(a) There is created a body corporate and politic to be known as the Georgia Education Authority (Schools), which shall be deemed to be an instrumentality of the State of Georgia and a public corporation and by that name, style, and title such body may contract and be contracted with, bring and defend actions, and implead and be impleaded. The authority shall consist of five members, as follows: three appointees of the Governor, one appointee of the Lieutenant Governor, and one appointee of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The terms of office for all members shall be three years and until their successors are appointed and qualified.

(b) The authority shall elect one of its members as chairperson and another as vice chairperson and a secretary and treasurer, who need not necessarily be a member of the authority. The majority of the members of the authority shall constitute a quorum. No vacancy on the authority shall impair the right of the quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the authority. The members of the authority shall not be entitled to compensation for their services but shall be entitled to and shall be reimbursed for their actual expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties. The authority may have staff assigned from within the Department of Education or the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission for the purposes of carrying out the authority's duties and responsibilities, with compensation paid from resources available to the authority or the Department of Education or the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission, as the department, the commission, and the authority may agree. The Department of Education and all other state or local government entities shall provide all necessary assistance requested by the authority. The Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission shall provide financial advisory services to the authority in accordance with Code Section 50-17-22, and all debt of the authority shall be subject to the approval of the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission. The authority shall make rules and regulations for its own government. It shall have perpetual existence. Any change in name or composition of the authority shall in no way affect the vested rights of any person under this part or impair the obligations of any contracts existing under this part.

(c) The authority is assigned to the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission for administrative purposes only as prescribed in Code Section 50-4-3.