HOUSE BILL NO. 1346 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE STEINMEYER.
2838H.02I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To repeal sections 68.010, 68.015, 68.025, 68.035, 68.040, 68.045, 68.055, 68.057, 68.060, 68.075, 68.205, and 68.259, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof thirteen new sections relating to port authorities.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 68.010, 68.015, 68.025, 68.035, 68.040, 68.045, 68.055, 68.057, 2 68.060, 68.075, 68.205, and 68.259, RSMo, are repealed and thirteen new sections enacted in 3 lieu thereof, to be known as sections 68.010, 68.015, 68.025, 68.035, 68.040, 68.045, 68.055, 4 68.057, 68.060, 68.075, 68.085, 68.205, and 68.253, to read as follows: 68.010. 1. Every city or county which is situated upon, or adjacent to, or which 2 embraces within its boundaries a navigable waterway, is hereby authorized to form a local 3 port authority, and upon approval of the highways and transportation commission of the state 4 of Missouri, the port authority shall be a political subdivision of this state. In every 5 constitutional charter city not within a county, a local "Port Authority" is created by sections 6 68.010, 68.015, 68.025, 68.040, 68.045, 68.060 and 68.070 and shall become a political 7 subdivision of this state September 28, 1975. 8 2. The highways and transportation commission of the state of Missouri is hereby 9 authorized to accept applications, conduct hearings, and approve or disapprove applications 10 for approval of local or regional port authorities as political subdivisions of this state, as 11 provided herein, but in determining the approval or disapproval of such applications, the 12 highways and transportation commission shall consider the following criteria: 13 (1) The population of any city and/or county submitting the application;
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 1346 2
14 (2) The desirability and economic feasibility of having more than a single port 15 authority within the same geographic area; 16 (3) The technical and economic capability of participating cities and/or counties, as 17 well as private interests, to plan and carry out port development within the proposed district; 18 (4) The amount of actual and potential river traffic that would make use of any 19 facilities developed by a port authority; 20 (5) The potential economic impact on the immediate area from which the application 21 originates; and 22 (6) The potential impact on the economic development of the entire state and how the 23 proposed port authority's developmental activities relate to any state plans. 24 25 Provided, however, any such application shall be granted if it is made by a city or county of at 26 least three hundred thousand population, having a common boundary with the state of 27 Kansas, or by a group of cities or counties at least one of which meets the aforesaid criteria, 28 and if no proposed boundary of the port authority described in such application overlaps the 29 boundary of any then existing port authority. 30 3. No city shall create a port authority under sections 68.010, 68.015, 68.025, 68.040, 31 68.045, 68.060 and 68.070 if said city is located within a county that has, prior to the 32 creation of such port authority by such city, created a port authority which has received 33 approval as a political subdivision of this state under sections 68.010, 68.015, 68.025, 68.040, 34 68.045, 68.060 and 68.070. 68.015. 1. The legislative body, or county commission, of each county or city 2 creating a port authority or any port authority created within said city pursuant to section 3 68.010 hereof shall designate what areas within such county or city shall comprise one or 4 more port districts, subject to the limitation that any area designated as within a port district 5 shall be or could be reasonably connected to the business of a port. The boundaries of any 6 port district shall be filed with the clerk of the county commission, city clerk, or clerk of the 7 legislative or governing body of the county as applicable and shall become effective upon 8 approval of the transportation commission. The legislative body or county commission may 9 from time to time enlarge or reduce the area comprising any port district. Any change of 10 boundaries shall be submitted for approval to the highways and transportation commission 11 and upon approval shall be filed with the appropriate clerk and thereupon become effective. 12 If a port authority created and approved as a political subdivision as provided in section 13 68.010 purchases or leases real property located within adjoining municipalities or 14 states, as applicable, such real property shall be deemed included within the port district 15 and the port authority shall be empowered to exercise its powers under section 68.025 HB 1346 3
16 with respect to such real property, and any personal property located thereon, to the 17 extent not otherwise precluded by applicable law. 18 2. The legislative body or county commission of any county or city authorized to 19 create a local port authority may appropriate, allocate and expend such funds of the county or 20 city for the planning and development of a port district as are reasonable and necessary to 21 carry out the provisions of this chapter. 68.025. 1. Every local and regional port authority, approved as a political subdivision 2 of the state, shall have the following powers to: 3 (1) Confer with any similar body created under laws of this or any other state for the 4 purpose of adopting a comprehensive plan for the future development and improvement of its 5 port districts; 6 (2) Consider and adopt detailed and comprehensive plans for future development and 7 improvement of its port districts and to coordinate such plans with regional and state 8 programs; 9 (3) Establish a port improvement district in accordance with this chapter; 10 (4) Carry out any of the projects enumerated in subdivision (17) of section 68.205; 11 (5) Within the boundaries of any established port improvement district, to levy either 12 a sales and use tax or a real property tax, or both, for the purposes of paying any part of the 13 cost of a project benefitting property in a port improvement district; except that no port 14 improvement district real property tax may be levied on any property, real or personal, which 15 is assessed pursuant to sections 151.010 to 151.340, unless such real property tax levy is 16 agreed to in writing by the property's owner; 17 (6) Pledge both revenues generated by any port improvement district and any other 18 port authority revenue source to the repayment of any outstanding obligations; 19 (7) Either jointly with a similar body, or separately, recommend to the proper 20 departments of the government of the United States, or any state or subdivision thereof, or to 21 any other body, the carrying out of any public improvement for the benefit of its port districts; 22 (8) Provide for membership in any official, industrial, commercial, or trade 23 association, or any other organization concerned with such purposes, for receptions of 24 officials or others as may contribute to the advancement of its port districts and any industrial 25 development therein, and for such other public relations activities as will promote the same, 26 and such activities shall be considered a public purpose; 27 (9) Represent its port districts before all federal, state and local agencies; 28 (10) Cooperate with other public or private agencies [and with], individuals, 29 partnerships, corporations, industry, business, and labor in port district improvement 30 matters; HB 1346 4
31 (11) Enter into any agreement with any other states, agencies, authorities, 32 commissions, municipalities, persons, corporations, or the United States, to effect any of 33 the provisions contained in this chapter; 34 (12) Approve the construction of all wharves, piers, bulkheads, jetties, or other 35 structures; 36 (13) Prevent or remove, or cause to be removed, obstructions in harbor areas, 37 including the removal of wrecks, wharves, piers, bulkheads, derelicts, jetties or other 38 structures endangering the health and general welfare of the port districts; in case of the 39 sinking of a facility from any cause, such facility or vessel shall be removed from the harbor 40 at the expense of its owner or agent so that it shall not obstruct the harbor; 41 (14) Recommend the relocation, change, or removal of dock lines and shore or harbor 42 lines; 43 (15) Acquire, own, construct, redevelop, lease, maintain, and conduct land 44 reclamation and resource recovery, including the removal of sand, rock, or gravel, 45 residential developments, commercial developments, mixed-use developments, recreational 46 facilities, industrial parks, industrial facilities, and terminals, terminal facilities, warehouses 47 and any other type port facility; 48 (16) Acquire, own, lease, sell, mortgage, encumber, or otherwise dispose of interest 49 in and to real property and improvements situate thereon and in personal property necessary 50 to fulfill the purposes of the port authority including, but not limited to, property in 51 adjoining municipalities and states; 52 (17) Acquire rights-of-way and property of any kind or nature within its port districts 53 necessary for its purposes. Every port authority shall have the right and power to acquire the 54 same by purchase, negotiation, or by condemnation, and should it elect to exercise the right of 55 eminent domain, condemnation proceedings shall be maintained by and in the name of the 56 port authority, and it may proceed in the manner provided by the laws of this state for any 57 county or municipality. The power of eminent domain shall not apply to property actively 58 being used in relation to or in conjunction with river trade or commerce, unless such use is by 59 a port authority pursuant to a lease in which event the power of eminent domain shall apply; 60 (18) Contract and be contracted with, and to sue and be sued; 61 (19) Accept gifts, grants, loans or contributions from the United States of America, 62 the state of Missouri, political subdivisions, municipalities, foundations, other public or 63 private agencies, [individual, partnership] individuals, partnerships, or corporations; 64 (20) Employ such managerial, engineering, legal, technical, clerical, accounting, 65 advertising, stenographic, and other assistance as it may deem advisable. The port authority 66 may also contract with independent contractors for any of the foregoing assistance; 67 (21) Improve navigable and nonnavigable areas as regulated by federal statute; HB 1346 5
68 (22) Disburse funds for its lawful activities and fix salaries and wages of its 69 employees; [and] 70 (23) Adopt, alter or repeal its own bylaws, rules and regulations governing the 71 manner in which its business may be transacted; however, said bylaws, rules and regulations 72 shall not exceed the powers granted to the port authority by this chapter; 73 (24) Create and operate such agencies and departments as may be deemed 74 necessary or useful for the furtherance of the port authority's purpose; and 75 (25) Perform such other acts and things necessary or useful in the exercise of 76 powers enumerated in this section. 77 2. Without limiting any other powers granted to port authorities by this section, 78 every local or regional port authority approved as a political subdivision of the state and 79 whose port district is located in whole or in part within any city with more than four 80 hundred thousand inhabitants and located in more than one county shall have the 81 additional powers to: 82 (1) Establish port rangers as follows: 83 (a) A port authority may appoint and commission such port rangers as the port 84 authority deems advisable to assist the municipal police force in maintaining order and 85 preserving the peace within the boundaries of any real property owned or leased by the 86 port authority within the state and on public streets within the boundaries of or abutting 87 any real property owned or leased by the port authority within the state; 88 (b) Such port rangers shall have satisfactorily completed a training course as 89 prescribed by chapter 590 for peace officers within the state or shall otherwise comply 90 with the requirements of chapter 590 for certification within the time periods specified 91 in such chapter; 92 (c) Each port ranger shall take and subscribe an oath of office to perform the 93 duties of such office faithfully and impartially and shall be given a certificate of 94 commission as a port ranger granting such port ranger the power to carry a firearm, 95 maintain order, preserve the peace, issue citations, and make arrests for violations of 96 state statutes and municipal ordinances within the port ranger's jurisdiction. The 97 municipal police force shall at all times maintain primary jurisdiction and no provision 98 of this subdivision shall be construed as depriving, curtailing, restricting, or otherwise 99 impairing such municipal police force in the performance of such police force's duties; 100 (2) (a) Exercise the powers and duties under the provisions of sections 99.010 to 101 99.230, sections 99.300 to 99.660, sections 100.300 to 100.620, and chapter 353. 102 (b) Notwithstanding any provision of sections 99.010 to 99.230, sections 99.300 to 103 99.660, sections 100.300 to 100.620, and chapter 353 to the contrary, except as otherwise 104 provided in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, in exercising such powers and duties, the HB 1346 6
105 board of port authority commissioners shall be empowered to act in lieu of the 106 governing bodies established by sections 99.010 to 99.230, sections 99.300 to 99.660, 107 sections 100.300 to 100.620, and chapter 353. 108 (c) This subdivision shall not be construed as delegating to any port authority 109 the power or authority to take any action expressly reserved to the governing body of 110 the municipality; and 111 (3) Contract with any other port authority for the purpose of providing 112 administrative support and exercising, on such other port authority's behalf and in such 113 other port authority's name, the powers delegated to port authorities by this chapter. 114 3. In implementing its powers, the port authority shall have the power to enter into 115 agreements with private operators or public entities for the joint development, redevelopment, 116 and reclamation of property within a port district or for other uses to fulfill the purposes of the 117 port authority. 68.035. 1. The state may make grants to a state port fund, as appropriated by the 2 general assembly, to be allocated by the department of transportation to local port authorities 3 or regional port coordinating agencies. These grants, administered on a nonmatching basis, 4 could be used for managerial, engineering, legal, research, promotion, planning and any other 5 expenses. 6 2. In addition the state may make capital improvement matching grants contributing 7 eighty percent of the funds and local port authorities contributing twenty percent of the funds 8 for specific undertakings of port development such as land acquisitions, construction, 9 terminal facility development, port improvement projects, and other related port facilities. 10 Notwithstanding the foregoing, any matching grants awarded by the Missouri highways and 11 transportation commission under the Port Capital Improvement Program shall be 12 transportation related. 13 3. The grants provided herein may be used as the local share in applying for other 14 grant programs. 15 4. If the general assembly includes within any appropriation bill a designation of 16 moneys for a project to be undertaken by a port authority, the department or office of 17 the state to whom the appropriation is made shall be empowered to advance the 18 designated moneys to the port authority in the fiscal year for which the appropriation 19 was made and in lieu of providing such moneys on a reimbursement basis. Such 20 advancement shall be subject to such form of agreement as the department or office of 21 the state reasonably requires for purposes of ensuring that the port authority is 22 obligated to expend the designated moneys for their intended purpose and none other. 23 Such agreement shall further obligate the port authority to the repayment of such HB 1346 7
24 designated moneys in the event the port authority fails to abide by the requirements of 25 such agreement. 68.040. 1. Every local and regional port authority, approved as a political subdivision 2 of the state, may from time to time issue its negotiable revenue bonds or notes in such 3 principal amounts as, in its opinion, shall be necessary to provide sufficient funds for 4 achieving its purposes, including the construction of port facilities and the financing of port 5 improvement projects; establish reserves to secure such bonds and notes; and make other 6 expenditures, incident and necessary to carry out its purposes and powers. 7 2. (1) This state shall not be liable on any notes or bonds of any port authority. 8 (2) Any such notes or bonds shall not be a debt of the state and shall contain on the 9 faces thereof a statement to such effect. 10 (3) The failure to include such statement on the faces of such notes or bonds shall 11 neither invalidate the notes or bonds nor render the state liable on such notes or bonds. 12 3. No commissioner of any port authority or any authorized person executing port 13 authority notes or bonds shall be liable personally on said notes or bonds or shall be subject to 14 any personal liability or accountability by reason of the issuance thereof. 15 4. The notes and bonds of every port authority are securities in which all public 16 officers and bodies of this state and all political subdivisions and municipalities, all insurance 17 companies and associations, and other persons carrying on an insurance business, all banks, 18 trust companies, saving associations, savings and loan associations, credit unions, investment 19 companies, all adm