(a) The corporate purpose and the general nature of the business of the Georgia Development Authority shall be:

(1) Rural rehabilitation permissible under the charter of the Georgia Rural Rehabilitation Corporation and contained in paragraph (3) thereof and within the meaning of Public Law 499, Eighty-first Congress, Second Session;

(2) The development of agriculture and industry generally within the state by providing, securing, or guaranteeing loans for such purposes; and

(3) Possession of and operation under any franchise, license, or permit granted to it by the United States or this state for a business purpose.

(b) The corporate powers of the authority shall be those provided in this chapter and those additional powers provided in the introductory clause and in paragraphs (1) through (5), (7), (10), and (11) of Code Section 14-2-302 and in Code Section 14-2-825.

(c)(1) As used in this subsection, the term:

(A) "Controlled substance" means any drug, substance, or immediate precursor included in the definition of controlled substances in paragraph (4) of Code Section 16-13-21. Such term shall also include marijuana as it is defined in paragraph (16) of Code Section 16-13-21.

(B) "Convicted" means a plea of guilty or a finding of guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction, irrespective of the pendency or availability of an appeal or an application for collateral relief.

(C) "Person" means a natural person, a corporation which has a convicted person as an officer or member of the board of directors, or a partnership or association which includes a convicted person as a member.

(2)(A) The Georgia Development Authority shall not provide, secure, or guarantee a loan to any person who, at the time such loan is provided, secured, or guaranteed, has been convicted, after April 16, 1990, under the laws of this state, under the laws of the United States, or under the laws of any of the other states or jurisdictions of the United States, of an offense arising out of the unlawful manufacture, distribution, possession, or use of a controlled substance; provided, however, that the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply in the case of a conviction in which a person does not lose his civil rights or to a person who has had his civil rights restored prior to the time such loan is provided, secured, or guaranteed.

(B) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the authority shall not be required to verify or make any independent investigation as to whether an applicant for a loan on or after July 1, 1990, has been convicted of one of the proscribed offenses enumerated in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph nor, though it shall not be precluded, shall it be required to foreclose upon such a loan upon later learning that an individual had been convicted of one of the proscribed offenses enumerated in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph prior to application.