(1) The authority shall adopt written policies to provide for the selection of bond counsel. The policies shall provide for the creation and maintenance of a roster of attorneys whom the authority believes possess the requisite special expertise and professional standing to provide bond counsel opinions which would be accepted by the underwriters, bondholders and other members of the financial community, and which would be in furtherance of the public interest in obtaining the lowest possible interest rates on the bonds issued by the authority. Any attorney may apply to have his or her name placed on the roster, but may not be placed on the roster unless the attorney demonstrates to the authority's satisfaction that the attorney would issue the kind of opinions required by this section.
(2) Prior to selecting an attorney or attorneys to provide bond counsel services, the authority shall provide all attorneys on the roster with a notice of its intentions to select bond counsel and shall invite each of them to submit to the authority his or her fee schedule for providing bond counsel services. The authority shall have wide discretion in selecting the attorney or attorneys it considers to be most appropriate to provide the services, but in the exercise of this discretion the authority shall consider all submitted fee schedules and the public interest in achieving issuance of bonds on terms most favorable to the authority. At least once every two calendar years, the authority shall select anew an attorney or attorneys to serve as bond counsel. However, the authority may retain an attorney for longer than two years when necessary to complete work on a particular bond issue. An attorney previously retained may be selected again but only after the authority has provided other attorneys on the roster with an opportunity to be selected and has made the fee schedule review required under this subsection. As an alternative to retaining counsel for a period of time, the authority may appoint an attorney to serve as counsel in respect to only a particular bond issue or issues.
[ 1983 c 169 § 13.]