§167-6 Further powers. (a) [Repeal and reenactment on June 30, 2025. L 2014, c 223, §4.] The board of agriculture shall also have the power to:

(1) Establish and certify the total amount of acreage assessments to be levied annually and collect the assessments within each project;

(2) Set and from time to time revise tolls that it shall charge for the water provided by its facilities, subject to the rate policies established hereunder; provided that the toll for water provided by the lower Hamakua ditch shall not exceed 20 cents per one thousand gallons;

(3) Establish priorities between the several lands included in a project according to the use to which the lands are put or other reasonable basis for classification;

(4) Govern the furnishing of water in the event of a shortage of supply and to correlate water tolls with these priorities;

(5) Charge and collect water tolls, fees, and other charges established in connection herewith;

(6) Sell, exchange, transfer, assign, or pledge any property, real or personal, or any interest therein, to any person, firm, corporation, or government, except as prohibited by the laws of the State;

(7) Hold, clear, and improve property;

(8) Borrow money for any of the purposes hereunder;

(9) Insure or provide for the insurance of the property or operations of the board against such risks as the board may deem advisable;

(10) Include in any construction contract executed in connection with a project, stipulations requiring that the contractor and any subcontractors comply with requirements as to minimum wages and maximum hours of labor, and comply with any conditions that the federal government may have attached to its financial aid of the project;

(11) Delegate to the chairperson or employees of the department, subject to the board's control and responsibility, powers and duties as may be lawful or proper for the performance of the functions vested in the board;

(12) Set, charge, and collect interest and a service charge on delinquent payments due on water tolls, acreage assessments, or other related accounts; provided that the rate of interest shall not exceed one per cent per month and the service charge shall not exceed $7 for each delinquent payment;

(13) Collect delinquent acreage assessments in accordance with sections 231-61 to 231-70; provided that the chairperson shall have all of the powers provided to the director of taxation or state tax collector under chapter 231 that may be necessary or convenient to collect delinquent acreage assessments;

(14) Accept a security interest in real or personal property for a debt restructured under a payment plan for delinquent water tolls, acreage assessments, or other related irrigation project accounts subject to the rate of interest set forth in paragraph (12); and

(15) Foreclose upon or otherwise enforce the security interest accepted under paragraph (14) by any method provided for by law and to hold title to, maintain, use, manage, operate, sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of that personal or real property to recover the debt secured.

(b) The board shall also have the power to enter into any repayment or other contracts with the United States for the construction, operation, and maintenance of any projects as may be required or provided for by the federal reclamation laws, or acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, or other federal laws, and further to borrow money or accept grants or assistance from the federal government, or any department, bureau, or agency thereof with respect to the engineering, construction, operation, and financing of any project hereunder. The board shall make every effort to obtain all federal aid possible for the purposes of this chapter.

(c) In making surveys, studies, and investigations, in planning and designing, and in constructing projects and facilities for irrigation, the board shall also have power to include therein surveys, studies, and investigations of, plans and designs for, and construction of facilities for flood control and the utilization of water for the production of hydroelectric power, where the same may be practicable in conjunction with the formation and operation of an irrigation project or projects. [L 1987, c 306, pt of §1; am L 1992, c 97, §1; am L 1998, c 102, §1; am L 2014, c 223, §2]