Within 40 days after the adoption of an authorizing resolution by the last governing body to adopt an authorizing resolution if the governing bodies of both the county and the municipality with which the applications were filed have adopted authorizing resolutions, the applicants shall proceed to incorporate an authority by filing for record in the office of the judge of probate of the authorizing county a certificate of incorporation which shall comply in form and substance with the requirements of this section and which shall be in the form and executed in the manner herein provided. The certificate of incorporation of the authority shall state:

1. (1) The names of the persons forming the authority, and that each of them is a duly qualified elector of the authorizing county.
2. (2) The name of the authority which shall be “The (insert name of the authorizing municipality) Area Regional Transit Authority.”
3. (3) The period for the duration of the authority (if the duration is to be perpetual, subject to the provisions of Section 11-49B-19, that fact shall be stated).
4. (4) The names of the authorizing county and the authorizing municipality, together with the dates on which the governing bodies adopted authorizing resolutions.
5. (5) The location of the principal office of the authority, which shall be in the authorizing county.
6. (6) That the authority is organized pursuant to this chapter for the purpose of supplying public transportation service in the authorizing county.

7. (7) Any other matters relating to the authority that the incorporators may choose to insert and that are not inconsistent with this chapter or with the laws of the state. The certificate of incorporation shall be signed and acknowledged by the incorporators before an officer authorized by the laws of the state to take acknowledgments to deeds. When the certificate of incorporation is filed for record, there shall be attached to it the following:

   1. a. A copy of each application filed with the governing bodies of the authorizing county and the authorizing municipality in accordance with Section 11-49B-3.
   2. b. A certified copy of each of the authorizing resolutions adopted by the governing bodies of the authorizing county and the authorizing municipality.

   3. c. A certificate by the Secretary of State that the name proposed for the authority is not identical to that of any other corporation organized under the laws of the state or similar to the name of another corporation that would lead to confusion and uncertainty.

      Upon the filing for record of the certificate of incorporation and the documents required by the preceding sentence to be attached thereto, the authority shall come into existence and shall constitute a public corporation under the names set forth in the certificate of incorporation. The judge of probate shall send a notice to the Secretary of State that the certificate of incorporation of the authority has been filed for record.

(Acts 1997, No. 97-678, p. 1308, §4; Act 97-896, p. 262, §1.)