West Virginia Code 12-7-6 – Corporate powers
The board may:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 12-7-6
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
- Laws of the state: includes the Constitution of the State of West Virginia and the Constitution of the United States, and treaties and laws made in pursuance thereof. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- personal property: includes goods, chattels, real and personal, money, credits, investments, and the evidences thereof. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. Source: FDIC
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(1)( A) Make loans to eligible businesses with or without interest secured if and as required by the board; and (B) acquire ownership interests in eligible businesses. These investments may be made in eligible businesses that stimulate economic growth and provide or retain jobs in this state and shall be made only upon the determination by the board that the investments are prudent and meet the criteria established by the board;
(2) Accept appropriations, gifts, grants, bequests, and devises and use or dispose of them to carry out its corporate purposes;
(3) Make and execute contracts, releases, compromises, agreements, and other instruments necessary or convenient for the exercise of its powers or to carry out its corporate purposes;
(4) Collect reasonable fees and charges in connection with making and servicing loans, notes, bonds, obligations, commitments, and other evidence of indebtedness, in connection with making equity investments and in connection with providing technical, consultative, and project assistance services;
(5) Sue and be sued;
(6) Make, amend, and repeal bylaws and rules consistent with the provisions of this article;
(7) Hire its own employees, who shall be employees of the State of West Virginia for purposes of §5-10-1 et seq. and § 5-16-1 et seq. of this code, and appoint officers and consultants and fix their compensation and prescribe their duties;
(8) Acquire, hold, and dispose of real and personal property for its corporate purposes;
(9) Enter into agreements or other transactions with any federal or state agency, college or university, any person and any domestic or foreign partnership, corporation, association, or organization;
(10) Acquire real and personal property, or an interest in real or personal property, in its own name, by purchase or foreclosure when acquisition is necessary or appropriate to protect any loan in which the board has an interest; to sell, transfer, and convey any real or personal property to a buyer; and, in the event a sale, transfer, or conveyance cannot be effected with reasonable promptness or at a reasonable price, to lease real or personal property to a tenant;
(11) Purchase, sell, own, hold, negotiate, transfer, or assign: (A) Any mortgage, instrument, note, credit, debenture, guarantee, bond, or other negotiable instrument or obligation securing a loan, or any part of a loan; (B) any security or other instrument evidencing ownership or indebtedness; or (C) equity or other ownership interest. An offering of one of these instruments shall include the representation and qualification that the board is a public body corporate, managing a venture capital fund that includes high-risk investments and that in any transfer, sale, or assignment of any interest, the transferee, purchaser, or assignee accepts any risk without recourse to the Jobs Investment Trust or to the state;
(12) Procure insurance against losses to its property in amounts, and from insurers, as is prudent;
(13) Consent, when prudent, to the modification of the rate of interest, time of maturity, time of payment of installments of principal or interest, or any other terms of the investment, loan, contract, or agreement in which the board is a party;
(14) Establish training and educational programs to further the purposes of this article;
(15) File its own travel rules;
(16) Borrow money to carry out its corporate purpose in principal amounts and upon terms as are necessary to provide sufficient funds for achieving its corporate purpose;
(17) Take options in or warrants for, subscribe to, acquire, purchase, own, hold, transfer, sell, vote, employ, mortgage, pledge, assign, pool, or syndicate: (A) Any loans, notes, mortgages, or securities; (B) debt instruments, ownership certificates, or other instruments evidencing loans or equity; or (C) securities or other ownership interests of or in domestic or foreign corporations, associations, partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies, joint ventures, or other private enterprise to foster economic growth, jobs preservation and creation in the State of West Virginia, and all other acts that carry out the board’s purpose;
(18) Contract with either Marshall University or West Virginia University, or both, for the purpose of retaining the services of, and paying the reasonable cost of, services performed by the institution for the board to effectuate the purposes of this article;
(19) Enter into collaborative arrangements or contracts with private venture capital companies when considered advisable by the board;
(20) Provide equity financing for any eligible business that will stimulate economic growth and provide or retain jobs in this state and hold, transfer, sell, assign, pool, or syndicate, or participate in the syndication of, any loans, notes, mortgages, securities, debt instruments, or other instruments evidencing loans or equity interest in furtherance of the board’s corporate purposes;
(21) Form partnerships, create subsidiaries, or take all other actions necessary to qualify as a small business investment company under the United States Small Business Investment Act, PL 85-699, as amended;
(22) Provide for staff payroll and make purchases in the same manner as the West Virginia Economic Development Authority;
(23) Indemnify its members, directors, officers, employees, and agents relative to actions and proceedings to which they have been made parties and make advances for expenses relative thereto and purchase and maintain liability insurance on behalf of those persons all to the same extent as authorized for West Virginia business corporations under present or future laws of the state applicable to business corporations generally; and
(24) Contract for the provision of legal services by private counsel and, notwithstanding the provisions of § 5-3-1 et seq. of this code, counsel may, but is not limited to, represent the board in court, negotiate contracts and other agreements on behalf of the board, render advice to the board on any matter relating thereto, prepare contracts and other agreements, and provide any other legal services requested by the board.