(a) Each authority shall have all of the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this article, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the power:

(1) To bring and defend an action;

(2) To adopt and amend a corporate seal;

(3) To make and execute contracts and other instruments necessary to exercise the powers of the authority, any of which contracts may be made with the county in which the authority is located or with any one or more municipal corporations in such county; and each such county and all municipal corporations therein are authorized to enter into contracts with each authority;

(4) To receive and administer gifts, grants, and devises of any property and to administer trusts;

(5) To acquire by purchase, gift, or construction any real or personal property desired to be acquired by the authorities as part of any project or for the purpose of improving, extending, adding to, reconstructing, renovating, or remodeling any project or part thereof already acquired, or for the purpose of demolition to make room for such project or any part thereof;

(6) To purchase, sell, lease, exchange, transfer, assign, pledge, mortgage, or dispose of, or grant options for any such purposes, any real or personal property or interest therein;

(7) To mortgage, convey, pledge, or assign any properties, revenues, income, tolls, charges, or fees owned, received, or to be received by the authority;

(7.1) To invest and reinvest the funds of the authority in any investment which a domestic insurer may lawfully invest in, to determine the allocation of funds among investments, and to purchase, hold, sell, assign, transfer, and dispose of any securities and other investments in which funds of the authority have been invested, any proceeds of any investments, and any money belonging to the authority;

(7.2) To provide grants, scholarships, loans, or other assistance to students pursuing a course of study relating to gerontology with particular emphasis on residential care and housing facilities for the elderly, subject to such bylaws and regulations as may be made by the authority;

(8) To appoint officers and retain agents, engineers, attorneys, fiscal agents, accountants, and employees and to provide for their compensation and duties;

(9) To extend credit or make loans to any qualified sponsor for the planning, design, construction, acquisition, or carrying out of any project, which credit or loans shall be secured by loan agreements, mortgages, security agreements, contracts, and all other instruments or fees or charges, upon such terms and conditions as the authority shall determine to be reasonable, including provision for the establishment and maintenance of reserves and insurance funds; and, in the exercise of powers granted by this Code section in connection with a project for a qualified sponsor, to require the inclusion in any contract, loan agreement, security agreement, or other instrument such provisions for guaranty, insurance, construction, use, operation, maintenance, and financing of the project as the authority may deem necessary or desirable;

(10) To acquire, accept, or retain equitable interests, security interests, or other interest in any property, real or personal, by mortgage, assignment, security agreement, pledge, conveyance, contract, lien, loan agreement, or other consensual transfer in order to secure the repayment of any moneys loaned or credit extended by the authority;

(11) To construct, acquire, own, repair, remodel, maintain, extend, improve, and equip projects located on land owned or leased by the authority or land owned or leased by others and to pay all or part of the cost of any such project from the proceeds of revenue bonds of the authority or from any contribution or loans by a qualified sponsor, all of which the authority is authorized to receive, accept, and use;

(12) To borrow money and to issue its revenue bonds and bond anticipation notes from time to time and use the proceeds thereof for the purpose of paying all or part of the cost of any project, including the cost of extending, adding to, or improving such project or for the purpose of refunding or refinancing any such bonds of the authority theretofore issued or any other outstanding obligations of the authority; and otherwise to carry out the purposes of this article and to pay all other costs of the authority incident to, or necessary and appropriate to, such purposes, including the provision of moneys to be paid into any fund or funds to secure such bonds and notes; provided, however, that all such bonds and notes shall be issued in accordance with the procedures and subject to the limitations set forth in subsections (a) through (h) of Code Section 31-7-116;

(13) To pledge, mortgage, convey, assign, hypothecate, or otherwise encumber any property, real or personal, of the authority as security for repayment of authority obligations and to execute any trust agreement, indenture, or security agreement containing any provisions not in conflict with law, which trust agreement, indenture, or security agreement may provide for foreclosure or forced sale of any property of the authority upon default on such obligations either in payment of principal or interest or in the performance of any term or condition contained in the agreement or indenture. The state on behalf of itself and each county, municipal corporation, political subdivision, or taxing district therein waives any right that it or such county, municipal corporation, political subdivision, or taxing district may have to prevent the forced sale or foreclosure of any property of the authority so mortgaged or encumbered; and any such mortgage or encumbrance may be foreclosed in accordance with law and the terms thereof; and

(14) To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly conferred by this article. (b) The authority shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations which establish and prescribe criteria for determining eligible persons and qualified sponsors for the purposes of this article.