There is hereby created a body, politic and corporate, to be known as the “Tennessee housing development agency.” The agency, a political subdivision and instrumentality of the state, shall be deemed to be acting in all respects for the benefit of the people of the state in the performance of essential public functions and shall be deemed to be serving a public purpose and improving and otherwise promoting the health, welfare, and prosperity of the people of the state, and that the Tennessee housing development agency shall be empowered to act on behalf of the state and its people in serving this public purpose for the benefit of the general public.