CHAPTER 468

An Act to amend and reenact 8§ 8, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 21 of Chap. 157
of the Acts of Assembly of 1954, as amended, relating to the Ports-
mouth Port and Industrial Commission, relating to the appointment
of commissioners; validating the creation of said Commission, the
appointment of the present commissioners thereof, and all actions
and proceedings heretofore taken by said Commission and by the
council of the city of Portsmouth; relating to the powers of the Com-
mission; uuthorizing the city of Portsmouth to convey property to the
Commission; providing for payments in lieu of taxes; authorizing the
tssuance of bonds; and relating to the construction of the act.

[S 272]
Approved April 4, 1966

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 3, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 21 of Chapter 157 of the Acts of Assembly
of 1954, approved March 56, 1954, shall be amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 3. The Commission shall be governed by five Commissioners, ap-
pointed by the council of the city of Portsmouth.* The Commission may
own and operate facilities located within or partly within and partly without
the city of Portsmouth. All action and proceedings heretofore taken by the
council of said city relating to said Commission are hereby ratified, valt-
dated and confirmed and the appointment of the present commissioners 18
hereby ratified, validated and confirmed, and all actions and proceedings
pai by said Commission to date are hereby ratified, validated and con-

rmed.

§ 6. The Commission shall have the following powers:

(a) To contract and be contracted with; to sue and to be sued; and
to adopt and use a corporate seal, and to alter the same at pleasure;

(b) To acquire, hold and dispose of personal property necessary for
its purposes;

(c) To acquire by purchase or lease, real property, or rights, ease-
ments or estates therein necessary for its purposes; and to sell, lease, and
dispose of the same, or any portion thereof or interest therein;

(d) To acquire, lease, construct, maintain and operate, landings,
wharves, docks and piers, and the approaches to and appurtenances thereof,
tracks, spurs, crossings, switchings, terminals, warehouses and terminal
facilities of every kind and description necessary or useful in the trans-
portation and storage of goods, wares and merchandise, to perform any
and all services at said facilities in connection with the receipt, delivery,
shipment and transfer in transit, weighing, marking, tagging, ventilating,
fumigating, refrigerating, icing, storing and handling of goods, wares, and
merchandise, to prescribe and collect charges from vessels coming into or
using any landings, wharves, docks and piers, operated and maintained
by the Commission and from persons using any of its other facilities, and
to lease any and all of such facilities or any concessions properly incident
thereto for the maintenance and operation of any and all thereof on such
terms and conditions as it may deem proper;

(e) To maintain and operate a foreign trade zone under such terms
and conditions as may be prescribed by law;

(f) To sell or lease or to construct for sale or lease, on such terms
and conditions as it may deem proper, factories,* manufacturing facilities
of any kind and description, or any of the facilities described in subpara-
graph (da) of this section, and approaches to and appurtenances thereof ;

(g) To fix and charge tolls, fees and any other charges for the use
of, or for services rendered by, any of the facilities it is authorized here-
under to maintain and operate;

(h) To employ a director and such other agents and employees as
may be necessary, to serve at the pleasure of the Commission, and to fix
their compensation and prescribe their duties;

(1) Todoall other acts and things which may be reasonably necessary
and convenient to carry out its purposes and powers;

(j) The Commission has the right to acquire property for the purpose
of encouraging commerce and manufacture, to construct on such property
buildings and structures necessary or appropriate for industrial or com-
mercial use, and to sell, lease, or operate the same for such uses and
purposes.

§ 9. *The Commission may sell any property owned by it which it
deems to be no longer useful or necessary in its operations, provided,
however, that the Commission shall first advertise for bids therefor by
publication of the notice of receipt of such bids, once in a newspaper, pub-
lished in or having a general circulation in the city of Portsmouth at least
ten days prior to the receipt of such bids. The Commission shall have the
right to reject any and all bids. Notwithstanding, and without being subject
to, the foregoing provisions of this section, the Commission may lease or
convey to the Commonwealth of Virginia or any authority, commission or
political subdivision thereof any of its property, real or personal, upon
such terms as may be agreed upon, and may also lease or convey to any per-
son, firm or corporation the facilities described in subparagraphs (d) and
(f) of Section 6 of this act upon such terms as may be agreed upon.

§ 10. The council of the city of Portsmouth is authorized and em-
powered to transfer to the Commission the operation and maintenance
of such suitable facilities as are now or may be hereafter owned by the city,
on such terms and conditions which it may prescribe; but this section shall
not be construed as authorizing the Commission to maintain and operate
such facilities unless and until the operation thereof has been transferred by
the council. The council of the city of Portsmouth is also authorized and
empowered to lease or convey to the Commission any property, real or
personal, owned by the city, on such terms and conditions which the council
may prescribe and no provision of the charter of the city or any other law
to the contrary shall be applicable to such lease or conveyance of title.

§ 11. The city of Portsmouth is authorized and empowered to make
appropriations and to provide funds for the establishment and operation
of the Commission. The Commission shall pay to the city of Portsmouth
in lieu of taxes a sum equal to* five per cent per annum of the* gross annual*
income received by the Commission* exclusive of any grants or contribu-
tions received from the federal government, the Commonwealth of Virginia,
or any political subdivision thereof; provided, however, that the council of
the city of Portsmouth may, from time to time, by resolution, waive the
payment by the Commission of all or any part of such payment in lieu of
taxes on all or any part of the income of the Commission for such period
of time as may be prescribed therein.

§ 12. The Commission shall have the power to issue bonds from time
to time in its discretion, for any of its purposes, including the payment or
retirement of bonds previously issued by it. The Commission may issue such
types of bonds as it may determine, including (without limiting the gen-
erality of the foregoing) bonds payable, both as to principal and interest:
(a) from its revenue generally; (b) exclusively from the income and reve-
nues of a particular “facility” ; which term shall mean a particular building
or structure or particular buildings or structures including all equipment,
appurtenances and accessories necessary or appropriate for the operation
of such facility ; or (c) exclusively from the income and revenues of certain
designated facilities whether or not they are financed in whole or in part
from the proceeds of such bonds. Any such bonds may be additionally
secured by a pledge of any grant or contributions from the federal govern-
ment, Commonwealth of Virginia, or any authority, commission or political
subdivision* thereof, or a pledge of any income or revenues of the Commis-
sion, or a mortgage of any particular facility or facilities or other property
of the Commission.

§ 21. This act shall constitute full and complete authority, without
regard to the provisions of any other law, for the doing of the acts and
things authorized and shall be liberally construed to effect the purposes
hereof. The powers granted and the duties imposed in this act shall be
construed to be independent and severable. If any one or more sections,
subsections, sentences, or parts of* this act shall be adjudged unconstitu-
tional or invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the
remaining provisions thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the
specific provisions so held unconstitutional or invalid.

2. An emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.