(a) There is hereby established a body corporate and politic with corporate succession, to be known as the "Alabama Toll Road, Bridge and Tunnel Authority." The authority is hereby constituted an instrumentality exercising public and essential governmental functions and the exercise by the authority of the powers conferred by this article shall be deemed and held to be an essential governmental function of the state.

(b) The authority shall consist of the Governor or his or her designee, the Lieutenant Governor or his or her designee, the Speaker of the House of Representatives or his or her designee, the Director of Transportation, the Director of Finance, the Chair of the House Government Appropriations Committee, the Chair of the Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee, and two persons from the state at large to be appointed by the Governor.

(c) The Governor shall be chairman of the authority. The authority shall elect a secretary and a treasurer who need not be members and may be one and the same person. Five members of the authority shall constitute a quorum and the concurrence of a majority of the members present shall be necessary for any action taken by the authority. No vacancy in the membership of the authority shall impair the right of a quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the authority. Should any of the officials of the state die or should his or her term of office, as such official, expire, or should he or she resign therefrom, his or her successor in office shall take his or her place as a member or officer of the authority. Any vacancy in the appointed membership of the authority shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment was made.

(d) If the secretary and treasurer are not members of the authority, before the issuance of any toll road, bridge, or tunnel revenue bonds under the provisions of this article, the secretary shall execute a surety bond in the penal sum of $25,000.00 and the treasurer shall execute a surety bond in the penal sum of $50,000.00, which shall be sufficient if he or she be secretary also. Each such surety bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties of the office of secretary or treasurer, as the case may be, to be executed by a surety company authorized to transact business in the State of Alabama as surety, and to be approved by the Governor and filed in the office of the Secretary of State. The cost of such bonds shall be borne by the authority.

(e) The members of the authority shall serve without compensation. The appointed members shall receive reimbursement for their expenses when actively engaged on the authority's business, such expenses to be paid in accordance with Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 36.