provided, however, that the Board may provide that warrants not exceeding such amounts or for such purposes as may from time to time be specified by the Board may be signed by the general manager or by persons designated by him.

(d) An oath of office in the form set out in Section 5(b) of this Article shall be taken, subscribed and filed with the Board by all appointed officers.

(e) Each Director, officer and employees specified by the Board shall give such bond in such form and amount as the Board may require, the premium for which shall be paid by the Authority.

Conflict of Interests

10. (a) No Director, officer or employee shall:

(1) be financially interested, either directly or indirectly, in any contract, sale, purchase, lease or transfer of real or personal property to which the Board or the Authority is a party;

(2) in connection with services performed within the scope of his official duties, solicit or accept money or any other thing of value in addition to the compensation or expenses paid to him by the Authority;

(3) offer money or any thing of value for or in consideration of obtaining an appointment, promotion or privilege in his employment with the Authority.

(b) Any Director, officer or employee who shall willfully violate any provision of this section shall, in the discretion of the Board, forfeit his office or employment.

(c) Any contract or agreement made in contravention of this section may be declared void by the Board.

(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to abrogate or limit the applicability of any federal or state law which may be violated by any action prescribed by this section.

ARTICLE IV

Pledge of Cooperation

11. Each Signatory pledges to each other faithful cooperation in the achievement of the purposes and objects of this Title.

ARTICLE V

GENERAL POWERS

Enumeration .

12. In addition to the powers and duties elsewhere described in this Title, and except as limited in this Title, the Authority may:

(a) Sue and be sued;

(b) Adopt and use a corporate seal and alter the same at pleasure;

(c) Adopt, amend, and repeal rules and regulations respecting the exercise of the powers conferred by this Title;

(d) Construct, acquire, own, operate, maintain, control, sell and convey real and personal property and any interest therein by contract, purchase, condemnation, lease, license, mortgage or otherwise but all of said property shall be located in the Zone and shall be necessary or useful in rendering transit service or in activities incidental thereto;

(e) Receive and accept such payments, appropriations, grants, gifts, loans, advances and other funds, properties and services as may be transferred or made available to it by any signatory party, any political subdivision or agency thereof, by the United States, or by any agency thereof, or by any other public or private corporation or individual, and enter into agreements to make reimbursement for all or any part thereof;

(f) Enter into and perform contracts, leases and agreements with any person, firm or corporation or with

any political subdivision or agency of any signatory party or with the federal government, or any agency thereof, including, but not limited to, contracts or agreements to furnish transit facilities and service;

(g) Create and abolish offices, employments and positions (other than those specifically provided for herein) as it deems necessary for the purposes of the Authority, and fix and provide for the qualification, appointment, removal, term, tenure, compensation, pension and retirement rights of its officers and employees without regard to the laws of any of the signatories;

(h) Establish, in its discretion, a personnel system based on merit and fitness and, subject to eligibility, participate in the pension and retirement plans of any signatory, or political subdivision or agency thereof, upon terms and conditions mutually acceptable;

(i) Contract for or employ any professional services; (j) Control and regulate the use of facilities owned or controlled by the Authority, the service to be rendered and the fares and charges to be made therefor;

(k) Hold public hearings and conduct investigations relating to any matter affecting transportation in the Zone with which the Authority is concerned and, in connection therewith, subpoena witnesses, papers, records and documents; or delegate such authority to any officer. Each director may administer oaths or affirmations in any proceeding or investigation;

(1) Make or participate in studies of all phases and forms of transportation, including transportation vehicle research and development techniques and methods for determining traffic projections, demand motivations, and fiscal research and publicize and make available the results of such studies and other information relating to transportation; and

(m) Exercise, subject to the limitations and restrictions herein imposed, all powers reasonably necessary or essential to the declared objects and purposes of this Title.

ARTICLE VI

PLANNING

Mass Transit Plan

13. (a) The Board shall develop and adopt, and may from time to time review and revise, a mass transit plan for the immediate and long-range needs of the Zone. The mass transit plan shall include one or more plans designating (1) the transit facilities to be provided by the Authority, including the locations of terminals, stations, platforms, parking facilities and the character and nature thereof; (2) the design and location of such facilities; (3) whether such facilities are to be constructed or acquired by lease, purchase or condemnation; (4) a timetable for the provision of such facilities; (5) the anticipated capital costs; (6) estimated operating expenses and revenues relating thereto; and (7) the various other factors and considerations, which, in the opinion of the Board, justify and require the projects therein proposed. Such plan shall specify the type of equipment to be utilized, the areas to be served, the routes and schedules of service expected to be provided and the probable fares and charges therefor.

(b) In preparing the mass transit plan, and in any review of revision thereof, the Board shall make full utilization of all data, studies, reports and information available from the National Capital Transportation Agency and from any other agencies of the federal government, and from signatories and the political subdivisions thereof.

Planning Process

14. (a) The mass transit plan, and any revisions, alterations or amendments thereof, shall be coordinated, through the procedures hereinafter set forth, with

(1) other plans and programs affecting transportation in the Zone in order to achieve a balanced system of transportation, utilizing each mode to its best advantage;

(2) the general plan or plans for the development of the Zone; and

(3) the development plans of the various political subdivisions embraced within the Zone.

(b) It shall be the duty and responsibility of each member of the Board to serve as liaison between the Board and the body which appointed him to the Board. To provide a framework for regional participation in the planning process, the Board shall create technical committees concerned with planning and collection and analyses of data relative to decision-making in the transportation planning process and the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, the component governments of the Northern Virginia Transportation District and the Washington Suburban Transit District shall appoint representatives to such technical committees and otherwise cooperate with the Board in the formulation of a mass transit plan, or in revisions, alterations or amendments thereof. (c) The Board, in the preparation, revision, alteration or amendment of a mass transit plan, shall

(1) consider data with respect to current and prospective conditions in the Zone, including, without limitation, land use, population, economic factors affecting development plans, goals or objectives for the development of the Zone and the separate political subdivisions, transit demands to be generated by such development, travel patterns, existing and proposed transportation and transit facilities, impact of transit plans on the dislocation of families and businesses, preservation of the beauty and dignity of the Nation's Capital, factors affecting environmental amenities and aesthetics and financial resources;

(2) cooperate with and participate in any continuous, comprehensive transportation planning process cooperatively established by the highway agencies of the signatories and the local political subdivisions in the Zone to meet the planning standards now or hereafter prescribed by the Federal-Aid Highway Acts; and