase, sale, exchange, transmission, or distribution on such terms and for such period of time as the board shall determine; (q) To purchase, sell, exchange, transmit, or distribute the water of any project within or without the state, subject to the limitation that the waters of the project shall not be delivered outside of the state for purposes other than meeting Colorado compact commitments, in such amounts as it shall determine to be necessary and appropriate to make the most effective use of its powers and to meet its responsibilities, and to enter into agreements with any person or governmental agency with respect to such purchase, sale, exchange, transmission, or distribution on such terms and for such period of time as the board shall determine; except that such action shall not interrupt the development, completion, or operation of existing water projects, nor shall the action adversely affect the ability of a district or governmental agency from fulfilling its contractual commitments associated with such projects; (r) (I) To make loans to any governmental agency for the planning, designing, acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, improving, equipping, and furnishing of a project, which loans may be secured by loan and security agreements, leases, or any other instruments, upon such terms and conditions as the board shall deem reasonable, including provisions for the establishment and maintenance of reserve and insurance funds, and to require the inclusion, in any lease, contract, loan and security agreement, or other instrument, of such provisions for the construction, use, operation, maintenance, and financing of a project as the board may deem necessary or desirable. For purposes of a forest health project, the authority may also make a loan as described in this paragraph (r) to a private entity. Any liens filed by the authority shall have priority in the order filed. (II) As used in this paragraph (r), "private entity" means any person, as defined in section 37-95-103 (9). (s) To make and enter into all contracts, leases, and agreements which are necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the exercise of its powers under this article; (t) To sell, convey, or lease to any person or governmental agency all or any portion of a project for such consideration and upon such terms as the board may determine to be reasonable; (u) To make or cause to be made surveys, maps, and plans for, and estimates of the cost of, any project; (v) (I) To acquire, in the name of the authority: (A) Any land or other real or personal property, including water rights, which the authority determines is reasonably necessary for a project or for the relocation or reconstruction of any public road by the authority; (B) Any and all right, title, and interest to and in such land and other real or personal property, including public lands, reservations, public roads, or parkways owned by or in which the state or any county, municipality, city and county, public corporation, or other political subdivision of the state has any right, title, or interest; (C) Any fee simple absolute or any lesser interest in private property; and (D) Any fee simple absolute in, or easements upon, or the benefit of restrictions upon abutting property to preserve and protect the project; except that the authority shall not acquire by purchase or condemnation land, an interest in land, or a right-of-way for the change of location of any portion of any public road, railroad, point of diversion, or public utility facility which is not needed for the construction of a project pursuant to this article. (II) Acquisitions by the authority pursuant to this paragraph (v) may be made by purchase or otherwise, on such terms and conditions, and in such manner as the authority deems appropriate or may be made through the exercise of the power of eminent domain pursuant to, and subject to the limitations of, paragraph (n) of this subsection (1). (w) To adopt rules and regulations for the use, management, and operation of the hydroelectric facilities and water management facilities financed by the authority; (x) Subject to any agreement with bondholders or noteholders, to invest moneys of the authority not required for immediate use, including proceeds from the sale of any bonds or notes, in such obligations, securities, and other investments as the authority deems prudent; (y) To contract for and to accept any gifts or grants or loans of funds or property or financial or other aid in any form from the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or from the state or any governmental agency thereof, or from any other source and to comply, subject to the provisions of this article, with the terms and conditions thereof; (z) Subject to any agreements with bondholders or noteholders, to purchase bonds or notes of the authority out of any funds or moneys of the authority available therefor and to hold, cancel, or resell such bonds or notes; (aa) To employ accountants, attorneys, financial advisers, underwriters, and other experts and such other persons to act as agents and employees as may be required and to determine their qualifications, terms of office, duties, and compensation, all without regard to the provisions of the state personnel system; except that the authority may utilize the services of the officers, personnel, and consultants of the Colorado water conservation board to perform any or all activities specified in paragraphs (k) and (u) of this subsection (1); (bb) To do and perform any acts authorized by this article under, through, or by means of its officers, agents, or employees or by contracts with any person, firm, or corporation; (cc) To procure insurance against any losses in connection with its property, operations, personal liability, or assets in such amounts and from such insurers as it deems desirable; (dd) To do any and all things necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes and exercise the powers given and granted in this article; (ee) To purchase or refinance all or any portion of principal and interest on, and to purchase insurance or other credit-enhancement for the payment of, bonds, notes, or other obligations issued by the authority or any governmental agency to finance any project; (ff) To charge to and collect from governmental agencies and persons fees and charges in connection with the authority's loans or other services, including, but not limited to, fees and charges sufficient to reimburse the authority for all reasonable costs necessarily incurred by the authority in connection with its financing and administration thereof and the establishment and maintenance of reserves or other funds, as the authority may determine to be reasonable; (gg) Repealed. (hh) To enter into one or more agreements with the Colorado water conservation board and any other governmental agencies to assist in the development of the water resources of the state.
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