(a)The department, through the commissioner
or the commissioner's designee, may do the following:
(1)Subject to section 6.5 of this chapter, acquire by purchase,
gift, or condemnation, sell, abandon, own in fee or a lesser
interest, hold, or lease property in the name of the state, or
otherwise dispose of or encumber property to carry out its
responsibilities.
(2)Contract with persons outside the department to do those
things that in the commissioner's opinion cannot be adequately or
efficiently performed by the department.
(3)Enter into:
(A)a contract with the Indiana finance authority under IC 8-9.5-8-7; or
(B)a lease with the Indiana finance authority under IC 8-9.5-8-8;
for the construction, reconstruction, improvement, maintenance,
repair, or operation of toll road projects unde
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(a) The department, through the commissioner
or the commissioner's designee, may do the following:
(1) Subject to section 6.5 of this chapter, acquire by purchase,
gift, or condemnation, sell, abandon, own in fee or a lesser
interest, hold, or lease property in the name of the state, or
otherwise dispose of or encumber property to carry out its
responsibilities.
(2) Contract with persons outside the department to do those
things that in the commissioner's opinion cannot be adequately or
efficiently performed by the department.
(3) Enter into:
(A) a contract with the Indiana finance authority under IC 8-9.5-8-7; or
(B) a lease with the Indiana finance authority under IC 8-9.5-8-8;
for the construction, reconstruction, improvement, maintenance,
repair, or operation of toll road projects under IC 8-15-2 and toll
bridges under IC 8-16-1.
(4) Enter into a contract with a contractor, operator, or design
builder or construction manager as constructor for, or with any
adviser, consultant, attorney, accountant, engineer, architect, or
other person or entity in connection with, the construction,
reconstruction, improvement, maintenance, repair, or operation of
a railroad project, as defined in IC 8-5-15-1, in accordance with
an authorization provided to the department by the board of
trustees of a commuter transportation district under IC 8-5-15-5(a)(21).
(5) Sue and be sued, including, with the approval of the attorney
general, the compromise of any claims of the department.
(6) Hire attorneys.
(7) Perform all functions pertaining to the acquisition of property
for transportation purposes, including the compromise of any
claims for compensation.
(8) Hold investigations and hearings concerning matters covered
by orders and rules of the department.
(9) Execute all documents and instruments necessary to carry out
its responsibilities.
(10) Make contracts and expenditures, perform acts, enter into
agreements, and make rules, orders, and findings that are
necessary to comply with all laws, rules, orders, findings,
interpretations, and regulations promulgated by the federal
government in order to:
(A) qualify the department for; and
(B) receive;
federal government funding on a full or participating basis.
(11) Adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to carry out its responsibilities.
(12) Establish regional offices.
(13) Adopt a seal.
(14) Perform all actions necessary to carry out the department's
responsibilities.
(15) Order a utility to relocate the utility's facilities and coordinate
the relocation of customer service facilities if:
(A) the facilities are located in a highway, street, or road; and
(B) the department determines that the facilities will interfere
with a planned highway or bridge construction or improvement
project funded by the department.
(16) Reimburse a utility:
(A) in whole or in part for extraordinary costs of relocation of
facilities;
(B) in whole for unnecessary relocations;
(C) in accordance with IC 8-23-26-12 and IC 8-23-26-13;
(D) in whole for relocations covered by IC 8-1-9; and
(E) to the extent that a relocation is a taking of property without
just compensation.
(17) Provide state matching funds and undertake any surface
transportation project eligible for funding under federal law.
However, money from the state highway fund and the state
highway road construction and improvement fund may not be
used to provide operating subsidies to support a public
transportation system or a commuter transportation system.
(18) Upon request, evaluate, negotiate, and enter into:
(A) a supplemental funding agreement with a regional
development authority under IC 36-9-43; or
(B) an interlocal agreement with a regional development
authority for purposes of IC 36-9-43.
(b) In the performance of contracts and leases with the Indiana
finance authority, the department has authority under IC 8-15-2, in the
case of toll road projects and IC 8-16-1, in the case of toll bridges
necessary to carry out the terms and conditions of those contracts and
leases.
(c) The department shall:
(1) classify as confidential any estimate of cost prepared in
conjunction with analyzing competitive bids for projects until a
bid below the estimate of cost is read at the bid opening;
(2) classify as confidential that part of the parcel files that contain
appraisal and relocation documents prepared by the department's
land acquisition division; and
(3) classify as confidential records that are the product of systems
designed to detect collusion in state procurement and contracting
that, if made public, could impede detection of collusive behavior
in securing state contracts.
This subsection does not apply to parcel files of public agencies or
affect IC 8-23-7-10.
(d) In the case of a regional development authority that undertakes
a regional transportation infrastructure project under IC 36-9-43, the
department shall cooperate with the regional development authority.