The commission may do all of the following:
(1) Investigate and select an available site for housing the exhibits, including the surrounding grounds, in cooperation with the Department of the Army, the community, and other interested public or private partners, taking into consideration all pertinent factors affecting the suitability of the site.
(2) Acquire by rent or lease agreement or otherwise the necessary housing facilities and establish, improve, and enlarge the available facility, including providing the facility with necessary equipment, furnishings, landscaping, and related facilities, including parking areas and ramps, roadways, sewers, curbs, and gutters.
(3) Enter into contracts and cooperative agreements, including leases to private industry, with the local, state, and federal governments, with agencies of those governments, including the Department of the Army and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, with other public or private individuals, corporations, associations, and other organizations as the commission may deem necessary or convenient to carry out the purpose of this article.
(4) Borrow money from private sources or other sources as may be acceptable to the commission under terms and conditions as may be provided by law and, in order to provide security for the repayment of any private loans, pledge future revenues from admissions and any other sources as may from time to time be necessary or desirable.
(5) Issue and sell, subject to the approval of the Governor, interest-bearing general obligation bonds not in excess of one million nine hundred thousand dollars ($1,900,000) in principal amount as authorized by constitutional amendment. The bonds shall be general obligations of the State of Alabama with full faith and credit and taxing power of the state to be pledged to the prompt and faithful payment of the principal of the bonds and the interest thereon. The proceeds from the sale of the bonds shall be used exclusively for the purpose of paying the expenses incurred in the sale and issuance thereof and for the construction, establishment, improvement, or enlargement and equipment of building facilities and related grounds, including the renewal or replacement of structural parts of the facility, but not including the purchase of the site for the facility.
(6) Issue and sell at any time and from time to time its revenue bonds for the purpose of providing funds to acquire, enlarge, improve, equip, and maintain a facility and for the payment of obligations incurred for those purposes. The principal and interest on any revenue bonds shall be payable solely out of the revenues derived from the project.
(7) Borrow money and in evidence of the borrowing issue and sell at any time and from time to time its revenue bonds, in addition to those authorized under subdivisions (5) and (6), for the purpose of carrying out the commission’s power to construct or acquire lodging facilities, as set out in Section 41-9-430, the principal of and interest on which shall be payable solely out of the revenues and receipts derived by the commission from the operation, leasing, or sale of the lodging facilities. The resolution under which the revenue bonds are authorized to be issued and any mortgage and deed of trust or trust indenture securing the same may contain any agreements and provisions respecting the operation, maintenance, and insurance of the property covered by the mortgage and deed of trust or trust indenture, the use of the revenues and receipts subject to the mortgage and deed of trust or trust indenture, the creation and maintenance of special funds from the revenues and receipts, the rights, duties, and remedies of the parties to any instrument and the parties for the benefit of whom the instrument is made, and the rights and remedies available in the event of default as the commission shall deem advisable and which are not in conflict with this section. Each pledge, agreement, mortgage, and deed of trust or trust indenture made for the benefit or security of any of the revenue bonds of the commission shall continue effective until the principal of and interest on the bonds for the benefit of which the same were made shall have been fully paid. In the event of default in payment or in any agreements of the commission made as a part of the contract under which the revenue bonds were issued, whether contained in the proceedings authorizing those bonds or in any mortgage and deed of trust or trust indenture executed as security therefor, the payment may be enforced by mandamus, the appointment of a receiver, or either of these remedies, and foreclosure of the mortgage and deed of trust or trust indenture, if provided for in the instrument, may be had.
(8) Make contracts in the issuance of its bonds as may seem necessary or desirable to assure their marketability and provide for their retirement by a pledge of all or any revenue which may come to the commission from the investment of the proceeds of the sale of the bonds or from any other source whatsoever.
(9) Accept public or private gifts, grants, and donations.
(10) Acquire property by purchase, lease, gift, or license.
(11) Allocate and expend funds from all donations, income, and revenue from any source whatsoever coming into its treasury for the fulfillment and accomplishment of its duties and responsibilities in any manner as may be necessary and appropriate for the perfection of the purposes of this article. The treasury of the commission is not within the State Treasury.
(12) Sell, convey, transfer, mortgage, lease, or donate any property, franchise, grant, easement, license, or lease or interest therein which the commission may own; and transfer, assign, sell, mortgage, convey, or donate any right, title, or interest which it may have in any lease, contract, agreement, license, or property.
(13) Employ a chief executive officer or an executive director and additional personnel as may be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this article. The chief executive officer or executive director shall serve at the pleasure of the commission. The commission shall fix the compensation of the chief executive officer or executive director which shall be paid from the funds of the commission. The commission shall designate the duties and authority of the chief executive officer or executive director. The chief executive officer or executive director and any additional personnel shall not be subject to the state Merit System Act; provided, however, that they shall be eligible for participation, in whole or in part, in the state health insurance plan and benefits as provided in Article 1 of Chapter 29 of Title 36, and they shall be eligible for participation, in whole or in part, in the State Employees’ Retirement System under Section 36-27-6 governing counties, cities, towns, and other quasi-public organizations of the state, at the discretion of the commission. The commission and the personnel of the commission are not subject to the state calendar and other benefits provided in Section 1-3-8, and may provide, by rule, for a calendar, holiday schedule, and other employee benefits.
(14) Adopt rules as the commission deems necessary and desirable to provide for the operation, management, and control of the facility in cooperation with the Department of the Army, with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and with other public or private partners, where feasible.
(15) Expend funds of the commission in the development, operation, promotion, and expansion of the programs and activities of the commission including the franchising, nationally and internationally, of the United States Space Camp, a youth science program developed and owned by the commission, and create, maintain, and operate additional education programs in rocketry, space exploration, astronomy, aviation, aeronautics, robotics, computer programming, cybersecurity, and any other topic the commission deems appropriate to fulfilling the educational mission and mandate of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.
(16) Perform other acts necessary or incidental to the accomplishment of the purposes of this article, whether or not specifically authorized in this section and not otherwise prohibited by law.