Department powers and duties; ratification of authority's actions.

(a) The department shall (1) develop and submit to the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service a comprehensive program for the constructing and equipping of hospitals and other facilities for the examination, observation, care, and treatment of the mentally ill;

(2) develop and submit to the Surgeon General plans and specifications for the constructing and equipping of the hospitals and other facilities;

(3) construct and equip the hospitals and other facilities in accordance with the program, plans, and specifications approved by the Surgeon General; construction and equipping under this paragraph is governed by AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code);

(4) cooperate, coordinate, and contract, wherever indicated and desirable, with other state boards, departments and agencies, and agencies of the United States in the construction program, and hire necessary personnel and enter into contracts with private individuals and companies, to the end that the hospitals and other facilities are constructed in the most economical and expeditious manner; contracting and construction under this section are governed by AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code).

(b) An action, agreement, or transaction taken or entered before April 3, 1957, by the Mental Health Authority consistent with AS 47.30.350 — 47.30.400 is affirmed and ratified.