12-2514.   Mo-Kan metropolitan development district and agency compact;commissioners.The governor shall appoint, subject to confirmation by the senate asprovided in K.S.A. 75-4315b, three commissioners to enter into a compact onbehalf of the state of Kansas with the state of Missouri. Any two of thecommissioners so appointed, together with the attorney general of the stateof Kansas, may act to enter into the following compact:

Compact Between Missouri and Kansas Creating the Mo-Kan MetropolitanDevelopment District and the Mo-Kan Development Agency.

      The states of Missouri and Kansas solemnly agree:

      They agree to and pledge, each to the other, faithful cooperation inthe future planning and development of the Mo-Kan metropolitandevelopment district, holding in high trust for the benefit of itspeople and of the nation, the special blessings and natural advantagesthereof.

      There is created a district to be known as the "Missouri-Kansasmetropolitan development district" (hereinafter referred to as "thedistrict") which is composed of the counties of Jackson, Cass, Clay andPlatte in Missouri and the counties of Johnson, Leavenworth andWyandotte in Kansas.

      There is created "the Mo-Kan development agency of theMissouri-Kansas metropolitan development district" (hereinafter referredto as "the Mo-Kan agency") which is bodycorporate and politic and which has the following powers:

      (1)   To acquire by gift, purchase or lease, and to plan, construct,operate and maintain, or lease to others for operation and maintenance,bridges, tunnels, airports, wharves, docks, harbors, sewage disposalplants, passenger transportation systems and facilities, and air, water,rail, motor vehicle and other terminal facilities.

      (2)   To make plans for submission to the communities involved for thecoordination of streets, highways, parkways, parking areas, terminals,water supply, sewage and garbage and sewage disposal works, educational,health and welfare, recreational and conservation projects, land usepattern and other matters in which joint or coordinate action of thecommunities in the area is deemed generally beneficial; and to contractwith municipalities or other political subdivisions for the services oruse of any facility owned or operated by the Mo-Kan agency, or owned oroperated by any such municipality or other political subdivision.

      (3)   To charge and collect fees for the use of facilities owned andoperated by it.

      (4)   To issue negotiable refunding notes, bonds or other instrumentsin writing for the purpose of refunding, extending or unifying the wholeor any part of its valid indebtedness from time to time outstanding,whether evidenced by notes, bonds or other instruments in writing shallnot exceed in amount the principal of the outstanding indebtedness to berefunded and the accrued interest thereon to the date of such refunding.

      (5)   To receive for its lawful activities contributions or moneysappropriated by counties or municipalities, or by the federal governmentor any agency or officer thereof.

      (6)   To receive for its lawful activities gifts or moneys contributedby chartered charitable corporations or foundations.

      (7)   To disburse funds for its lawful activities and, within thelimits set forth by the legislatures of Missouri and Kansas, fix thecompensation of its officers and employees.

      (8)   To contract with any county, city, town, village or townshipwith respect to any of the powers herein granted.

      (9)   To perform all other necessary and incidental functions.

      (10)   To exercise such additional powers as may be conferred on it bythe legislature of either state concurred in by the legislature of theother.

      (11)   To borrow money for the acquisition, planning, construction,equipping, operation, maintenance, repair, extension and improvement ofany facility which it has the power to own or to operate, and to issuethe negotiable notes, bonds or other instruments in writing of theMo-Kan agency in evidence of the sum or sums to be borrowed.

      (12)   To provide that all negotiable notes, bonds or otherinstruments in writing issued either pursuant to subdivision (4) or (11)of this article shall be payable, both as toprincipal and interest, out of the revenues collected for the use of thespecific facility owned or operated by the Mo-Kan agency for which thenegotiable notes, bonds or other instruments were issued, or out of anyother resources of the Mo-Kan agency, and may be further secured by amortgage or deed of trust upon any property owned by the Mo-Kan agency.All notes, bonds or other instruments in writing issued by the Mo-Kanagency as herein provided shall mature in not to exceed 40 yearsfrom the date thereof, shall bear interest at a rate not exceeding themaximum rate of interest prescribed by K.S.A. 10-1009, and shall be soldfor not less than 95% of the par value thereof.The Mo-Kan agency shall have the power to prescribe the details on suchnotes, bonds or other instruments in writing, and of the issuance andsale thereof, and shall have power to enter into covenants with theholders of such notes, bonds or other instruments in writing, notinconsistent with the powers herein granted to the Mo-Kan agency,without further legislative authority.

      (13)   To condemn any and all rights or property, of any kind orcharacter, necessary for the purposes of the Mo-Kan agency, subjectto the provisions of this compact. If the property tobe condemned be situated in the state of Kansas, the agency shallfollow the procedure of the act of the state of Kansas providing for theexercise of the right of eminent domain, and if the property to becondemned be situated in the state of Missouri, the agency shallfollow the procedure provided by the laws of the state of Missouri forthe appropriation of land or other property taken for telegraph,telephone or railroad right-of-ways.

      (14)   To contract and to be contracted with, and to sue and to besued in contract.

      No property now or hereafter vested in or held by either state, or byany county, municipality or other political subdivision thereof shall betaken or used by the Mo-Kan agency without the authority or consent ofthe state or political subdivision affected, and nothing herein impairsor invalidates any bonded indebtedness of a state or politicalsubdivision or impairs any provisions of law regulating the payment ofrevenues derived from municipal properties into sinking funds or thededication of revenues derived from municipal property to a specificpurpose.

      Unless otherwise provided, the Mo-Kan agency shall make an annualreport to the governor of each state setting forth in detail theoperations and transactions conducted by it pursuant to this agreementand any legislation enacted thereunder.

      Nothing in this compact impairs the power of any municipality toimprove terminal or other facilities.

      The Mo-Kan agency shall from time to time make plans for thedevelopment of the district. When such plans are approved by thelegislatures of the two contracting states, these plans shall be bindingupon both states with the same force and effect as provisionsincorporated in this compact.

      The Mo-Kan agency may petition any interstate commerce commission (orlike body), any public service commission, public utilities commission(or like body) or any other federal, state, municipal, or localauthority, administrative, judicial or legislative, having jurisdictionin the premises, for the adoption and execution of any physicalimprovements, changes in method, rates of transportation, systems ofhandling freight, warehousing, docking, lightering or transfer offreight which, in the opinion of the Mo-Kan agency, may be designed toimprove the transaction of commerce in and through the district orimprove terminal and transportation facilities therein. It may intervenein any proceeding affecting the commerce of the district.

      The Mo-Kan agency shall consist of 10 commissioners, five of whomshall be resident voters of the state of Missouri and five of whom shallbe resident voters of the state of Kansas. All commissioners shallreside within the Mo-Kan district. The Missouri members shall be chosenby the state of Missouri and the Kansas members by the state of Kansasin the manner and for the terms fixed by the legislature of each stateexcept as herein provided.

      1.   The Mo-Kan agency shall elect from its number a chairperson and avice-chairperson and may appoint such other officers as it may require forthe performance of its duties and fix and determine their qualificationsand duties.

      2.   Unless otherwise determined by the legislatures of the twostates, no action of the Mo-Kan agency shall be binding unless taken ata meeting at which at least three members from each state are present,and unless a majority of the commissioners shall vote in favor thereof.Each state reserves the right to provide by law for the exercise of theveto by its governor over any action of any of its commissioners.

      3.   Unless otherwise determined by the action of the legislatures ofthe two states, the Mo-Kan agency shall not incur obligations forsalaries, office or other administrative expenses until appropriationsadequate to meet such obligations have been made.

      4.   The Mo-Kan agency is authorized to make suitable rules andregulations not inconsistent with the constitution or laws of the UnitedStates or of either of the contracting states, or of any politicalsubdivision thereof, and subject to the exercise of the powers ofcongress, for the improvement of the district, which when concurred inor authorized by the legislatures of both states, shall be binding andeffective upon all persons and corporations affected.

      5.   The two contracting states shall provide penalties for violationsof any order or rules and regulations of the Mo-Kan agency and shall providefor the manner of enforcing the same.

      1.   The Mo-Kan agency is authorized and directed to proceed with thedevelopment of the district in accordance with the articles of thiscompact as rapidly as may be economically practicable and is vested withall necessary and appropriate powers not inconsistent with theconstitution or the laws of the United States or of either state toeffectuate the same, except the power to levy assessments or taxes.

      2.   The Mo-Kan agency shall render such advice, suggestions andassistance to all municipal officials as will permit all local andmunicipal improvements, so far as practicable, to be integrated with theplans for the development of the district.

      All property, real and personal, owned or held by the Mo-Kan agency,and all interest income derived from any notes, bonds or otherinstruments in writing issued by the Mo-Kan agency, shall possess thesame status, with respect to taxation in the state of its situs, as isnow or may hereafter be possessed by property, real and personal, ownedor held by cities within the state of situs and by the interest incomederived from notes, bonds or other instruments in writing issued by suchcities.

      Any notes, bonds or other instruments in writing issued by the Mo-Kanagency pursuant to the provisions of this compact are herebyrecognized to be securities in which all state and municipal officersand bodies, all banks, bankers, trust companies, savings banks, savingsassociations, building and loan associations, investment companies, andall other persons carrying on a banking business, all insurancecompanies, insurance associations, and other persons carrying on aninsurance business, and all administrators, executors, guardians,trustees and other fiduciaries and all other persons whatsoever who arenow or who may hereafter be authorized to invest in bonds or otherobligations of the state of Kansas may properly and legally invest anyfunds, including capital, belonging to them, or within their control;and the said obligations are hereby recognized as securities which mayproperly and legally be deposited with and shall be received by anystate or municipal officer or agency for any purpose for which thedeposit of bonds or other obligations of this state is now or mayhereafter be authorized.

      In Witness Whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and sealsunder the authority vested in us by law.

      In the presence of:

            (Signed)

      History:   L. 1957, ch. 198 § 1; L. 1965, ch. 112, §1; L. 1970, ch. 64, § 18; L. 1978, ch. 99, § 12; L. 1982, ch. 347, § 3; July 1.