§ 45-40.1-4. Interlocal agreements. (a) Any power or powers, privileges, or authority, exercised or capable of exercise by a public agency of this state, may be exercised and enjoyed jointly with any other public agency of any other state or of the United States, and to the extent that laws of the other state or of the United States permit the joint exercise or enjoyment. Any agency of the state government, when acting jointly with any public agency may exercise and enjoy all of the powers, privileges, and authority conferred by this chapter upon a public agency.

(b)(1) Any two (2) or more public agencies may enter into agreements with one another for joint or cooperative action pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

(2) Appropriate action by ordinance, resolution, or otherwise, pursuant to law of the governing bodies of the participating public agencies, is necessary before any agreement may enter into force.

(c) Any agreement shall specify the following:

(1) Its duration.

(2) The precise organization, composition, and nature of any separate legal or administrative entity created by it, together with the powers delegated to it, provided the entity may be legally created.

(3) Its purpose or purposes.

(4) The manner of financing the joint or cooperative undertaking, and of establishing and maintaining a budget for it.

(5) The permissible method or methods to be employed in accomplishing the partial or complete termination of the agreement and for disposing of property upon partial or complete termination.

(6) Any other necessary and proper matters.

(d) In the event that the agreement does not establish a separate legal entity to conduct the joint or cooperative undertaking, the agreement shall, pursuant to the requirements of subsections (c) (1)- (c) (6), contain provisions for:

(1) An administrator or a joint board responsible for administering the joint or cooperative undertaking. In the case of a joint board, all public agencies party to the agreement shall be represented.

(2) The manner of acquiring, holding, and disposing of real and personal property used in the joint or cooperative undertaking.

(e) No agreement made pursuant to this chapter relieves any public agency of any obligation or responsibility imposed upon it by law, except that with respect to the actual and timely performance of it by a joint board or other legal or administrative entity created by an agreement made under this chapter, the performance may be offered in satisfaction of the obligation or responsibility.

(f) Every agreement made under this chapter shall, prior to and as a condition precedent to its entry into force, be submitted to the attorney general who shall determine whether the agreement is in proper form and in compliance with the laws of this state. The attorney general shall approve any agreement submitted to him or her unless he or she finds that it does not meet the conditions established by this chapter, and shall state, in writing, addressed to the governing bodies of the public agencies concerned, the specific respects in which the proposed agreement fails to meet the requirements of law. Failure of the attorney general to disapprove an agreement submitted under this chapter within fifteen (15) days of its submission constitutes approval of the agreement.

History of Section. (P.L. 1990, ch. 415, § 1.)