La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2225.2.2 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2225.2.2
Design-build contracts; authorized use by city of Slidell; Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, or both damage
Status: in_force

A.(1) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the governing authority for the city of Slidell may utilize the design-build method in the construction or repair of any public building or structure which has been destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, or both.

(2) Whenever the governing authority resolves to construct or repair any public building or structure using the design-build method as authorized by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, it shall adopt a list of projects under which design-build contracts will be utilized; and an ordinance adopting the selection process promulgated by the division of administration, office of facility planning and control, specifying the selection process for the awarding of a design-build contract in compliance with the provisions of this Section.

(3) For the purposes of this Section, "design builder" means the entity contractually responsible for delivering the project design and construction.

(4) This authority shall extend for two years from July 1, 2008, after which time only those projects that were contracted for prior to that date may proceed.

B. Every design builder shall be duly licensed and registered to do business in the state of Louisiana as either an architect, an engineer, or a general contractor. Each design builder shall have the following rights and powers:

(1) The design builder may sublet responsibility for professional design services to an individual, firm, or corporation duly licensed and registered in the state of Louisiana to provide professional design services.

(2) The design builder may sublet responsibility for construction or other services requiring a contractor's or trade subcontractor's license to persons or entities duly registered, licensed, or otherwise qualified to provide those services as required by law.

C. Prior to letting any such contract, the governing authority shall adopt an ordinance adopting procedures promulgated by the division of administration, office of facility planning and control, establishing procedures for developing plans, specifications, qualifications, and other matters pertaining to procedures for advertising, reviewing and selecting design builders, and letting such design-build contracts for public work as specified in Paragraph (A)(2) of this Section.

D. The procedures promulgated by the division of administration, office of facility planning and control, provided for in Subsection C of this Section shall include, at a minimum, the following provisions:

(1) Requirements that:

(a) All engineering and surveying firms providing design and design related services with the design builder to which the design-build contract is awarded shall be licensed to perform these services by the Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board.

(b) All architectural firms providing design services with the design builder to which the design-build contract is awarded shall be licensed to perform the services by the Louisiana Board of Architectural Examiners.

(c) All contractors performing construction work for the design-build program shall be licensed by the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors.

(2) A two-stage selection process that will utilize a request for qualifications graded and judged by a primary evaluation committee and a request for technical proposals graded and judged by a separate technical review committee shall be used to select the design builder and shall include the following specific provisions:

(a)(i) Public announcement procedures for solicitation of interested design-build competitors and a procedure for requesting letters of interest and statements of qualifications from qualified firms or teams.

(ii) Such public announcement procedures shall include a requirement for advertisement in the official journal for the city of Slidell.

(iii) All notices of intent to select design-build contractors shall be advertised a minimum of thirty days prior to the deadline for receipt of responses and shall contain a brief description of the project, the required scope of services, and sufficient information for design-build entities to determine their interest.

(b) These decisions shall be made on the basis of the criteria set forth in this Subsection. Members of the technical review committee shall not have served as members of the primary evaluation committee. Each member of the technical review committee shall score assigned elements. Such scores shall be considered public record.

(3) The governing authority shall provide a request for a qualifications package to design builders who submit a letter of interest. All required information shall be identified in the request for qualifications package and in the standard response forms. The response to a request for qualifications package shall include statements of qualification by credentials and experience of design component members for the areas of expertise specific to the project and statements of qualification by experience and resources of the construction team component. The completed response form and any other required information shall be transmitted by the responding design builder by the deadline to submit such forms and information as provided in the request for qualifications package. Any response failing to meet all of the requirements contained in the request for qualifications package shall not be considered. False or misrepresented information furnished in response to a request for qualifications package shall be grounds for rejection.

(4)(a) A primary design-build evaluation committee shall evaluate the responses to the request for qualifications package received by the governing authority. The following general criteria used by the primary evaluation committee in evaluating responses to the request for qualifications package for design-build services shall apply to both the design and construction components of any responding entity:

(i) Professional training and experience of both the design and construction entity components and of key personnel in general and as related to the project under consideration.

(ii) Capacity for timely completion of the work.

(iii) Past performance on public projects or projects of a similar nature to the project described in the notice of intent.

(iv) The quantity and value of governing authority work awarded to both the design and construction entity components.

(v) Any project-specific criteria as may apply to project needs.

(b) The primary design-build evaluation committee shall consist of a minimum of three members designated by the head of the governing authority according to the rules established pursuant to this Subsection.

(c) The primary evaluation committee shall evaluate the qualifications of responding design builders on the basis of the criteria set forth in this Subsection and the rules established pursuant to this Subsection and shall select a short list of not fewer than three of the highest rated entities; however, if fewer than three responses are received, the head of the governing authority may approve proceeding with the design-build process. The primary evaluation committee may, at its discretion, be assisted by other city of Slidell personnel in its evaluation of a design builder's qualifications. The primary design-build evaluation committee shall present its short list to the head of the governing authority. The short-listed design builders shall be invited to submit a detailed technical proposal for the design-build project. The invitation to the short-listed entities shall specify a deadline for submission of such proposals.

(5)(a) The specific requirements of the technical proposal shall be identified by the governing authority to the design builders making the short list by means of a "Scope of Services Package". Generally, the technical proposal shall include discussions of design strategy and preliminary design concepts, space standards, space planning, fundamental requirements, quality standards, capacities, other design related issues, materials, the schedule for commencement and completion of all phases of work, and a lump sum cost for all services in fulfillment of the requirements and within the constraints of the "Scope of Services Package".

(b) For more complex projects and projects with scopes which permit flexibility and innovation in the design approach, the governing authority may compensate unsuccessful and responsive short-listed entities for the expense of preparing the technical proposal. The determination of whether or not compensation will be paid for the technical proposal and the amount shall be predetermined by the governing authority and shall be included in the scope of services package. The governing authority may use concepts submitted by any paid short-listed design builder in the construction of the project.

(6) A technical review committee for evaluation of design-build proposals shall be established according to the rules established in this Subsection. This committee shall be made up of building construction professionals as defined by the rules established in this Subsection. The technical review committee shall identify specific technical elements of the project, depending on the characteristics of the project, to be included in the technical score. The technical review committee may select additional engineering, architectural and technical experts, and nationally recognized design-build experts to serve as committee members to score each technical element of the project.

(a) An adjusted score approach shall be used by the governing authority in determining the winning proposal. An adjusted score shall be determined using the following components:

(i) The technical score determined by the technical review committee. Weighing factors may be assigned to each element depending on its relative magnitude or significance to the overall project. Each technical review committee member shall rate his assigned element of the proposal from each of the design builders on the short list and shall submit such scores to the chairman of the technical review committee. The schedule and price bid shall not be made known to the technical review committee during the scoring process. The chairman of the technical review committee shall adjust the scores for any applicable weighing factors and shall determine the total technical score for each proposal. Prior to determining the adjusted score, the chairman of the technical review committee shall notify each design builder, in writing, of each design builder's final total technical score.

(ii) The time value, consisting of the product of the proposed contract time expressed in calendar days multiplied by the value-per-calendar-day expressed in dollars established by the governing authority and included in the "Scope of Services Package".

(iii) The price proposal.

(b) The winning proposal shall be the proposal with the lowest adjusted score. The adjusted score for each entity's design-build proposal shall be determined by the following formula: Adjusted Score = (Price Bid + Time Value) divided by Technical Score. Use of the Time Value is not mandatory and if it is not used, the Adjusted Score shall be determined by the following formula: Adjusted Score = Price Bid divided by Technical Score.

(7) Design builders who have submitted bona fide proposals may, within seven days of the announcement of the award, challenge the award based on any of the foregoing reasons, and only those reasons, by submitting a letter to the head of the governing authority describing in detail the reasons for the challenge. The head of the governing authority shall have the authority to resolve any challenge concerning the award of a contract. A written decision shall be rendered within fourteen days and shall be mailed or otherwise furnished immediately to the design builder making the challenge. The decision shall be final and conclusive unless the decision is fraudulent or if the person adversely affected by the decision has timely appealed to the court of proper venue for the governing authority.

E. Once the design builder has been chosen and a contract for a stipulated schedule and sum certain price is executed, the price of the design-build contract shall not be increased other than for inflation as prescribed in the contract and for site or other conditions of which the design builder had no knowledge and should not have had knowledge as a reasonable possibility existing at the site or concerning the design and construction.

F. The provisions of this Section shall supersede any conflicting provisions of any other law, including but not limited to the requirements of Chapter 10 of this Title.

G. For the purposes of this Section, "governing authority" shall mean the governing authority for the city of Slidell.

Acts 2008, No. 391, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1677 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1677
Police juries as governing authority
Status: in_force

A. Where the police jury creating a drainage district determines that the board of commissioners of any such district has failed to hold meetings during a period of five years, the said police jury may adopt an ordinance in which it shall enter a finding of fact that no such meetings have been held by the board of commissioners of said drainage district during the five years preceding the adoption of said ordinance, such determination to be final and conclusive, and shall declare the offices of the board of commissioners to be vacated.

The police jury shall, thereupon, become the governing authority of said district, and shall succeed to all of the powers and duties of the board of commissioners of said district, expressly invested with the powers, rights, privileges and immunities of the antecedent board of commissioners, as defined under Article 15 of the constitution of 1921, and R.S. 38:1601 through 38:1675, as amended, and under the constitution and laws of the state of Louisiana. No right of action shall exist nor remedy be allowed or exercised against the police jury as the governing authority under any existing committal, contract or contracts consummated in the name of and on behalf of said district unless any such committal, contract or contracts were entered into by the district in pursuance to the provisions of Article 15 of the constitution of 1921, and R.S. 38:1601 through 38:1675, and acts amendatory thereof and under the constitution and laws of the state of Louisiana.

B. Where police juries have acted as the governing authorities of such drainage districts prior to August 1, 1962, each and every such act on the part of the police jury is hereby declared to have been done and performed and executed in accordance with law, and the acts of said police jury are hereby validated and declared legal and binding upon the district and the landowners thereof.

Added by Acts 1962, No. 331, §§1, 2.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1680.2 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1680.2
Town of Berwick; authority to levy taxes, fees, and charges for drainage facilities, systems, and networks
Status: in_force

A. The town of Berwick is authorized to levy special taxes, fees, or charges on all immovable property within its boundaries for the purpose of constructing, acquiring, maintaining, operating, or improving drains, drainage facilities, drainage systems, or drainage networks within its boundaries in the manner provided by the constitution and laws of this state after having been authorized to do so at a special election held in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and laws of this state.

B.(1) The town of Berwick is authorized to levy and collect a charge for the purpose of constructing, acquiring, maintaining, operating, or improving drains, drainage facilities, drainage systems, or drainage networks within its corporate boundaries, such charge to be imposed on a per acre basis. Such a charge shall be imposed by resolution or ordinance of the governing authority of the town of Berwick only after the question of the imposition of the charge and the purpose, rate, and duration of the charge has been approved by a majority of the voters voting on the question at an election held within the corporate boundaries of the town in accordance with the constitution and laws of this state. Any such charge authorized shall be levied by the governing authority of the town of Berwick against each acre of land, or portion of an acre on a pro rata basis, within the boundaries of the town, and the assessor of St. Mary Parish shall assess each parcel of property within the town of Berwick and shall prepare an assessment roll in triplicate and shall provide copies to the clerk of court, the tax collector of the town of Berwick, and the governing authority of the town of Berwick. The acreage of each parcel or pro rata portion of an acre may be determined by land surveying or may be determined by controlled aerial photography and computer digitalization, performed in accordance with the United States National Map Accuracy Standards of photography at a scale of 1"-100 feet. The charge shall be due and payable annually at the same time as property taxes and the charge shall be collected in the same manner as ad valorem taxes are collected by the tax collector of the town of Berwick.

(2) The purpose, rate, and duration of the charge shall be set forth in the proposition submitted at the election to authorize its imposition. Such charge shall not in any event exceed twenty-five dollars per acre for any property located within the boundaries of the municipality, as now incorporated or which may be annexed in the future.

(3) All laws now in force or that may hereafter be enacted, providing for, regulating, and governing the procedure for the collection of state and local ad valorem taxes and the creation of tax liens, penalties, methods, and procedures for sales for delinquent taxes shall also apply to regulate and govern the collection of the charge authorized to be imposed or levied under the provisions of this Section, and the charge shall be collected through the tax collector of the town of Berwick at the same time and in the same manner as other ad valorem taxes are collected, and the revenues from the charges shall be turned over to the treasurer of the town of Berwick.

Acts 1994, No. 31, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2714 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2714
Employment of attorneys
Status: in_force

The board of commissioners may employ an attorney to represent it in any and all matters deemed necessary and may provide for the payment of his services.

Acts 1989, No. 176, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2357 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2357
Appeals
Status: in_force

A. Any project sponsor whose project is denied inclusion in the annual plan may request reconsideration by submitting a written appeal to the authority within thirty days of the notice of the initial determination.

B. The authority shall render a final decision on the appeal within sixty days of submission. Exhaustion of this administrative remedy shall be required before seeking judicial review.

Acts 2025, No. 418, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2219 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2219
Procurement of surety bonds and insurance
Status: in_force

A.(1)(a) Any surety bond written for a public works project shall be written by a surety or insurance company currently on the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Management Service list of approved bonding companies which is published annually in the Federal Register, or by a Louisiana domiciled insurance company with at least an A- rating in the latest printing of the A.M. Best's Key Rating Guide to write individual bonds up to ten percent of policyholders' surplus as shown in the A.M. Best's Key Rating Guide, or by an insurance company that is either domiciled in Louisiana or owned by Louisiana residents and is licensed to write surety bonds.

(b) For any public works project, no surety or insurance company shall write a bond which is in excess of the amount indicated as approved by the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Management Service list or by a Louisiana domiciled insurance company with an A- rating by A.M. Best up to a limit of ten percent of policyholders' surplus as shown by A.M. Best; companies authorized by this Paragraph who are not on the treasury list shall not write a bond when the penalty exceeds fifteen percent of its capital and surplus, such capital and surplus being the amount by which the company's assets exceed its liabilities as reflected by the most recent financial statements filed by the company with the Department of Insurance.

(c) In addition, any surety bond written for a public works project shall be written by a surety or insurance company that is currently licensed to do business in the state of Louisiana.

(2) Notwithstanding Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, a surety bond for the faithful performance of a contractor on a public works project, the primary purpose of which is asbestos abatement, shall be deemed sufficient and acceptable under this Section if the surety thereon is an insurance company which is admitted to do business in Louisiana, provided all of the following conditions are met:

(a) The applicability of this Paragraph to the public entity for all such contracts has been specifically authorized:

(i) By the municipality or parish, through the adoption of an ordinance, after public hearing thereon, and with the written approval of the ordinance by its chief executive officer.

(ii) By any other public entity, through the adoption of a resolution, after public hearing thereon, together with the approval of the governing authority of the municipality as to public works projects located within the municipality, or the approval of the governing authority of the parish as to public works projects not located within a municipality, by resolution, after public hearing thereon, and with written approval of the chief executive officer of the municipality or parish.

(b) The contract is bid, let, and entered into on or prior to July 1, 1990.

(3) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, particularly the provisions of R.S. 33:4085, all contracts with the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board for the purchase of goods and services, professional and nonprofessional, involving an amount less than one hundred thousand dollars shall not be subject to requirements for performance or surety bond. Any company or individual who defaults on performance of such a contract without bond and any individual or company having more than a fifty percent ownership interest in the defaulting company shall be prohibited from bidding on future contracts with the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board for five years from the date of such default. Any company in which a defaulting company or individual has more than a fifty percent ownership interest shall also be prohibited from bidding on future contracts with the board for five years from the date of default.

B. No officer or employee of a public entity, or any person acting or purporting to act on behalf of any such officer or employee, shall with respect to any public building or construction contract or any other public contract, which is about to be, or which has been competitively bid, require the bidder to make application to or to procure any of the surety bonds or insurance specified by law or in connection with such contracts, from a particular surety or insurance company, or through a particular agent or broker in any particular locality.

Acts 1977, No. 103, §1. Amended by Acts 1982, No. 761, §1; Acts 1986, No. 442, §1; Acts 1989, No. 734, §2, eff. July 8, 1989; Acts 1990, No. 314, §1; Acts 1990, No. 1086, §1; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 111, §2, eff. July 7, 1994; Acts 2005, No. 139, §1, eff. June 28, 2005.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:218 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 218
Diversion of natural drain prohibited
Status: in_force

A. No person diverting or impeding the course of water from a natural drain shall fail to return the water to its natural course before it leaves his estate without any undue retardation of the flow of water outside of his enclosure thereby injuring an adjacent estate.

B. Upon request of the Department of Transportation and Development, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, or the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board, if the area is located within the coastal area, as defined in R.S. 49:214.2, and involves integrated coastal protection, as defined in R.S. 49:214.2, the state police shall issue a citation to any person who is in violation of this Section. Every person who is convicted of a violation of this Section shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than one hundred dollars or imprisoned for not less than ten days nor more than thirty days, or both.

C. Every fine imposed pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be collected by the court and forwarded to the state treasurer for deposit in the state treasury.

Acts 2010, No. 233, §1; Acts 2012, No. 601, §1, eff. June 7, 2012; Acts 2016, No. 430, §4.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:330.2 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 330.2
Board of commissioners; powers and duties
Status: in_force

A.(1) A flood protection authority shall be governed by a board of commissioners.

(a) The board of commissioners of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East shall be the successor to the boards of commissioners of the East Jefferson Levee District, Lake Borgne Basin Levee District, and Orleans Levee District. The board shall also be the governing authority of the Tangipahoa Levee District.

(b) The board of commissioners of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West Bank shall be the successor to the board of commissioners of the West Jefferson Levee District.

(2)(a) Each board may, in addition to any other powers and duties provided by law for the boards of commissioners of levee districts, establish on its own behalf or for the areas or the levee districts under its authority adequate drainage, flood control, and water resources development, including but not limited to the planning, maintenance, operation, and construction of reservoirs, diversion canals, gravity and pump drainage systems, erosion control measures, marsh management, coastal restoration, and other flood control works as such activities, facilities, and improvements relate to tidewater flooding, hurricane protection, and saltwater intrusion. Neither the authority nor any levee district within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority shall own, operate, or control any facility or improvement not directly related to such purposes, except as provided in R.S. 38:330.12.

(b) Nothing in this Paragraph shall transfer authority to operate flood control pump operations from any public entity authorized by law to conduct such activities.

(c) After January 1, 2018, the authority or any levee district within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority may divest itself of any drainage or pumping responsibilities that would otherwise fall to the responsibility of a parish governing authority.

B. Each board may enter into contracts and agreements of any nature on behalf of the authority or on behalf of any levee districts within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority for the purposes of this Chapter with any person or persons, corporation, association, or other entity, including public corporations, port authorities, the state and agencies thereof, levee districts, parishes, other political subdivisions, the United States government and agencies thereof, or any combination thereof, or with instrumentalities of any kind to carry out the purposes of and the powers granted in this Chapter.

C. Each board may enter into contracts or other agreements on behalf of the authority or on behalf of any levee districts within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority with any person or entity concerning the providing of lands, servitudes, rights-of-way, and relocations, and may engage the levee districts under its authority jointly with any person or entity in the exercise of any power to include the construction, operation, and maintenance of any facilities and improvements for the purpose of the projects under this Chapter.

D. Each board on behalf of the authority or on behalf of any levee district within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority may construct and maintain drainage works of all types as such works relate to tidewater flooding, hurricane protection, and saltwater intrusion, either in cooperation with one or more parishes, municipalities, drainage districts, or other special districts within its territorial jurisdiction, or upon its own undertaking.

E. Each board may buy and sell property of the authority or of any levee district within its territorial jurisdiction, make and execute all contracts on behalf of the authority or on behalf of any such levee district, and perform any and all things necessary to carry out the objects of this Chapter, subject to the limitations and duties provided in this Section.

F. Subject to any local ordinance for the construction, erection, and maintenance of back and side levees to protect any area or portion of a levee district within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority from tidal overflow, a board shall work in conjunction with the appropriate parish governing authority to manage the construction and maintenance of the levees, pursuant to R.S. 38:143.

G. Each board shall adopt bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs, for the governance of the board and its officers and employees, and for the operation and governance of the flood protection authority in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act and subject to legislative rule oversight by the Senate and House committees on transportation, highways, and public works. It shall devise and adopt rules and regulations for the carrying into effect and perfecting of a comprehensive levee system, having for its object the protection of the entire territory of the authority from overflow. Such bylaws may include the establishment of any standing committees of the board as may be necessary to carry out the functions of the board.

H. The authority and each levee district within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority shall comply with all applicable federal and state law and regulations, particularly regarding federal rehabilitation assistance for flood control works damaged by flood or coastal storm.

I.(1) For each levee district within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority, care and inspection of levees shall devolve on commissioners and assisted by such inspectors and watchmen as may be appointed pursuant to regulations, which the board is hereby authorized to adopt. Each commissioner and any inspector or watchman who may be appointed shall attend once during his term of office an educational training program conducted by the Department of Transportation and Development.

(2) Each commissioner and appointed inspector or watchman, upon presenting appropriate credentials, may enter any private premises within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority to care for and inspect levees. If the owner of the premises or his agent refuses to admit the commissioner, inspector, or watchman, the authority may obtain from any state court of competent jurisdiction and venue an appropriate order to submit the premises to entry for such purpose.

Acts 2006, 1 st Ex. Sess., No. 1, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2007; Acts 2007, No. 475, §1, eff. July 12, 2007; Acts 2014, No. 303, §1, eff. May 28, 2014; Acts 2016, No. 572, §1, eff. July 1, 2016.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1849 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1849
Notice of election
Status: in_force

Notice of election shall be given, embracing substantially all matters required to be set forth in the resolution ordering the election, and the notice shall set forth further that the board of commissioners ordering the election will, in open session, at an hour, date, and place named, proceed to open the ballot boxes, canvass the returns, and declare the result. The notice shall be published for thirty days in a newspaper published in the parish or if there be no newspaper published in the parish, publication shall be made in a newspaper published in an adjoining parish and by posting in three public places in the parish. Four publications in a newspaper once a week shall constitute a publication for thirty days, provided thirty days intervene between the date of the first publication and the date of the election.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.58 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.58
Parcel fee
Status: in_force

A.(1) The Mill Creek Recreation and Water Conservation District may levy and collect a parcel fee within its boundaries which shall not exceed one hundred dollars per parcel per year, which parcel fee shall be imposed by resolution or ordinance of the board of commissioners of the district only after the question of the imposition of the parcel fee and the purpose, rate, and duration of such fee has been approved by a majority of the qualified electors of the district voting at an election held therein. The proceeds from the levy of said parcel fee shall be expended for costs of operation of the district, including management and control of water levels and aquatic plant growth within the district and protection and preservation of the works, improvements, and properties owned or controlled by the district, prescribing the manner of their use by public corporations and persons, and preserving order within and adjacent thereto. Any parcel fee imposed pursuant to this Section shall be levied and collected and be due and owing annually. Such fee may be carried on the tax rolls for Bienville Parish and collected at the same time as parish ad valorem taxes.

(2) If any parcel fee is not paid when due, the district shall proceed against the parcel for collection of the amount of the fee unpaid and delinquent, any collection costs incurred by the district plus interest at a rate not exceeding twelve percent on the unpaid amount of the parcel fee, and in the event legal proceedings are necessary to effect collection, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees. However, attorney fees shall be payable by the parcel owner only if demand by the board of commissioners has been made on said owner by certified mail, and such parcel owner has failed to pay the amount due within ten days after such demand.

(3) A judgment obtained for nonpayment of a parcel fee, upon being recorded in the mortgage records of Bienville Parish, shall prime all other liens except those for taxes and prior recorded local or special assessments. If there are one or more property mortgages on such parcel and the mortgage holder or holders have notified the tax collector in the parish of such recorded mortgage in accordance with the requirements of R.S. 47:2180.1, the district, prior to proceeding against such parcel for failure to pay a parcel fee, shall give notice to each mortgagee of the amount of the parcel fee due and owing on such parcel and that such fee must be paid within twenty days after mailing the notice or proceedings will be commenced against the parcel. The notice shall be sent to each such mortgage holder by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by personal or domiciliary service on such mortgage holder.

B.(1) The district may incur debt and issue bonds payable from an irrevocable pledge and dedication of all or a portion of the proceeds of the parcel fee, provided that the question of funding said proceeds into bonds shall have been approved by a majority vote of the qualified electors of the district voting at an election held therein and the State Bond Commission has approved the issuance of the bonds. The question or proposition with respect to the funding of the proceeds of the parcel fee may be submitted at a separate election held for that purpose. The maturities of the bonds shall be so arranged that the total amount of principal, and interest falling due in such year on all bonds theretofore issued payable from such parcel fee, shall not exceed eighty percent of the estimated proceeds to be received from the levy of such parcel fee in the calendar year in which the bonds are issued.

(2) The bonds may be sold at public or private sale and shall be issued pursuant to the provisions of a resolution adopted by the board of commissioners of the district, provided the bonds shall mature over a period not to exceed the period for which the parcel fee, the proceeds of which are to be used to pay principal and interest on the bonds, is authorized. The bonds and the income therefrom shall be exempt from taxation by the state and by any parish, municipality, or political subdivision thereof.

C. The district may incur debt and issue certificates of indebtedness pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 33:2921 through 2925, subject to the approval of the State Bond Commission.

D. A "parcel" as used in this Section shall mean one or more lots, subdivided portions of ground, or individual tracts identified by an individual assessment number on the assessment rolls of Bienville Parish. A partial owner of a parcel shall be responsible for that proportion of the parcel fee equal to the proportion of the value of the entire parcel assigned to the partial owner on the assessment roll.

E. The district may create different classes of real estate and present to the voters a proposition to levy or impose different parcel fees for each class.

Acts 1995, No. 443, §2, eff. June 17, 1995.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1639 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1639
Expropriation of land
Status: in_force

The board may expropriate for the use of the district any land or property within or without the district not acquired or condemned by the court on the report of the board of appraisers assessing benefits and damages, and shall follow the procedure that is now provided by law for expropriation of land or other property taken for telegraph, telephone, and railroad rights of way.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:11 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 11
Powers of director
Status: in_force

The director, subject to the limitations of appropriations and any law relating to the civil service of the state or any department or other agency thereof that may be in effect, may establish and make appointments to positions within the department, abolish positions, transfer duties between positions and assign duties to, direct and control the work of, and transfer, promote, demote, remove, and otherwise change the status of employees of the department. All employees of the department shall, to the extent practicable, be interchangeable in work assignments for any temporary period which may be necessary to meet seasonal and emergency demands upon the department.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2233.2 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2233.2
Political subdivisions; authority for procurement from minority businesses; set-aside; preference to disadvantaged; preference to women
Status: in_force

A. Every political subdivision in the state, as defined in this Section, through its respective fiscal officer or director of finance, is hereby authorized and empowered for each fiscal year to designate and set aside for awarding to minority businesses, as defined in this Section, an amount up to ten percent of the value of anticipated local procurement of goods and services including construction. However, should the governing authority of said political subdivision choose to set aside a greater amount, then nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit such set-aside levels above ten percent.

B.(1) Such parishes and municipalities may for each fiscal year designate and set aside for awarding to minority businesses an amount up to ten percent of the value of anticipated total procurement of goods and services including construction by said entity. The procurements so designated shall be divided into contract award units of economically feasible production runs in order to facilitate offers or bids from minority businesses. In making the annual designation of set-aside procurements, an attempt shall be made to vary the included procurements so that a variety of goods and services produced by different minority businesses may be set aside each year. The failure to set aside particular procurements shall not be considered to prohibit or discourage minority businesses from seeking the procurement award through the normal solicitation and bidding processes.

(2) To implement the foregoing, there shall be established a contract procedure in accordance with law for the awarding of a contract under the set-aside program established hereby.

(3) Before making a set-aside award, an evaluation shall be made to determine whether the minority business scheduled to receive the award is able to perform the set-aside contract. This determination shall include consideration of production and financial capacity and technical competence.

(4) At least ten percent of the value of the contracts designated for set-aside awards shall be awarded, if possible, to businesses owned and operated by socially or economically disadvantaged persons. In the event minority businesses owned and operated by socially or economically disadvantaged persons are unable to perform at least ten percent of the set-aside awards, then the balance of the set-aside contracts shall be awarded to other minority businesses.

(5) At least ten percent of the value of the contracts designated for set-aside awards shall be awarded, if possible, to businesses owned and operated by women. In the event minority businesses owned and operated by women are unable to perform at least ten percent of the set-aside award contracts, then the balance of the set-aside contracts shall be awarded to other minority businesses.

(6) In the event that the provisions of this Section do not operate to extend a contract award to minority business, the award shall be placed pursuant to the existing solicitation and award provisions established by law, whereupon additional contracts corresponding in approximate value to the contract unable to be awarded pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be designated and set aside for minority businesses.

(7) All laws and rules pertaining to solicitations, bid evaluations, contract awards, and other contract matters shall apply as consistent to procurements set aside for minority businesses. In the event of conflict with other rules, the provisions of this Section shall govern.

C. In order to implement the provisions hereof, the governing body of such political subdivision shall adopt rules, standards, and procedures for certifying that minority businesses, minority businesses owned and operated by socially economically disadvantaged persons, and minority businesses owned and operated by women are small businesses owned and operated under the requirements of this Section. The procedure for determination of eligibility may include self-certification by a business, provided that the governing body retains the ability to verify a self-certification. Other rules as may be necessary to carry out the duties of this Section may also be adopted.

D. The governing authority may also adopt a requirement that the prime contractor award a certain percentage of the total dollar bid to minority subcontractors. This requirement may be waived if the prime contractor, after a good faith effort, is unable to comply with the requirement.

E.(1) "Minority" means a person who is a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States and who is:

(a) American Indian or Alaskan Native: having origins in any of the original peoples of North America.

(b) Asian American: having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands.

(c) Black: having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

(d) Female.

(e) Hispanic: of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish or Portuguese culture or origin regardless of race.

(2) "Minority business enterprise" or "minority-owned business" means a small business organized for profit performing a commercially useful function which is owned and controlled by one or more minority individuals or minority business enterprises. "Owned and controlled" means a business in which one or more minorities or minority business enterprises own at least fifty-one percent or in the case of a corporation at least fifty-one percent of the voting stock and control at least fifty-one percent of the management and daily business operations of the business.

(3) "Political subdivision" means any political subdivision situated wholly or partially within the geographic boundaries of Calcasieu Parish or St. John the Baptist Parish; or the Chennault International Airport Authority; the New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority; the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans; the city of Shreveport and any board, agency, or commission of that city; the parish of St. John the Baptist, and any board, agency, or commission thereof; the city of Monroe and any board, agency, or commission of that city; and any board, agency, or commission of or for the city of New Orleans or parish of Orleans which has been created by the constitution or laws of this state, which is not under the authority or control of the state of Louisiana for the purposes of letting and awarding contracts, and which is subject to Chapter 10 of Title 38 or Chapter 17 of Title 39, both of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, or any other state law relative to competitive bidding.

F. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to the contrary, the amount designated and set aside by the city of Shreveport or any board, agency, or commission of that city pursuant to this Section shall not exceed ten percent of the value of anticipated local procurement of goods and services including construction. The city of Shreveport and any board, agency, or commission of that city further shall limit participation in any such minority set-aside program to minority businesses having a bona fide permanent office located in Caddo Parish or Bossier Parish.

G. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to the contrary, the amount designated and set aside by the city of Monroe or any board, agency, or commission of that city pursuant to this Section shall not exceed ten percent of the value of anticipated local procurement of goods and services including construction. The city of Monroe and any board, agency, or commission of that city shall further limit participation in any such minority set-aside program to minority businesses having a bona fide permanent office located in Ouachita Parish.

Acts 1986, No. 530, §1, eff. July 2, 1986. Acts 1987, No. 387, §1; Acts 1987, No. 764, §1, eff. July 16, 1987; Acts 1987, No. 917, §1; Acts 1987, No. 942, §1, eff. July 20, 1987; Acts 1988, No. 207, §1; Acts 1988, No. 266, §1; Acts 1988, No. 400, §1; Acts 1988, No. 441, §1; Acts 1993, No. 1024, §1; Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 29, §2; Acts 1997, No. 458, §2.

NOTE: SEE ACTS 1987, NO. 764, §2.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1642 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1642
Raising of embankments to conform to district levee
Status: in_force

When any right of way for levees has been obtained, over any embankment belonging to any person, railroad, tramway, or other corporation, the owner of the embankment shall raise the embankment so that the embankment will conform with the levee of the district. If the person or corporation fails or refuses to raise the embankment in the manner herein provided, the district may within three months after it has finished the building of its own levee enter upon and raise the embankment of the person or corporation to conform with the district levee. The cost for the construction in all cases shall be paid by the drainage district.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.211 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.211
Creation
Status: in_force

There is hereby created a lake commission to be known as the Morehouse Parish Lake Commission.

Acts 2003, No. 233, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1596.3 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1596.3
Notice of intention to establish system; objections
Status: in_force

A. Prior to taking action, the governing authority shall adopt a resolution giving notice of its intention to establish, acquire, construct, improve, extend, and maintain such drainage system or systems and other improvements herein authorized. The notice shall generally include the improvements contemplated, the area or areas which are to be improved or drained, and the manner of payment therefor. The notice shall further contain substantially all things set forth in the resolution and shall state that the governing authority will, in open session on the date and at the time and place named, hear all objections to the proposed improvements and the manner of payment therefor. Such notice of intention shall be forwarded to each affected property owner of record by United States mail at least twenty days prior to the date of the public hearing. The governing authority shall cause to be executed an affidavit attesting to the fact that such notice has been mailed to each affected property owner of record, which affidavit shall serve as a proof of mailing.

B. After hearing and passing on the objections, the governing authority may order the proposed improvements constructed in the manner hereinafter provided. However, the governing authority shall not order the construction of the proposed improvements if there is filed at the public hearing written objections to the proposed improvements signed by the property owners owning more than one-half of the total front feet of property which will be assessed to pay the cost of the improvements, if the assessments are to be on a front foot basis, or signed by the property owners owning more than one-half of the total square footage of property which will be assessed to pay the cost of such improvements, if the assessments are to be on a square foot basis. Such majority shall be determined after considering the front footage or square footage of all properties to be assessed and the owners of such portion shall be determined by the conveyance records of the parish.

Acts 1985, No. 979, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2915 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2915
Individual mineral leases unabridged
Status: in_force

The provisions of this Chapter shall in no wise abridge the right of any individual from whom the flowage rights, rights of way and servitudes may have been acquired by any means however to lease the lands for the production of oil, gas and other minerals and the right of such lessee or his assignee to produce or cause to be produced oil, gas or other minerals therefrom.

Added by Acts 1968, No. 589, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1850 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1850
Polling places, ballot boxes; election officials
Status: in_force

The board of commissioners ordering the election shall designate the polling places, shall provide the ballot boxes, ballots, valuation of property and a compiled statement of voters in number and amount, and shall fix the compensation of the election officers. It shall appoint, for each polling place, three commissioners and one clerk of election, all of whom shall be registered voters.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1627 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1627
Petition for confirmation of report and expropriation of property; notice and citation
Status: in_force

Upon the filing of the report of the board of appraisers with the secretary of the board of commissioners of the drainage district, the board of commissioners, through its president shall file a petition in the district court of the parish of the domicile of the drainage district, and shall annex to the petition a copy of the report of the board of appraisers and a copy of the plan for reclamation and shall ask for the confirmation or modification of the report. In the same petition they shall sue for the expropriation of any and all property required for rights of way, levees, canals, holding basins, pumping plant sites, and other works contemplated in the plan for reclamation which have been valued in the report of the board of appraisers.

Immediately upon the filing of the suit in the district court, the clerk of court shall give notice thereof by causing publication of the notice to be made once a week for four consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in the drainage district; or if there is no newspaper published therein, then in a newspaper published in any parish in which any of the lands of the district are situated, or if there be no such newspaper, then in a newspaper published in an adjoining parish. Whenever publication is made in a newspaper published outside the boundaries of the drainage district, copies of the notice shall be posted on the principal front door of the court house of the district court of each parish in which any lands of the district are situated, and shall also be posted at not less than four other public places within the drainage district.

It shall not be necessary in the notice for the clerk of court to name the parties interested, but it shall be sufficient to say: "Notice of Filing of Suit to Confirm Appraisers' Report for _____ Drainage District.

Notice is hereby given to all persons interested in the lands embraced within ___________ Drainage District which drainage district is described as follows (Here describe boundary line of drainage district) that the appraisers heretofore appointed to assess benefits and damages to the property and lands situated in the drainage district (or sub-district as the case may be) and to appraise the cash value of the land necessary to be taken for rights of way, holding basins and other works of the district within or without the limits of the district, have filed their report, and that suit to confirm the same has been filed in this office on _____ day of ___________, 19___ under the No. _____, and you and each of you are hereby notified that you may examine the report and file exceptions or contests to all or any part thereof, or to the suit, as provided by law.

_____________________________

Clerk of the District Court of

__________ Parish, Louisiana."

The clerk of court shall also address to each property owner whose property is sought to be expropriated a citation under the seal of the court citing the property owner to appear in the court and show cause, if any, within fifteen days after service of the citation and a certified copy of the petition, why the prayer of the petition should not be granted. Service of the citation and petition shall be made on the property owners whose property is sought to be expropriated in the same manner as is now provided by law for service of citation in other suits.

In case the owner of any property sought to be expropriated is an absentee, or unknown, or is an interdict, minor unrepresented, or a vacant estate, then the citation shall be addressed to the owner through and served on a curator ad hoc appointed by the court having jurisdiction of the suit. The curator shall be an attorney at law practicing before the court.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1789.1 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1789.1
Tax levies; assessments and collections; time and manner
Status: in_force

All taxes certified on behalf of any gravity drainage district or gravity subdrainage district by the governing authority or governing authorities of the parish or parishes in which such drainage or subdrainage districts shall be located shall be levied, assessed, and collected at the same time and in the same manner as parish taxes are levied, assessed, and collected.

Added by Acts 1975, No. 166, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:90.4.1 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 90.4.1
Rural Grant Opportunity Program
Status: in_force

A. Applications for funds in the Rural Grant Opportunity Program may be submitted by a rural grant opportunity authority. Applications shall be reviewed in accordance with R.S. 38:90.4(B).

B. Funds for the program shall not exceed twenty-five percent of the annual capital outlay appropriation of the legislature for the Statewide Flood Control Program. Unencumbered Rural Grant Opportunity Program funds shall be available for use in the Statewide Flood Control Program for rural authorities who do not qualify for grant program funding.

C. Information included in the application shall satisfy the requirements of R.S. 38:90.4(A)(1) and shall also include but is not limited to the following:

(1) A resolution from the authority declaring its financial inability to satisfy the local match required pursuant to R.S. 38:90.9(A)(4).

(2) Financial documentation to support its declaration of financial inability in the resolution shall include a sworn affidavit executed by the authority's private certified public accountant certifying that, after an examination of the authority's financial records, monies are not available out of the accumulated unreserved earnings generated by the authority to meet the Statewide Flood Control Program's ten percent local match requirement.

D. If the grant application is approved, the authority shall not be required to satisfy the ten percent local match for construction.

E. Federal matching projects shall not be eligible for funds in accordance with this Section.

F. No special district shall be eligible to participate in the Rural Grant Opportunity Program.

Acts 2018, No. 384, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1787 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1787
Resolution authorizing issuance of bonds
Status: in_force

Before bonds of any district are issued hereunder, the governing authority shall investigate and determine the regularity of the proceedings. The resolution authorizing the bonds may direct that they shall contain the following recital:

"It is certified that this bond is authorized by and is issued in conformity with the requirements of the Constitution and statutes of this State," and the recital shall be deemed to be an authorized declaration by the governing authority of the district, and to import that the debts are incurred and the bonds are issued for purposes authorized by the Constitution and statutes, that all the proceedings therefor are regular and all acts, conditions and things required to exist, happen and be performed precedent to and in the issuance of the bonds, have existed, happened, and have been performed in due time, form, and manner as required by law; that the amount of the bonds, together with all other indebtedness does not exceed any limit or limits prescribed by the constitution and statutes of this state and that an election has been duly and legally held and the incurring of the debt and the issuing of negotiable bonds therefor authorized by vote of a majority in number and amount of the property taxpayers qualified to vote under the constitution and laws of this state, who voted at an election regularly called and held for the purpose, after notice published or posted in the manner required by law. If any bond is issued containing the recital it shall be conclusively presumed that recital constructed according to the import hereby declared is true and neither the district nor any taxpayer thereof shall be permitted to question the validity or regularity of the obligation in any court or in any action or proceeding.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2829 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2829
Rules and regulations
Status: in_force

In order to accomplish the purposes of the district, to protect the works, improvements and property of the district, both real and personal; to secure the best results from the construction, operation, and maintenance thereof, and to prevent damage to the district by the misuse of any works, improvements or properties or by the pollution or misuse of the waters of the district or any water course therein, the board of Commissioners may make and enforce such rules and regulations as it shall deem necessary and advisable:

(1) To protect and preserve the works, improvements and properties owned or controlled by the district; prescribe the manner of their use by public corporations and persons, and preserve order within and adjacent thereto;

(2) To prescribe the manner of building bridges, roads, or fences or other works in, along or across any channel, reservoir or other construction of the district;

(3) To prescribe the manner in which ditches, sewers, pipelines or other works shall be adjusted to or connected with the works of the district or any water course therein and the manner in which the water courses of the district may be used for sewer outlets or for disposal of waste;

(4) To prescribe the permissible uses of the water supply, provided by the impoundment constructed as hereinafter set forth and to collect therefor and the manner of its distribution and to prevent the pollution or unnecessary waste of such water supply;

(5) To prohibit or regulate the discharge into sewers of the district of any liquid or solid waste deemed detrimental to the works and improvements of the district;

(6) To coordinate and cooperate with the State Department of Public Works, and be guided by the plans and program of the said department, in the maintenance and improvement and/or construction by the latter of a necessary and adequate dam and impoundment on Black Bayou, Caddo Parish, Louisiana;

(7) REPEALED BY ACTS 1993, NO. 830, §2.

Added by Acts 1966, No. 262, §9; Acts 1993, No. 830, §2.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2295 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2295
Plans and specifications; required provisions
Status: in_force

A. All plans and specifications for public works submitted by an architect or engineer shall include the following provisions relating to equal brand products other than those specified:

(1) The name of a certain brand, make, manufacturer, or definite specifications is to denote the quality standard of the article desired, but does not restrict bidders to the specific brand, make, manufacturer, or specification named. It is to set forth and convey to prospective bidders the general style, type, character, and quality of article desired.

(2) When in specifications or contract documents a particular brand, make of material, device, or equipment is shown or specified, such brand, make of material, device, or equipment shall be regarded merely as a standard.

B. When in specifications or contract documents an architect or engineer specifies a particular brand, make of material, device, or equipment, or equal thereto, he shall adequately identify said product by including, minimally, the model or catalog number of the product.

C.(1) A potential supplier may submit a particular product for prior approval, other than a product specified in the contract documents, no later than fourteen working days prior to the opening of bids. Within ten days, exclusive of holidays and weekends, after submission, the prime design professional shall furnish to both the public entity and the potential supplier written approval or denial of the product submitted. If the prime design professional fails to respond within the time period provided for in this Paragraph, the bid shall be extended at least seven but not more than twenty-one working days.

(2) Notwithstanding Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, for public works of the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board, if a potential supplier wishes to submit for prior approval a particular product other than a product specified in the contract documents, he shall do so no later than fourteen working days prior to the opening of bids. Within three days, exclusive of holidays and weekends, after such submission, the prime design professional shall furnish to both the public entity and the potential supplier written approval or denial of the product submitted.

Added by Acts 1965, No. 40, §1; Amended by Acts 1980, No. 803, §1; Acts 1984, No. 182, §1; Acts 1985, No. 832, §1; Acts 1995, No. 484, §1; Acts 2011, No. 51, §1, eff. June 20, 2011; Acts 2022, No. 424, §1; Acts 2023, No. 113, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1994 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1994
By-laws, rules and regulations; meetings; statement of affairs; audit and inspection of books and vouchers
Status: in_force

The board of commissioners may adopt all by-laws, rules, and regulations necessary for its own government and the proper conduct of its affairs, and fix the time for its meetings. The board shall meet at least once every three months. The secretary and treasurer shall make and publish a detailed statement of the affairs of the corporation on the first day of January and June of each year and all the books and vouchers of the corporation shall be subject to the audit and inspection of the State Auditor.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1608 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1608
Appointment and terms of commissioners
Status: in_force

A.(1) In the ordinance creating a drainage district, the police juries creating the district shall appoint the five commissioners, except in Lafourche Parish where the police jury shall appoint seven commissioners for Lafourche Parish Drainage District No. 1 and in St. Mary Parish where the police jury shall appoint seven commissioners for Wax Lake East Drainage District, who shall constitute the governing authority of the drainage district, and who shall possess the qualifications, as provided in R.S. 38:1607.

(2) The appointments of commissioners by the police jury shall be made upon the recommendations of a majority in number of acres of the landowners of the proposed drainage district, or a majority in numbers of the landowners of the districts. Where the proposed district has more than forty landowners embraced therein, then the appointments shall be made upon the recommendation of twenty-five of the landowners of the district. When there is a contest over the appointment of commissioners, the police jury must and shall give the appointment to those commissioners who are recommended by a majority in number of the landowners in the district.

B. The commissioners shall at their first meeting immediately determine by lot their terms of office, which shall be respectively, one, two, three, four and five years. They shall serve until their successors shall have been appointed and qualified.

C. The police jury or juries creating the drainage district shall thereafter annually at their regular meeting in the month nearest the date of the creation of the drainage district appoint one commissioner for the drainage district in the same manner as the original commissioners were appointed, and the commissioner shall hold office for a term of five years, or until his successor is appointed and qualified. The secretary of the board of commissioners of any drainage district created under this Part shall call to the attention of the police jury or juries the expiration of the term of office of any commissioner of the drainage district.

D. Recommendations of landowners for appointments of commissioners shall be in writing and signed by the landowners making the recommendation.

Amended by Acts 1950, No. 532, §1; Acts 1988, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 20, §1, eff. Oct. 27, 1988; Acts 1992, No. 714, §1.

{{NOTE: SEE ACTS 1988, 2ND EX. SESS., NO. 20, §2.}}
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1544 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1544
Funding or refunding bonds
Status: in_force

Any drainage district or sub-drainage district organized prior to the adoption of the Constitution of 1921, and not reorganized under the provisions of the Constitution of 1921, and the laws carrying same into effect, which have heretofore, upon petition of the property taxpayers and in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of Article 281 of the Constitutions of 1898 and 1913, and the laws carrying the Constitutions into effect, incurred debts against the lands within the drainage district or sub-drainage district, for the purpose of reclaiming the lands therein, and issued negotiable bonds to represent the indebtedness, may, for the purpose of readjusting, funding, refunding, extending or unifying any or all of its authorized indebtedness, bonded or otherwise, or both, issue and sell funding or refunding bonds, and with the proceeds of the sale thereof pay the indebtedness, or may exchange the funding or refunding bonds with the holders of the outstanding indebtedness, bonded or otherwise, in payment thereof, all in the manner as hereinafter provided.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2327 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2327
Cooperation with federal and state agencies
Status: in_force

The board of commissioners may cooperate with the government of the United States and may contribute financially to the expense of such improvement projects as are or may be authorized or adopted by the United States; it may also cooperate with all agencies, departments and subdivisions of the State of Louisiana in all undertakings, the purpose of which will be the furtherance of the objects and purposes for which the Authority is created and the authority to cooperate with any such agency of the state or federal government shall include the authority to contract with any such agency and to accept any grant or gratuity made for any of the purposes of this Chapter.

Added by Acts 1950, No. 261, §7.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2
Functions of department
Status: in_force

A.(1) The functions of the Department of Transportation and Development shall comprise all of the administrative functions of the state in relation to the planning, design, survey and construction, operation, and maintenance and repair of public buildings used in connection with the operation of the department, and of levees, canals, dams, locks, spillways, reservoirs, drainage systems, irrigation systems, housing development, state planning, inland navigation projects, flood control and river improvement programs, public housing projects, and other public works. The department shall render all engineering, economic, and other advisory services within the scope of its functions to port and terminal districts and other local governmental subdivisions and special districts which its facilities allow, subject to the right to be reimbursed for the reasonable costs thereof.

(2)(a) The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board shall have superseding jurisdiction over all integrated coastal protection, as defined in R.S. 49:214.2, in the coastal area, as defined in R.S. 49:214.2.

(b) The Coordinated Use of Resources for Recreation, Economy, Navigation, and Transportation Authority Board shall have superseding jurisdiction over all integrated projects in the upland area, as provided in R.S. 38:2351 et seq.

(3)(a) Subject to the right to be reimbursed for reasonable costs associated with such service, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board shall render to local governmental subdivisions, levee districts, levee and conservation districts, flood authorities, and any other special district all engineering, economic, and other advisory services within the scope of its functions and jurisdiction as defined in R.S. 49:214.2(3) and (10) which its facilities allow.

(b) Subject to the right to be reimbursed for reasonable costs associated with such service, the Coordinated Use of Resources for Recreation, Economy, Navigation, and Transportation Authority Board shall render to local governmental subdivisions, levee districts, ports, navigation districts and commissions, levee and conservation districts, and any other special district all engineering, economic, and other advisory services within the scope of its functions and jurisdiction as provided in R.S. 38:2351 et seq., which its facilities allow.

B. If a decision is made by the agency or political subdivision involved to proceed with construction of a project concerning which the Department of Transportation and Development or the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board, if the area is located within the coastal area, as defined in R.S. 49:214.2(3), and involves integrated coastal protection, as defined in R.S. 49:214.2(10), has been called upon to furnish engineering services, a feasibility study of the project shall be conducted by the department or the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board, if the area is located within the coastal area, as defined in R.S. 49:214.2(3), and involves integrated coastal protection, as defined in R.S. 49:214.2(10), at the expense of the agency or political subdivision requesting such services. The study shall be completed prior to the commencement of construction on the project. The study shall be in writing and shall make a determination as to the desirability, feasibility, cost necessity, and beneficial results of any such proposed project. Whenever any such project is a levee, the study shall make a determination of the necessity of the project from the viewpoint of flood control in addition to making the foregoing determinations. Each such study shall be filed in the records of the Department of Transportation and Development or the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board, if the area is located within the coastal area, as defined in R.S. 49:214.2(3), and involves integrated coastal protection, as defined in R.S. 49:214.2(10), pertaining to the particular project in question, and such study shall be a public record open to inspection by any person during the normal working hours of the Department of Transportation and Development.

C. The Department of Transportation and Development may prepare maps of Louisiana congressional districts, legislative districts, Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education districts, and Louisiana Public Service Commission districts following reapportionment of the districts as otherwise provided by law.

Amended by Acts 1971, No. 193, §1; Acts 1983, No. 519, §3, eff. July 8, 1983; Acts 1991, No. 330, §2, eff. July 6, 1991; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 29, §1, eff. April 24, 1998; Acts 2012, No. 601, §1, eff. June 7, 2012; Acts 2025, No. 418, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2606 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2606
Election of officers; record book; public inspection
Status: in_force

Immediately after the members of the board of commissioners have been appointed, or as soon as thereafter is practicable, they shall meet and organize by electing from their number a president, vice-president, and secretary who shall perform the duties normally required of such officers. The board shall also cause the name by which the district is to be known to be recorded in a bound book which shall also be the depository of the minutes and proceedings of the board, certificates, oaths of commissioners, and any and all corporate acts of the board. This book shall be in the custody of the secretary of the board and shall be open for public inspection at all reasonable times.

Added by Acts 1958, No. 292, §6; Acts 2021, No. 476, §1, eff. June 29, 2021.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3095 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3095
Falsification of documents to evade regulations; penalty
Status: in_force

A. No person shall for the purpose of evading this chapter, or any rule, regulation, or order made thereunder:

(1) Make or cause to be made any false entry or statement of fact in any report required to be made by this chapter or by any rule, regulation, or order made hereunder; or

(2) Make or cause to be made any false entry in an account, record, or memorandum kept by any person in connection with the provisions of this chapter or of any rule, regulation, or order made thereunder; or

(3) Remove out of the jurisdiction of the state, or destroy or mutilate, alter, or by any other means falsify any book, record, or other paper, pertaining to the matters regulated by this chapter or by any rule, regulation, or order made thereunder.

B. Whoever violates this section shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

Acts 1972, No. 535, §6.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2566 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2566
Contracts let by board; bond
Status: in_force

Subject to the supervisory control of the state department of public works, any and all contracts of the district may be let by the board of commissioners, with advertisement, on the terms and subject to the conditions which it may fix in the ordinance or advertisement calling for bids. The person or firm to whom any contract is awarded shall furnish, within the delay fixed by the board, a bond of a surety company authorized to do business in the state of Louisiana, in the amount required by the laws relating to contracts for public works, and conditioned that the work shall be performed in accordance with the plans and specifications of the engineers of the state department of public works, and the terms of the contract, and the board shall demand any other bonds and obligations which the laws relating to public works contracts required the contractor to give.

The board of commissioners and the state department of public works may execute any and all work with its own force and equipment and under its own supervision or the work may be executed on behalf of and for the benefit of the district by the state of Louisiana, or any agency, department or commission thereof.

Added by Acts 1956, No. 9, §16.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:396 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 396
Appropriation; effect on other authority
Status: in_force

Nothing in this Part shall be construed to affect the authority of any levee district or levee and drainage district conferred by the constitution or laws to appropriate property for levee, drainage, levee drainage, or related purposes.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:474 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 474
Payment of bonds at maturity
Status: in_force

The board of commissioners shall set aside and deduct out of the taxes, local contributions, and other revenues of the board by preference over all other claims an amount sufficient to pay the series of bonds maturing each year as provided in the resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds, and the bonds shall be paid annually and discharged from the principal of the bonds at maturity. This Subpart shall not be construed to constitute bonds, issued under the provisions of this Subpart, a charge upon the revenues prior to the change of any outstanding bonds, notes, or certificates of indebtedness issued by the district pursuant to authority conferred by law*.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.

*NOTE: AS APPEARS IN ENROLLED BILL.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.105 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.105
Playgrounds, parks, and other facilities
Status: in_force

The board of commissioners shall have the power to cause to be created and constructed playgrounds, picnic grounds, grounds for recreation, parks, and any and all other facilities to accommodate the public and to provide adequate access to the lake, as may within the opinion of the board become necessary. The board of commissioners shall also provide for the construction of public access boat ramps in the district to allow for and maintain public access to Lake Bruin for recreational purposes.

Acts 1995, No. 1045, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:512 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 512
Form of pledge; rights of pledgee
Status: in_force

The pledge shall be either by notarial act or by an act under private signature, duly acknowledged. A copy of the act shall be filed with the state treasurer, another copy shall be filed with the state auditor, and a third copy shall be filed in the archives of the office of the levee district or levee and drainage district. Upon filing, the pledgee shall be entitled to payment of the sums advanced upon the pledge out of the revenues of the year or years so anticipated, as collected, by preference and priority over all persons, subject only to the legal rights of the holders of any bonds theretofore issued by the levee district or levee and drainage district.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2871 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2871
Constructions which would impede flow of water in watershed prohibited; pollution defined and prohibited; penalties fixed for violations
Status: in_force

(A) No person or public corporation shall erect within the drainage area of the district any dam or reservoir upon any stream or water course which will affect Lake Claiborne until a copy of the plans thereof has been filed with the board of commissioners for approval.

Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned for not less than thirty days, nor more than sixty days, or both.

(B) No person shall knowingly and willfully empty or drain into, or permit to be drained from any pumps, reservoirs, wells or oil fields into any stream or drain constituting the Lake Claiborne watershed or from any stream within said district into the said reservoir any oil, salt water or other noxious or poisonous gases or substances which would render the water unfit for irrigation purposes or would destroy aquatic and fish life in the streams.

Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than three months.

Each and every day that oil, salt water, or other substances are permitted to flow into natural streams or drains which constitute the watershed of Lake Claiborne shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.

(C) No person shall:

(1) Obstruct drainage channels which compose any drain or stream flowing into Lake Claiborne by bridging them except in accordance with plans, specifications and instructions prescribed by the Board of Commissioners of the said Claiborne Parish Watershed District.

(2) Construct dams, locks, or gates in drainage channels of the said Lake Claiborne watershed without permission of the commission.

(3) Extend fences of wire or any other material across drainage channels into and forming a part of the watershed of Lake Claiborne.

(4) Anchor rafts, crafts, fish traps, fish cars and other obstacles in the channel of any stream, drain or natural flow of the feeder streams of the Lake Claiborne watershed.

(5) Drain into channels by natural or artificial inlets except under regulations prescribed by the Board of Commissioners of the Claiborne Parish Watershed District.

(6) Float timber in the watershed of Lake Claiborne.

(7) Use the channels for transportation or navigation except under authority of and agreement with the Board of Commissioners of Claiborne Parish Watershed District.

(8) In any manner obstruct drainage channels, natural flow drains or natural flowage or violate any of the rules or regulations adopted and promulgated by the Board of Commissioners of Claiborne Parish Watershed District for preserving and maintaining the efficiency of the drainage channels in said district.

Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined not less than two hundred and fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or be imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than sixty days or both.

(D) No proprietor, owner, lessee, or possessor of land abutting upon the Lake Claiborne reservoir or upon any public road paralleling the water line or contiguous to the said Lake Claiborne reservoir shall in any manner close or place any obstruction in the drains or ditches, whether on private property or on the public road or levee adjacent to the road which will in any manner interfere with the effective, thorough and continuous drainage into the said reservoir.

Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined not less than two hundred and fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or be imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than sixty days, or both.

The sheriff of the parish, in addition to his other duties, is charged with the responsibility of aiding and assisting the commission in the enforcement of all rules and regulations adopted in accordance herewith.

(E) The district attorney of the judicial district within which the said watershed district is situated is hereby designated as the proper official and charged with the responsibility of the prosecution of all violations of the rules and regulations adopted by the said commission in pursuance hereto.

Added by Acts 1966, No. 299, §11.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1805.1 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1805.1
Livingston Parish Gravity Drainage District No. 6; levy of sales and use tax; bonds
Status: in_force

A. Subject to the approval of a majority of the electors within the Livingston Parish Gravity Drainage District No. 6 at a special election called for the purpose, the parish council of Livingston Parish as the governing authority of the district is hereby authorized to levy a sales and use tax not exceeding one-half of one percent within the district. The tax shall be imposed by ordinance of the parish council and shall be levied upon the sale at retail, the use, the lease or rental, the consumption, the distribution and storage for use or consumption, of tangible personal property, and upon the sales of services within the district, all as presently or hereafter defined in R.S. 47:301 through 317. This tax shall be in addition to all other taxes currently levied in Livingston Parish, and except where inapplicable, the procedure established by R.S. 47:301 through 317 shall be followed in the imposition, collection, and enforcement of the tax. Procedural details necessary to supplement the provisions of those sections and to make the provisions applicable to the tax herein authorized shall be fixed in the ordinance of the parish council imposing the tax.

B. Before any tax is levied under the provisions of this Section, there shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the area within the district at a special election called for that purpose a proposition to authorize the imposition of the sales and use tax including the purpose, rate, and duration of the tax at an election to be conducted in accordance with the general election laws of the state of Louisiana, and a majority of those voting in the election shall have voted in favor of the proposition. In addition, the proposition may also include provisions authorizing the funding of the sales and use tax into negotiable bonds or certificates of indebtedness payable solely from an irrevocable pledge and dedication of all or a portion of the proceeds of the tax subject to the prior payment of the costs and expenses of administration and collection of the tax.

C. The proceeds of the tax authorized by and levied in accordance with the provisions of this Section shall be used exclusively to acquire drainage works; rights of way for canals and ditches; flood prevention works; equipment and facilities necessary to construct, maintain, and operate outlets for the waters of the district; and to prevent flooding.

Acts 2011, No. 57, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2758 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2758
Prohibited operation
Status: in_force

Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary and in particular R.S. 34:851.27, any water conservation board with a jurisdiction including a parish with a population between one hundred ninety thousand and one hundred thirty-five thousand and one other adjacent parish with a population between thirty thousand and twenty-six thousand, both based on the latest federal decennial census, shall have the authority to regulate or prohibit the operation of any vessel on, or on any area inundated by, a lake located on the border of one of the parishes within the board's jurisdiction when that body of water is above flood stage. Any regulation or prohibition adopted pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall not apply to law enforcement, the National Guard, or any rescue or disaster relief organization in the exercise of their duty. A public hearing shall be held prior to the adoption of any ordinance pursuant to this Section.

Acts 2018, No. 318, §2.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2041 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2041
Creation of district; limits
Status: in_force

There is hereby created the Rapides Parish Stormwater Management and Drainage District, composed of Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8 of the parish of Rapides. The district shall be a corporation and political subdivision of the state. The district is created for the purposes herein set forth and shall be responsible for all major drainage in Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8 of Rapides Parish, excluding the Red River and its levees, and local drainage along streets, highways, and roads.

Added by Acts 1982, No. 69, §1. Acts 1984, No. 787, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:353 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 353
Appointment of estimators; restrictions in selection
Status: in_force

The governing authority of the levee district or levee and drainage district shall select two or more persons to make the estimate, but two of them shall be appraisers or agents who are in the regular employ of the levee district or licensed realtors who are familiar with land values in the vicinity of the property to be taken.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.77 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.77
Constructions which would impede flow of water in watershed prohibited; pollution defined and prohibited; penalties fixed for violations
Status: in_force

A.(1) No person or public corporation shall erect within the drainage area of the district any dam, channel, or reservoir upon any stream or watercourse which will affect Caddo Lake until a copy of the plans thereof has been filed with the board of commissioners for approval.

(2) Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned for not less than thirty days, nor more than sixty days, or both.

B.(1) No person shall knowingly and willfully empty or drain or permit to be drained from any pump, reservoir, well, or oil field, into any stream or drain constituting the watershed of the lake, or from any stream within said district into said lake any oil, salt water, or other noxious, toxic, hazardous, or poisonous gas, liquid, or substance which would render the water unfit for irrigation purposes or for human consumption through "water districts" or would destroy aquatic and fish life in the lake.

(2) Each and every day that oil, salt water, or other prohibited substances are permitted to flow into natural streams or drains which constitute the watershed of Caddo Lake shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.

(3) Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than three months.

C.(1) No person shall:

(a) Obstruct drainage channels which compose any drain or stream flowing into Caddo Lake by bridging them except in accordance with plans, specifications, and instructions prescribed by the board of commissioners.

(b) Construct dams, locks, or gates in drainage channels of the Caddo Lake watershed or in the lake itself without permission of the board.

(c) Extend fences of wire or any other material across drainage channels into and forming a part of the watershed of Caddo Lake.

(d) Anchor rafts, crafts, fish traps, fish cars, and other obstacles in the channel of any stream, drain, or natural flow of the feeder streams of the Caddo Lake watershed.

(e) Drain into channels by natural or artificial inlets, except under regulations prescribed by the board of commissioners.

(f) Float timber in the watershed of Caddo Lake.

(g) Use the channels for transportation or navigation, except under authority of and agreement with the board of commissioners.

(h) In any manner obstruct drainage channels, natural flow drains, or natural flowage, or violate any of the rules or regulations adopted and promulgated by the board of commissioners for preserving and maintaining the efficiency of the drainage channels in said district.

(2) Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined not less than two hundred fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than sixty days, or both.

D.(1) No proprietor, owner, lessee, or possessor of land abutting upon the Caddo Lake reservoir or upon any public road paralleling the water line or contiguous to the said Caddo Lake reservoir shall in any manner close or place any obstruction in the drains or ditches, whether on private property or on the public road or levee adjacent to the road which will in any manner interfere with the effective, thorough, and continuous drainage into the said reservoir.

(2) Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined not less than two hundred fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or be imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than sixty days, or both.

E. The sheriff of the parish, in addition to his other duties, is charged with the responsibility of aiding and assisting the board of commissioners in the enforcement of this Section and all rules and regulations of the board.

F. The district attorney of the judicial district within which the said watershed district is situated is hereby designated as the proper official and charged with the responsibility of the prosecution of all violations of the rules and regulations adopted by the board of commissioners.

Acts 1995, No. 345, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.134 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.134
Board of commissioners; tenure; replacement; compensation
Status: in_force

A. The board of commissioners for the district shall consist of nineteen voting members commissioned by the governor as follows:

(1) One member each from the parishes of Bienville, Claiborne, Jackson, Lincoln, Morehouse, Ouachita, Union, Webster, and Winn, respectively. The governor shall designate the term of office for each member appointed pursuant to this Subparagraph so that, insofar as possible, one-third of the initial members shall serve a one-year term, one-third a two-year term, and one-third a three-year term.

(2) One member, to serve a one-year term, from one of the following parishes: Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, LaSalle, Natchitoches, Richland, and Sabine. The parish nominating the member shall be on a rotating basis in the order listed herein.

(3) Three members from the nominees of the user groups of wood product industry users, agricultural users, and other industrial users, respectively, in the district commissioned in such manner that the wood products industry, agriculture, and other industries are each represented by one member. The governor shall designate the term of office for each member appointed pursuant to this Paragraph so that one member shall serve a one-year term, one shall serve for a two-year term, and one shall serve a three-year term.

(4) Six members from the nominees of municipalities within the district which have a minimum use of five hundred thousand gallons per day. The governor shall designate the term of office for each member commissioned pursuant to this Paragraph so that one member shall serve a one-year term, one member shall serve a two-year term, and one member shall serve a three-year term.

B. The initial voting members shall be nominated by the appropriate nominating entity or group and presented to the governor on or before September 15, 1999. The members shall be commissioned by the governor on or before October 15, 1999.

C. Commissions pursuant to Paragraphs (A)(1), (3), and (4) of this Section, other than the initial commissions, shall be for three-year terms.

D. Each commission by the governor shall be submitted to the Senate for confirmation.

E. In addition, the following may serve at their pleasure as ex officio nonvoting members of the board and shall not be considered in determining a quorum for the purpose of board meetings:

(1) The secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality or his designee.

(2) The commissioner of agriculture and forestry or his designee.

(3) A representative of the United States Geological Survey.

(4) The secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries or his designee.

(5) The secretary of the Department of Conservation and Energy or his designee.

(6) A representative of the Louisiana Rural Water Association appointed by the association.

(7) A representative of the Louisiana Cattlemen's Association appointed by the association.

(8) A representative of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation appointed by the federation.

(9) Each senator whose senatorial district includes any portion of any parish included within the district or his designee.

(10) Each member of the House of Representatives whose representative district includes any portion of any parish included within the district or his designee.

(11) One or more representatives of industrial users of the groundwater appointed by the board to serve at its pleasure.

(12) The secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.

(13) One representative from each university located within any portion of the district.

F.(1) Terms of members commissioned pursuant to Subsection A of this Section shall commence for those initially commissioned on October 15, 1999. Terms for commissioners subsequently commissioned shall commence on each October fifteenth thereafter.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 42:2, a commissioner shall not continue to discharge the duties of his office upon expiration of his term.

G.(1) Sixty days prior to the expiration of the term of any voting member, the board shall notify the appropriate nominating entity or group entitled to make nomination for the member's successor.

(2) In case a vacancy occurs more than ninety days prior to the end of the member's term, the governor shall commission a replacement within thirty days of its occurrence to fill the unexpired term, such replacement to be the nominee of the appropriate nominating entity or group.

(3) In case a vacancy occurs ninety or less days prior to the end of the member's term, the position shall remain vacant for the remainder of the term.

H. Commissioners shall not be compensated for their services, except that the board may, by regulation, provide for the payment of expenses for travel outside the district on official business.

I. A member of a parish governing authority within the district may serve as a commissioner.

Acts 1999, No. 1228, §1; Acts 2006, No. 22, §1; Acts 2012, No. 601, §1, eff. June 7, 2012; Acts 2023, No. 150, §12, eff. Jan. 10, 2024.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1796 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1796
Contract for use of drainage or other works; purchase or expropriation
Status: in_force

The governing authority of any gravity drainage district, or gravity sub-drainage district, may contract with the owner of any drainage or other works for the privilege of using the works in connection with the drainage works of the district, or sub-district. The governing authority of any gravity drainage district, or gravity sub-drainage district may purchase, or expropriate, from the owner of any drainage, or other works, the title to the works and pay to the owner in cash therefor the amount agreed upon, or fixed in the judgment or expropriation.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:330.4 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 330.4
Regional directors
Status: in_force

A. Each board may employ a regional director who shall serve at the pleasure of the board. The board shall fix the qualifications, duties, and salary of the regional director.

B. In addition to the qualifications fixed by the board pursuant to Subsection A of this Section, the regional director shall:

(1) Reside in southeast Louisiana.

(2) Have a bachelor's degree, at a minimum, in the area of business, engineering, geology, hydrology, natural sciences, environmental sciences, renewable resources, or any similar academic field.

(3) Have a minimum of ten years senior executive experience in business, engineering or hydrology, or in the performance of public works functions, related to flood and drainage control, flood plain management, water resources, soil conservation, land surveying and mapping, disaster relief, or any related function.

C. In addition to the duties prescribed by the board, the regional director shall keep records of all proceedings, preserve all books, maps, documents, papers, records, and reports entrusted to its care, and keep them open for public inspection.

Acts 2006, 1 st Ex. Sess., No. 1, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2007; Acts 2009, No. 521, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3323 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3323
Corporate status; domicile
Status: in_force

A. The district shall constitute a body corporate in law and shall be a political subdivision of the state. The district may incur debt and contractual obligations in accordance with law, sue and be sued, purchase and sell property, have a corporate seal, and do and perform any and all acts in its corporate capacity and in its corporate name which are necessary and proper for carrying out the purposes and objects for which it is created.

B. The district shall be domiciled and shall establish an office for the transaction of its business operations at a location within Lafayette Parish and central to the boundaries of the district.

C. The district may own, operate, and maintain a regional sensor network to inform water management practices.

D. The district shall recognize the Louisiana Watershed Flood Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as a center of excellence for watershed management for the purposes of serving as a community resource and authority on research-based data including but not limited to hydraulic and hydrologic data, watershed models, and innovative watershed practices.

E. The district shall be the primary and official repository for all data and models developed for Hydrologic Unit Subbasins 08080101, 08080102, 08080103, 08080201, and 08080202. By entering into a cooperative endeavor agreement with the state, the district shall be recognized as the primary entity responsible for and charged with operating, managing, and maintaining the Louisiana Watershed Initiative Region 5 hydrologic and hydraulic models and any derivative work therein.

F. The district shall be audited pursuant to R.S. 24:513.

Acts 2023, No. 323, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1860 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1860
Canvass of returns; declaration and promulgation of results
Status: in_force

On the day and hour and at the place named in the notice of election, the board of commissioners ordering the election shall, in public session, open the ballot boxes, examine and count the ballots in number and amount, examine and canvass the returns and declare the result of the election. The result shall be promulgated by publication in one issue of a newspaper published in the parish, or in an adjoining parish where no newspaper is published in the parish.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1613 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1613
Domicile of district; place of suit; place of meetings
Status: in_force

The domicile of the drainage district shall be designated in the ordinance creating the district. The commissioners of a drainage district may at any time, by resolution, establish a different domicile, but the domicile shall always be within the parish or parishes in which any land of the district is situated, after having given notice of intention to change the domicile. The notice shall be signed by the president or secretary of the commissioners and published once a week for thirty days in a newspaper published in the parish of the then existing domicile, or if there is no newspaper, then in a newspaper published in an adjoining parish. After the publication of the notice, the commissioners by resolution may make the change of domicile. A copy of the resolution when adopted shall be recorded in the book of drainage records kept by the clerk of court.

Drainage districts shall be sued only in the court of their domicile.

In the ordinance creating drainage district under this Part a time and place for the commissioners of the district to hold their organization meeting shall be designated.

All meetings of the board of commissioners shall be held at the domicile of the drainage district. By unanimous vote of all of the commissioners composing the board at a meeting of the board held at the domicile, the board may designate a different place at which meetings of the board may be held, which the board of commissioners deemed most convenient to the board and the persons having business transactions therewith.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2870 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2870
Rules and regulations
Status: in_force

A. In order to accomplish the purposes of the district, to protect the works, improvements, and property of the district, both real and personal; to secure the best results from the construction, operation, and maintenance thereof, and to prevent damage to the district by misuse of any works, improvements, or properties or by the pollution or misuse of the waters of the district or any water course therein, the board of commissioners may make and enforce such rules and regulations as it shall deem necessary and advisable as follows:

(1) To protect and preserve the works, improvements, and properties owned or controlled by the district, prescribe the manner of their use by public corporations and persons, and preserve order within and adjacent thereto.

(2) To prescribe the manner of building bridges, roads, or fences, or other works in, along, or across any channel, reservoir, or other construction of the district.

(3) To prescribe the manner in which ditches, sewers, pipelines, or other works shall be adjusted to or connected with the works of the district or any water course therein and the manner in which the water courses of the district may be used for sewer outlets or for disposal of waste.

(4) To prescribe the permissible uses of the water supply, provided by the impoundments constructed, and to prevent the pollution or unnecessary waste of such water supply.

(5) To prohibit or regulate the discharge into sewers of the district of any liquid or solid waste deemed detrimental to the works and improvements of the district.

(6) To establish rules and regulations and cause them to be enforced with regard to activities engaged in upon any public water body in the district which are not regulated by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission or the United States Army Corp of Engineers.

(7) To manage and control surface and groundwater levels in the district. Any rule or regulation pertaining to the management and control of groundwater levels in the district shall be subject to approval by the Groundwater Resources Commission.

B. Any person who violates the rules and regulations established and promulgated by the board of commissioners pursuant to this Section shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned for more than sixty days, or both. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense.

Added by Acts 1966, No. 299, §10; Acts 1993, No. 830, §2; Acts 2004, No. 390, §1; Acts 2005, No. 81, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3093 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3093
Administration; authority
Status: in_force

This Chapter shall be administered by the secretary, who shall have authority to enforce the provisions of this Chapter.

Acts 1972, No. 535, §§4, 5; Acts 2009, No. 437, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2010; Acts 2025, No. 458, §5, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2241 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2241
Written contract and bond
Status: in_force

A.(1) Whenever a public entity enters into a contract in excess of five thousand dollars for the construction, alteration, or repair of any public works, the official representative of the public entity shall reduce the contract to writing and have it signed by the parties. When an emergency as provided in R.S. 38:2212(D) is deemed to exist for the construction, alteration, or repair of any public works and the contract for such emergency work is less than fifty thousand dollars, there shall be no requirement to reduce the contract to writing.

(2) For each contract in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars per project, the public entity shall require of the contractor a bond with good, solvent, and sufficient surety in a sum of not less than fifty percent of the contract price for the payment by the contractor or subcontractor to claimants as defined in R.S. 38:2242. The bond furnished shall be a statutory bond and no modification, omissions, additions in or to the terms of the contract, in the plans or specifications, or in the manner and mode of payment shall in any manner diminish, enlarge, or otherwise modify the obligations of the bond. The bond shall be executed by the contractor with surety or sureties approved by the public entity and shall be recorded with the contract in the office of the recorder of mortgages in the parish where the work is to be done not later than thirty days after the work has begun.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, for each contract in excess of two hundred fifty thousand dollars per project in Ascension Parish, the public entity shall require of the contractor a bond with good, solvent, and sufficient surety in a sum of not less than fifty percent of the contract price for the payment by the contractor or subcontractor to claimants as defined in R.S. 38:2242. The bond furnished shall be a statutory bond and no modifications, omissions, additions in or to the terms of the contract, in the plans or specifications, or in the manner and mode of payment shall in any manner diminish, enlarge, or otherwise modify the obligations of the bond. The bond shall be executed by the contractor with surety or sureties approved by the public entity and shall be recorded with the contract in the office of the recorder of mortgages in the parish where the work is to be done not later than thirty days after the work has begun.

B. All requirements and obligations of this Section, except the requirement to furnish a bond, shall be applicable to any contractor or subcontractor for whom bond requirements are waived under the provisions of R.S. 38:2216(C) or (D).

C.(1) The payment provisions of all bonds furnished for public work contracts described in this Part, regardless of form or content, shall be construed as and deemed statutory bond provisions. Except as provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, nothing in this Part shall be construed to preclude a surety who has furnished such a bond from asserting any defense to the principal obligation that its principal could assert except lack of capacity or discharge in bankruptcy of the principal obligor. Any such bond which fails to contain any of the requirements set forth in this Part shall be deemed to incorporate all of the requirements set forth in this Section. Language in any such bond containing any obligations beyond the requirements set forth in this Part shall be deemed surplusage and read out of such bond. Sureties and contractors executing payment bonds for public works contracts under this Part shall be immune from liability for or payment of any claims not required by this Part.

(2) The surety shall be obligated and required to issue payment to a materialman for claims by a materialman under the following conditions:

(a) The claim is for material delivered in conformity with material specifications provided in the order for such material.

(b) No sooner than forty-five days after delivery of the material, the materialman sends a notice of nonpayment to the general contractor, the surety, and the owner.

(c) The materialman has not been paid in full on or before ninety days after delivery of the material.

(3) If the requirements of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection are satisfied, the surety shall pay the materialman within ten days after the materialman sends a payment notice to the surety.

(4) The claim of a materialman and right to payment as provided in this Subsection is in addition to and not in derogation of any other rights, claims, or remedies available to a materialman in this Part.

(5) Any notice required under this Section shall be served by mailing the same by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, in an envelope addressed to the last known address of the general contractor, the surety, and the owner. The return receipt indicating that registered mail or certified mail was properly addressed to the last known address of the general contractor, the surety, and the owner and deposited in the United States mail regardless of whether the registered or certified mail was actually delivered, refused, or unclaimed satisfies the notice provision of this Section.

D. A bond issued pursuant to this Section shall not create, nor shall such bond be construed to create, any cause of action in favor of the public entity, or any third party, for personal injury or property damages sustained by any third party during the effective period of the bond. Nothing contained herein shall in any way limit the liability on the bond for the performance of the work pursuant to the contract in question; however, to the extent that the public contract in question should contain any provisions for a hold harmless or indemnity agreement, or both, by the contractor, in favor of the public entity, for personal injury or property damages sustained by third parties, the hold harmless or indemnity agreement, or both, shall not be deemed or construed to be secured by the bond, conditioned upon the concurrence of the contractor and the surety.

E. Any provisions of a bond issued pursuant to this Section which are contrary to Subsection D hereof are hereby declared to be contrary to the public policy of the state of Louisiana and are null and void.

F. The provisions of this Section shall not be subject to waiver by contract.

G. All contracts for projects that are directly associated with the preparation of Super Bowl LIX are exempt from the provisions of this Section, except for contracts for projects in excess of one hundred fifty thousand dollars. The provisions of this Subsection shall terminate on February 10, 2025.

Amended by Acts 1975, No. 344, §1; Acts 1979, No. 389, §1; Acts 1980, No. 615, §1; Acts 1985, No. 244, §1; Acts 1986, No. 248, §1; Acts 1986, No. 888, §1; Acts 1991, No. 749, §1, eff. July 18, 1991; Acts 1995, No. 540, §1; Acts 1997, No. 119, §1; Acts 1999, No. 673, §1; Acts 2024, No. 761, §1, eff. June 19, 2024; Acts 2025, No. 254, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2191.1 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2191.1
Foreign gifts and contracts
Status: in_force

A. As used in this Section, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) "Contract" means any agreement for the direct benefit or use of any party to the agreement, including an agreement for the sale of commodities or services.

(2) "Foreign country of concern" means a country or nation determined by the appropriate federal agency to be a potential source of intelligence gathering or espionage activities detrimental to the United States.

(3) "Foreign government" means the government of any country, nation, or group of nations, or any province or other political subdivision of any country or nation, other than the government of the United States and its states and political subdivisions, including any agent of the foreign government.

(4) "Foreign source" means any of the following:

(a) A foreign government or an agency of a foreign government.

(b) A legal entity, governmental or otherwise, created solely under the laws of a foreign state or states.

(c) An individual who is not a citizen or a national of the United States or of a territory or protectorate of the United States.

(d) An agent, including a subsidiary or an affiliate of a foreign legal entity, acting on behalf of any source defined in Subparagraph (a), (b), or (c) of this Paragraph.

(5) "Gift" means any transfer of money or property from one entity to another without compensation.

(6) "Grant" means a transfer of money for a specified purpose, including a conditional gift.

(7) "Interest" in an entity means any direct or indirect investment in or loan to the entity valued at five percent or more of the entity's net worth or any form of direct or indirect control exerting similar or greater influence on the governance of the entity.

(8) "State agency" means any agency or unit of state government created or established by law.

B.(1) Any state agency or political subdivision that receives directly or indirectly any gift or grant having a value of fifty thousand dollars or more from a foreign source shall disclose the gift or grant to the division of administration within thirty days after its receipt.

(2) Disclosures required by this Subsection shall include the date and amount of the gift or grant and the country of residence or domicile of the foreign source.

C.(1) Any entity that applies to a state agency or political subdivision for a grant or proposes a contract having a value of one hundred thousand dollars or more shall disclose the following information to the agency or political subdivision:

(a) Any current or prior interest in any contract received from a foreign country of concern having a value of fifty thousand dollars or more and whether the interest in the contract existed or was in force at any time during the previous five years.

(b) Any grant or gift received from a foreign country of concern having a value of fifty thousand dollars or more and whether the grant or gift was received or in force at any time during the previous five years.

(2) The disclosure required by this Subsection shall include the following:

(a) The name and mailing address of the disclosing entity.

(b) The amount of the contract, grant, or gift or the value of the interest in the contract, grant, or gift disclosed.

(c) The applicable foreign country of concern.

(d) The date the contract was executed, and the date of termination of the contract or interest, if applicable.

(e) The date of receipt of the grant or gift.

(f) The name of the agent or controlled entity that is the source or interest holder.

(3) The division of administration may publish the disclosure information online, and if published online, the information is considered disclosed to every state agency and political subdivision.

(4) Once a disclosure is filed and during the term of the grant or contract, the entity shall revise the disclosure within thirty days after executing a contract or after receipt of a grant or gift from a foreign country of concern or within thirty days after any interest is acquired in the entity by a foreign country of concern.

D. Any entity identified as being subject to any governmental sanctions, embargoes, or other restrictions shall be included on the online procurement system. The division of administration shall ensure that purchasers using the online procurement system may easily access all disclosures made by entities participating in the system.

E.(1) After receipt of a referral from the compliance officer of an agency or political subdivision compliance officer or a sworn complaint based upon substantive information and reasonable belief, the division of administration is to investigate any allegation of a violation of this Section.

(2) The division of administration may request records relevant to any reasonable suspicion of a violation of this Section, and an entity shall provide the records within thirty days after the request or at a later time agreed to by the division of administration.

F. The division of administration may adopt rules necessary to carry out its responsibilities under this Section, which rules may identify the federal agencies to be consulted and the procedure for notifying a vendor of the disclosure requirements under this Section.

Acts 2022, No. 765, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2023.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1586 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1586
Special assessments; installment notes; effect of default; assessment lien
Status: in_force

A. Upon receipt of the certified statement or report of the engineer of the drainage district as provided in R.S. 38:1585, the governing authority shall review the certified statement or report, including the proposed local or special assessments, and thereafter shall make a determination as to whether each lot or parcel of real estate to be assessed will be benefitted to an amount not less than the proposed local or special assessment. Proposed assessments that are found by the governing authority to have been erroneously assessed or for which the governing authority does not find said benefit shall be deleted from said certified statement or report. The deletion of such proposed assessments from said certified statement or report for either of said reasons shall in no way invalidate or affect the legality of the contract awarded for the construction of said proposed improvements, nor shall such deletions constitute a violation of the public contract law of this state.

B. Following said review and finding as to benefit by said governing authority, there shall be mailed to each property owner to be assessed a notice advising each such owner of his proposed assessment and the manner and time for payment thereof. Said notice shall set forth a general description of the proposed improvements, such description of the property to be assessed, and the location thereof, as the governing authority may deem necessary, and shall notify the property owner to advise the governing authority in writing within fifteen days from the date of such notice if inaccuracies exist in the proposed assessment. The aforesaid notice shall be given by depositing said written notice in the United States mail, postage paid, and addressed to the property owner at his address as it appeared on the last approved tax roll on which the property was assessed for taxes by the governing authority. The certificate of the clerk or secretary of the governing authority levying any such assessments that the aforesaid notice has been given in writing to all property owners to be assessed shall establish a conclusive legal presumption that all requirements of notice as set forth hereinabove have been legally satisfied.

C. After thirty days have elapsed from the date of the mailing of said notice of proposed assessments, the governing authority shall adopt an ordinance levying a local or special assessment on each lot or parcel of real estate in the area involved in proportion that its area bears to the total area to be assessed or in proportion that its front footage bears to the total front footage to be assessed, as shall be determined by the governing authority, and the total of all such local or special assessments shall represent the total cost of the work contemplated. When the construction is financed partly under the provisions hereof and partly by the issuance of bonds or by any other method, then the total of all assessments levied hereunder shall represent the total cost of the work contemplated, including all items mentioned above, less the amount provided by bonds or such other method.

D.(1) The amount assessed in said ordinance shall be due and collectible immediately on its passage, and, if not paid within thirty days from the date of the adoption of said ordinance, it will be conclusively presumed that any property owner whose property is affected thereby exercises the right and option, which is hereby authorized, to pay the amount due in equal annual installments bearing interest at a rate to be established by the governing authority of the district, including all the items above set forth, and extending over a period of not exceeding twenty years, all within the discretion of the governing authority, and as provided for in the ordinance levying such local or special assessments. The first installment shall become due on December 31 of the then current year or one year after the date of the assessment ordinance herein provided for, in the discretion of the governing authority of the district, and annually thereafter.

(2) The failure to pay any installment or interest thereon when due shall ipso facto cause all other installments and the interest thereon to become due and payable, and the drainage district shall, within thirty days from date of such default, proceed against the property for the collection of the total amount due thereon, including interest, plus twenty percent additional on the principal and interest of the past due installment or installments or twenty percent of the amount sued for and, in the event judgment is necessary to effect collection, twenty percent of the amount of the judgment rendered as attorney's fees. However, said attorney's fees shall be payable by the property owner only if demand has been made on the property owner by the governing authority of the district through registered or certified mail and he has failed to pay the amount due within ten days after such demand.

E.(1) A certified copy of the ordinance levying the local or special assessments on the real estate as aforesaid shall be filed with the clerk of court in the parish in which the drainage district is situated, who shall forthwith record the same in the mortgage records of the parish, and when so filed and recorded, shall operate as a lien and privilege against all real estate therein assessed, and which aforesaid lien and privilege shall prime all other claims except taxes and prior recorded local or special assessment levied for streets, sewerage, or water.

(2) The payments made in cash shall be expended for no purpose other than the payment of the cost of said improvements.

(3) Any errors in descriptions or amounts in any assessment ordinance adopted pursuant to this Section may be corrected by the adoption of an amendatory ordinance which shall set forth only the corrected descriptions or amounts and which shall be recorded in the same manner as the original ordinance levying the assessments. The adoption of any such corrective ordinance shall serve only to postpone the thirty-day period for cash payment in full of the assessment actually affected and corrected by such amendatory ordinance, and the due dates of the installments of such assessments so corrected which are not paid in full in cash within thirty days from the date of adoption of the amendatory ordinance shall be the same as the due dates of the installments of the assessments levied in the original ordinance and not affected or corrected by any such amendatory ordinance or ordinances.

Added by Acts 1983, No. 708, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1786 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1786
Registered bonds
Status: in_force

Bonds issued hereunder may be registered or coupon bonds. Coupon bonds may be registered as to principal in the holder's name on the books of the treasurer, of the district, the registration being noted on the bond by the treasurer, after which no transfer shall be valid unless made on the treasurer's books by the registered holder and similarly noted on the bonds. Bonds registered as to principal may be discharged from registration by being transferred to bearer after which they shall be transferable by delivery, but may be again registered as to principal as before. The registration of the bonds as to principal shall not restrain the negotiability of the coupons by delivery merely.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1866 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1866
Compliance with other statutes not required
Status: in_force

This Part shall be full authority for the assumption of the outstanding bonded debt and other indebtedness of any drainage district or districts by the consolidated gravity drainage district in this Part authorized. No ordinance, resolution, or proceeding in respect to the assumption of any outstanding bonded debt or other indebtedness of any drainage district or districts, shall be necessary, except as required by this Part. No promulgation or publication of any resolution, ordinance or proceeding relating to the assumption of said debt shall be necessary, except as required by this Part. Any publication prescribed hereby may be made in any newspaper conforming to the terms of this Part, without regard to designation thereof as the official journal of the parish.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.164 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.164
Board of commissioners, appointment; tenure; vacancies; compensation
Status: in_force

A. The district shall be governed and controlled by a board of nine commissioners, each of whom shall be a qualified elector of the state of Louisiana and who resides within the limits of Franklin Parish. Each commissioner shall be appointed for a term of four years and shall serve until his successor is named and qualified.

B. The nine commissioners shall be appointed by the governor from names submitted as follows:

(1) One member shall be appointed from a list of three names submitted by the governing authority of the town of Baskin.

(2) One member shall be appointed from a list of three names submitted by the governing authority of the town of Wisner.

(3) One member shall be appointed from a list of three names submitted by the governing authority of the town of Gilbert.

(4) One member shall be appointed from a list of three names submitted by the governing authority of the town of Winnsboro.

(5) Four members shall be appointed from a list of twelve names submitted by the governing authority of Franklin Parish.

(6) One member shall be appointed from a list of three names submitted by a majority of the legislators representing Franklin Parish.

C. Each appointment to the board of commissioners under the provisions of this Section shall be made subject to Senate confirmation as required by Article IV, Section 5(H) of the Constitution of Louisiana.

Acts 2001, No. 475, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1620 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1620
Attorneys
Status: in_force

The board of commissioners of every drainage district created under the provisions of this Part may employ an attorney, to act for the drainage district, and to advise the board of commissioners. His employment shall be evidenced by resolution of the board and by an agreement in writing, which as far as possible, shall specify the amount to be paid to the attorney for all services to be rendered by him. The attorney shall conduct all legal proceedings and suits in court where the drainage district or any sub-drainage district thereof is a party or interested, and in all legal matters affecting the district or any sub-district shall advise the board of commissioners, all officers, employees, or agents thereof, and generally, shall look after, supervise, and attend to all matters of a legal nature affecting the drainage district, or any sub-district. When the board of commissioners may deem it necessary, they may, by and with the advice of the attorney and under like terms and conditions, employ an additional attorney or attorneys. For the work done by the attorney or attorneys in connection with the organization of the district, the assessing of benefits and the creating of debt and issuing of bonds, the board shall pay a fee not in excess of one and one-half per cent of the total benefits assessed by the board of appraisers as confirmed by the court.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2810 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2810
Constructions which impede flow of water in watershed prohibited; pollution defined and prohibited; penalties for violations
Status: in_force

(A) No person or public corporation shall erect within the drainage area of the district any dam or reservoir upon any stream or water course until a copy of the plans thereof has been filed with the board of commissioners for approval.

Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars or more than one thousand dollars or be imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than sixty days, or both.

(B) No person shall knowingly and willfully empty or drain into, or permit to be drained from any pumps, reservoirs, wells or oil fields into any stream or drain within the district any oil, salt water or other noxious or poisonous gases or substances which would render the water unfit for irrigation purposes or would destroy aquatic and fish life in the streams.

Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars or more than two hundred dollars or be imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than three months.

Each day that oil, salt water or other substances are permitted to flow into natural streams or drains which constitute the abovementioned watershed shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.

(C) No person shall:

(1) Obstruct drainage channels which compose any drain or stream flowing within the district by bridging them except in accordance with plans, specifications and instructions prescribed by the Board of Commissioners of the said Franklin Parish Watershed District.

(2) Construct dams, locks or gates in drainage channels within the district without permission of the commission.

(3) Extend fences of wire or any other material across drainage channels into and forming a part of the watershed of the district.

(4) Anchor rafts, crafts, fish traps, fish cars and other obstacles in the channel of any stream, drain or natural flow of the feeder streams of the watershed of the district.

(5) Drain into channels by natural or artificial inlets, except under regulations prescribed by the Board of Commissioners of the Franklin Parish Watershed District.

(6) Float timber in the watershed of the district.

(7) Use the channels for transportation or navigation, except under authority of and agreement with the Board of Commissioners of Franklin Parish Watershed District.

(8) In any manner obstruct drainage channels, natural flow drains or natural flowage or violate any of the rules or regulations adopted and promulgated by the Board of Commissioners of Franklin Parish Watershed District for preserving and maintaining the efficiency of the drainage channels in said district.

Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined not less than two hundred and fifty dollars or more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than sixty days or both.

(D) The district attorney of the judicial district within which the watershed district is situated is hereby designated as the proper official and charged with the responsibility of the prosecution of all violations of the rules and regulations adopted by the commission in pursuance hereto.

Added by Acts 1966, No. 101, §10.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:361 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 361
Fixing for trial; notice
Status: in_force

After the answer is filed either party may cause the matter to be fixed for trial in accordance with procedures established by the district courts not inconsistent with this Part, and the court shall issue an order fixing the time of the trial of the suit. The clerk of court shall thereupon issue to all parties a notice of the time fixed for the trial. This notice shall be served at least thirty days before the time fixed for the trial and in the manner provided by law for the service of citations.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:320 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 320
Sale or lease of land; compliance with bid laws
Status: in_force

When any levee board or levee and drainage board desires to sell or lease any lands which it owns, the board shall comply with the advertising and bid requirements contained in R.S. 41:131 et seq., R.S. 41:1212 et seq., or R.S. 41:1261 et seq., provided the aforesaid Sections do not preclude compliance with any federal contract or grant agreement or any federal laws, rules, or regulations within the area of any airport. However, any levee board or levee and drainage board may execute a campsite lease of not over three years on lands owned, or which may hereafter be acquired, for a cash consideration and under the terms and conditions which the board of commissioners of the levee districts or levee and drainage districts may deem best. All such leases shall be subordinate to any lease hereafter made of the lands for oil, gas, and mineral development. A further exception to the provisions of this Section and R.S. 38:302 shall be for those leases for hunting, trapping, and fishing leases not exceeding ten years and except when leasing those lands located within, in, or when it is a part of a marina used for boat mooring facilities when the terms do not exceed fifty-five years or when leasing airport facilities to a fixed base operator, bulk fuel facilities, and airport hangars when the term does not exceed fifty-five years.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.270 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.270
Tax exemption; mineral leases unabridged
Status: in_force

Should the district or the Department of Transportation and Development acquire a servitude, right of use, or title in full ownership to immovable property or any other property, such property shall not be subject to any ad valorem tax or tax of any nature by the state of Louisiana or any political subdivision thereof so long as such property is used for the purpose of the district. The provisions of this Part shall in no way abridge the right of any individual, person, firm, or corporation from whom a servitude or right of use may have been acquired to lease the land subject thereto for the production of oil, gas, or other minerals and to produce or cause to be produced oil, gas, or other minerals from such property so long as such leases are subject to the terms and conditions of the servitude executed in favor of the board or the district.

Acts 2003, No. 1228, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:381 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 381
Special verdicts
Status: in_force

With the consent of all parties, the court may require a jury to return only a special verdict in the form of a special written finding upon each issue of fact. In that event, the court may submit to the jury written questions susceptible of categorical or other brief answer or may submit written forms of the several findings which might properly be made under the pleadings and evidence or may use any other appropriate method of submitting the issues and requiring the written findings thereon. The court shall give to the jury such explanation and instruction concerning the matter submitted as may be necessary to enable the jury to make its findings upon each issue. If the court omits any issue of fact raised by the pleadings or by the evidence, each party waives his right to trial by jury of the issue omitted, unless before the jury retires he demands its submission to the jury. As to an issue omitted without such demand, the court may make a finding, or if it fails to do so, it shall be presumed to have made a finding in accordance with the judgment on the special verdict.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3085.7 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3085.7
Bonds; investment; taxes
Status: in_force

All bonds issued under the provisions of this Part shall constitute negotiable instruments within the meaning of the law of this state relating to commercial paper. Savings banks, insurance companies, homestead associations, trustees, and other fiduciaries may invest the funds in their hands in bonds of the district, and the bonds shall constitute legal investment for such funds. The district shall not be liable for money paid for beneficiaries, minors, wards, or interdicted persons to their trustees, tutors, or curators on account of such bonds. The bonds may be used for deposit with any officer, board, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state in any case in which deposits or security is required by law.

Added by Acts 1975, No. 28, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3082 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3082
Falsification of documents to evade regulations; penalty
Status: in_force

A. No person shall for the purpose of evading this part, or any rule, regulation, or order made thereunder:

(1) Make or cause to be made any false entry or statement of fact in any report required to be made by this part or by any rule, regulation, or order made hereunder; or

(2) Make or cause to be made any false entry or omit an entry in an account, record, or memorandum kept by any person in connection with the provisions of this part or of any rule, regulation, or order made thereunder; or

(3) Remove out of the jurisdiction of the state, or destroy or mutilate, alter, or by any other means falsify any book, record or other paper, pertaining to the matters regulated by this part or by any rule, regulation, or order made thereunder.

B. Whoever violates this section shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

Added by Acts 1974, No. 678, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2251 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2251
Preference for products produced or manufactured in Louisiana; exceptions
Status: in_force

A. As used in this Section, the following terms shall have the following meanings ascribed to them:

(1) "Assembled" means the process of putting together all component parts of an item of equipment by the manufacturer when the assembly plant is located within the territorial borders of the state of Louisiana. "Assembled" also means the assembly of computers and related equipment when such assembly takes place in Louisiana. "Assembled" shall not mean the process of reassembling parts packed for shipping purposes.

(2) "Louisiana products" means products which are manufactured, processed, produced, or assembled in Louisiana.

(3) "Manufactured" means the process of making a product suitable for use from raw materials by hand or by machinery. "Manufactured" shall not mean the process of assembling component parts.

(4) "Meat" and "meat product" means beef, veal, pork, mutton, poultry, and other meats, and products made from those meats.

(5) "Other products" includes "other meat", "other meat products", "other seafood", and "other seafood products" and means products which are produced, manufactured, grown, processed, and harvested outside the state.

(6) "Processed" means the alteration of any raw product altered from its original state to enhance its value or render it suitable for further refinement or marketing.

(7) "Produced" means the process of manufacturing, planting, cultivating, growing, or harvesting.

(8) "Seafood" means crawfish, catfish, other fish, shrimp, oysters, crabs, underutilized species, and other seafood and freshwater food.

B. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to the contrary, each procurement officer, purchasing agent, or similar official who procures or purchases agricultural or forestry products, including meat, seafood, produce, eggs, paper and paper products under the provisions of this Chapter shall procure or purchase Louisiana products provided all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The bidder certifies in the bid submitted that the product meets the criteria of a Louisiana product.

(2) The product is equal or better than equal in quality to other products.

(3) The cost of the Louisiana product shall not exceed the cost of other products by more than ten percent except as otherwise provided in this Chapter as a specific exception.

C. In addition to the requirements listed in Subsection B of this Section, the following products shall meet the following specific requirements:

(1) Produce shall be produced in Louisiana and produce products shall be produced and processed in Louisiana.

(2) Eggs shall be laid in Louisiana and egg products shall be processed from eggs laid in Louisiana.

(3) Meat and meat products shall be processed in Louisiana from animals that originated in Louisiana, as evidenced by traceability documentation supplied by the manufacturer.

(4)(a) Seafood shall be:

(i) Harvested in Louisiana seas or other Louisiana waters; or

(ii) Harvested by a person who holds a valid appropriate commercial fishing license issued under R.S. 56:1 et seq.

(b) Products produced from such seafood shall be processed in Louisiana.

(5) Domesticated catfish shall be processed in Louisiana from animals which were grown in Louisiana.

(6) Paper and paper products shall be manufactured or converted in Louisiana. For the purposes of this Paragraph, "manufactured" shall mean the process of making a product suitable for use from raw materials by hand or by machinery, and "converted" shall mean the process of converting roll stock into a sheeted and fully packaged product in a full-time converting operation. For paper supplied in wrapped reams, each carton and each individual ream shall be clearly labeled with the name of the manufacturer or converter and the location within Louisiana where such paper is manufactured or converted. For paper and paper products supplied in bulk or in other forms, the smallest unit of packaging shall be clearly labeled with the name of the manufacturer or converter and the location within Louisiana where such paper or paper product is manufactured or converted.

(7) All other agricultural or forestry products shall be produced, manufactured, or processed in Louisiana.

D. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to the contrary, each procurement officer, purchasing agent, or similar official who procures or purchases products under the provisions of this Part shall procure or purchase meat and meat products which are further processed in Louisiana under the grading and certification service of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry and which are equal in quality to other meat and meat products, provided the cost of the further processed meat and meat products does not exceed the cost of other meat or meat products by more than seven percent.

E. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to the contrary, each procurement officer, purchasing agent, or similar official who procures or purchases products under the provisions of this Part shall procure or purchase domesticated or wild catfish which are processed in Louisiana but grown outside of Louisiana and which are equal in quality to domesticated or wild catfish which are processed outside of Louisiana provided the cost of the domesticated or wild catfish which are processed in Louisiana does not exceed the cost of the domesticated or wild catfish which are processed outside of Louisiana by more than seven percent.

F. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to a drainage district or sewerage and water board located in the city of New Orleans wherein the cost of products produced or manufactured in the state of Louisiana does not exceed by more than five percent the cost of products which are equal in quality to products produced or manufactured outside of the state in purchases of one million dollars or more, as provided by Acts 880 and 693 of the 1985 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature.

G. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to the contrary, each procurement officer, purchasing agent, or similar official who procures or purchases products under the provisions of this Part shall procure or purchase produce processed in Louisiana but grown outside of Louisiana and which is equal in quality to produce processed and grown outside of Louisiana provided the cost of the produce processed in Louisiana does not exceed the cost of the produce processed outside of Louisiana by more than seven percent.

H. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, each procurement officer, purchasing agent, or similar official who procures or purchases materials, supplies, or equipment under the provisions of this Chapter may purchase materials, supplies, or equipment which are Louisiana products, as defined in Paragraph (A)(2) of this Section, and which are equal in quality to other materials, supplies, or equipment, provided that all of the following conditions are met:

NOTE: Paragraph (1) as amended by Acts 2000, 1 st Ex. Sess., No. 123, effective until held invalid.

(1) The cost of the Louisiana products does not exceed the cost of other materials, supplies, or equipment which are manufactured, processed, produced, or assembled outside the state by more than ten percent.

NOTE: Paragraph (1) effective if Acts 2000, 1 st Ex. Sess., No. 123, is held invalid.

(1) The cost of the Louisiana products does not exceed the cost of other materials, supplies, or equipment which are manufactured, processed, produced, or assembled outside the state by more than seven percent.

(2) The vendor of Louisiana products agrees to sell the products at the same price as the lowest bid offered on such products.

NOTE: Paragraph (3) as amended by Acts 2000, 1 st Ex. Sess., No. 123, effective until held invalid.

(3) In cases where more than one bidder offers Louisiana products which are within ten percent of the lowest bid, the bidder offering the lowest bid on Louisiana products is entitled to accept the price of the lowest bid made on such products.

NOTE: Paragraph (3) effective if Acts 2000, 1 st Ex. Sess., No. 123, is held invalid.

(3) In cases where more than one bidder offers Louisiana products which are within seven percent of the lowest bid, the bidder offering the lowest bid on Louisiana products is entitled to accept the price of the lowest bid made on such products.

I. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to the procurement or purchase of fire fighting or rescue equipment.

J. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to the contrary, such preferences shall only apply to bidders whose Louisiana business workforce is comprised of a minimum of fifty percent Louisiana residents.

K. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to the contrary, such preference shall not apply to Louisiana products whose source is a clay which is mined or originates in Louisiana, and which is manufactured, processed, or refined in Louisiana for sale as an expanded clay aggregate form different than its original state. No provision of this Subsection shall affect the preferences applicable to brick manufacturers.

L. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to treated wood poles and piling.

Acts 1987, No. 778, §1; Acts 1990, No. 449, §1, eff. July 18, 1990; Acts 1993, No. 577, §1, eff. June 15, 1993; Acts 1993, No. 1032, §1, eff. July 1, 1993; Acts 1995, No. 1255, §1; Acts 1999, No. 854, §1, eff. July 2, 1999; Acts 2000, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 123, §§1, 3, eff. July 1, 2000; Acts 2001, No. 644, §1; Acts 2001, No. 693, §1, eff. July 1, 2001; Acts 2003, No. 744, §1, eff. June 27, 2003; Acts 2003, No. 1175, §1, eff. July 3, 2003; Acts 2011, 1 st Ex. Sess., No. 5, §1; Acts 2014, No. 575, §1, eff. June 9, 2014.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2121 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2121
Conduct of elections
Status: in_force

All elections herein authorized, and the details and procedure relating to the voting of taxes and issuance of negotiable bonds, polling places, qualifications of voters, list of voters, challenging votes, form of ballots, notice to voters, election officers and their substitutes, election officers and their oaths, voting, opening and closing of polls, counting ballots, canvass of returns, proces verbal, preservation of ballots, issuing bonds and the resolution authorizing issuance of bonds, limit of indebtedness, maximum duration, interest on bonds, form of bonds, and the signing of bonds, resolution prescribing terms, maturity, registration as to principal, as to interest, levy of taxes, sale of bonds, sale at par, and application of premium, exemption from taxes, no other statutes applicable, validity of bonds, contests and time limited, application of proceeds, and penalties for violations, etc., shall be held and had, except as herein otherwise provided, under the provisions of Chapter 4, Sub-title II of Title 39.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:362 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 362
Right to trial by jury
Status: in_force

In a proceeding pursuant to this Part any party has the right to demand a trial by jury to determine just compensation.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2715 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2715
Playgrounds, parks, and other facilities; limitation
Status: in_force

The board of commissioners shall have the power to cause to be created and constructed playgrounds, picnic grounds, grounds for recreation, parks, and any and all other facilities to accommodate the public and to provide adequate access to the proposed lake, as may within the opinion of the board become necessary, and the district shall have the right of eminent domain and expropriation in the exercise of such powers.

Acts 1989, No. 176, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2901 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2901
District as agency of the state and budgetary unit; purpose
Status: in_force

The Jackson Parish Watershed District so created shall be a political subdivision of the State of Louisiana, shall constitute a waterworks district under the provisions of Article XIV, Section 14 of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana for the year 1921, as amended, and shall have all the rights, powers, privileges and immunities hereinafter set forth. Additionally, the district shall be an agency of the State of Louisiana and a budgetary unit thereof which shall have for its purpose the conservation of soil and water, developing the natural resources and wealth of the district for sanitary, agricultural, industrial and recreational purposes, as the same may be conducive to the public health, safety, convenience or welfare or of public utility or benefit of the citizens of the State of Louisiana. The creation and maintenance of a lake within the said district shall be for the purpose of conserving the soil and water and developing the natural resources and wealth of the district for sanitary, agricultural, industrial and recreational purposes, as the same may be conducive to the public health and public utility and benefit of the citizens of the State of Louisiana.

Added by Acts 1968, No. 589, §1. Amended by Acts 1972, No. 316, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2863 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2863
Body corporate; powers
Status: in_force

The Claiborne Parish Watershed District shall constitute a body corporate in law, with all the powers of a corporation, and with all the powers and rights of a political subdivision of the state as provided by the laws of the state relating to the incurring of debt and the issuing of bonds therefor. Said district, through its board of commissioners, may incur debt and issue negotiable bonds in accordance with the power and authority and in the form and manner, and with the effect and security now or hereafter provided by the constitution and laws of the State of Louisiana. This district, through its board of commissioners, may incur debt and contract obligations in accordance with law, sue and be sued, have a corporate seal, and do and perform any and all acts in its corporate capacity and in its corporate name which are necessary and proper for carrying out the purposes and objects for which it is created. It shall have the power of eminent domain and may expropriate property for all its purposes and objectives, in accordance with the constitution and laws of the State of Louisiana. Through its governing authority, the district may conserve the fresh water supply within its boundaries for the benefit of the inhabitants and property owners within said district and state, to provide water for commercial, municipal and any other uses, both within and without the district. It may construct, lease, maintain, acquire, enlarge and operate any machinery or do any other thing necessary for the use and purpose of the district. It may own in full ownership all servitudes, rights of way, flowage rights and may acquire same by donation, prescription, purchase, expropriation, or otherwise.

Added by Acts 1966, No. 299, §3.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:143 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 143
Construction and maintenance of back and side levees
Status: in_force

The parishes subject to tidal overflow may provide by ordinance for the construction, erection, and maintenance of back and side levees to protect any portion of their parishes from tidal overflow and may appoint or cause to be elected commissioners to take charge of and manage the construction and maintenance of the levees. The police juries may fix the termini, bounds, limits, location, and size of the levees, levy a local assessment on the lands within the bounds and limits of the levee or levees for the erection and maintenance of the levees, and provide for the collection of the assessment from the proprietors or owners of the lands benefited by the construction of the levees. The ordinance immediately after its passage, shall be published during sixty days in a newspaper of the parish. The ordinance shall provide for an election and vote on the adoption of the ordinance, sixty days after its passage by the police jury of the parish. At the election only the property taxpayers of the part of the parish embraced within the limits of the projected levee, who are qualified to vote under the election laws of the state shall be allowed to vote. The ordinance shall only have the effect of law, and be operative when the canvassing of the returns of the election by the police jury shall show that the ordinance has been adopted and approved by a majority of the voters at the election, which result shall be duly promulgated by the police jury.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2838 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2838
Attorney general as counsel
Status: in_force

The attorney general of the State of Louisiana and his assistants shall be and are hereby designated as counsel for the State Department of Public Works and the said district in the execution of the purposes of this Part and are hereby charged with the responsibility of representing the said State Department of Public Works and the board of commissioners in any and all matters when called upon to do so.

Added by Acts 1966, No. 262, §18.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.106 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.106
Regulation of commercial establishments
Status: in_force

A. The board of commissioners shall have authority:

(1) To establish and cause to be enforced rules and regulations pertaining to all commercial establishments which may be constructed for the purpose of commercializing and making commercial use of the lake or its facilities.

(2) To license and permit such establishments and to levy and collect a fee, to be fixed by the commission, for the privilege of making commercial use of the facilities of the lake.

B. The rules and regulations established and promulgated by the board of commissioners pursuant to this Section shall provide penalties for any commercial establishment operating without a permit or license.

Acts 1995, No. 1045, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2225.5 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2225.5
Contracts in which public entities are participants; prohibitions and duties; contractors' rights
Status: in_force

A. Except as provided in Subsection E of this Section or as required by federal law, each public entity, when engaged in procuring products or services or letting contracts for construction, manufacture, or operation of public works paid for in whole or in part by state or local funds, or when overseeing or administering such procurement, construction, manufacture, or operation, shall ensure that bid specifications, project agreements, and other controlling documents, entered into, required, or subject to approval by the public entity do not:

(1) Require bidders, offerors, contractors, subcontractors, or operators to:

(a) Enter into or adhere to agreements with one or more labor organizations on the same or related projects.

(b) Enter into any agreement whereby the public entity is required to remain neutral toward any labor organization.

(c) Pay predetermined or prevailing wages.

(2) Discriminate against bidders, offerors, contractors, subcontractors, or operators for refusing to:

(a) Become or remain signatories or otherwise adhere to agreements with one or more labor organizations on the same or related projects.

(b) Enter into any agreement whereby the public entity is required to remain neutral toward any labor organization.

(3) Require any bidders, offerors, contractors, subcontractors, or operators to enter into, adhere to, or enforce any agreement that requires any employee as a condition of employment to:

(a) Become a member of or become affiliated with a labor organization.

(b) Pay dues or fees to a labor organization over the employee's objection.

B. No public entity shall provide financial assistance, issue a grant, or enter into a cooperative agreement for any project a condition of which requires that bid specifications, project agreements, or other controlling documents pertaining to the financial assistance, grant, or cooperative agreement contain any of the elements prohibited in Subsection A of this Section.

C. Nothing herein shall prohibit contractors or subcontractors from voluntarily entering into agreements described in this Section.

D. Any interested party, which shall include a bidder, offeror, contractor, subcontractor, operator, or taxpayer, shall have standing to challenge any bid specification, project agreement, neutrality agreement, controlling document, grant, or cooperative agreement which violates the provisions of this Section. Furthermore, such party is authorized to and shall receive injunctive relief to prevent violations of this Section upon a proper showing under the standards of the Code of Civil Procedure.

E. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to the following:

(1) Any inmate work-release program.

(2) Any contract pursuant to the Louisiana Quality Jobs Program.

(3) Any contract or cooperative endeavor agreement pursuant to the Incumbent Worker Training Program.

(4) Any public-private agreement for any construction or infrastructure project in which the private entity, as a condition of its investment or partnership with the public entity, requires that the private entity have the right to control its labor relations policy with its own employees and the employees of its contractors and subcontractors in any manner permitted by the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.

Acts 2011, No. 134, §1, eff. June 24, 2011.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:372 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 372
Time for peremptory challenge
Status: in_force

After the entire jury has been accepted and sworn, no party has the right to challenge peremptorily.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.78 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.78
Dam maintenance and construction
Status: in_force

The Department of Transportation and Development shall maintain any existing dam and shall build and construct such other dams and works as may be necessary or beneficial to carry out the purposes of this Part and shall make such surveys and estimates as may be necessary therefor. The board of commissioners shall aid and assist the department during construction of any such project.

Acts 1995, No. 345, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:378 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 378
Instruction to jury; objections
Status: in_force

A. At the close of the evidence or at an earlier time during the trial, as the court reasonably directs, a party may file written requests that the court instruct the jury on the law as set forth in the requests. The court shall inform counsel of its proposed action upon the requests prior to their arguments to the jury.

B. A party may not assign as error the giving or the failure to give an instruction unless he objects thereto before the jury retires to consider its verdict, stating specifically the matter to which he objects and the grounds of his objection. Opportunity shall be given to make the objection out of the hearing of the jury.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1580.2 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1580.2
Powers of districts
Status: in_force

A. Consolidated drainage districts and any subdrainage districts created under the provisions of this Part shall have and are hereby vested with full power and authority, acting through their governing authority, to:

(1) Drain and reclaim lands by the construction, maintenance, and operation of gravity and forced drainage facilities, including canals, ditches, pumps, levees, and other related works.

(2) Incur debt and issue bonds for the purpose of constructing drainage works and acquiring the necessary lands, equipment, and machinery therefor. Said bonds shall be secured by and payable from ad valorem taxation and may be issued to an amount not exceeding ten percent of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of such districts in the manner provided for the issuance of bonds by other political subdivisions under Subpart A of Part III of Chapter 4 of Subtitle II of Title 39 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 and other constitutional and statutory authority supplemental thereto. Such bonds shall be issued only after being approved at an election held in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and laws of this state.

(3) Expropriate property for the purpose of acquiring sites for pumping stations and land for any other necessary public purposes of the districts; however, they shall not have the right to expropriate minerals or mineral rights.

(4) Acquire machinery and maintain pumping plants or any machinery whatever that may be found necessary for the purpose of drainage or reclaiming any of the lands embraced within the districts.

(5) Cut and open any drains and canals and open, deepen, and enlarge natural drains within or without the districts and perform all work in connection therewith which may be deemed necessary to provide drainage for land in the districts, and perform all other acts necessary to drain the land in the districts and maintain the drainage when established.

(6) Cooperate with and enter into cooperative agreements and arrangements with agencies of the United States of America, the state of Louisiana, and its various departments and political subdivisions, on a matching fund or any other basis, in any drainage and reclamation projects, and purchase servitudes and rights of way for their own uses or for the use of any state or federal agency with which they may cooperate in connection with some work of improvement.

(7) Accept gifts and grants of money, property, or services.

B. The authority herein granted may be exercised and the works of improvement herein authorized may be constructed within or without the limits of the districts so long as they inure to the direct benefit of the districts and the inhabitants thereof.

C. The powers, rights, and authority granted by this section shall be in addition to any powers now or hereafter conferred on drainage districts and shall not be limited or restricted by any other provisions of Part I of Chapter 6 of Title 38 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, and in particular the provisions of R.S. 38:1678(C).

Acts 1993, No. 77, §1, eff. May 26, 1993.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:323 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 323
Maintenance of records of general fixed assets
Status: in_force

Each levee board and levee and drainage board shall maintain records of all land, buildings, improvements other than buildings, equipment, and any other general fixed assets which were purchased or otherwise acquired and for which such entity is accountable. The records shall include information as to the date of purchase of such property or equipment, the initial cost, the disposition, if any, the purpose of such disposition, and the recipient of the property or equipment disposed of. When ascertaining the exact cost, exact selling price, or any other relevant information on property or equipment obtained prior to January 1, 1980, creates a hardship on the agency involved, such agency may provide estimates of the information which cannot be ascertained. The records shall be made available to the legislative auditor at the time of examination and audit of the public entity or at any such time as the legislative auditor requests that copies of such records be furnished. The records shall not include office supplies and shall be used as one of the criteria in determining the rating which the entity being audited will be given. The provisions of this Section shall become effective June 30, 1986.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.

{{NOTE: REGARDING R.S. 38:323, SEE ALSO R.S. 38:1114(D) AS PER ACTS 1985, NO. 466, §2, WHICH MAY BE CONFLICTING.}}
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:9 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 9
Appointment and qualifications of department head
Status: in_force

The head of the department shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate for a term of four years and until his successor has qualified. The compensation of the director shall be fixed by the governor. His appointment shall be made on the sole basis of his qualifications to administer the affairs of the department. The director shall serve on a full time basis and be subject to removal by the governor only for cause and after public hearing.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1757 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1757
Contests and objections
Status: in_force

Within thirty days from the date of the first publication any owner of property within the limits of the gravity drainage district or sub-drainage district may appeal to the courts for the purpose of contesting the action of the police jury or police juries, or urging any objection to the inclusion of his lands in the gravity drainage district or gravity sub-drainage district. After this time the action of the police jury or police juries shall be absolutely incontestable for any cause whatsoever, and it shall be conclusively presumed that the gravity drainage or sub-drainage district is regularly and legally created and that each and every acre of land in the gravity drainage or sub-drainage district is the character of land that should be included therein. No court shall be vested with jurisdiction to entertain any cause which calls in question the validity or regularity of the action of the said police jury in creating or re-organizing the gravity drainage or sub-drainage district, or raises the question of whether the lands located therein should have been included, drain naturally or by gravity, or will be benefited by gravity drainage works. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as requiring the board of drainage commissions of any gravity drainage or sub-drainage district to await the expiration of the thirty days limitation herein provided for, before proceeding to organize and do and perform all of the acts or things authorized to be done and performed by them under the provisions of this Part.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2212.6 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2212.6
Purchase of materials and supplies for homeland security
Status: in_force

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any public procurement unit may procure materials, supplies, equipment, and services related to homeland security from federal General Services Administration supply schedules. Such purchases shall:

(1) Utilize a Louisiana distributor.

(2) Use the competitive ordering procedures of the federal General Services Administration.

(3) Receive prior approval from the director of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness 1 , or his designee.

Acts 2003, No. 575, §1, eff. June 27, 2003; Acts 2006, 1 st Ex. Sess., No. 35, §8, eff. March 1, 2006.

1 See Acts 2006, 1 st Ex. Sess., No. 35, §8, which changes the term "State Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness" to "Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness" and §10, which provides for the termination of the Act and the reversion to the law in effect prior to the Act on July 1, 2010.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:326.2 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 326.2
Authority of Lake Borgne Basin Levee District police officer
Status: in_force

A. Those persons who are designated Lake Borgne Basin Levee District police officers in accordance with this Section are responsible for maintaining order and exercising general police power on and off the levees within the area of the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District and upon its surrounding waters. Each such person named as a police officer by the president of the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District shall be commissioned as a peace officer by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Such commission shall remain in force and effect at the pleasure of the president of the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District and the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. These police officers shall have the right to exercise the power of arrest as peace officers, according to law, within the area of their jurisdiction as provided herein. Each such police officer shall execute a bond in the amount of three hundred thousand dollars in the favor of the state of Louisiana for the faithful performance of his duties. The premium on the bond shall be paid by the levee district. Additionally, the board shall obtain police liability insurance in an amount appropriate to the district. Any other provisions of this Section to the contrary notwithstanding, this classification shall not entitle such persons to state supplemental pay.

B. Any person arrested by a Lake Borgne Basin Levee District police officer, in the exercise of the power hereinabove granted, shall be immediately transferred by such officer to the custody of the sheriff or city police within whose jurisdiction the arrest occurs.

C. No person except a commissioner shall be commissioned as a Lake Borgne Basin Levee District police officer, unless prior to such commissioning the person has, as a minimum requirement, completed and graduated from the six-week program of basic law enforcement training at Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College or possesses equivalent training and experience.

D. Any Lake Borgne Basin Levee District police officer shall have authority to act in an undercover capacity if engaging in intelligence gathering activity or investigating a crime committed upon or within sight of the levees within the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District.

Acts 1985, No. 1000, §1.

{{NOTE: SEE ALSO R.S. 38:1076 AS PER ACTS 1985, NO. 1000, §1.}}
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1596.11 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1596.11
Certificates as negotiable paper
Status: in_force

Drainage certificates issued hereunder shall be deemed to possess all the legal requisites of negotiable paper, shall not be invalid for any irregularity or defect in the proceedings for their issuance, sale, or delivery, and shall be incontestable in the hands of bona fide purchasers or holders for value thereof.

Acts 1985, No. 979, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:306 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 306
General powers and duties of board
Status: in_force

A. Each board of commissioners may buy and hold, sell and transfer, or exchange property, make and execute contracts, and do and perform any and all acts necessary to insure the thorough and adequate protection of the lands of the district from damage by flood, and, in the case of levee and drainage boards, for the adequate drainage control of the district.

B. The board of commissioners shall adopt bylaws for its own government and for the government of its officers and employees. It shall devise and adopt rules and regulations for the carrying into effect and perfecting of a comprehensive levee system, having for its object the protection of the entire district from overflow. The board shall keep a record of all its proceedings.

C. The board shall examine all of the accounts and operations of the board and determine in what manner work shall be undertaken. The board shall also be invested with the control of all public levees in the district, with authority to require the Department of Transportation and Development or the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board, if the area is located within the coastal area, as defined in R.S. 49:214.2, and involves integrated coastal protection, as defined in R.S. 49:214.2, to lay off, furnish estimates, and perform all engineering work necessary to the location, construction, and repairs of levees, reserving, however, the right to the parishes in which the levees are located, also to provide funds and to construct and repair levees and exercise the powers now conferred to it by law. All works shall be advertised in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 38:2211 et seq., to be let out by means of sealed proposals to the lowest responsible bidder, reserving to the board authority to reject all bids. In case of emergency as defined in R.S. 38:2211(A), the board may make contracts for the building and repair of and guarding the levees without advertisement or sealed proposals. It shall use all means at its command to strengthen, repair, or construct any portion of the levees that may demand attention.

D. The board of commissioners shall cause to be kept an exact and accurate statement of the work performed by the authority of the board, giving in detail the work done, the levees built or repaired, and all other work done or authorized to be done by the board. The board shall keep an accurate account of the finances of the levee district and annually cause to be made a statement showing the exact, accurate, and true condition of the finances of the district, showing specially the receipts and resources thereof in detail, the amount and character of each amount of money or assets received, whether in money, bills of exchange, bills receivable, property, or other things of value. The account shall show in detail the expenditures made by authority of the board, the costs of levees built or repaired, salaries paid, property purchased, costs of work done, other incidental expenditures not herein mentioned, and any and all expenditures made by authority of the board. It shall show the balances on hand, all details of the various money, money fines, or things of value at the time of the statement. The statement shall be made in triplicate, one copy of which shall be forwarded to the governor, one copy shall be forwarded to the legislative auditor, and one copy shall be kept on record in the files and records of the board. A representative of the Department of Transportation and Development shall attend each regular meeting of the levee board and such other meetings if requested by the board, and to report to and advise it as to the location, construction, and repairs of all levees in the district. The Department of Transportation and Development shall be responsible for locating all levees, furnishing estimates and specifications, and performing all engineering work required of them by the levee board or levee and drainage board.

E. The provisions of this Section shall apply to all boards of commissioners established under this Chapter, except for provisions specifically applicable to a particular board.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985; Acts 1999, No. 731, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 2012, No. 601, §1, eff. June 7, 2012; Acts 2012, No. 753, §5; Acts 2016, No. 430, §4.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2310 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2310
Definitions
Status: in_force

As used in this Part, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings hereinafter set forth unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(1) "Agency" means the state of Louisiana or any board, commission, department, corporation, institution, or other agency of the state which may require capital outlay projects for the construction of or additions, renovations, and restorations, or any of them, to buildings, plants, and related facilities.

(2) "Architect" means any architect holding a certificate of registration and a license under the laws of the state of Louisiana.

(3) "Boards" means the professional services selection boards created under the provisions of this Part.

(4) "Engineer" means any engineer registered under the laws of the state of Louisiana.

(5) "Landscape architect" means any landscape architect registered under the laws of the state of Louisiana.

(6) "Person" means any architect, engineer, or landscape architect.

(7) "Professional services" means those services performed by an architect, engineer, or landscape architect.

(8) "User agency" means the state agency, department, or institution undertaking a specific project.

(9) "Prime professional" means the architect, landscape architect or engineer with whom the state may sign a contract for professional design services, who shall have the primary responsibility under the contract for the total professional services to be performed in connection with a capital outlay project.

(10) "Supplemental professional services" means any service in addition to the prime professional service in connection with the capital outlay project which the prime professional may be required to provide.

Added by Acts 1975, No. 721, §1. Amended by Acts 1976, No. 525, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1541 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1541
Funding or refunding bonds
Status: in_force

Any drainage district created or organized prior to the year 1921, or any sub-district of a drainage district, may, issue funding or refunding bonds, for the purpose of adjusting, readjusting, funding, refunding, extending, or unifying any or all of its authorized indebtedness, bonded or otherwise, or both, incurred in draining and reclaiming by means of levees and pumps any or all of the lands in the drainage district or sub-district.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.231 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.231
Supervision by Department of Transportation and Development
Status: in_force

All of the powers and duties relative to construction and letting of contracts for construction required to be advertised by R.S. 38:2211 and 2212 conferred upon the district shall be subject to and exercised under the supervisory control of the Department of Transportation and Development of the state of Louisiana, which department shall furnish to the district such engineering services as it shall require and may cooperate with the district in the construction of any work or facility considered necessary by the district and said department to the purposes of the district.

Acts 2003, No. 328, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.132 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.132
District and board; creation
Status: in_force

A. The Sparta Groundwater Conservation District is hereby established as a political subdivision of the state.

B. The district shall be administered by a board of commissioners whose members shall be commissioned as provided by R.S. 38:3087.134.

Acts 1999, No. 1228, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1610 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1610
Oath of commissioners
Status: in_force

Before entering upon his official duties, each commissioner of a drainage district created under this Part shall take and subscribe to an oath before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths, that he will honestly, faithfully, and impartially perform the duties devolving upon him as a commissioner of the drainage district in which he was appointed, and that he will not neglect any of the duties imposed upon him by this Part. The oaths of the commissioners shall be recorded in the record book of the drainage district.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:340 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 340
Joining with levee district in Arkansas for mutual protection; Tensas Basin Levee District
Status: in_force

The board of commissioners of the Tensas Basin Levee District may join with any levee district embracing the counties of Chicot and Desha in the state of Arkansas for mutual protection. The Tensas Levee District shall make all attempts possible to eliminate their responsibility and cost in maintaining any levees outside the state of Louisiana, specifically in the state of Arkansas.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1848 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1848
Resolution ordering election
Status: in_force

The election shall be ordered by resolution which shall state the amount of bonded debt and other indebtedness to be assumed, and shall designate the districts whose debts are to be assumed.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.265 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.265
Powers of the board; taxes; bonds
Status: in_force

A. In order to accomplish the purposes for which the district is created, the board of commissioners may:

(1) Purchase, acquire by donation, hold, sell, and convey immovable and movable property and execute such contracts as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to properly carry out the purposes for which it is created.

(2) Acquire servitudes, flowage rights, and rights of use by purchase, lease, donation, or otherwise for the district.

(3) Assist in conserving soil and water and in developing the water resources of the district. The board may cooperate with the Bodcau Soil and Water Conservation District, the Claiborne Parish Watershed District, the Dorcheat Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Webster Parish Water Management District in order to accomplish these objectives.

(4) Construct, maintain, and improve any works or improvements for the control, retention, diversion, or utilization of water and cooperate with the state Department of Transportation and Development and other state agencies in so doing; retard runoff of water and soil erosion; construct any ditch, channel improvement, dike, dam, or levee; and repair, improve, and maintain any of such improvements or structures.

(5) Employ professional and clerical personnel as may be necessary in the operation of the business of the district and fix their compensation.

(6) Levy taxes within the limitations prescribed by the constitution and laws of the state of Louisiana.

(7) Cooperate and contract with persons, firms, associations, partnerships, private corporations, political subdivisions of the state, or other public corporations, and with other local, state, and governmental agencies for the sale or use of any waters impounded by the district.

(8) Grant franchises to telephone, telegraph, cable, and electric power companies and grant franchises for the purposes of constructing gas, sewer, electricity, or other utility lines and facilities to supply the inhabitants or any person or corporation with gas, water, sewerage, and electricity, when such construction is within the district. Nothing herein shall impair the rights granted to public utilities pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 45:781.

(9) Appoint, hire, fix the compensation of, designate, and empower wardens, rangers, patrols, and such other personnel as may be deemed necessary by the board for the enforcement of such regulations as it may promulgate and adopt.

B. The district shall not be deemed to be an instrumentality of the state for purposes of Article X, Section 1(A) of the Constitution of Louisiana.

C. The board of commissioners shall have, with respect to the improvements and maintenance of the district, the advice of the Department of Transportation and Development, and it may request from time to time the assistance of the department to make such surveys, inspections, and investigations; render such reports, estimates, and recommendations; and furnish such plans and specifications as it may request.

D. The district is hereby authorized to incur debt for any lawful purpose, to issue in its name negotiable bonds or certificates of indebtedness evidencing such debt, and to provide for the security and payment thereof as follows:

(1) To issue certificates of indebtedness maturing within one year from date of issuance to evidence money borrowed in anticipation of current revenues for the administration, operation, construction, and maintenance costs and expenses of the district, which certificates shall be payable in principal and interest from any available income, revenues, fees, or taxes pledged to their payment by the district.

(2) To issue bonds in the manner provided by Article VI of the Constitution of Louisiana and by law, particularly Part III of Chapter 4 of Subtitle II of Title 39 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950. Such bonds shall be payable from an ad valorem tax on all taxable property in the district sufficient to pay such bonds in principal and interest, when approved by vote of a majority in number of the qualified electors in the district voting on the proposition at an election held for that purpose. Such bonds shall be issued in the manner provided by the law pursuant to which they are being issued, and the maximum interest rate for the bonds shall be that prescribed by law. The bonds shall be issued in such amount or amounts as the board of commissioners shall determine. However, the principal amount of all such bonds outstanding as of the date of the issuance of any new bonds shall never exceed ten percent of the assessed valuation of the taxable property within the district, to be ascertained by the latest assessment rolls of record in Webster Parish.

(3) To issue bonds and other debt obligations for works of public improvement as provided in Part XIII of Subtitle II of Title 39 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.

Acts 2003, No. 1228, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2233.3 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2233.3
City of Shreveport; authority for procurement from economically disadvantaged businesses; set-aside
Status: in_force

A. Notwithstanding any provision of R.S. 38:2233.2 to the contrary, the city of Shreveport and any board, agency, or commission of that city, through its respective fiscal officer or director of finance, may for each fiscal year designate and set aside for awarding to economically disadvantaged businesses, as defined in this Section, an amount not less than ten percent of the value of anticipated local procurement of goods and services including construction.

B.(1) The procurement set-aside as provided by Subsection A of this Section may be divided into contract award units of economically feasible production runs in order to facilitate offers or bids from economically disadvantaged businesses. In making the annual designation of set-aside procurements, an attempt may be made to vary the included procurements so that a variety of goods and services produced by different economically disadvantaged businesses may be set aside each year. The failure to set aside particular procurements shall not be considered to prohibit or discourage economically disadvantaged businesses from seeking the procurement award through the normal solicitation and bidding processes.

(2) To implement the foregoing, there may be established a contract procedure in accordance with law for the awarding of a contract under the set-aside program established hereby.

(3) In the event that the provisions of this Section do not operate to extend a contract award to economically disadvantaged business, the award shall be placed pursuant to the existing solicitation and award provisions established by law, whereupon additional contracts corresponding in approximate value to the contract unable to be awarded pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be designated and set aside for economically disadvantaged businesses.

(4) All laws and rules pertaining to solicitations, bid evaluations, contract awards, and other contract matters shall apply as consistent to procurements set aside for economically disadvantaged businesses. In the event of conflict with other rules, the provisions of this Section shall govern.

C. In order for a business to be eligible under the provisions of this Section, it shall be certified as an economically disadvantaged business by the division of small and emerging business development in Louisiana Economic Development under the provisions of R.S. 51:1755 or by the governing authority of the city of Shreveport as an economically disadvantaged business as provided by Subsection D of this Section.

D.(1) In order to be certified as an economically disadvantaged business by the governing authority of the city of Shreveport, an application promulgated by the governing authority shall be submitted to the city. The application shall be supported by but not limited to the following documents:

(a) Business' balance sheet and income statement.

(b) Verification of signatories on bank accounts.

(c) Copies of income tax returns.

(d) Resumes of owners and top managers.

(e) Copies of business licenses and permits.

(f) Copies of stock certificates, stock transfer ledgers, and articles of incorporation if the business is a corporation.

(2) The applicant shall have the burden of proving to the satisfaction of the governing authority that he is eligible for certification.

(3) The governing authority shall conduct an on-site investigation of the applicant's place of business prior to certification. By submitting the application, the applicant agrees that the governing authority may conduct such investigations.

(4) The governing authority shall require that all applicants submit notarized statements of changes in information on ownership, control, or operations provided during the initial certification process. Certification may be revoked at any time the governing authority determines that the economically disadvantaged business does not meet the current criteria for eligibility for certification.

(5) The length of time for remaining certified and receiving assistance from this program shall be set by rule promulgated by the governing authority.

(6) Other rules as may be necessary to carry out the duties of this Section may also be adopted.

E. The governing authority may also adopt a requirement that the prime contractor award a certain percentage of the total dollar bid to economically disadvantaged subcontractors. This requirement may be waived if the prime contractor, after a good faith effort, is unable to comply with the requirement.

F. Unless the context requires otherwise, the following words shall have the following meanings:

(1) "Economically disadvantaged business" means a small business organized for profit and performing a commercially useful function, which is at least sixty percent owned and controlled by one or more economically disadvantaged persons and which has its principal place of business in Louisiana. A nonprofit organization is not an economically disadvantaged business for purposes of this Section.

(2) "Economically disadvantaged person" means a citizen of the United States who has resided in Louisiana for at least one year, whose ability to compete in the free enterprise system has been impaired historically due to diminished capital and credit opportunities as compared to others in the same or similar line of business, and whose diminished opportunities have historically precluded, or are likely to preclude, such individual from successfully competing in the open market.

Acts 1999, No. 1153, §1.