{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-1061","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 63, § 63-1061","heading":"Power of authority","body":"Every authority shall have all powers necessary or convenient to\n\ncarry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this act,\n\nincluding the following powers in addition to others herein\n\nspecifically granted:\n\n(a) To sue and to be sued; to have a seal and to alter the same\n\nat pleasure; to have perpetual succession; to make and execute\n\ncontracts and other instruments necessary or convenient to the\n\nexercise of the powers of the authority; and to make and from time\n\nto time amend and repeal bylaws, rules and regulations.\n\n(b) Within its area of operation: to prepare, carry out and\n\noperate projects and to provide for the acquisition, construction,\n\nreconstruction, improvement, extension, alteration or repair of any\n\nproject or any part thereof. Provided, however, that a public\n\nhearing to consider a proposed project requiring construction,\n\npurchasing, leasing or renting of more than twenty new housing units\n\nshall be held together by the authority and governing body, and any\n\nsuch project must be found to be in the public interest by a\n\nmajority of the members constituting said authority and a majority\n\nof the members constituting said governing body as a condition\n\nprecedent to the implementation of any such project. Notice of the\n\npublic hearing required by this provision shall be given by\n\npublication in a newspaper of general circulation within the\n\njurisdiction of the authority at least ten (10) days and not more\n\nthan thirty (30) days prior to said hearing; provided that an\n\nadditional public hearing shall be held by the authority before the\n\nsame shall select any location for any contiguous or noncontiguous\n\narea of land on which the authority proposes to construct more than\n\ntwenty additional new housing units, and such hearing shall have as\n\nits subject the location of the proposed additional units. Notice\n\nof the public hearing required by this provision shall be given in a\n\nnewspaper of general circulation within the jurisdiction of the\n\nauthority at least ten (10) days and not more than thirty (30) days\n\nprior to said hearing and three members of the Commission must\n\nconcur in the selection of any such location, except that the\n\naforesaid proviso concerning an additional public hearing shall not\n\napply to a location in an approved urban renewal project area.\n\n(c) To undertake and carry out studies and analyses of housing\n\nneeds within its area of operation and ways of meeting such needs,\n\nincluding data with respect to population and family groups and the\n\ndistribution thereof according to income groups, the amount and\n\nquality of available housing and its distribution according to\n\nrental and sale prices, employment, wages and other factors\n\naffecting the local housing needs and the meeting thereof, and to\n\nmake the results of such studies and analyses available to the\n\npublic and the building, housing and supply industries; and to\n\nengage in research and disseminate information on housing and slum\n\nclearance.\nquality of available housing and its distribution according to\n\nrental and sale prices, employment, wages and other factors\n\naffecting the local housing needs and the meeting thereof, and to\n\nmake the results of such studies and analyses available to the\n\npublic and the building, housing and supply industries; and to\n\nengage in research and disseminate information on housing and slum\n\nclearance.\n\n(d) To utilize, contract with, act through, assist and cooperate\n\nor deal with any person, agency, institution or organization, public\n\nor private, for the provision of services, privileges, works or\n\nfacilities for or in connection with its projects; and,\n\nnotwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this act or in\n\nany other provision of law, to agree to any conditions attached to\n\nfederal financial assistance relating to the determination of\n\nprevailing salaries or wages or payment of not less than prevailing\n\nsalaries or wages or compliance with labor standards, in the\n\ndevelopment or administration of projects, and to include in any\n\ncontract awarded or entered into in connection with a project\n\nstipulations requiring that the contractor and all subcontractors\n\ncomply with requirements as to minimum salaries or wages and maximum\n\nhours of labor, and comply with any conditions attached to the\n\nfinancial aid of the project. Construction, restitution,\n\nimprovement, extension, alteration or major repair of any project or\n\nany part thereof shall be open to competitive bidding: provided,\n\nhowever, nothing in this section shall prevent a local housing\n\nauthority from requesting proposals from property owners and/or\n\ndevelopers to provide certain kinds of housing to the housing\n\nauthority either presently existing or to be developed; provided,\n\nthat the local authority establish safeguards relating to laws and\n\nregulations of the United States wherein the same has entered into\n\ncontracts with the authority to provide financial assistance in\n\nacquiring the same; provided, further, that no authority shall\n\ndiscriminate in its seeking, or in the award, of any contract for\n\nservices, acquisition of real or personal property, construction of\n\nbuildings, dwelling units, streets, utilities, site grading,\n\nlandscaping and repairs to any of its holdings or upon property that\n\nthe authority plans to acquire, to include renovations, solely based\n\non the race, sex, color, religious beliefs or national origin of a\n\nperson or firm; except an Indian authority may give preference in\n\nits awarding of a contract in all forms so long as the services to\n\nbe performed, or the construction of buildings, dwellings, site\n\nimprovements, repairs or renovation is to be performed or carried\n\nout on a federally recognized tribal reservation or former\n\nreservations and only then upon land held in trust by, or owned by,\n\nthe respective Indian tribe; and provided, further, that all\n\npreviously listed restrictions and regulations concerning public\n\nhearings and locations of said projects are complied with in their\n\nentirety.\nmprovements, repairs or renovation is to be performed or carried\n\nout on a federally recognized tribal reservation or former\n\nreservations and only then upon land held in trust by, or owned by,\n\nthe respective Indian tribe; and provided, further, that all\n\npreviously listed restrictions and regulations concerning public\n\nhearings and locations of said projects are complied with in their\n\nentirety.\n\n(e) To lease, rent, sell or lease with option to purchase any\n\ndwelling, accommodations, lands, buildings, structures or facilities\n\nembraced in any project and, subject to the limitations contained in\n\nthis act with respect to the rental of or charges for dwellings in\n\nhousing projects, to establish and revise the rents or charges\n\ntherefor; to own, hold and improve real or personal property; to\n\npurchase, lease, obtain options upon, acquire by gift, grant,\n\nbequest, devise or otherwise any real or personal property or any\n\ninterest therein; to acquire by the exercise of the power of eminent\n\ndomain any real property or interest therein; to sell, lease,\n\nexchange, transfer, assign, pledge or dispose of any real or\n\npersonal property or any interest therein, provided, however, that\n\nbefore any such personal property shall be sold it shall be\n\nadvertised for sale in a newspaper of general circulation within the\n\njurisdiction of the authority, and such advertisement shall state\n\nthe time and place where written bids shall be received, or public\n\nauction shall be held, that such property shall be sold to the\n\nhighest bidder, and that the authority may, within its discretion,\n\nreject all bids and readvertise such property for sale in the event\n\nany property, real or personal, acquired by the authority, by\n\neminent domain or otherwise, is later found to be in excess of its\n\nneeds, or unsuitable or unuseable for any reason, such property\n\nshall, before being sold, leased, exchanged, transferred, assigned,\n\npledged or disposed of in any other manner, be first offered to\n\nthose persons, individuals, groups, organizations, corporations,\n\nmunicipalities or their successors from whom it was first procured\n\nby the authority, at the same price as paid by the authority at the\n\ntime of acquiring same, and except that lands acquired by the\n\nauthority may be sold to other governmental agencies for public\n\npurposes, as long as such parcel of land does not exceed one percent\n\n(1%) of the total land held by the authority and the sale is made\n\nwithin ninety (90) days of the effective date of this act; to make\n\nloans for the provisions of housing for occupancy by persons of low\n\nincome; to insure or provide for the insurance of any real or\n\npersonal property or operations of the authority against any risks\n\nor hazards; to procure or agree to the procurement of government\n\ninsurance or guarantees of the payment of any bonds or parts thereof\n\nissued by the authority, including the power to pay premiums on any\n\nsuch insurance; provided, however, that notwithstanding any\n\nprovisions in this law, the authority may develop programs for the\n\nsale of individual homes and/or two-family units to low income\n\nfamilies or to families who have at one time qualified as low income\n\nfamilies under this act, under terms which the housing authority may\n\nestablish under conditions acceptable to bondholders, other lenders\n\nand the federal government.\n\n(f) To invest any funds held in reserves or sinking funds or any\n\nfunds not required for immediate disbursement in property or\n\nsecurities in which public funds in the custody of a county\n\ntreasurer or the Treasurer of the State of Oklahoma may be legally\n\ninvested; to redeem its bonds at the redemption price established\n\ntherein or to purchase its bonds at less than such redemption price,\n\nall bonds so redeemed or purchased to be cancelled.\ninking funds or any\n\nfunds not required for immediate disbursement in property or\n\nsecurities in which public funds in the custody of a county\n\ntreasurer or the Treasurer of the State of Oklahoma may be legally\n\ninvested; to redeem its bonds at the redemption price established\n\ntherein or to purchase its bonds at less than such redemption price,\n\nall bonds so redeemed or purchased to be cancelled.\n\n(g) Within its area of operation: to determine where slum areas\n\nexist or where there is unsafe, unsanitary or overcrowded housing;\n\nto make studies and recommendations relating to the problem of\n\nclearing, replanning and reconstruction of slum areas and the\n\nproblem of eliminating unsafe, unsanitary or overcrowded housing and\n\nproviding dwelling accommodations for persons of low income; and to\n\ncooperate with the state or any state public body in action taken in\n\nconnection with such problems. Provided, however, the authority\n\nshall not have the power to relocate any persons to other areas\n\nuntil housing has been provided for such persons under this act.\n\n(h) Acting through one or more commissioners or other persons\n\ndesignated by the authority: to conduct examinations and\n\ninvestigations and to hear testimony and take proof under oath at\n\npublic hearings on any matter material for its information; to\n\nadminister oaths, issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of\n\nwitnesses or the production of books and papers and to issue\n\ncommissions for the examination of witnesses who are outside of the\n\nstate or unable to attend before the authority, or excused from\n\nattendance; to make available to appropriate agencies, including\n\nthose charged with the duty of abating or requiring the correction\n\nof nuisances or like conditions or of demolishing unsafe or\n\nunsanitary structures within its area of operation, its findings and\n\nrecommendations with regard to any building or property where\n\nconditions exist which are dangerous to the public health, morals,\n\nsafety or welfare.\n\n(i) To exercise all or any part or combination of powers herein\n\ngranted.\n\nThe powers of an authority shall not include: (1) the power to\n\nappropriate funds of a city or county; (2) the power to levy taxes\n\nand assessments; (3) the power to zone or rezone; or (4) the power\n\nto make exceptions to zoning ordinances or building regulations of a\n\ncity or county.\n\nNo provision by law with respect to the acquisition, operation\n\nor disposition of property by other public bodies shall be\n\napplicable to an authority unless the Legislature shall specifically\n\nso state.","path":["OK Code","Title 63"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os63.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"6e263f8142c3ca89f12a36500979738a3aef88d8d1597a7b8cc0e9e9c3baf811","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-1060","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-1062"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}