CO Code § 41-3-106 (2021)
2021 Colorado Code|Title 41 - Aeronautics: Aircraft and Airports|Article 3 - Public Airport Authority Law|§ 41-3-106. Powers of an Authority

  An authority has the following powers:   To have perpetual existence;    To have and use a corporate seal;    To sue and be sued, and be a party to suits, actions, and proceedings;    To enter into contracts and agreements affecting the affairs of the authority, including, but not limited to, contracts with the United States, the state of Colorado, and an adjoining state, if a combination includes a municipality or county from the adjoining state;    To borrow money and to issue bonds payable in whole or in part from the income of the authority and otherwise secured to the extent permitted by law; but, before any money shall be borrowed or any bonds issued, such borrowing or sale shall first be approved by the board of county commissioners of any county independently creating an authority under the provisions of this article. Said bonds shall be authorized by resolution of said board without the necessity of submitting the question of their issuance to the qualified electors of the municipalities or counties constituting members of the authority. Said resolution shall prescribe the form of said bonds, the manner of their execution, which may be effected by the use of the facsimile signatures of the officers of the authority in accordance with the laws of the state in effect at the time of their execution, shall provide for the terms thereof, including the maximum net effective interest rate for the issue of bonds, and the security for their payment, may authorize the issuance of additional bonds having a lien on a parity with or junior thereto on the income of the authority, provide for the redemption of said bonds prior to their respective maturities with or without premium, and direct that said bonds shall be sold at public or private sale at or below par, but such bonds shall not be sold at a price such that the net effective interest rate of the issue of bonds exceeds the maximum net effective interest rate authorized. The board shall prescribe other details in connection with the issue of bonds. The bonds so authorized shall mature serially over a period not exceeding thirty years and shall bear interest at a net effective interest rate not exceeding the maximum net effective interest rate authorized. Said resolution and bonds may also include such other terms or recitals which in the judgment of the board are necessary or proper to render the same marketable. Nothing in this article shall be construed as authorizing the authority or any county to assess and levy taxes for the payment of said bonds, nor shall said bonds be construed to be an indebtedness of the municipalities or counties constituting members of the authority or of the county independently creating such authority within the meaning of any constitutional, charter, or statutory limitation.    To purchase, trade, exchange, acquire, buy, sell, and otherwise dispose of and encumber real and personal property of the authority and any interest therein, including leases and easements;    To refund any bonds of the authority as the same become due at stated maturities, or as a result of the exercise of the privilege of calling bonds for prior redemption, and to refund any such bonds in advance of such maturities or redemption dates in accordance with the laws of the state then in effect and applicable to municipalities. The terms and conditions of refunding bonds shall be substantially the same as those of an original issue of bonds.    To regulate, when acting singly, or by agreement, when acting jointly with any other municipality or county, the receiving, deposit, and removal and the embarkation of passengers or property to or from the airport; to regulate or prohibit any airport hazard; to exact and require charges, fees, and rentals, together with a lien to enforce the payment; to lease or assign for operation such space or area, appurtenances, appliances, or other conveniences necessary or useful in connection therewith; to own and operate aircraft; to employ pilots; to provide rules and regulations governing the use of such airport and facilities and the use of other property and means of transportation within or over said airport, landing field, and navigation facilities; to perform any duties, necessary or consistent with the regulation of air traffic; to enter into contracts or otherwise cooperate with the United States, the state, an adjoining state, if a combination includes a municipality or county from the adjoining state, or other public or private agencies; and to exercise such powers as may be required or consistent with the promotion of aeronautics and the furtherance of commerce and navigation by air;    To pledge all or a part of the income of the authority to the payment of the bonds authorized to be issued pursuant to the terms of this article and to otherwise secure the payment of said bonds to the extent permitted by law including, but not limited to, a conveyance in trust of any or all of the properties or facilities of the authority as a part of such security;    To have and exercise the power of eminent domain in the manner provided by law for the condemnation of private property for public use and to take any property necessary to exercise the powers in this article granted, either within or without the boundaries of the municipalities or counties constituting members of the authority. In exercising the power of eminent domain, the procedure established and prescribed by articles 1 to 7 of title 38, C.R.S., shall be followed. Nothing in this article shall be construed to limit the power of a county otherwise to acquire property through the exercise of the power of eminent domain under and in accordance with the laws of the state.    To construct and maintain works and establish and maintain facilities, within or without the boundaries of the municipalities or counties constituting members of the authority or within or without the boundaries of the county independently creating an authority pursuant to the provisions of this article, across or along any public street or highway or in, upon, under, or over any vacant public lands, which public lands are now, or may become, the property of the state; but the authority shall promptly restore any such street or highway to its former state of usefulness as nearly as may be and shall not use the same in such manner as to completely or unnecessarily impair the usefulness thereof;    To invest any surplus money in the treasury of the authority, including such money in any sinking or trust fund established for the purpose of retiring bonds at or prior to maturity not required for the immediate necessities of the authority, in securities meeting the investment requirements established in part 6 of article 75 of title 24, C.R.S. Such investment may be made by direct purchase of any issue of such securities, or part thereof, at the original sale of the same or by the subsequent purchase of such securities. Any securities thus purchased and held may be sold, unless such sale is prohibited by any agreement under which the same have been or shall be deposited and the proceeds thereof reinvested in securities as provided in this paragraph (l). Sales of any securities thus purchased and held shall be made at such time so that the proceeds may be applied to the purposes for which the money with which the securities were originally purchased was placed in the treasury of the authority.        History. Source: L. 65: P. 171, § 6. C.R.S. 1963: § 5-5-6 . L. 69: P. 103, § 6. L. 70: P. 108, § 1. L. 89: (1)(l) amended, p. 1127, § 57, effective July 1. L. 2016: (1)(d) and (1)(h) amended,(SB 16-168), ch. 164, p. 524, § 4, effective August 10.    ANNOTATION   Imposition of user fee by airport authority upon rental car company which is based upon portion of gross revenues of company attributable to customers picked up at airport does not constitute an illegal income tax. Westrac, Inc. v. Walker Field, 812 P.2d 714 (Colo. App. 1991).   Distinction between fee and tax based upon nature and function of the charge rather than by its label. Fees charged for use of public facility owned by municipal corporation are not taxes if purpose is to defray expenses for operating and improving facility and if fees are only imposed on users of facility. Taxes are not based on amount of use and the proceeds thereof are used to defray general municipal expenses. Westrac, Inc. v. Walker Field, 812 P.2d 714 (Colo. App. 1991).   Since this section does not impose requirement of reasonableness for imposition of fees by airport authorities, such authorities have broad discretion regarding imposition of such fees which is subject only to constitutional and federal statutory limitations. Absent any express statutory limitations, judicial deference will be given to the sound discretion of airport authority imposing such fees. Westrac, Inc. v. Walker Field, 812 P.2d 714 (Colo. App. 1991).   User fee imposed by airport authority upon rental car company which is based upon portion of gross revenues of company attributable to customers picked up at airport is not arbitrary or confiscatory since the fee is rationally related to a legitimate governmental interest in providing airport facilities and since the fee is not prohibitive of an entire industry. Westrac, Inc. v. Walker Field, 812 P.2d 714 (Colo. App. 1991).   Authority's ban on scheduled passenger service is a valid exercise of proprietary powers that is not preempted by federal law pursuant to the powers granted to the authority under this section. Arapahoe County Airport Auth. v. Centennial Express Airlines, 956 P.2d 587 (Colo. 1998).