§ 160A-911.  General powers of the authority.

The general powers of the authority include all of the following:

(1) To sue and be sued.

(2) To have a seal.

(3) To make rules and regulations, not inconsistent with this Article, for its organization and internal management.

(4) To employ persons deemed necessary to carry out the functions and duties assigned to them by the authority and to fix their compensation, within the limit of available funds.

(5) With the approval of the unit of local government's chief administrative official, to use officers, employees, agents, and facilities of the unit of local government for such purposes and upon such terms as may be mutually agreeable.

(6) To retain and employ counsel, auditors, engineers, and private consultants on an annual salary, contract basis, or otherwise for rendering professional or technical services and advice.

(7) To acquire, lease as lessee with or without option to purchase, hold, own, and use any franchise, property, real or personal, tangible or intangible, or any interest therein and to sell, lease as lessor with or without option to purchase, transfer (or dispose thereof) whenever the same is no longer required for purposes of the authority, or exchange same for other property or rights which are useful for the authority purposes, including, but not necessarily limited to, parking facilities.

(8) To acquire by gift, purchase, lease as lessee with or without option to purchase or otherwise to construct, improve, maintain, repair, operate, or administer any component parts of a public transportation system or to contract for the maintenance, operation, or administration thereof or to lease as lessor the same for maintenance, operation, or administration by private parties, including parking facilities.

(9) To make or enter into contracts, agreements, deeds, leases with or without option to purchase, conveyances or other instruments, including contracts and agreements with the United States, the State of North Carolina, and units of local government.

(10) To purchase or finance real or personal property in the manner provided for cities and counties under G.S. 160A-20.

(11) To surrender to the State of North Carolina or a unit of local government any property no longer required by the authority.

(12) To develop and make data, plans, information, surveys, and studies of public transportation facilities within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority and to prepare and make recommendations in regard thereto.

(13) To enter in a reasonable manner lands, waters, or premises for the purpose of making surveys, soundings, drillings, and examinations whereby such entry shall not be deemed a trespass except that the authority shall be liable for any actual and consequential damages resulting from such entries.

(14) To develop and carry out demonstration projects.

(15) To make, enter into, and perform contracts with private parties and public transportation companies with respect to the management and operation of public passenger transportation.

(16) To make, enter into, and perform contracts with any public utility, railroad, or transportation company for the joint use of property or rights, for the establishment of through routes, joint fares, or transfer of passengers.

(17) To make, enter into, and perform agreements with governmental entities for payments to the authority for the transportation of persons for whom the governmental entities desire transportation.

(18) With the consent of the unit of local government which would otherwise have jurisdiction to exercise the powers enumerated in this subdivision: to issue certificates of public convenience and necessity; and to grant franchises and enter into franchise agreements and in all respects to regulate the operation of buses and other methods of public passenger transportation which originate and terminate within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority as fully as the unit of local government is now or hereafter empowered to do within the territorial jurisdiction of the unit of local government.

(19) To operate public transportation systems, to enter into and perform contracts to operate public transportation services and facilities, and to own or lease property, facilities, and equipment necessary or convenient therefor, and to rent, lease, or otherwise sell the right to do so to any person, public or private; further, to obtain grants, loans, and assistance from the United States, the State of North Carolina, any public body, or any private source whatsoever, but may not operate or contract for the operation of public transportation systems outside the territorial jurisdiction of the authority except as provided by subdivision (21) of this section.

(20) To enter into and perform contracts and agreements with other metropolitan public transportation authorities, public transportation authorities, regional public transportation authorities, or units of local government pursuant to the provisions of G.S. 160A-460 through G.S. 160A-464 (Part 1 of Article 20 of this Chapter); further to enter into contracts and agreements with private transportation companies, but this subdivision does not authorize the operation of, or contracting for the operation of, service of a public transportation system outside the service area of the authority.

(21) To operate public transportation systems extending service into any political subdivision of the State of North Carolina unless a particular unit of local government operating its own public transportation system or franchising the operation of a public transportation system by majority vote of its governing board shall deny consent.

(22) To operate public transportation systems extending service into another state, but only if the extension of service is authorized by any applicable federal or State agency and in accordance with the other state's laws.

(23) Except as restricted by covenants in bonds, notes, or equipment trust certificates, to set in its sole discretion rates, fees, and charges for use of its public transportation system.

(24) To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out its purpose and to exercise the powers granted to the authority.

(25) To issue bonds or other obligations of the authority as provided by law and apply the proceeds thereof to the financing of any public transportation system or any part thereof and to refund, whether or not in advance of maturity or the earliest redemption date, any such bonds or other obligations of the authority or another municipality that financed or refinanced real and personal property for a public transportation system to be owned or operated by the authority.

(26) To contract for, or to provide and maintain, with respect to the facilities and property owned, leased with or without option to purchase, operated or under the control of the authority, and within the territory thereof, a security force to protect persons and property, dispense unlawful or dangerous assemblages and assemblages which obstruct full and free passage, control pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and otherwise preserve and protect the public peace, health, and safety; for these purposes a member of such force shall be a peace officer and, as such, shall have authority equivalent to the authority of a police officer of the city or county in which said member of such force is discharging such duties.

(27) To contract for the purchase, lease, or other acquisition of any apparatus, supplies, materials, or equipment for public transit purposes with any person or entity that, within the previous 60 months, after having completed a public formal bid process substantially similar to that required by Article 8 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes or through the competitive proposal method provided in G.S. 143-129(h), has contracted to furnish the apparatus, supplies, materials, or equipment to any unit or agency approved in G.S. 143-129(g) if the person or entity is willing to furnish the items at the same or more favorable prices, terms, and conditions as those provided under the contract with the other unit or agency. Any purchase made under this section shall be approved by the board of trustees as provided in G.S. 143-129(g).  (2025-39, s. 5.1.)