TITLE 39

HEALTH AND SAFETY

CHAPTER 81

BASIN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT ACT

39-8107.  Basin fund and financing authority — Establishment — Administrators — Powers. (1) The basin environmental improvement fund and financing authority is hereby created and shall become operational when the director of the department of environmental quality, by execution of an appropriate order, determines that significant funds have been provided to the financing authority from any source, or any one (1) or more agreements or compacts between the state of Idaho and the state of Washington, the Coeur d’Alene tribe or the United States of America providing for participation in the basin project commission and financing authority. The financing authority shall be an independent public body corporate and politic within the meaning of section 1, article viii, of the constitution of the state of Idaho, with no power to levy taxes or to obligate the general fund of the state of Idaho.

(2)  The administrator or board of administrators of the financing authority shall consist of one (1) representative appointed by the governor of the state of Idaho. Upon participation in the basin project by agreement or compact, one (1) representative shall be appointed by the council of the Coeur d’Alene tribe, one (1) representative shall be appointed by the governor of the state of Washington and one (1) representative shall be appointed by the president of the United States of America. Appointments shall be made on the basis of demonstrated investment and financial management expertise. Each administrator shall serve at the pleasure of his or her respective appointing authority and may be removed and replaced at any time. Administrators shall not be compensated. Two (2) or more administrators shall constitute a board and may act by majority vote. Meetings shall be held whenever a majority of administrators so request. The administrator or board of administrators shall direct the activities of the financing authority.

(3)  The funds of the financing authority may include moneys and any income paid in settlement of any claims or lawsuits regarding heavy metals contamination in the basin, annual appropriations by the states of Idaho and Washington or the Coeur d’Alene tribe, receipts from the issuance of bonds and any other source, public or private. To the extent allowed by law, the funds of the financing authority shall not be considered federal funds and shall be available for use as state matching funds for federal grants.

(4)  The financing authority may administer its funds to maximize income to fund the basin project. The financing authority is hereby authorized to invest any funds not needed for immediate use or disbursement, including any funds held in reserve, in:

(a)  Bonds, notes and other obligations of the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality thereof and other securities secured by such bonds, notes or other obligations;

(b)  Money market funds which are insured or the assets of which are limited to obligations of the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality thereof;

(c)  Time certificates of deposit and savings accounts; and

(d)  Commercial paper which, at the time of its purchase, is rated in the highest category by a nationally recognized rating service.

(5)  The financing authority may contract for services deemed necessary to carry out its duties including, but not limited to, financial, legal and accounting services.

(6)  The financing authority may provide moneys from its funds to the basin project commission not to exceed such amounts as annually may be requested by the basin project commission.

(7)  The financing authority shall establish its fiscal year, keep records of all investments, expenditures and business transactions and provide for an annual public accounting.

(8)  The financing authority may exercise all other powers necessary or appropriate to carry out its corporate purposes including, without limitation, the following:

(a)  To sue and be sued in its own name;

(b)  To have an official seal and to alter the seal at its pleasure;

(c)  To maintain an office at a place or places within this state as it may designate;

(d)  To hire officers, agents and employees as may be required and to prescribe its duties;

(e)  To make and execute contracts and all other instruments necessary or convenient for the exercise of its powers and functions;

(f)  To obtain insurance against any loss in connection with its property and other assets in amounts and from insurers it deems desirable;

(g)  To borrow money and issue bonds and notes or other evidences of indebtedness as hereinafter provided; and

(h)  To the extent permitted under its contract with the holders of bonds, notes and other obligations of the financing authority, to consent to any modification of any contract, lease or agreement of any kind to which the financing authority is a party.

History:

[39-8107, added 2001, ch. 371, sec. 2, p. 1301.]