(1) In addition to any other powers granted to the authority in this article 117, the authority has the powers to:
(a) Have the duties, privileges, immunities, rights, liabilities, and disabilities of a body corporate and political subdivision of the state;
(b) Have perpetual existence and succession;
(c) Adopt, alter, have, and use a seal;
(d) Sue and be sued;
(e) Acquire office space, equipment, services, supplies, and insurance necessary to carry out the purposes of this article 117;
(f) Fix the time and place at which its regular and special meetings are to be held;
(g) Adopt, amend, or repeal bylaws, policies, and procedures consistent with the provisions of this article 117, including policies and procedures regarding the definition and interpretation of terms used in this article 117. Nothing in this subsection (1)(g) grants the authority the power to redefine terms that are already defined in this article 117.
(h) Appoint agents, employees, and professional and business advisers, including real estate professionals, construction companies, property managers, attorneys, accountants, and financial advisers as necessary to accomplish the purposes of this article 117, and to fix the compensation of such agents, employees, and advisers, and to establish the powers and duties of all agents, employees, and advisers, as well as any other person contracting with the authority to provide services, including termination of employment or the contract for services; except that the authority may contract with the officers, personnel, and consultants of the state treasurer to perform any or all activities specified in this article 117;
(i) Make and execute agreements, contracts, and other instruments necessary or convenient in the exercise of the powers and functions of the authority under this article 117, including contracts with any person, firm, corporation, municipality, state agency, county, or other entity. All municipalities, counties, and state agencies may enter into and do all things necessary to perform any such arrangement or contract with the authority.
(j) Utilize available money for administrative costs;
(k) Establish advisory committees;
(l) Borrow money through the issuance of bonds and other securities as provided in this article 117;
(m) Enter into interest rate exchange agreements for bonds in accordance with section 24-117-106;
(n) Acquire, hold, and sell loan obligations at prices and through methods deemed advisable by the board;
(o) Contract for and to accept any gifts, grants, and loans of money, property, or any other aid in any form from the federal government, the state, any state agency, or any other source or any combination thereof, and to comply, subject to the provisions of this article 117, with the terms and conditions of such contracts for the acceptance of such items;
(p) Secure insurance, guarantees, or other forms of collateral or credit support for issued bonds or securities;
(q) Invest and deposit money in accordance with section 24-117-111;
(r) Finance or participate in the financing of eligible projects, or any interest therein, except for any projects that are within the statutory authority of the Colorado housing and finance authority;
(s) Facilitate the funding of infrastructure projects, and in so doing, the authority must prioritize assisting infrastructure projects that satisfy the criteria identified in section 24-117-112 (5);
(t) Charge to and collect from state 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 carrying out the purpose and intent of this article 117 and the establishment and maintenance of reserves or other money, as the authority may determine to be reasonable;
(u) Collect debts owed to the authority, including through necessary legal actions; and
(v) Have and exercise all rights and powers necessary, incidental to, or implied from the specific powers granted in this article 117, which specific powers shall not be considered as a limitation on any power necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes and intent of this article 117.
(2) The authority shall develop policies and procedures as necessary for the implementation of this article 117.
(3) The authority shall engage with under-represented communities and organizations.
(4) The authority shall engage in responsible contracting and labor practices.
(5) (a) The authority shall comply with all applicable federal laws governing the use of federal funds, including, without limitation, statutes and regulations governing:
(I) Any conditions or limitations on expenditures;
(II) Reporting; and
(III) The commingling of federal funds.
(b) Earnings made in connection with this article 117 on balances in any federal accounts must be credited and invested in accordance with federal law. Earnings made in connection with this article 117 on any state and local money must be deposited in the same fund to the credit of the account that generates the earnings.
(6) The authority shall follow all applicable federal and state prevailing wage and apprenticeship utilization statutory and regulatory requirements, including:
(a) The federal Davis-Bacon Act, 40 U.S.C. sec. 3141 et seq., and related federal acts;
(b) Where applicable, the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, United States Code, title 26, including but not limited to sections 30C, 45, 45B, 45L, 45Q, 45U, 45V, 45X, 45Y, 45Z, 48, 48C, 48E, and 179D, and associated implementing rules and guidance promulgated by the United States department of the treasury and the United States internal revenue service, as the statute and implementing rules and guidance may be amended from time to time;
(c) State prevailing wage and apprenticeship utilization requirements for projects that meet the definition of public projects, as defined in sections 24-92-201 (5) and 24-92-115; and
(d) State prevailing wage and apprenticeship utilization requirements established in sections 24-92-115 and 24-92-201 for projects that meet the definition of energy sector public works projects, as defined in section 24-92-303 (5).
(7) The authority shall ensure that any loan that is issued by the authority and then paid in full is closed. The authority shall not use a closed loan as equity for any other project.
(8) If a project being considered by the authority is not required under state or federal law to follow prevailing wage or apprenticeship utilization requirements, the authority shall give preference for projects that voluntarily agree to follow the state prevailing wage for employees employed in the construction, rehabilitation, operation, or maintenance services of facilities, as described in sections 24-92-201 to 24-92-210, and state apprenticeship utilization requirements described in section 24-92-115.
(9) The authority shall not issue bonds for, finance, or participate in the financing of any projects that are within the statutory authority of the Colorado housing and finance authority.
Source: L. 2025: Entire article added, (SB 25-081), ch. 320, p. 1678, � 3, effective August 6.
24-117-106. Building urgent infrastructure and leveraging dollars bonds - conditions of issuance - building urgent infrastructure and leveraging dollars bonding fund creation - auditor examination - payment from bonding fund - exemption from taxation. (1) The authority may issue and sell building urgent infrastructure and leveraging dollars bonds, payable solely from the building urgent infrastructure and leveraging dollars bonding fund, in compliance with this article 117. This article 117 is, without reference to any other law, full authority for the issuance and sale of bonds. Bonds have all the qualities of investment securities under the Uniform Commercial Code, title 4, and must not be deemed invalid for any irregularity or defect or be contestable in the hands of bona fide purchasers or holders of the bonds for value.
(2) (a) Bonds may be executed and delivered by the authority at such times; may be in such form and denominations and include such terms and maturities; may be subject to optional or mandatory redemption prior to maturity with or without a premium; may be in fully registered form or bearer form registrable as to principal or interest or both; may bear such conversion privileges; may be payable in such installments and at such times not exceeding thirty years; may be payable at such place or places whether within or without the state; may bear interest at such rate or rates per annum, which may be fixed or vary according to index, procedure, or formula or as determined by the authority or its agents, without regard to any interest rate limitation appearing in any other law of the state; may be subject to purchase at the option of the holder or the authority; may be evidenced in such manner; may be executed by such officers of the authority, including the use of one or more facsimile signatures so long as at least one manual signature appears on the bonds, which may be either of an officer of the authority or of an agent authenticating the same; may be in the form of coupon bonds that have attached interest coupons bearing a manual or facsimile signature of an officer of the authority; and may contain such provisions not inconsistent with this article 117, all as provided in the resolution of the authority under which the bonds are authorized to be issued or as provided in a trust indenture between the authority and any commercial bank or trust company having full trust powers.
(b) (I) Bonds may be sold at public or private sale at such price or prices, in such manner, and at such times as determined by the board, and the board may pay all fees, expenses, and commissions that it deems necessary or advantageous in connection with the sale of bonds.
(II) The board may delegate to an officer or agent of the board the power to:
(A) Fix the date of sale of bonds;
(B) Receive bids or proposals;
(C) Award and sell bonds;
(D) Fix interest rates; and
(E) Take all other action necessary to sell and deliver bonds.
(III) The authority may refund any outstanding bonds pursuant to article 56 of title 11.
(IV) All bonds and any interest coupons applicable to the bonds are declared to be negotiable instruments.
(c) Bonds are exempt from taxation by the state and any county, city and county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state.
(d) Public entities, as defined in section 24-75-601 (1), may invest public money in bonds so long as the bonds satisfy the investment requirements established in part 6 of article 75 of this title 24.
(e) Neither a member of the board nor an employee of the authority nor any person executing bonds is liable personally on the bonds or subject to any personal liability by reason of the issuance of the bonds.
(3) (a) (I) The building urgent infrastructure and leveraging dollars bonding fund is created in the authority. The bonding fund consists of:
(A) Fees and service charges collected;
(B) Bond proceeds;
(C) Money from payments of principal and interest on loans made in connection with eligible projects if the authority has provided financing for eligible projects; and
(D) All interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the bonding fund.
(II) The authority may create separate accounts within the bonding fund in connection with any issuance of bonds and may deposit in the separate accounts revenue received by the authority. Any separate account must be held by a trustee acting under a trust indenture relating to the bonds connected to the account. Interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in a separate account must be credited to the account.
(b) (I) Money in the bonding fund must be deposited in a bank designated by the authority in an account or accounts as the authority may establish. Money in accounts of the bonding fund must only be withdrawn on the order of a person authorized by the authority. All deposits of money from the bonding fund must be secured in the manner determined by the authority.
(II) All money and activities of the authority, including its receipts, disbursements, contracts, leases, money, investments, and any other records and papers relating to its financial standing, are subject to annual audit, at the authority's expense, in accordance with section 29-1-603.
(c) Money in the bonding fund is money of the authority and is pledged for the payment of principal and interest on bonds issued pursuant to this article 117. Money in any separate account may be pledged solely to payment of the bonds for which the separate account was created. The authority may expend money in the bonding fund or a separate account for the purpose of paying debt service, including redemption premiums, on bonds and expenses incurred in the issuance, payment, and administration of the bonds.
(4) Twice annually, the authority shall estimate the amounts needed to make debt service and other payments on bonds during the next twelve months from the bonding fund and from any separate account created in the bonding fund plus the amount that may be needed for any required reserves or other requirements as may be set forth in the trust indenture related to the bonds. The authority shall transfer to the operational fund any balance in the bonding fund or any separate account created in the bonding fund above the estimated amounts. Payments for administrative costs must be deposited in the operational fund.
(5) Bonds are payable solely from the bonding fund, any separate account created within the bonding fund, or, with the approval of the bondholders, any other special funds as may be provided by law, and the bonds do not create an obligation or indebtedness of the state within the meaning of any constitutional provision or law. A breach of a contractual obligation incurred pursuant to this article 117 does not impose a pecuniary liability or a charge upon the general credit or taxing power of the state.
(6) The state pledges that the bonding fund, including any separate account within the bonding fund, must be used only for the purposes specified in this section and is pledged first to repay bonds issued pursuant to this article 117. The state further pledges that any law requiring the deposit of revenue in the bonding fund or authorizing expenditures from the bonding fund must not be amended, repealed, or otherwise modified so as to impair the bonds to which the bonding fund is dedicated as provided in this section.
(7) The authority shall not issue exempt facility bonds, as defined in section 142(a) of the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, that require the use of private activity bonds volume cap allocation in the issuance of any bonds, or receive a direct allocation, statewide balance award, or assignment of allocation of state ceiling under the Colorado Private Activity Bond Ceiling Allocation Act set forth in part 17 of article 32 of this title 24.
Source: L. 2025: Entire article added, (SB 25-081), ch. 320, p. 1681, � 3, effective August 6.