La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1803 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1803
St. Mary Parish; powers of districts; bonds; taxes
Status: in_force

A. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 38:1751 or any other law to the contrary, all gravity drainage districts and subdrainage districts heretofore or hereafter created or the boundaries thereof enlarged within the parish of St. Mary under the provisions of this Part may include lands which may be drained by gravity or forced drainage facilities as hereinafter provided. Any such district within St. Mary Parish shall have and is hereby vested with full power and authority, acting through its governing authority, to:

(1) Drain lands in said district by the construction, maintenance, and operation of gravity and/or forced drainage facilities, including drains, drainage canals, ditches, pumps, and pumping plants, dikes, levees, and other related works.

(2) Incur debt and issue general obligation bonds of the district for the purpose of constructing said gravity and/or forced drainage facilities and acquiring the necessary lands, equipment and machinery therefor. The bonds shall be secured by and payable from ad valorem taxation and may be issued to an amount not exceeding the debt limit established for the issuance of general obligation bonds by Act No. 20 of the First Extraordinary Session of the Louisiana Legislature of 1975 and in the manner provided for the issuance of bonds by other political subdivisions under the provisions of Subpart A, Part III, Chapter 4, 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 ordered by its governing authority and held in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 39:501 to 39:515.

(3) Levy special taxes on all the property within such district for the purpose of maintaining, operating, constructing, and improving the drainage works in such district in the manner authorized by Article VI, Section 32 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, after having been authorized to do so at a special election held in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 39:501 to 39:515.

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

(5) Acquire machinery and maintain pumping plants or any machinery whatever that may be found necessary for the purpose of draining any of the lands embraced within the district.

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

(7) To 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 projects. 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.

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

(9) Extend canals or ditches or both canals and ditches beyond the limits of the district but within the boundaries of St. Mary Parish for the purpose of securing a proper outlet for the waters of the district.

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 district so long as they inure to the direct benefit of the district 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 the district by the provisions of this Part and shall not be limited or restricted by any other provisions of law and in particular the provisions of this Part, R.S. 39:558 and Article XIV, Section 14(d) of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana for the year 1921, continued as a statute under the provisions of Article XIV, Section 16 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974.

Added by Acts 1975, No. 192, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3085.8 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3085.8
Taxes
Status: in_force

The board does not have authority to levy taxes of any kind.

Added by Acts 1975, No. 28, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2828 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2828
Powers of board
Status: in_force

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

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

(2) Acquire servitudes, rights of way and flowage rights, by purchase and/or by expropriation.

(3) Assist in conserving soil and water and in developing the water resources of the district; provided, however, nothing shall be done to interfere with districts previously organized under Louisiana law.

(4) Under the supervision of the Louisiana State Department of Public Works, contract for the construction of proposed works and improvements.

(5) Cooperate with the Department of Public Works in its construction of any drainage works or improvements, and the construction of any works or improvements for the control, retention, diversion or utilization of water; retard runoff of water and soil erosion, construct any ditch, channel improvement, dike, dam, or levee, and repair, improve and maintain any of said improvements or structures.

(6) Acquire personal property by gift or purchase.

(7) Levy taxes, issue bonds and incur indebtedness within the limitations prescribed by the Constitution of the State of Louisiana, and in the manner prescribed thereby.

(8) Cooperate and contract with persons, firms, associations, partnerships and private corporations, and cities of this state, or other public corporations and with any other local, state and governmental agencies for the sale or use of any waters impounded hereby.

(9) Select a domicile and home office for the district.

(10) Create, construct and administer such recreational parks, playgrounds and public picnic areas as the board may consider necessary and to provide access to any lake or reservoir created by the district for the use of the public.

(11) Do and perform any and all things necessary or incident to the fulfillment of the purposes for which this district is created, including all acts necessary to construct, lease, acquire in any manner, maintain, and operate dikes, dams, reservoirs, storage basins, locks, levees, flumes, conduits, spillways or other structures necessary, suitable or convenient to the purposes of the district.

Added by Acts 1966, No. 262, §8.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2106 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2106
Domicile; change of domicile; meetings to be held at domicile
Status: in_force

In the ordinance creating an irrigation district under this Part, the domicile of the district shall be designated. The commissioners of an irrigation district may at any time, by resolution, establish a different domicile, within the district, 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 in the parish, then in a newspaper published in an adjoining parish. After publication of the notice, the commissioner by resolution may make the change of domicile. A copy of the resolution, when adopted, shall be recorded in the mortgage office of each parish in which any part of the district is situated.

Irrigation districts created under this Part shall be sued only in the court of their domicile, and not at any other place.

All meetings of the board of commissioners shall be held at the domicile of the irrigation 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, as may be by the board of commissioners deemed most convenient to the board and the persons having business transactions therewith.

In the ordinance creating irrigation districts, there shall be designated a time and place for the commissioners of the district to hold their organization meeting.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2101 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2101
Creation of district by police jury
Status: in_force

A. As used in this Chapter the term "police jury" means the parish governing authority unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

B. The lands comprising one or more parishes or comprising any portion or portions of one or more parishes may be formed into an irrigation district. The police juries of the several parishes of this state may create and establish irrigation districts in the manner herein provided.

C. All land that cannot receive any benefit from the operation of an irrigation district shall be excluded from the district at the time it is created.

Amended by Acts 1956, No. 462, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1582 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1582
Notice of intention to establish system; objections
Status: in_force

A. Any drainage district taking advantage of this Part shall, through its governing authority, be required to 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. Such notice shall generally include the improvements contemplated, a list of streets or portions thereof or area or areas which are to be improved or drained, and the manner of payment therefor. Such notice shall further contain substantially all things set forth in said resolution and shall state that the authority ordering the giving of such notice 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 U.S. mail at least twenty days prior to the date of the public hearing. The drainage district, through its 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 of any district 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 said 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.

Added by Acts 1983, No. 708, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:221 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 221
Rice-flumes, dahls, or pipes in public levees prohibited
Status: in_force

A. No person shall place in, through, or under any public levee any rice-flume, dahl, pipe, or other conduit or, after due notification by the levee board or governing authority of the parish, shall fail to remove from the public levee any rice-flume, dahl, pipe, or other conduit that may at such date exist.

B. Whoever violates this Section shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than sixty days, or both.

C. For each conviction under this Section the district attorney prosecuting shall receive a fee of fifteen dollars.

D. The provisions of this Section shall not be applicable to levees on the Mississippi River not embraced within the limits of the Fifth Louisiana, the Atchafalaya Basin, the Lafourche Basin, the Grand Prairie, the Buras, and the Orleans Levee Districts.

E. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to pipes or other conduits placed through or under the public levees in New Orleans, or in municipalities or parishes when and where needed for the purpose of sewerage, gas, or for furnishing gas or electricity for the use of the cities, municipalities, or parishes and their inhabitants.

F. The laying of such pipes through or under the public levees in cities, municipalities, or parishes shall be with the consent and approval of the levee board, the Department of Transportation and Development, for levees in the coastal area as defined in R.S. 49:214.2, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, and the governing authorities of the cities, municipalities, or parishes and under the supervision of the Department of Transportation and Development, or the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.

G. This Section shall not apply to locks connecting navigation canals with the Mississippi River.

Acts 2010, No. 734, §3; Acts 2016, No. 430, §4.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2233 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2233
Authority of parishes, municipalities, and school boards for procurement from small businesses; set aside; preference to disadvantaged; preference to women
Status: in_force

A. Every parish, municipality, or school board in the state, through its respective fiscal officer or director of finance, is hereby authorized and empowered for each fiscal year designated and to set aside for awarding to small businesses, minority-owned businesses, or women-owned businesses, as defined in R.S. 39:1732 and R.S. 39:1952, an amount up to ten percent of the value of anticipated local procurement of goods and services.

B.(1) Such parishes, municipalities, and school boards may for each fiscal year designate and set aside for awarding to small businesses, minority-owned businesses, and women-owned businesses an amount up to ten percent of the value of anticipated total procurement of goods and services 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 small businesses, minority-owned businesses, and women-owned 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 small businesses, minority-owned businesses, or women-owned businesses, may be set aside each year. The failure to set aside particular procurements shall not be considered to prohibit or discourage smaller businesses, minority-owned businesses, or women-owned 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 procurement contract under the set aside program established hereby.

(3) Before making a set aside award, an evaluation shall be made to determine whether the small 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 procurements designated for set aside awards shall be awarded, if possible, to businesses owned and operated by socially or economically disadvantaged persons. In the event small 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 small businesses.

(5) At least ten percent of the value of the procurement contracts designated for set aside awards shall be awarded, if possible, to businesses owned and operated by women. In the event small 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 small businesses.

(6) In the event that the provisions of this Section do not operate to extend a contract award to small business, the award shall be placed pursuant to the existing solicitation and award provisions established by law, whereupon additional procurements 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 small businesses.

(7) All laws and rules pertaining to solicitations, bid evaluations, contract awards, and other procurement matters shall apply as consistent to procurements set aside for small 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 parish or municipality or the school board shall adopt, by resolution or ordinance, rules, standards, and procedures for certifying that small businesses, small businesses owned and operated by socially economically disadvantaged persons, and small businesses owned and operated by women are eligible to participate 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 set aside in this Section may also be adopted.

Added by Acts 1979, No. 214, §1, eff. July 8, 1979. Amended by Acts 1979, No. 570, §1, eff. July 18, 1979; Acts 1981, No. 691, §1; Acts 1984, No. 636, §1; Acts 1984, No. 865, §1; Acts 1986, No. 868, §1; Acts 1988, No. 990, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2258 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2258
Statement of non-resident firms as to payment of taxes
Status: in_force

Before any bill for said supplies shall be paid to any non-resident firm, a statement in writing shall be submitted by the seller to the effect that the said firm furnishing said supplies has paid all taxes duly assessed by the state of Louisiana and its political subdivisions, including franchise taxes, privilege taxes, sales taxes, and all other taxes for which it is liable, to the state and its political subdivisions.

Added by Acts 1958, No. 318, §8.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.84 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.84
Tax exemption
Status: in_force

The lands which lie within and form the Caddo Lake proper shall not be subject to any ad valorem taxation or any other tax of any nature whatsoever by either the state of Louisiana or any of its political subdivisions, for so long as the said lands shall form and lie within the lake proper.

Acts 1995, No. 345, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1865 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1865
Tax levy for payment of indebtedness
Status: in_force

The board of commissioners of any consolidated gravity drainage district assuming the outstanding bonded and other indebtedness of any drainage district or districts, shall impose and collect annually, in excess of all other taxes, a tax, on all the property subject to taxation by the board of commissioners under the constitution and laws of Louisiana, sufficient in amount to pay the interest annually or semiannually, and the principal falling due each year. The tax shall be levied and collected by the same officers, at the same time and in the same manner as the general taxes of the parish. Should any board neglect or fail for any reason to impose or collect sufficient taxes for the payment of the principal or interest of any bonded indebtedness assumed hereunder, any person in interest may enforce imposition and collection thereof in any court having jurisdiction of the subject matter and any suit, action, or proceeding brought by the person, in interest, shall be a preferred cause, and shall be heard and disposed of without delay. In the event of any default in the imposition and collection of taxes required for the payment of the principal and interest on any bonded debt assumed hereunder, the taxation officers of the state shall impose and collect the taxes and shall certify the taxes, and cause the taxes to be imposed and collected at the same time and in the same manner as the taxes for state purposes are imposed and collected in the consolidated gravity drainage district assuming the debt. All the articles and provisions of the Constitution of 1921, and all the laws in force or that may be hereafter enacted, regulating and relating to the collection of the taxes and tax sales shall also apply to and regulate the collection of the special taxes imposed under the provisions of this Part, through the officers whose duty it shall be to collect the taxes and moneys due the consolidated gravity drainage district imposing the special taxes.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2212.3 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2212.3
Right to reject bids from Communist countries
Status: in_force

In awarding contracts for materials and supplies, any public entity is authorized to reject the lowest bid if received from a bidder domiciled in a Communist country, or if the materials or supplies are manufactured in a Communist country, including but not limited to the Soviet Union, China, North Korea, and Vietnam, and to award the contract to the next lowest bidder, provided this Section shall not apply to any country having established trade relations agreements or approvals from the government of the United States.

Acts 1985, No. 922, §1. Redesignated by Acts 1999, No. 768, §3.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.225 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.225
Oaths
Status: in_force

Before entering upon his official duties, each member of the board of commissioners shall take the oath of office provided by Article X, Section 30 of the Constitution of Louisiana before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths.

Acts 2003, No. 328, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.76 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.76
Powers of board
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, rights of use, and flowage rights, by purchase, by donation, by assignment for the district, or otherwise.

(3) Assist in conserving soil and water and in developing the water resources of the district; however, nothing shall be done to interfere with districts or municipalities previously organized under Louisiana law.

(4) Under the supervision of the Department of Transportation and Development, contract for the construction of proposed works and improvements.

(5) Cooperate with the Department of Transportation and Development and other state agencies in the maintenance or improvement and the construction of any works or improvements for the control, retention, diversion, or utilization of water; retard runoff of water and soil erosion, construct any ditch, channel improvement, dike, dam, or levee, and repair, improve, and maintain any of said improvements or structures.

(6) Employ and hire secretarial, clerical, and other such personnel as may be necessary in the operation of the business of the district and fix their compensation; employ engineers, attorneys, and other professional personnel as necessary and fix their compensation. Appoint, hire, designate, and empower wardens, rangers, patrols, and such other personnel as may be deemed necessary by the commission for the enforcement of such regulations as may be promulgated and adopted by said commission.

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

(8) Select a domicile and home office for the district.

(9) Create, construct, and administer such recreational parks, playgrounds, and public picnic areas as the board may consider necessary; provide all other facilities to accommodate the public; and provide adequate access to any lake or reservoir created by the district for the use of the public.

(10) Grant franchises to telephone, telegraph, cable, and electric power companies and grant franchises for the purposes of laying gas, sewer, electricity, or other utilities to supply the inhabitants or any person or corporation with gas, water, sewerage, and electricity, when such construction is within the district. Nothing contained in this Part shall affect the vested rights of any corporation which, pursuant to R.S. 45:781(A), has constructed, and maintains and operates telegraph, telephone, and other lines for the transmission of intelligence prior to August 15, 1995.

(11) Do and perform any and all things necessary or incident to the fulfillment of the purposes for which this district is created, including all acts necessary to construct, lease, acquire in any manner, maintain, and operate dikes, dams, reservoirs, storage basins, locks, levees, flumes, conduits, spillways, or other structures necessary, suitable, or convenient to the purposes of the district.

B. The Caddo Lake Watershed District shall have, with respect to the improvements and maintenance of the district, the advice of the Department of Transportation and Development, and it shall 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 the board of commissioners of said district may request.

Acts 1995, No. 345, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1607 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1607
Board of commissioners; qualifications; compensation and expenses
Status: in_force

A.(1) All drainage districts shall be governed and controlled by five commissioners to be known as a board of commissioners. However, the Lafourche Parish Drainage District No. 1 and the Wax Lake East Drainage District shall be governed and controlled by a board of seven commissioners.

(2) These commissioners, or their respective spouses, must each be the record owner of real estate in the district of an assessed value of five hundred dollars, or they must be the representative of some corporation owning lands in the district of an assessed value of five hundred dollars. The representative of a corporation who may be an officer thereof may be designated to represent the corporation by resolution of the board of directors to that effect. Persons possessing the qualifications may be drainage commissioners, whether they be residents or nonresidents. A drainage commissioner may hold the position of drainage commissioner in one or more drainage districts and may hold the position in addition to any other office that may be held by him. The holding of the position of drainage commissioner, shall not be considered as dual office holding.

(3) No commissioner shall receive compensation for his services in excess of sixty-five dollars per day including all actual expenses, while attending to the business of the district.

B. The board of commissioners of each drainage district in this state shall, by a two-thirds vote of the members of the board after public hearing, which has been advertised in the official journal of the drainage district on at least two separate occasions within a period of fifteen days preceding the meeting at which the vote is taken, provide for the method and amount of compensation, and mileage to and from the meeting place, to be paid to the members of such board. However, in no event shall the compensation paid exceed the limit provided in Subsection A above.

C.(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A of this Section, the St. Charles Parish Council may replace the board of commissioners of the Sunset Drainage District as the governing authority of the district by adopting an ordinance appointing and designating the St. Charles Parish Council as the governing authority of the district. At least two public hearings shall be held prior to each consideration of adopting the ordinance by the St. Charles Parish Council. At least one of the public hearings shall be held at a location within the district. The ordinance shall establish an effective date for such change in governance and the delivery of records, accounts and monies to the council.

(2) The St. Charles Parish Council shall not replace the board of commissioners of the Sunset Drainage District as provided in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection until such time as the board of commissioners of the district adopts and provides to the council a resolution indicating either of the following:

(a) That the district has exhausted all avenues at its disposal to secure sufficient funding needed for the proper operation and maintenance of, and future improvements to, the district and requests that the council become the governing authority of the district.

(b) That the district has determined that it is in its best interest to have the council become the governing authority of the district.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, if the board of commissioners of the district is unable to perform the customary and normal operation and maintenance of the district which may result in a public emergency, as determined by the St. Charles Parish Council, the St. Charles Parish Council may replace the board of commissioners of the district as provided in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection. However, under these circumstances the St. Charles Parish Council shall be required to hold only one public hearing, and such hearing shall be held within the district.

Amended by Acts 1954, No. 507, §1; Acts 1979, No. 779, §1; Acts 1982, No. 91, §1; Acts 1988, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 20, §1, eff. Oct. 27, 1988; Acts 1992, No. 714, §1; Acts 2011, No. 319, §1, eff. July 1, 2012; Acts 2012, No. 683, §1, eff. June 7, 2012.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2755 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2755
Membership
Status: in_force

The board shall consist of six members who shall be appointed by the governing authorities of Ouachita and Morehouse Parishes for a term of four years and until their successors have been named and qualified, as follows:

One member shall be appointed from a list of three names submitted to the police jury of Ouachita Parish by the Monroe Utilities Commission; one member to be appointed from a list of three names submitted to the Ouachita Parish Police Jury by the town council of the municipality of Sterlington, such persons to be legal residents of the municipality of Sterlington; one member to be appointed by the police jury on its own motion; one member to be appointed from a list of three names submitted to the police jury of Morehouse Parish by the mayor and board of aldermen of the city of Bastrop, Louisiana; one member to be appointed from a list of three names submitted to the police jury of Morehouse Parish by the Bastrop Association of Commerce and Industry; and a sixth member from Morehouse Parish to be appointed by the police jury of Morehouse Parish on its own motion.

Added by Acts 1962, No. 308, §5. Amended by Acts 1966, No. 448, §5.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:26 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 26
Violations; orders of chief engineer; remedial measures; emergency situations; designated operation and maintenance
Status: in_force

A. When the chief engineer finds that the construction, modification, operation, or maintenance of a dam is in violation of the adopted rules and regulations or of the terms, conditions, or restrictions of any permit or consent granted by the chief engineer, or that conditions exist in the construction, modification, operation, or maintenance of a dam which may present a hazard to public safety or welfare, he shall issue an order to require the correction of any such violation or condition by the owner or operator of the dam. The order shall contain his findings concerning the violation or condition and shall prescribe the corrective action to be taken. If corrective measures are not accomplished within the specified time, an order may be issued to require the safe removal of the dam.

B. When the condition of any dam is so dangerous to the safety of life and property as to not permit time for the issuance and enforcement of the order, or the passing of imminent floods threaten the safety of any dam, the chief engineer shall immediately employ any remedial means necessary to protect the safety of life and property, and he shall continue in full charge and control of the dam until it is rendered safe or the emergency causing the remedial action has ceased. The costs of only that work which may be required by the chief engineer for the purpose of restoring the dam to the requirements and standards established hereunder shall be paid by the owner, governmental agency, or operator thereof.

C. The commission or political subdivision under whose authority the following dams are established is hereby authorized to transfer the maintenance and operation thereof to the Department of Transportation and Development, office of engineering, and the Department of Transportation and Development, office of engineering, is hereby authorized and directed to operate and maintain the dam, water-control structures, gates, spillway, and related appurtenances to the extent that it deems necessary to ensure that the manmade impoundment structure and the attendant water-control devices are functioning to design capabilities.

(1) Bundick Creek in Beauregard Parish

(2) Kepler Creek Dam in Bienville Parish

(3) Ivan Lake Dam in Bossier Parish

(4) Lake Bistineau Dam in Bossier Parish

(5) Black Lake Dam in Caddo Parish

(6) Lake Claiborne Dam in Claiborne Parish

(7) Smithport Dam in DeSoto Parish

(8) Chicot Lake Dam in Evangeline Parish

(9) Turkey Creek Dam in Franklin Parish

(10) Iatt Lake Dam in Grant Parish

(11) Nantachie Lake Dam in Grant Parish

(12) Caney Lake Dam in Jackson Parish

(13) Chivery Dam in Natchitoches Parish

(14) Saline Lake Dam in Natchitoches Parish

(15) Bayou Cocodrie in Rapides Parish

(16) John K. Kelly Grand Bayou in Red River Parish

(17) Bayou Darbonne Dam and Reservoir in Union Parish

(18) Lower Anacoco Dam in Vernon Parish

(19) Vernon Lake Dam in Vernon Parish

(20) Black Lake Bayou Reservoir in Natchitoches Parish

(21) Nantachie Lake Dam No. 2 in Grant Parish

D. The operation and maintenance referred to in Subsection C shall not transfer or delegate the responsibility or authority of the regulation, operation, or maintenance of the surrounding shoreline, water bottom, or for recreational and park operations, nor determination of pool elevations, stage releases, or other lake management activities.

Added by Acts 1981, No. 733, §1, eff. July 23, 1981. Acts 1984, No. 270, §1, eff. July 1, 1984; Acts 1993, No. 120, §1; Acts 2012, No. 753, §5; Acts 2022, No. 687, §1, eff. June 18, 2022.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.92 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.92
Location
Status: in_force

The district shall be comprised of the area of Lake Bruin and Brushy Lake and all of the land encompassed by Louisiana State Highways Nos. 604 and 605 surrounding Lake Bruin and Brushy Lake, and the area a total of two hundred yards wide which extends one hundred yards from and on each side of the centerline of Choctaw Bayou from Highway 605 to U.S. Highway 65, excluding the land on Lake Bruin Island on the landside of Louisiana State Highway No. 606.

Acts 1995, No. 1045, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:384 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 384
New trial on showing of misconduct by jury
Status: in_force

A new trial shall be granted if it is proved that the jury was bribed or has behaved so improperly that impartial justice has not been done.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:475 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 475
Taxes and local contributions for payment of interest; setting apart amount necessary
Status: in_force

For the purpose of paying the interest on the bonds, the board of commissioners of the levee district or levee and drainage district shall annually levy, in an amount sufficient for that purpose, taxes and local contributions which they are authorized and empowered to levy as well as taxes and local contributions which it may hereafter be authorized to levy. From the first money realized from the taxes and local contributions, the state treasurer shall set apart annually an amount necessary to pay the interest and the money thus set apart shall not be diverted to any other purpose.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1863 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1863
Resolution for assumption of indebtedness
Status: in_force

If a majority in number and amount of the qualified property taxpayers voting at the election shall vote in favor of the proposition for the consolidated gravity drainage district to assume the outstanding bonded debt and other indebtedness of any drainage district or districts, wholly within the parish, the board of commissioners of the consolidated gravity drainage district, after promulgation of the result of the election shall by resolution, on behalf of the consolidated gravity drainage district, assume the outstanding bonded debt or other indebtedness, which shall be fully set forth in the resolution as to the amount, rate of interest, maturity, numbers, denominations, and places of payment.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2189 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2189
Prescription
Status: in_force

Any action against the contractor on the contract or on the bond, or against the contractor or the surety or both on the bond furnished by the contractor, all in connection with the construction, alteration, or repair of any public works let by the state or any of its agencies, boards or subdivisions shall prescribe 5 years from the substantial completion, as defined in R.S. 38:2241.1, or acceptance of such work, whichever occurs first, or of notice of default of the contractor unless otherwise limited in this Chapter.

Added by Acts 1962, No. 15, §1. Amended by Acts 1975, No. 250, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.234 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.234
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 said leases are subject to the terms and conditions of the servitude executed in favor of the commission.

Acts 2003, No. 328, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2864 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2864
Transfer of property
Status: in_force

The State Bond and Building Commission is hereby authorized and directed to transfer, convey and assign to the Claiborne Parish Watershed District all of the rights, titles and interest of the State Bond and Building Commission for the State of Louisiana in all fee titles, servitudes and flowage rights acquired as a part of the Lake Claiborne project.

Added by Acts 1966, No. 299, §4.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:330.5 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 330.5
Employees
Status: in_force

A. An authority may employ such employees as it deems necessary for its proper functioning. All employees of the authority and each levee district within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority shall be considered civil service employees for the purpose of Article X of the Constitution of Louisiana. Each employee of a levee district within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority who is in the unclassified civil service on December 31, 2006 shall remain in the unclassified civil service as long as the employee remains in the same position.

B. Any person employed by the East Jefferson Levee District, the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District, the Orleans Levee District, or the West Jefferson Levee District on January 1, 2007, may, insofar as practicable, continue as an employee of the levee district at the pleasure of the flood protection authority created in this Part and may, insofar as practicable, retain all rights, privileges, and benefits.

Acts 2006, 1 st Ex. Sess., No. 1, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2007.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:30 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 30
Purpose
Status: in_force

A. The legislature hereby acknowledges that water as a source of life is the most important element of man's environmental resources. Louisiana has been favored with abundant water resources and has had little to prompt the establishment of a state policy and program addressing the short and long-term availability of and need for water. However, the planning, development, and wise management of the state's water resources will be necessary to sustain its people, commerce, and industry.

B. To ensure an adequate and safe supply of water to Louisiana users, the legislature hereby creates a statewide program for the planning, development, and management of water resources.

Added by Acts 1983, No. 625, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3106 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3106
Expenses incidental to transfer of property
Status: in_force

A. In addition to amount otherwise authorized by this Chapter, the agency may reimburse the owner of real property acquired for a project for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred for penalty costs for prepayment of any mortgage entered into in good faith encumbering such real property if such mortgage is on record or has been filed for record as provided by law on the date of approval by the head of the agency of the location of such project.

B. No payment received under this Chapter shall be considered as income for purposes of the state income tax law; nor shall such payments be considered as income or resources to any recipient of public assistance and such payment shall not be deducted from the amount of aid to which the recipient would otherwise be entitled to under the state welfare act.

Added by Acts 1971, No. 116, §1, emerg. eff. June 14, 1971.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3098.7 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3098.7
Penalties
Status: in_force

A. Any person, firm, or corporation who engages in or follows the business or occupation, or advertises, holds itself out, or acts temporarily or otherwise as a well driller without having first secured the required license or renewal thereof, or who otherwise violates any provisions of this Chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars and not more than one thousand dollars within the discretion of the court; and each day in which such violation exists or continues shall constitute a separate offense.

B. In addition to the penalties prescribed herein, any person who violates any order of the office requiring described remedial action as set out elsewhere in this Chapter, which shall specify a time requirement for compliance with such order, shall be subject to a penalty not to exceed one hundred dollars for each day such noncompliance continues.

C. Repealed by Acts 2009, No. 437, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2010.

Added by Acts 1980, No. 715, §1. Acts 1986, No. 390, §1; Acts 2009, No. 437, §§1, 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2010.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2212.8 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2212.8
Prohibition of bids from or contracts with unlicensed dealers
Status: in_force

A. A public entity shall not accept any bid from or enter into any contract or cooperative endeavor agreement, or any other transaction for the procurement of vehicles, with a dealer who does not possess a valid dealer's license issued under the provisions of R.S. 32:1254.

B. A public entity shall require that any bid submitted by, or a contract or cooperative endeavor agreement with, a dealer for the purchase of vehicles shall include a copy of a valid dealer's license issued under the provisions of R.S. 32:1254.

C. A public entity shall reject any bid submitted by a dealer for the purchase of vehicles which does not include a copy of a valid dealer license.

D. A public entity shall not sign a contract or cooperative endeavor agreement with a dealer for the purchase of vehicles which does not include a copy of a valid dealer license.

E. If in the course of an audit or review by the legislative auditor, pursuant to the powers and duties in R.S. 24:513, a violation of this Section is found, the legislative auditor shall report such findings to the Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission.

Acts 2010, No. 376, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:355 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 355
Vesting of title
Status: in_force

Upon the deposit of the amount of the estimate in the registry of the court, for the use and benefit of the persons entitled thereto, the clerk shall issue a receipt showing the amount deposited, the date it was deposited, the style and number of the cause, and the description of the property and property right as contained in the petition. Upon such deposit, title to the property and the property rights specified in the petition shall vest in the levee district, and the right to just and adequate compensation therefor shall vest in the persons entitled thereto.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2911 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2911
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.

Added by Acts 1968, No. 589, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:436 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 436
Sale of bonds for other purposes; disposition of proceeds
Status: in_force

Bonds under this Subpart not issued for the purpose of refunding outstanding bonds shall be issued by the state treasurer upon the warrant of the state auditor in pursuance of a resolution of the levee board or levee and drainage board and the proceeds shall be paid into the state treasury to the general account of the levee district or levee and drainage district.

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

{{NOTE: REGARDING R.S. 38:431-436, SEE ALSO R.S. 38:1117(A)(3) AS PER ACTS 1985, NO. 466, §2, WHICH MAY BE CONFLICTING.}}
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1859 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1859
Counting of votes
Status: in_force

Immediately after the closing of the polls, the commissioners shall, in the presence of the bystanders open the ballot boxes, count the ballots found therein, check the ballots with the list of voters kept, proceed to count the votes in number and amount, keep in duplicate tally sheets showing the votes in number in favor of and against the propositions submitted and showing the valuation of property in favor of and against the propositions, make in duplicate a compiled statement of the vote in number and amount, both in favor and against each proposition. After swearing to the correctness of the numbered list of voters, the duplicate tally sheets, and duplicate compiled statements, they shall deposit the ballots, the registrar's list of voters, the numbered list of taxpayers voting, one duplicate tally sheet, and one duplicate compiled statement, in the ballot box, immediately seal the ballot box and within forty-eight hours after the closing of the polls, deliver the sealed ballot box with its contents to the board of commissioners ordering the election. They shall, within forty-eight hours after the closing of the polls, deliver the duplicate tally sheet and the duplicate compiled statement to the clerk of the district court of the parish in which the election has been held, who shall file the statement in his office. If the election commissioners, on counting the ballots, find that they do not correspond with the list of voters, they shall before examining and counting the ballots, examine the ballots for the purpose of finding the discrepancy. If it is found that any ballots have been duplicated the ballots shall be destroyed, or if it is found that the name of a voter has been omitted from the list of persons voting, the name of the voter shall be added to the list.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1596.4 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1596.4
Specifications; advertising for bids
Status: in_force

A. The governing authority of the district, after having given notice of its intention as above set forth and after disposing of all objections and having decided to order the construction of such improvements, may have the necessary plans and specifications for the work prepared and may authorize the advertisement for bids therefor.

B. The advertisements for bids and the awarding of the contract shall be conducted as provided in R.S. 38:2211, et seq.

C. The plans and specifications may provide either that the contractor be required to accept certificates of indebtedness hereafter authorized if the governing authority elects to make such requirement or that they may be sold in such a manner and at such time as the governing authority may elect.

Acts 1985, No. 979, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2327.1 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2327.1
Sabine River Authority; transfer of lands and employees
Status: in_force

A. The Sabine River Authority, with approval of the governor, is hereby authorized to transfer to the State Parks and Recreation Commission, and the State Parks and Recreation Commission is hereby authorized to acquire and accept delivery of, the following described recreational sites located at or within the area comprising the Toledo Bend Reservoir:

Site No. Parcel No. Tract Acreage

8 1 Sabine Lumber Company 86.47

B. The Sabine River Authority, with approval of the governor, is hereby authorized to transfer to the State Land Office, and the State Land Office is hereby authorized to acquire and accept delivery of, the following described recreational sites located at the Toledo Bend Reservoir:

Site No. Parcel No. Tract Acreage

4 1 T. J. Paul 58.43

4 2 International Paper Company 44.50

5 5 International Paper Company 2.68

6 4 J. M. Mora & J. W. Mora 37.41

7A 2 International Paper Company 75.87

7A 4 A. Adler Realty Company 23.39

7B 3 Sabine Lumber Company 11.26

7B 4 International Paper Company 99.95

9 2 Dunn & Lindsey 16.40

9 3 Dunn & Lindsey 1.88

9 4 Continental Can Company 31.23

9 5 Louisiana Longleaf Lumber Co. 78.54

10 2 International Paper Company 84.77

11 2 J. G. Mitchell, Jr., et al. 75.97

11 3 Boise Cascade Corp. 18.65

12 1 J. G. Mitchell, Jr., et al. 5.53

12 4 Louisiana Longleaf Lumber Co. 39.92

13 3 Continental Can Company 34.28

13 4 West Louisiana Land & Timber Co. 22.94

14 1 Continental Can Company 21.89

14 2 International Paper Company 92.89

14 4 Continental Can Company 0.86

15 1 International Paper Company 167.00

C. The Sabine River Authority, with approval of the Governor, is hereby authorized to transfer to a state agency or political subdivision of the state, and such agency or political subdivision is hereby authorized to acquire and accept delivery of the following described recreational sites located at the Toledo Bend Reservoir, provided, however, that said sites or any part thereof located in DeSoto Parish shall be transferred, and acquired and accepted only for purposes of development into parks and/or recreational areas:

Site No. Parcel No. Tract Acreage

2 1 International Paper Company 102.17

3 No.# " " " 81.16

3A No.# " " " 121.19

D. The recreational sites herein authorized to be transferred are hereby identified as sites which were acquired by the Sabine River Authority with financial assistance from the Water Conservation Fund of the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation of the United States Department of the Interior. It is hereby stipulated that the designation herein of the sites to be transferred by site number, tract descriptive name, and acreage are as shown on the records of the Sabine River Authority, the location of each site being shown on a map in the records of the Sabine River Authority bearing the caption "Louisiana Recreation Areas on Toledo Bend Reservoir showing Toledo Bend Forest Scenic Drive and access roads", said map having been prepared for the Sabine River Authority by the Department of Public Works, dated August, 1972, and designated File No. TB-388-D. The act of transfer which shall be drawn and executed to effectuate the authorization in this Section shall contain a detailed description of each site transferred, with the survey data required for ground identification thereof.

E. Any of the sites herein authorized to be transferred, or any part thereof, may be further transferred to local political subdivisions, provided such further transfer is for outdoor recreation use and is approved by the State Parks and Recreation Commission, the designated state liaison agency for the Land and Water Conservation Fund of the United States Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, or any successor such liaison agency, as being within any applicable regulations of the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. No site herein authorized to be transferred, or any part of any site, may be converted to other than public outdoor recreation use without the approval of the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior, and then only if the conversion is found by the secretary to be in accord with the then existing comprehensive statewide outdoor recreation plan and only upon such conditions as the secretary deems necessary to assure the substitution of other recreation properties of at least equal fair market value and of reasonably equivalent usefulness and location.

F. The transfers authorized herein shall be subject to any existing leases to the Sabine River Authority of the sites or any parts thereof.

G. The Sabine River Authority, acting through the chairman of the board of commissioners thereof, and the State Parks and Recreation Commission, acting through the chairman of the commission, and the State Land Office, acting through the register of the State Land Office, are hereby authorized to execute such documents as are necessary to effectuate the transfers herein authorized, which documents also shall be approved by the governor. The said agencies are further authorized to enter into agreements for the transfer of employees of the Sabine River Authority whose employment and duties relate to the lands herein authorized to be transferred.

H. The transfers herein authorized shall be made effective January 1, 1977 or thereafter.

Added by Acts 1976, No. 502, §§1 to 8.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3098 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3098
Licensing of water well and other drillers
Status: in_force

A. Every person, firm, or corporation engaged or desiring to engage in the business of drilling water wells for underground water, drilling monitoring wells, geotechnical bore holes, heat pump wells, cathodic protection holes, and/or seismic shot holes, as well as reworking water wells, or plugging and abandoning wells or bore holes, excluding oil and gas wells, in the state of Louisiana shall file an application with the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors for a drilling license, using forms prepared by the board, setting out qualifications therefor and such other information including any examination, oral or written, as may be required by the board. The fees for such license and renewal shall be as follows:

(1) Those persons, firms, or corporations who drill less than twenty-five domestic water wells yearly shall pay a license and annual fee of fifty dollars.

(2) For all other persons, firms, or corporations who drill water wells, and/or drill monitoring wells, geotechnical bore holes, heat pump wells, cathodic protection holes, seismic shot holes, as well as reworking water wells, or plugging and abandoning wells or bore holes, excluding oil and gas wells, the license fee and annual renewal fee shall be one hundred dollars.

B. All licenses shall expire on June thirtieth of each year, and shall not be transferable, and shall be renewable annually, upon completion of six hours of continuing education as approved by the board and upon payment of the required fee.

C. Nothing in this Chapter shall prevent a person who has not obtained a license pursuant thereto from constructing a water well on his own or leased property intended for use only in a single family house which is his permanent residence, or intended for use only for watering livestock on his farm, and where the waters to be produced are not intended for use by the public or any residence other than his own. However, such person shall comply with all rules and regulations as to the construction of wells as set out by the provisions of this Chapter.

D. This Section shall not apply to any person who performs labor or services at the direction and under the personal supervision of a licensed well contractor.

E. A license may be renewed and shall be renewable without examination for the ensuing year by making an application not later than the expiration date and paying the applicable fee. Such application shall have the effect of extending the validity of the current license until the new license is received or the applicant is notified by the board that the license has been refused. On application made after June thirtieth of each year, the license will be renewed only upon payment of the applicable fee, plus a penalty of five dollars for each month the application is delinquent. Delinquency in excess of one year may, in the discretion of the advisory committee, be deemed as a waiver of the driller's right for renewal; and if he should apply thereafter, the board may require that he be considered as a new applicant, including the requirement for examination.

F. Any person whose license has been revoked may, upon application for a new license, be required, in the discretion of the advisory committee, to take the examination and in all other ways be considered as a new applicant.

G. Except in the case of revocation, any license previously issued by the Department of Conservation and Energy, or any successor agency, shall remain valid until expiration.

Added by Acts 1980, No. 715, §1; Acts 1984, No. 313, §1, eff. July 2, 1984; Acts 1989, No. 31, §1, eff. June 15, 1989; Acts 1997, No. 122, §1; Acts 2009, No. 437, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2010; Acts 2025, No. 458, §5, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.111 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.111
Creation
Status: in_force

There is hereby created a recreation and water conservation district to be known as the "Black River Lake Recreation and Water Conservation District".

Acts 1999, No. 588, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2565 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2565
Constructions which would impede flow of waters 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 therein or any work or obstruction diminishing the cross section of any such stream or water course until a copy of the plans thereof has been filed with the board of commissioners and the state department of public works, for approval or rejection by both.

Whoever violates this Sub-section shall be fined not less than $500.00 or more than $1,000.00 or imprisoned for not less than 30 days, nor more than 60 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 Bayou D'Arbonne Watershed District 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 Sub-section shall be fined not less than $100.00 or more than $200.00 or imprisoned for not less than 30 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 district of Bayou D'Arbonne Lake shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.

C. No persons shall:

(1) Obstruct drainage channels which compose any drain or stream flowing into the Bayou D'Arbonne Lake by bridging them except in accordance with plans, specifications and instructions prescribed by the board of commissioners of the said Bayou D'Arbonne Lake District.

(2) Construct dams, locks, or gates in drainage channels of the said Bayou D'Arbonne Lake reservoir.

(3) Extend fences of wire or any other material across drainage channels into and forming a part of the watershed district of Bayou D'Arbonne Lake heretofore defined.

(4) Establish fording places, water places, or approaches for stock across drainage channels.

(5) 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 Bayou D'Arbonne Lake Watershed District.

(6) Drain into channels by natural or artificial inlets except under regulations prescribed by the board of commissioners of the Bayou D'Arbonne Lake Watershed District.

(7) Float timber in the channel.

(8) Use the channels for transportation or navigation except under authority of and agreement with the board of commissioners of Bayou D'Arbonne Lake Watershed District.

(9) 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 Bayou D'Arbonne Lake Watershed District for preserving and maintaining the efficiency of the drainage channels in said district.

Whoever violates this Sub-section shall be fined not less than $250.00 or more than $500.00 or imprisoned for not less than 30 days nor more than 60 days or both.

D. No proprietor, owner, lessee, or possessor of land abutting upon the Bayou D'Arbonne Lake reservoir or upon any public road paralleling the water line or contiguous to the said Bayou D'Arbonne Lake Watershed 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, through and continuous drainage into the said reservoir.

Whoever violates this Sub-section shall be fined not less than $250.00 nor more than $500.00 or imprisoned for not less than 30 days nor more than 60 days, or both.

The sheriff of the parish within which the said district is located, 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 1956, No. 9, §15. Amended by Acts 1962, No. 194, §3.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3086.23 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3086.23
Board of commissioners; membership; officers; vacancies
Status: in_force

A.(1) The board shall be composed of twelve members selected as follows: two members appointed to represent the parish of Ascension, two members appointed to represent the parish of Assumption, four members appointed to represent the parish of Lafourche, and four members appointed to represent the parish of Terrebonne, all as otherwise provided by this Subsection.

(2)(a) The president of the governing authority of the parish of Ascension shall appoint one commissioner who shall be a resident of the parish of Ascension, who resides within the district, and who shall serve a term of four years.

(b) The legislative delegation of the parish of Ascension shall appoint one commissioner who shall be a resident of the parish of Ascension who resides within the district and who shall serve a term of four years.

(3) The president of the governing authority of the parish of Assumption shall appoint two commissioners who are residents of the parish of Assumption, who reside within the district, and who shall serve terms of four years.

(4)(a) Four commissioners shall be residents of the parish of Lafourche appointed by the governor from a list of nominees submitted to the governor as provided in this Paragraph. Each appointment by the governor shall be subject to Senate confirmation and each such commissioner shall serve a term of four years.

(b) One commissioner shall be a resident of the parish of Lafourche who shall be appointed by the governor from a list of names submitted by a majority of the members of the legislature representing that portion of the parish of Lafourche which is north of the railroad tracks traversing the parish east to west and which cross Bayou Lafourche in the area known as Lafourche Crossing. This commissioner shall reside in that portion of the parish north of such railroad tracks.

(c) One commissioner shall be a resident of the parish of Lafourche who shall be appointed by the governor from a list of names submitted by a majority of the members of the legislature representing that portion of the parish of Lafourche which is south of the railroad tracks traversing the parish east to west which cross Bayou Lafourche in the area known as Lafourche Crossing and north of the Intracoastal Waterway. This commissioner shall reside in that portion of the parish between such railroad tracks and the Intracoastal Waterway.

(d) One commissioner shall be a resident of the parish of Lafourche who shall be appointed by the governor from a list of names submitted by a majority of the members of the legislature representing that portion of the parish of Lafourche which is south of the Intracoastal Waterway. This commissioner shall reside in that portion of the parish south of the Intracoastal Waterway.

(e) One commissioner shall be a resident of the parish of Lafourche who shall be appointed by the governor from a list of names submitted by a majority of the members of the legislature whose legislative districts include all or a portion of the parish of Lafourche.

(5)(a) Four commissioners shall be residents of the parish of Terrebonne appointed by the governor, subject to Senate confirmation, from nominations and subject to further residency requirements as follows:

(i) The governor shall appoint two residents of that portion of the parish north of the Intracoastal Waterway from a single list of nominations submitted by a majority of members of the state legislature representing that portion of the parish.

(ii) The governor shall appoint two residents of that portion of the parish south of the Intracoastal Waterway from a single list of nominations submitted by a majority of members of the state legislature representing that portion of the parish.

(b) Members appointed pursuant to this Paragraph shall serve four-year terms.

B. A vacancy in an unexpired term shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment for the balance of the unexpired term.

C. The members so selected and appointed shall meet within thirty days after the appointment last made. They shall elect a chairman, a vice chairman, and a secretary-treasurer.

D. Notwithstanding the provisions of Act No. 615 of the 1999 Regular Session of the Legislature to the contrary, the board may, at its own discretion, employ an attorney or may use the services of the district attorney's office in the affected parishes of the district. The board may employ such other employees as may be necessary and fix their respective salaries. The board may also fix the per diem and mileage allowed to its members. The per diem may not exceed seventy-five dollars per meeting and shall not exceed one hundred fifty dollars per month.

E. The board shall fix its own meeting dates and adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary for its own government.

F. Any commissioner appointed pursuant to the provisions herein may be removed for cause by the appointing authority.

Acts 2003, No. 187, §1; Acts 2005, No. 2, §1, eff. upon approval, and §3, eff. May 27, 2005; Acts 2006, No. 827, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.41 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.41
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 1995, No. 443, §1, eff. June 17, 1995.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:459 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 459
Repeal or modification of statute to detriment of bonds
Status: in_force

This Subpart and all other statutes authorizing levee districts and levee and drainage districts in the state to levy and collect taxes and local contributions or to issue bonds shall not be repealed or modified to the detriment of the bonds authorized by this Subpart, and it is hereby declared that this obligation not to repeal or modify these laws shall be binding upon the state and shall be and form a part of the contract evidenced by the bonds.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2356 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2356
Coordinated Use of Resources for Recreation, Economy, Navigation, and Transportation Authority
Status: in_force

A. The Coordinated Use of Resources for Recreation, Economy, Navigation, and Transportation Authority is hereby created within the office of public works. The authority shall:

(1) Have the right to acquire, own, administer, alienate, and otherwise dispose of all kinds of property, movable and immovable, corporeal and incorporeal; contract, adopt, alter, or destroy an official seal. Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Chapter, the authority may perform every act necessary, convenient, or incidental to the exercise of its power and authority, the discharge of its duties, or the performance of its functions.

(2) Serve as the implementation arm of the Statewide Flood Control Program in R.S. 38:90.1 et seq., and for other functions of the department outside of the coastal area. The authority shall be directed by the policy set by the Coordinated Use of Resources for Recreation, Economy, Navigation, and Transportation Authority Board.

(3) Through its offices and officers, be responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the authority's master plan and annual plan. The authority shall implement the integration of storm damage reduction, restoration, flood control, infrastructure, and navigation in noncoastal areas in accordance with the master plans and annual plans, as well as perform other functions as directed by the board.

B. Executive director.

(1) There shall be an executive director of the Coordinated Use of Resources for Recreation, Economy, Navigation, and Transportation Authority. He shall report to the Coordinated Use of Resources for Recreation, Economy, Navigation, and Transportation Authority Board for all matters within the jurisdiction and purview of the board, and shall work in coordination and collaboration with the chief resilience officer.

(2) The governor may appoint an executive director of the Coordinated Use of Resources for Recreation, Economy, Navigation, and Transportation Authority. In the event an executive director is not appointed, the director of public works may serve as the executive director of the Coordinated Use of Resources for Recreation, Economy, Navigation, and Transportation Authority.

(3) The executive director or his designee shall have authority, in accordance with applicable rules and regulations of the civil service commission to employ, appoint, transfer, assign, terminate, and promote such personnel as is necessary for the efficient administration of the Coordinated Use of Resources for Recreation, Economy, Navigation, and Transportation Authority.

(4) The executive director, or his designee, shall approve all plans, specifications, and estimates for the construction of all projects for which the authority is responsible. He also shall have such other duties as may be assigned to him by the Coordinated Use of Resources for Recreation, Economy, Navigation, and Transportation Authority Board, by the provisions of this Chapter, or by the laws of this state. He shall report the proceedings of his office annually to the Coordinated Use of Resources for Recreation, Economy, Navigation, and Transportation Authority Board and at such other times as the board may designate, and he shall make any additional reports as are required by the board.

(5) The executive director, or in his discretion a subordinate or subordinates, shall administer the programs, projects, and activities approved for funding by the Coordinated Use of Resources for Recreation, Economy, Navigation, and Transportation Authority Board relating to and affecting an integrated upland system, including conservation, restoration, creation, and enhancement of upland areas, storm damage reduction, flood control, infrastructure, economic development, and navigation in Louisiana's uplands area as provided by law and as provided in the master and annual plans, and other special programs as may be directed by the board.

(6) The executive director shall report annually to the legislature as to the progress of the projects and programs enumerated in the master plan or annual plans or any component thereof. For each project or program, estimated construction and maintenance costs, progress reports, and estimated completion timetables shall be provided.

(7) The executive director is granted full power and authority to delegate, assign, or appoint in his discretion any subordinate to perform any function or duties required by law to be performed by the authority, except as specifically provided in this Title. This grant of power and authority shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes of this Chapter.

(8) The executive director shall provide the necessary reports, staff, assistance, and support to the Coordinated Use of Resources for Recreation, Economy, Navigation, and Transportation Authority Board in order to assist in the development of the master plan and annual plan.

(9) The executive director may appoint ex officio notaries in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 35:411.

C. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to diminish or impair the constitutional, statutory, or contractual authority of any levee district, drainage district, navigation district, or port commission operating within the upland area. The authority shall coordinate with such entities to the greatest extent practicable.

Acts 2025, No. 418, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2807 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2807
Election of officers; record book; public inspection
Status: in_force

Immediately after the commissioners have been appointed by the Franklin Parish Police Jury, or as soon thereafter as practicable, they shall meet and immediately organize by electing officers. They shall elect from among their number a president, who shall preside over the meetings of the board and perform such other duties as are usually required of presidents of corporate bodies, and shall elect a vice president, who shall perform the duties of the president in case of his absence or disability.

The board shall cause to be kept a well-bound book entitled "Record Book of Franklin Parish Watershed District," in which shall be recorded the minutes of all meetings, all proceedings, certificates, oaths of commissioners, bonds of employees and contractors, and any and all corporate acts. The records shall be in the possession of the secretary of the board and shall be open to public inspection at all times by any person interested.

Added by Acts 1966, No. 101, §7.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2237.1 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2237.1
Procurement of telecommunications or video surveillance equipment or services by agencies and certain educational entities
Status: in_force

A. Agencies and certain educational entities of the state, as defined in R.S. 39:1753.1(A), shall not procure prohibited telecommunications or video surveillance equipment or services as defined in R.S. 39:1753.1(A).

B. Prior to the procurement of telecommunications or video surveillance equipment or services, the vendor shall provide documentation by affidavit that the equipment or services to be procured are not prohibited telecommunications or video surveillance equipment or services as defined in R.S. 39:1753.1(A).

C. No procurement shall be made from a vendor or other entity who fails to provide the documentation required in Subsection B of this Section. Any procurement of prohibited telecommunications or video surveillance equipment or services as defined in R.S. 39:1753.1(A), or other procurement in violation of this Section, shall be void.

D. Any vendor or other entity who provides the documentation required in Subsection B of this Section found to supply telecommunications or video surveillance equipment or services as defined to the procuring agency, certain educational entity, or their service provider that were prohibited at the time of procurement shall, at its own expense, replace the prohibited telecommunications or video surveillance equipment or services with nonprohibited equipment or services of at least equal quality and performance. Compliance with this Section by a procuring agency and certain educational entities is subject to audit by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.

Acts 2020, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 52, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2021; Acts 2021, No. 288, §1; Acts 2022, No. 695, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3071 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3071
Legislative finding; purpose
Status: in_force

A. The orderly utilization of groundwater resources is hereby found and declared to be a matter of public interest.

B. It is the purpose of this part to provide for the efficient administration, conservation, orderly development and supplementation of groundwater resources by the establishment of a groundwater conservation district composed of the parishes of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Pointe Coupee, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana.

Added by Acts 1974, No. 678, §1; Acts 2019, No. 200, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:370 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 370
Peremptory challenges
Status: in_force

Each side shall be allowed three peremptory challenges. If there is more than one party on any side, the court may allow each side additional peremptory challenges, not to exceed two. Each side shall be allowed an equal number of peremptory challenges. If the parties on a side are unable to agree upon the allocation of peremptory challenges among themselves, the allocation shall be determined by the court before the examination on the voir dire.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2557 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2557
Election of officers; record book; public inspection
Status: in_force

Immediately after the commissioners have been appointed by the governor, or as soon thereafter as practicable, the commissioners shall meet and immediately organize by electing officers as follows: They shall elect from among their number a president, who shall preside over the meetings of the board and perform such other duties as are usually required of presidents of corporate bodies, and also a vice president, who shall perform the duties of the president in case of his absence or disability.

The board shall cause to be kept a well-bound book entitled "Record Book of Bayou D'Arbonne Lake Watershed District", in which shall be recorded the minutes of all meetings, all proceedings, certificates, oaths of commissioners, bonds of employees and contractors, and any and all corporate acts. The records shall be in the possession of the secretary of the board and shall be open to public inspection at all times by any person interested.

Added by Acts 1956, No. 9, §7.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.126 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.126
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 board, 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 1999, No. 588, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2713 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2713
Tax exemption; mineral leases unabridged
Status: in_force

Should the district or the Department of Transportation and Development acquire 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 said leases are subject to the terms and conditions of the servitude executed in favor of the commission.

Acts 1989, No. 176, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1671 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1671
Form and terms of bonds; denominations
Status: in_force

The board of commissioners of any drainage district mentioned in R.S. 38:1670, when petitioned to that effect by the owners of a majority of the acreage of the lands in the district or sub-district thereof, as the case may be, after adopting a resolution to that effect, may issue funding or refunding bonds for the purpose of readjusting, funding, refunding, extending, or unifying any or all of the authorized indebtedness of the district or sub-district. Funding or refunding bonds shall be in any denominations of one hundred dollars or multiples thereof, shall bear interest, represented by coupons, at a rate not to exceed six per cent per annum, payable annually or semiannually, shall run for a period not to exceed forty years, and shall mature and be payable annually, beginning not more than ten years after their date, all as may be determined by the board of commissioners. Both principal and interest shall be payable at some convenient banking house or trust company's office to be named in the bonds. The bonds shall be signed by the president of the board of commissioners, attested by the signature of the secretary of the board and the seal of the district, and shall show on their face the purpose for which issued. The coupons on the bonds shall be signed by the facsimile signature of the officers. The delivery at any time thereafter of any bonds and coupons so executed shall be valid, although before the date of delivery the persons signing the bonds or coupons shall have ceased to hold office.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3076 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3076
Powers of the district
Status: in_force

A. The district shall work with the secretary of the Department of Conservation and Energy in his responsibilities to do all things necessary to prevent waste of groundwater resources, and to prevent or alleviate damaging or potentially damaging subsidence of the land surface caused by withdrawal of groundwater within the district. In conjunction with the secretary, the district shall have authority to do, as required, the following:

(1) To hold hearings.

(2) To require permits for the drilling or construction of all wells drilled after July 31, 1974, having a capacity in excess of fifty thousand gallons per day.

(3) To require registration with the district of all wells showing the date drilled, the name of the driller, if available, and the current ownership together with such other information as the district may reasonably require to permit it to accomplish the purposes of this legislation. No charge shall be assessed for such registration.

(4) To require that all users of groundwater within the district register with the district showing the number, location, and capacity of wells owned or operated by them or solely for their benefit and designating the beneficial use or uses of that groundwater. The district shall classify each user as an industrial user or as a commercial, rural or municipal user of groundwater upon the basis of such information. The district shall have authority in its discretion to require periodical renewals of registrations to determine alterations in uses of water within the district. Such registrations may be required on an annual basis or such greater periods of time as the district may deem appropriate.

(5) To establish standards for the construction of wells that would come under the jurisdiction of this part drilled after July 31, 1974.

(6) To specify spacing of wells drilled after the effective date of this part in limited areas upon a showing that the water quality, quantity of withdrawal or subsidence in such area threatens the public interest.

(7) To require well owners who are users, well owners providing water to other users, and users of groundwater who are not well owners to keep and furnish, on request, information necessary to carry out the provisions of this Part pertinent to wells, drawdowns, grouting, casing sizes, property descriptions, and other pertinent information reasonably required by the district, provided that as to wells in existence on the effective date of this Part such information is available.

(8) To collect data; to make investigations and inspections; to examine properties, papers, books, and records relevant to groundwater use or conservation; to examine, survey, check test, and gauge all water wells within the district; to require well owners who are users or well owners providing water to other users, at their own expense, to meter wells to permit accurate determination of rates of use. Metering may be required on a continuous or periodic basis, and the district may require approval by it of metering devices; to provide for the keeping of records and making of reports by owners of water wells providing water to users, and users of groundwater within the district.

(9) To require that authorized representative of the district be enabled to enter property at reasonable times and under reasonable conditions to inspect wells, perform tests, and examine records.

(10) To establish standards for the control of existing and future flowing wells and the sealing of abandoned wells.

(11) To require that all abandoned wells be reported and sealed in accordance with such standards.

(12) To establish groundwater use priorities, under conditions supported by research data, which indicate depletion of water subject to this Part.

(13) To acquire by all legal means property or property rights necessary to achieve the purposes of this part and to enter into all contracts necessary to the achievement of such purposes.

(14) To assess the following:

(a) A charge against all users within the district based upon the annual rate of use of each user sufficient to meet costs and expenses of operation. Such charges must be uniform as to all users, being assessed on the basis of units of water used, whether a cubic, acre-foot, or other unit be used, and without distinctions or graduations as to total amounts of water produced by individual users or classes of users, except that no charge shall be made against the quantity of water pumped from the Mississippi River alluvial aquifer. Further, such charges shall be assessed and income therefrom used only to defray the costs and expenses of operation of the district assessing them.

(b) Costs for capital expenditures assessed to users based on either annual flows or specific costs for wells to individual users based on capital, debt service, and operation and maintenance costs. Costs may include specific systems and technologies to allow for remote monitoring of flows, water levels, water quality, and other parameters considered necessary by the district to conserve and protect groundwater resources and may include but are not limited to monitoring wells, scavenger wells, reclaimed water systems, pressure differential systems, water treatment systems, and other subsurface systems related to the protection of the aquifers.

(c) Late fees for nonpayment of monthly or quarterly invoices not to exceed twenty-five dollars per month or one and one-half percent per day of the balance due, whichever is greater, calculated beginning thirty days after the due date.

(d) Application fees not to exceed two thousand dollars for each application submitted for a new or upgraded well.

(15) To cooperate with and enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with other governmental units and agencies of this state, with governments and agencies of other states and of the United States, and with private agencies or other groundwater conservation districts for the achievement of the purposes of this Part.

(16) To receive grants and enter into contracts for groundwater resource development.

(17) To conduct studies and investigations of all problems concerning groundwater resources of the district.

(18) To take all necessary steps to prevent intrusion of salt water or any other form of pollutant into any aquifer or aquifers, including the powers to operate withdrawal wells for the extraction of salt water or water affected by any pollutant and to dispose of such water by injection or otherwise; to operate injection wells to create freshwater barriers against salt water intrusion or the intrusion of any other pollutant; and to control pumping rates by users in any area threatened by intrusion of salt water or other form of pollutant.

(19) Within affected areas, to limit rates of production of water from any aquifer or aquifers, after detailed research, considering both recharge and withdrawal data, when the quality or quantity of the supply of water afforded by such aquifer or aquifers is in danger for any reason or where the danger of damaging subsidence exists.

(20) To use and permit the use of any of its property or facilities for recreational purposes and to operate thereon such concessions as may be appropriate to such recreational use or uses as long as such activities do not increase the net operating expenses to the district.

(21) To sue and be sued as a body corporate.

(22) Repealed by Acts 2024, No. 494, §2.

(23) To hire such personnel and retain such consultants as shall be reasonably necessary to the performance of its functions. Personnel from other agencies shall be used wherever practical and possible.

(24) To advise and consult with the secretary of the Department of Conservation and Energy and the Natural Resources Commission on matters that impact water resources within the district's jurisdiction.

B. No order limiting rates of production as authorized in Subsection A of this section shall have the effect of in any way denying to any owner of the land or any other person holding rights to water derivative from any landowner a reasonable opportunity to produce and beneficially use his just and equitable share of the groundwater supply affected by an order limiting rates of production.

C. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the district formed hereunder shall have no authority to regulate water produced from formations producing oil or gas or both for commercial purposes or to issue any rule, regulation, or order conflicting with regulation of drilling to and production from or disposition of water from such formations by the secretary of the Department of Conservation and Energy. Nor shall the district formed hereunder have authority to regulate the production of salt water used for pressure maintenance, secondary recovery operations, or other operations for the production of oil or gas.

D. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the district shall have no regulatory power over and no authority to assess pumping charges for a well or wells with a total depth of less than four hundred feet or wells in the Mississippi River alluvial aquifer; or wells from which the production is used exclusively for bona fide agricultural or horticultural purposes or for domestic use of persons resident upon the same premises and capable of producing not more than fifty thousand gallons per day in the aggregate.

E. The district shall have authority to make, after notice and hearing and to enforce reasonable rules, regulations, or orders necessary from time to time to achieve the purposes and powers as outlined in this Part, and such rules, regulations, and orders shall be effective and enforceable immediately upon promulgation in the official journal of each parish affected.

F.(1) The district shall not require users to undertake the installation of additional metering devices or prescribe new requirements thereof if the user's installation of metering devices meets all of the following criteria:

(a) Demonstrates compliance with the user's obligation to meter.

(b) Measures flow data at least hourly for each well, for each stratum from which the well draws, and reports the data to the district monthly.

(c) Ensures proper operation of the metering device through installation, calibration, validation, and maintenance practices that are consistent with the accepted capability of that type of metering device. Calibration of each metering device shall be performed at least once per year by a qualified source, which is a person or entity that has received formal training or has practical field experience in the calibration of that type of metering device.

(d) Adheres to accepted scientific practices to safeguard the accuracy and reliability of measurements of the volume of monitored withdrawals.

(e) Measures flows with a maximum deviation of less than five percent from true withdrawal rates throughout the range of expected withdrawal volumes.

(2) The district shall have authority to audit the performance of flow measurement devices installed and maintained by users. Audits of the flow measurement devices of all users other than nuclear electric generating stations may include temporary installation of a flow measurement device and other necessary equipment by the district, at the district's expense, in order to verify performance of a user-installed flow measurement device. Each user-installed flow measurement device may be audited once per calendar year.

Added by Acts 1974, No. 678, §1. Amended by Acts 1976, No. 231, §1; Acts 1980, No. 738, §1; Acts 2003, No. 49, §2, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2012, No. 471, §2; Acts 2021, No. 330, §1; Acts 2024, No. 494, §§1 and 2; Acts 2025, No. 458, §5, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:303 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 303
Compromise of claims relating to lands conveyed in error
Status: in_force

The governor, the executive counsel, and the attorney general, or any two of them, may settle and compromise with the levee boards and levee and drainage boards of the state and their lessees, or any combination thereof, all matters relating to leases by the levee boards and levee and drainage boards of lands conveyed to them in error under the provisions of the various legislative grants of public lands to the levee boards and levee and drainage boards or all matters relating to all lands so conveyed upon the terms and conditions which the officers may deem to be to the best interests of the state. In connection with any agreement of compromise, the officers may stipulate and agree for the reconveyance of any of the lands to the state, for the payment of royalties and rentals as to any lease involved, for the division of the royalties and rentals between the state and the levee board and levee and drainage board, and for the protection of the rights of the lessee acquired in good faith.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.72 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.72
District as political subdivision and body corporate; purpose and powers
Status: in_force

A. The district so created shall be a political subdivision of the state of Louisiana which shall have for its purpose the preservation, promotion, and development of the wealth and natural resources of the district by the conservation of the soil and water of Caddo Lake for agricultural, recreational, commercial, and sanitary purposes.

B. It shall constitute a body corporate in law with all powers, rights, privileges, and immunities of a corporation. It shall have the power to sue and be sued, to buy and sell, and to execute contracts. It shall have the authority to acquire by purchase, donation, or otherwise every type and specie of property, including servitudes and rights of use necessary to its purpose, and to lease, build, operate, and maintain any works or machinery designed to accomplish the purposes of the district.

C. It shall have complete control over the supply of fresh water from Caddo Lake which shall be administered for the benefit of the persons residing or owning property within the district, and if it should be for the benefit of the district, it shall have the authority to sell such water for irrigation, municipal, and industrial uses both within and outside the district. However, the district shall have no authority to regulate or control any use by any municipality, district, or other person of such water supply which use was being made by such municipality, district, or other person on August 15, 1995, including no authority to charge or collect any fee or charge therefor. The district shall at all times recognize the provisions of the Red River Compact and the rights granted thereunder.

D. The district shall constitute an instrumentality of the state of Louisiana designed to carry out an essential governmental function, and all of the property of the district shall be exempt from state and local sales and use taxation. It shall have the authority to cooperate and contract with the government of the United States or any department or agency thereof and to accept grants and donations of property and money therefrom. It shall have the authority to cooperate with the state of Louisiana or any political subdivision, department, agency, or corporation of the state for the management of the waters of Caddo Lake and the construction, operation, and maintenance of facilities designed to accomplish the purpose for which the district is created on any basis including the matching of funds and by participating in projects authorized by any federal or state law as it shall see fit.

Acts 1995, No. 345, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2753 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2753
Powers
Status: in_force

The board shall have the power to sue and be sued; to buy and sell; to exercise the right of expropriation; to own, maintain and operate property, both movable and immovable, to acquire servitudes, rights of way and flowage rights, to negotiate and execute contracts; to cooperate with the state of Louisiana or any agency or political subdivision thereof or with the government of the United States or any department or agency thereof on any basis that the board shall deem advisable for the joint or separate construction, ownership, operation and maintenance of pump facilities, pipelines, floodgages, water conveyors and other devices, equipment and property; to accept gifts or contributions of any nature from the state of Louisiana or the United States or any agency or political subdivision thereof; and to make and collect reasonable charges or fees for its services in connection with the water made available by any facilities provided by said board; provided, no charges shall be assessed against any municipality or other political subdivision, and that in exercising the powers and authority aforesaid, the board shall cooperate with, and shall act under the supervision and control of, the Louisiana Department of Public Works.

Added by Acts 1962, No. 308, §3.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2259 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2259
Contracts in violation of Act null and void
Status: in_force

Any contract awarded or executed, or purchase made in violation of this Part shall be null and void and shall not be enforced in the courts of this state.

Added by Acts 1958, No. 318, §9. Amended by Acts 1960, No. 502, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1670 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1670
Issuance of funding or refunding bonds
Status: in_force

Any drainage district or any sub-district, may for the purpose of readjusting, funding, refunding, extending or unifying any or all of its authorized indebtedness, bonded or otherwise, or both, may 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, in payment thereof in the manner hereinafter provided.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:90.14 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 90.14
Audit of distribution to recipient authorities
Status: in_force

The state monies distributed to the recipient authorities and the local matching funds shall be audited by the legislative auditor at least biennially. To the extent that funds available to the legislative auditor permit, the audits of each recipient authority of the use of the monies shall include an investigation of any failure to comply with the recommendations for planning, design, and construction adopted by the legislature. The recipient authority shall certify annually to the legislative auditor that the funds made available under this Chapter have been expended in accordance with the standards established by law.

Added by Acts 1982, No. 351, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2805 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2805
Board to govern; membership; tenure; vacancies; compensation
Status: in_force

The said district shall be governed and controlled by the Board of Commissioners of the Franklin Parish Watershed District, to be composed of eleven commissioners, each of whom shall be a qualified elector of the State of Louisiana who resides within the limits of the district. The commissioners shall be appointed by the governing authority of Franklin Parish and shall serve terms of four years and until their successors have been appointed and have qualified, except that one of the initial appointments shall be for a term of one year, two shall be for a term of two years, two shall be for a term of three years, and two shall be for a term of four years. Any vacancy in the office of commissioner, due to death, resignation or any other cause, shall be filled by appointment of the governing authority of Franklin Parish in the same manner as the original appointment. The members of the board shall receive no compensation for their services, but may be reimbursed for expenses actually incurred in the performance of official duties.

Added by Acts 1966, No. 101, §5.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1658 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1658
Use of funds derived from the sale of bonds
Status: in_force

The funds derived from the sale of bonds or any of them shall be used for the purpose of paying the cost of the drainage works and improvements and any costs, expenses, fees, and salaries which may be authorized by law, and for no other purpose.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2831 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2831
Enumerated powers
Status: in_force

In order to accomplish the purposes of the district and the creation and construction of the said lake, the State Department of Public Works is hereby authorized;

(1) To purchase, hold, sell and convey land and personal property and execute such contracts as may be deemed necessary or convenient to enable it to properly carry out the purpose of the construction of the said dam, spillway across said Black Bayou and the creation, control and organization of Black Bayou Lake;

(2) To acquire servitudes, rights of way and flowage rights, by purchase and/or expropriation;

(3) To assist in conserving the soil and water and in developing the water resources of the district;

(4) To contract for the construction of the proposed works and improvements;

(5) To construct any drainage works or improvements for the control, retention, diversion or utilization of water; retard runoff of water and soil erosion; construct any ditch, channel improvement, dike, dam or levee and repair, improve and maintain any of said improvements or structures;

(6) Acquire such personal property, by gift or purchase, as is necessary in the construction of said dam and the creation of the said Black Bayou Lake;

(7) To do any and all things necessary or incident to the fulfillment of the purposes of this Part.

Added by Acts 1966, No. 262, §11.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2862 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2862
District as political subdivision and budgetary unit; purpose
Status: in_force

The Claiborne Parish Watershed District shall be a political subdivision of the state of Louisiana and a budgetary unit of the state of Louisiana, which shall have as its purpose the conservation of soil and water, including surface and groundwater, 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, safety, convenience, or welfare or of public utility or benefit. The creation and maintenance of Lake Claiborne within the district shall be for the purpose of conserving the soil and water, including surface and groundwater, 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.

Added by Acts 1966, No. 299, §2; Acts 2004, No. 390, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1842 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1842
Designation of districts; political subdivisions of state
Status: in_force

The consolidated gravity drainage districts so created shall be known and designated as "Consolidated Gravity Drainage Districts No. _____ of the parish of _____, Louisiana. Consolidated gravity drainage districts created under the authority of this Part shall be political subdivisions of the state and shall have all the rights, powers and privileges granted under the Constitution and laws of this state.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3000 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3000
Creation; location
Status: in_force

The Jackson-Bienville Parishes Watershed District is hereby created out of the watershed of Dugdemona Bayou located in Jackson and Bienville parishes.

Added by Acts 1970, No. 600, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:304 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 304
Appointment of members; residency and education requirements; filling of vacancies
Status: in_force

A. Any person appointed as a levee commissioner or levee and drainage commissioner shall meet all of the following requirements:

(1) Reside in this state for the preceding two years.

(2) Reside in the levee district for the preceding year.

(3) Is a qualified voter of one of the parishes included in the district.

(4) Have or possess the equivalent of a high school diploma. The requirement contained in this Paragraph shall only have prospective application and shall only apply to new appointments. Further, such requirement shall not apply to reappointments of existing members.

(5) Reside in the district while serving as a member of the board.

B.(1) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, every vacancy now or hereafter created whether by reason of death, resignation, expiration of term, or any other cause occurring in any levee district or levee and drainage district shall be filled by the governor from panels of names submitted as follows: each member of the House of Representatives representing a parish or part of a parish lying within a levee district or levee and drainage district shall submit one name for each vacancy to be filled from the parish, which he represents in the legislature within said levee district or levee and drainage district, and each member of the Senate shall submit one name for each vacancy to be filled from the parish or parishes, which he represents in the legislature within said levee district or levee and drainage district, except as provided in R.S. 38:291(P), (T), and (Z).

(2) In making appointments the governor shall not appoint any person to the board of commissioners to represent a specific parish who was not recommended by one or more of the legislators who represent that specific parish in the legislature except as provided in R.S. 38:291(P), (T), and (Z). All members of the boards of commissioners of levee districts or levee and drainage districts shall be appointed by the governor to serve at the pleasure of the governor making the appointment.

C. A majority of the commissioners of any levee board or levee and drainage board shall constitute a quorum to do business. The commissioners shall organize by electing one of their number president and another vice president, and they shall appoint a secretary and fix his salary. They shall designate the time and select the place for holding their regular sessions and may be convened at any time upon call of the president. In case of death or resignation of the president, the secretary shall call the board together to fill the vacancy. In case of absence, inability, or failure to act of the president, the vice president shall perform all the duties of the president. In case of neglect of duty by any commissioner or of his failure, without good cause, to attend three successive regular meetings, the governor, on request of the board, shall remove the commissioner and appoint his successor.

D. This Section shall not apply to the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East and the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West Bank.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985; Acts 1986, No. 807, §2, eff. July 10, 1986; Acts 1992, No. 838, §1, eff. July 8, 1992; Acts 1997, No. 761, §1; Acts 1997, No. 948, §1; Acts 2003, No. 179, §1; Acts 2003, No. 1169, §1; Acts 2006, 1 st Ex. Sess., No. 1, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2007; Acts 2007, No. 259, §1, eff. July 1, 2007; Acts 2024, No. 484, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:318 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 318
Chart of accounts and annual budget
Status: in_force

A. The legislative auditor shall develop a uniform chart of accounts to be used by levee districts for recording all financial transactions. The legislative auditor shall submit the proposed chart of accounts to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget for its approval. Any changes to the approved chart of accounts shall be made in accordance with procedures contained in this Subsection.

B. Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law to the contrary, particularly any special provisions of this Title relative to any levee district or levee and drainage district, each levee district and levee and drainage district in this state shall submit to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, no later than ninety days prior to the end of each fiscal year, an annual budget for the succeeding fiscal year for review. The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget shall prescribe the forms and format to be used for compliance with this Subsection.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985; Acts 1999, No. 775, §1, eff. July 2, 1999.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2236 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2236
Definitions
Status: in_force

A. For the purposes of this Part, relative to telecommunications, the following words and phrases shall be defined as follows:

(1) "Telecommunications equipment, systems, related services" are limited to the equipment and means to provide:

(a) Electronic transmission facilities.

(b) Data transmission systems.

(c) Voice transmission systems.

(d) Telephone systems.

(e) Facsimile systems.

(f) Radio paging services.

(g) Mobile telephone services.

(h) Intercom and electro-mechanical paging systems.

(i) Any and all systems based on emerging and future telecommunication technologies relative to (a) through (h) above.

(2) "Procurement" or "procure" means the selling, buying, purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise obtaining telecommunications equipment, systems, or related services, as well as all activities engaged in, resulting in, or expected to result in the selling, buying, purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise obtaining telecommunications equipment, systems, or related services by a political subdivision.

(3) "Electronic transmission facility" means any transmission medium, switch, instrument, wiring system, or other facility which is used, in whole or in part, to provide any transmission including two-way radio, terminal equipment, modems, front end processors, acoustic couplers, and remote job entry equipment.

(4) "Wiring system" means any wiring which directly or indirectly interconnects any terminal equipment with any other terminal equipment or with any regulated facility or common carrier service.

B. For the purposes of this Part, relative to data processing, the following words and phrases shall be defined as follows:

(1) "Data" means recorded information, regardless of form or characteristic.

(2) "Procurement" means and includes the selling, buying, purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise obtaining of data processing equipment, related services, or software, as well as all activities engaged in, resulting in, or expected to result in the selling, buying, purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise obtaining of data processing equipment, related services, or software by political subdivisions.

(3) "Related services" means and is limited to service activities affecting the maintenance of data processing equipment or software.

(4) "Software" means computer programs and documentation essential to and necessary for a computer to perform productive operations.

Acts 1988, No. 523, §1; Acts 1992, No. 486, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1776 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1776
Form of ballot
Status: in_force

The question submitted to the voters at special elections held under the provisions of this Part and the ballot to be used at the elections, when refunding bonds are not to be issued, or acreage taxes or forced contributions are not to be levied for the payment thereof, shall be in substantially the following form:

"Shall ................. (name of subdivision) impose, levy

and collect annually for the term of ...... years, beginning

with the year 19..., an acreage tax or forced contribution

of ...... cents per acre per year on each and every acre of

land in said ................ (name of subdivision) for the

YES

[ ]

purpose of constructing gravity drainage works?"

NO

[ ]

"Shall ................. (name of subdivision) incur debt and

issue bonds to the amount of ...... dollars, to run not more

than ...... years from date with interest at the maximum rate

of ...... per cent per annum, for the purpose of constructing

gravity drainage works, said bonds to be payable from and

secured by an acreage tax or forced contribution of ......

cents per acre per year and for a term of ...... years

beginning with the year 19...?"

Number of acres: .....................................................

YES

[ ]

....................................................................................

NO

[ ]

(Signature of Voter)

When refunding bonds are to be issued or acreage taxes or forced contributions are to be levied to support or secure the payment of refunding bonds, the question to be submitted to the voters at special elections held hereunder and the ballot to be used thereat, shall be in substantially the following form:

"Shall ................. (name of subdivision) incur debt and

issue bonds to the amount of $...... to run not more than

...... years from date with interest at the maximum rate of

...... per cent per annum, for the purpose of readjusting,

refunding, extending and unifying the (whole) (part of the

principal) (principal and interest) (interest) of the outstanding

bonds of the district, to be secured by an acreage tax or

forced contribution of ...... cents per acre per annum, and

YES

[ ]

for a term of ...... years, beginning with the year 19...?"

NO

[ ]

"Shall ................. (name of subdivision) impose, levy

and collect annually, for a term of ...... years, beginning

with the year 19..., an acreage tax or forced contribution

of .... cents per acre per year on each and and every acre

of land in said .............. (name of subdivision) such

acreage tax or forced contribution to represent (a reduction)

(an increase) in the acreage tax or forced contribution now

being levied, up to and including the year ...., and the levy

and imposition of additional acreage taxes or forced

contributions for the additional years, the proceeds of

which acreage or forced contribution to support or secure

the payment of the bonded indebtedness of the district to be

readjusted, refunded, extended and unified."

YES

[ ]

Number of acres: .......................................................

NO

[ ]

.................................................................................

(Signature of Voter)

Notice to Voters:

To vote in favor of the proposition submitted on this ballot place a cross (X) mark in the square after the word "YES".

To vote against it, place a similar mark after the word "NO".
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1625 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1625
Proceedings of appraisers
Status: in_force

Within thirty days after qualifying, the appraisers shall begin their duties. They may at any time call upon the attorney of the district for legal advice and information relating to their duties, and the chief engineer or one of his assistants shall accompany the appraisers at all times and render his opinion in writing when called upon. The appraisers shall proceed to view the premises and determine the value of all lands and other property, within or without the district or sub-district, to be acquired and used for rights of way, canals, levees, holding basins, pumping plant sites, or other works set out in the plan for reclamation. They shall assess the amount of benefits, and the amount of damages, if any, that will accrue to each forty acre tract, or other smaller sub-division of land according to ownership as shown by the engineer's maps, railroads, and other rights of way, railroad roadways, and other property within district or sub-district, from the carrying out and putting into effect of the plan for reclamation theretofore adopted. The appraisers in assessing the benefits to lands, railroads, and other rights of way, railroad roadways, and other property not traversed by the works and improvements as provided for in the plan for reclamation, shall not consider what benefits will be derived by the property after other ditches, improvements, or other plans for reclamation shall have been constructed, but they shall assess only the benefits which will be or have been derived from the construction of the works and improvements set out in the plan for reclamation, or as they may afford an outlet for drainage or protection from overflow of the property. The appraisers shall give due consideration to any other drains, canals, ditches, levees, or systems of reclamation, which may have already been constructed and which afford partial or complete protection to any tract or parcel of land in the district or sub-district. Should any other drains, canals, ditches, levees, or systems of reclamation, have been constructed by a public agency through a system of taxation or assessment against the lands, then and in any event the appraisers shall give due credit to the lands for the improvements. Should, however, the other drains, canals, ditches, levees, or systems of reclamation, have been constructed by landowners, then, the appraisers shall appraise the value of the improvements constructed by the landowners, and incorporate the improvements in their report. The improvements shall be expropriated by the drainage district, in the manner provided in R.S. 38:1626, and the landowners shall be reimbursed the value thereof. The railroad and other rights of way, railroad, and other property shall be assessed according to the increased physical efficiency and decreased maintenance cost of roadways by reason of the protection to be derived from the proposed works and improvements. The appraisers may not change the plan for reclamation theretofore provided for.

In assessing benefits, all lands enjoying a servitude of natural drainage shall be entitled to continue to receive equivalent artificial drainage without charge therefor and without having the drainage considered as an element in assessing benefits against the lands.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1652 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1652
Issuance of bonds; form and terms
Status: in_force

The board of commissioners, may, if in their judgment it seems best, issue coupon bonds not to exceed ninety-one per cent of the total amount of the taxes levied under the provisions of R.S. 38:1631 in denominations of not less than fifty dollars, bearing interest from their date at a rate not to exceed six per cent per annum, payable semi-annually, to mature at annual intervals within a period not exceeding forty years from and after their date commencing after a period of years not later than five years, to be determined by the board of commissioners, both principal and interest payable at some convenient banking house or trust company's office to be named in the bonds. The bonds shall be signed by the president of the board of commissioners, attested with the seal of the district and by the signature of the secretary of the board, and the coupons shall be signed by the facsimile signatures of the officers. The delivery at any time thereafter of any bonds or coupons so executed shall be valid, although before the date of delivery the persons signing the bonds or coupons shall have ceased to hold office.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1638 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1638
Works and improvements authorized
Status: in_force

In order to effect the drainage, protection and reclamation of the land and other property in the district subject to tax, the board of commissioners may clean out, straighten, widen, change the course and flow, alter or deepen any ditch, drain, watercourse, pond, lake, creek, bayou or natural stream in or out of the district, fill up any creek, drain, channel, watercourse or natural stream, and concentrate, divert or divide the flow of water in or out of the district. In so doing, the drainage district shall make adequate provision for the drainage of all lands and property affected thereby. The board may construct and maintain main and lateral ditches, canals, levees, dikes, dams, sluices, revetments, reservoirs, holding basins, floodways, pumping stations and syphons and any other works and improvements deemed necessary to preserve and maintain the works in or out of the district. They shall construct or enlarge or cause to be constructed or enlarged any and all bridges that may be needed in or out of the district across any drain, ditch, canal, floodway, holding basin, excavation, public highway, railroad right of way, track, grade, fill or cut, construct roadways over levees and embankments, construct any and all of the works and improvements across, through or over any public highway, railroad right of way, track, grade, fill or cut in or out of the district, remove any fence, building, or other improvements in or out of the district, and hold, control, and acquire by donation or purchase, and if need be, expropriate any land, servitude, railroad right of way, sluice, reservoir, holding basin or franchise in or out of the district for right of way, or holding basin for any of the purposes herein provided.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2751 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2751
Creation
Status: in_force

There is hereby created a water conservation board to be known as the Bayou DeSiard-Bayou Bartholomew Cut-Off Loop Water Conservation Board of Ouachita and Morehouse Parishes, Louisiana.

Added by Acts 1962, No. 308, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2215 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2215
Time period for holding bids; issuance of work orders to commence work; exceptions
Status: in_force

A.(1) A public entity shall act not later than forty-five calendar days after the date of opening bids to award such public works contract to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder or to reject all bids. However, the public entity and the lowest responsible and responsive bidder, by mutually written consent, may agree to extend the deadline for award by one or more extensions of thirty calendar days.

(2)(a) Expeditious trial on the merits. If an interested party or bidder files for an injunction or writ of mandamus, they shall receive a trial on the requested relief in the district court within thirty calendar days of the filing of the suit. The district court shall render a final judgment not more than fifteen calendar days after the conclusion of the trial. A public entity shall award a public works contract in accordance with the judgment of a Louisiana court determining the lowest responsible and responsive bidder no later than forty-five days after such judgment, unless a timely suspensive appeal is filed.

(b) Public entity's right to suspensive appeal. Unless waived, only the public entity may take a suspensive appeal within fifteen calendar days of the rendition of the final judgment of the district court. The suspensive appeal of the public entity shall be returnable to the appropriate appellate court not more than fifteen calendar days from the rendition of the final judgment of the district court. The suspensive appeal of the public entity shall be expedited and heard no later than thirty calendar days from the return day of the appeal. The appellate court shall render its ruling on the merits within thirty calendar days of the return day of the appeal.

(c) Under no circumstance may an awarded bidder agree to relinquish or to compromise its award status in favor of another bidder.

B. If the lowest responsible and responsive bidder has timely provided all documents required by R.S. 38:2212, and no injunction or temporary restraining order is in effect, the lowest responsible and responsive bidder and the public entity shall execute the contract not later than sixty calendar days after the date of the public entity's award of the contract to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder.

C. The public entity shall issue to the contractor a notice to proceed with the project or work order not later than thirty calendar days following the date of execution of the contract by both parties, whichever execution date is later. However, the public entity and the contractor, upon mutual written consent of both parties, may agree to extend the deadline to issue the notice to proceed.

D. The provisions of this Section shall not be applicable when the contract is to be financed by bonds which are required to be sold after opening of bids on the contract, or when the contract is to be financed in whole or in part by federal or other funds which will not be readily available at the time bids are opened, or on contracts which require a poll of the Legislature of Louisiana before funds are available to fund the contract. If any time limit stipulated in this Section is not applicable because of one of the exceptions outlined in this Subsection, this fact shall be mentioned in the bidding documents for the project and in the official advertisement for bids required in accordance with R.S. 38:2212.

E. These provisions shall not be subject to waiver.

Acts 1991, No. 1043, §1, eff. July 26, 1991; Acts 1997, No. 1031, §1; Acts 2012, No. 647, §1, eff. July 1, 2012; Acts 2014, No. 759, §1; Acts 2021, No. 260, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.74 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.74
Oaths
Status: in_force

Before entering upon his official duties each member of the board of commissioners shall take the oath of office provided by Article X, Section 30 of the Constitution of Louisiana before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. The oaths of the commissioners shall be recorded in the oath book of the parish.

Acts 1995, No. 345, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1661 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1661
New or amended reclamation plans; additional assessments and taxes
Status: in_force

Where the works set out in plan for reclamation of any drainage district organized under this Part is found insufficient to reclaim in whole or in part any or all of the land and other property of the district, the board of commissioners may formulate new or amended plans containing new ditches, levees or other works, or providing for the enlargement of existing ditches, levees, or other works. The additional assessments may be made in conformity with the provisions of R.S. 38:1623 and subsequent sections of this Part and in proportion to the increased benefits accruing to the lands and other property because of the additional works. If it should be found at any time that the amount of total tax levied under the provisions of R.S. 38:1631 is insufficient to pay the cost of works set out in plan for reclamation or additional work done under the provisions of this Section, the board of commissioners may make an additional levy to provide funds to complete the work, provided the total of all levies of the tax does not exceed the total amount of benefits assessed.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1542 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1542
Denominations; form and terms; funds from which payable
Status: in_force

The board of commissioners of any drainage district or of any sub-district, when petitioned to issue funding or refunding bonds by the owners of a majority of the acreage of the lands in the district or sub-district, after adopting a resolution to that effect, may issue funding or refunding bonds for the purpose of adjusting, readjusting, funding, refunding, extending, or unifying any or all of the authorized indebtedness bonded or otherwise, of the district or sub-district incurred in draining and reclaiming by means of levees and pumps any or all of the lands in the drainage district or sub-district. The funding or refunding bonds shall be in denominations of one hundred dollars or multiples thereof, shall bear interest, represented by coupons, at a rate not to exceed six per cent per annum, payable annually or semi-annually, shall run for a period not to exceed forty years, and shall mature and be payable annually, beginning not more than ten years after their date, all as may be determined by the board of commissioners. Both principal and interest shall be payable at some convenient banking house or trust company's office to be named in the bonds, which shall be signed by the president of the board of commissioners, attested by the signatures of the secretary of the board and the seal of the district, and shall show on their face the purpose for which issued. The coupons on the bonds may be signed by the facsimile signatures of the officers. The delivery at any time thereafter of any bonds and coupons so executed shall be valid, although before the date of delivery the person signing the bonds or coupons shall have ceased to hold office. The funding or refunding bonds shall be payable out of any funds of the district or sub-district, not otherwise dedicated, and shall be secured by a tax on all of the lands in the drainage district or sub-drainage district, or on the portion of the lands specified in the petition of the property owners.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.39 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.39
Rules and regulations
Status: in_force

In order to accomplish the purposes of the district to manage and control water levels and the growth of aquatic plants and to protect the works, improvements, and property of the district, both immovable and movable, 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 by solid or liquid substance or misuse of the waters of the district or any watercourse therein, the board of commissioners may make and enforce such rules and regulations as it shall deem necessary and advisable:

(1) To manage and control the water level and the growth of aquatic plants in the creek.

(2) 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.

(3) To prescribe the manner of building bridges, piers, boathouses, seawalls, roads, and fences, including fences for the control of livestock or other works in, along, or across any channel or extending into the creek.

(4) To prescribe the manner in which natural or artificial drains, ditches, sewers, pipelines, or other works shall be adjusted to or connected with the works of the district or any watercourse therein and the manner in which the watercourses of the district may be used for sewer outlets for disposal of waste.

(5) To prescribe the permissible uses of the water supply provided by the creek and to prevent the pollution or unnecessary waste of such water supply.

(6) To prescribe 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.

(7) To establish rules and regulations and cause them to be enforced with regard to activities engaged in upon Kepler Creek which is not regulated by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission.

Acts 1995, No. 443, §1, eff. June 17, 1995.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.38 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.38
Parcel fee
Status: in_force

A.(1) The Kepler 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, §1, eff. June 17, 1995.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:358 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 358
Right of possession; limitation by court
Status: in_force

A. If there are no buildings located wholly or partially upon the property described in the petition, the levee district or levee and drainage district is entitled to enter upon and take possession of the property upon the deposit of the estimated compensation.

B. If any building is located wholly or partially upon the property described in the petition, the court may postpone the right of entry for any period not to exceed thirty days from the date on which the last of any parties defendant was served with the notice. However, the board of commissioners of the levee district or levee and drainage district in its discretion may request the court to order possession surrendered after a longer delay. The court may fix a reasonable rental to be paid to the levee district or levee and drainage district by a defendant in possession of the property for each day he remains in possession after the withdrawal of any part of the amount deposited.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2319.9 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2319.9
Equipment warranty; pursuit of actions
Status: in_force

All equipment-lease-purchase contracts shall provide that whatever interests, claims and rights including warranties of the selected equipment which the nonprofit lessor may have against the selected vendor of the selected equipment which is the subject of such equipment-lease-purchase contract, shall be assigned to the lessee, and the lessee shall have full right to pursue any and all remedies available to the nonprofit lessor for breach of any warranty against the selected vendor. In addition, all equipment-lease-purchase contracts shall provide that the nonprofit lessor shall join the lessee as a party plaintiff in any cause if required under state law for a successful pursuit of such action. Upon termination of the lease-purchase contract, unless the option to purchase is exercised, all such interests, claims, and rights assigned to the lessee under this Section shall revert to the lessor. In addition, any lease-purchase contract shall provide that the lessee has no right to alienate or encumber the selected equipment during the term of the lease.

Acts 1985, No. 758, §1, eff. July 17, 1985.

{{NOTE: SEE ACTS 1985, NO. 758, §§5 AND 6.}}
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1764 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1764
Corporate status and powers of districts
Status: in_force

A. Any gravity drainage district or gravity sub-drainage district thus created and numbered by the police jury of any parish of the state, or by the joint action of the police juries of any two or more adjoining parishes shall constitute a body corporate in law, with all the powers of a corporation. It shall have perpetual existence, may incur debts and contract obligations; 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 necessary and proper for the carrying out of the purpose and objects for which the drainage or sub-drainage district was created.

B. The drainage or sub-drainage district may expropriate property for the purpose of acquiring land for the necessary public purposes of the district, and shall own the rights-of-way, canals, ditches, and all sites which are acquired either by donation, purchase, prescription, or expropriation, in full ownership.

C.(1) The drainage or sub-drainage district shall have the power and authority to plan, construct, maintain, and operate such works of improvement as land treatments for watershed protection, flood prevention works, irrigation improvements, recreation, municipal and industrial water storage, and fish and wildlife developments. The drainage or sub-drainage district shall have the power and authority to cooperate with and enter into cooperative agreements and arrangements with agencies of the United States of America on a matching fund or any other basis for planning and constructing such works of improvement or other works, facilities, or programs authorized and contemplated by the National Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act, 16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.

(2) All services furnished and work undertaken by East Ascension Consolidated Gravity Drainage District No. 1 or West Ascension Consolidated Gravity Drainage District No. 1 shall be administered by the Ascension Parish president and executed through the parish's regularly constituted departments and agencies.

D. The drainage or sub-drainage district shall have the power and authority to purchase servitudes and rights of ways for their own uses or the use of any state or federal agency with which they may cooperate in connection with some work of improvement. They shall have the power and authority to accept gifts or grants of money, property, or services. 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 district and the inhabitants thereof and the commissioners of a drainage or sub-drainage district for the purpose of securing a proper outlet for the waters of the drainage or sub-drainage district they represent, may extend canals or ditches or both canals and ditches beyond the limits of their respective districts, with the same power and authority of expropriating the right of way in the same manner and to the same extent as if the canals and ditches were wholly within the district they represent.

E. For operation and maintenance of pumping stations, any drainage or sub-drainage district that requires leveeing and pumping to carry out the drainage work authorized by this Section, shall have the power and authority to enter into contracts for the maintenance and repair of pumps without necessity of advertising for bids.

Amended by Acts 1964, No. 187; Acts 2019, No. 269, §1; Acts 2024, No. 417, §1.

1 16 U.S.C.A. §1001 et seq.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2235 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2235
Application
Status: in_force

The provisions of this Part shall be applicable to any political subdivision of the state as defined in Article VI, Section 44 of the Constitution of Louisiana.

Acts 1988, No. 523, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2318.2 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2318.2
Percent for Universal Design Program; established
Status: in_force

A. Recognizing the declaration of rights underlying the state's constitution, government is instituted to protect the rights of the individual and provide for the good of the whole; hence, the legislature declares it to be the public policy of the state that a portion of money spent by the state and state agencies on the construction or renovation of state buildings should be spent on implementing principles of universal design. In pursuit of this policy, the Percent for Universal Design Program is established for the purpose of providing for the implementation of such principles in or on state buildings and grounds to move beyond minimum accessibility requirements, maximize accessibility for all users regardless of their functional capabilities, and bring to the attention of architects, builders, and the public at large the vast benefits that can be realized by implementing universal design principles in the construction and renovation of all buildings, including those privately owned and personal residences.

B. The following terms as used in this Section shall have the meaning provided in this Subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) "Renovation" does not include a project the principal purpose of which is the rehabilitation of plumbing, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, or electrical systems.

(2) "State building" means any building, facility, structure, or park built or renovated using state funds that will be owned by a department or agency in the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of state government, including any state-owned lands or space surrounding or integral to the building. "State building" does not include bridges, tunnels, or sewers, unless such structures are adjuncts of the principal element of the project.

(3) "State funds" or "state money" shall not include federal funds or insurance proceeds for the construction, replacement, renovation, or improvement of a state building damaged by a natural catastrophe when conditions governing the expenditure of such monies specifically preclude their use for the utilization and implementation of universal design features, nor shall it include state monies used as a match for such federal funds or insurance proceeds.

(4) "Universal design" as more fully defined in Subsection C of this Section, means certain design features that are not currently required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, although they may be used to satisfy the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements and when so utilized, the cost may be applied in satisfaction of the two percent monetary requirement of this Section.

C. Universal design is a principle of design guiding a wide range of design disciplines including environments, products, and communications including all of the following:

(1)(a) Equitable Use. The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities.

(b) Guidelines. Provides the same means of use for all users: identical whenever possible; equivalent when not. Avoids segregating or stigmatizing any users. Incorporates provisions for privacy, security, and safety that should be equally available to all users. Makes the design appealing to all users.

(2)(a) Flexibility in Use. The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.

(b) Guidelines. Provides choice in methods of use. Accommodates right or left handed access and use. Provides adaptability to the user's pace.

(3)(a) Simple and Intuitive Use. Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.

(b) Guidelines. Eliminates unnecessary complexity. Consistent with user expectations and intuition. Accommodates a wide range of literacy and language skills. Arranges information consistent with its importance. Provides effective prompting and feedback during and after task completion.

(4)(a) Perceptible Information. The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user's sensory abilities.

(b) Guidelines. Uses different modes (pictorial, verbal, tactile) for redundant presentation of essential information. Provides adequate contrast between essential information and its surroundings. Maximizes "legibility" of essential information. Differentiates elements in ways that can be described which includes making it easy to give instructions or directions. Provides compatibility with a variety of techniques or devices used by people with sensory limitations.

(5)(a) Tolerance for Error. The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.

(b) Guidelines. Arranges elements to minimize hazards and errors: most used elements, most accessible; hazardous elements eliminated, isolated, or shielded. Provides warnings of hazards and errors. Provides fail-safe features. Discourages unconscious action in tasks that require vigilance.

(6)(a) Low Physical Effort. The design can be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue.

(b) Guidelines. Allows user to maintain a neutral body position. Uses reasonable operating forces. Minimizes repetitive actions. Minimizes sustained physical effort.

(7)(a) Size and Space for Approach and Use. Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of user's body size, posture, or mobility.

(b) Guidelines. Provides a clear line of sight to important elements for any seated or standing user. Makes reach to all components comfortable for any seated or standing user. Accommodates variations in hand and grip size. Provides adequate space for the use of assistive devices or personal assistance.

D. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, whenever more than two million dollars of state funds, whether obtained from the sale of bonds or otherwise, is to be spent by a state agency for the construction or renovation of a state building, the agency that contracts for the construction or renovation shall expend two percent of the state money to utilize and incorporate universal design principles.

E. Nothing in this Part shall supercede, restrict, or limit the application of the following laws:

(1) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. §1201 et seq.).

(2) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. §701 et seq.) and ensuing regulations.

(3) The Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. §3601 et seq.).

(4) R.S. 40:1731 through 1744.

(5) R.S. 49:148 through 148.3.

F.(1) The commissioner of administration may adopt rules not inconsistent with the stated intent of this program to implement the provisions of this Section. The commissioner may also solicit the assistance and advice of the Louisiana Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in determining whether a particular design feature complies with the intent and principles of universal design. Neither the Louisiana Chapter of the American Institute of Architects nor any member thereof shall be liable for any opinion, assistance, or advice rendered pursuant to this Section. No member of the general public shall have a cause of action for damages against the state, the commissioner of administration, nor any employee of the division of administration for the inclusion or failure to include a particular design feature.

(2) The rules provided for in this Section shall contain standards for construction and renovation and this Section shall not be implemented until such rules have been finally promulgated in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act and shall be specifically subject to oversight and approval by the House and Senate committees on transportation, highways, and public works.

Acts 2009, No. 368, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2010.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:90.6 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 90.6
Public hearings; reports; review by legislature
Status: in_force

Prior to the convening of each regular session of the legislature, beginning with the 1984 regular session, the committee shall hold public hearings in locations convenient to each designated drainage basin for the purpose of reviewing projects for the coming fiscal year. Prior to each hearing, the office shall publish the appropriate official notice in the necessary journals which shall include a description of the affected areas. The committee shall prepare the final program for the coming fiscal year for submission to the legislature. When this final program is presented to the legislature for funding for the coming fiscal year any project which the legislature determines has not been selected in accordance with the methodology provided for in R.S. 38:90.4 may be deleted by the legislature. However, the legislature shall not add any projects to this final program nor shall the legislature make substitutions for projects which have been removed.

Added by Acts 1982, No. 351, §1. S.C.R. No. 4, 1986 1st Ex. Sess.; S.C.R. No. 2, 1988 1st Ex. Sess.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3097.5 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3097.5
Judicial review
Status: in_force

A. The owner of the affected well or proposed well or any owner of a well in the same aquifer which may be significantly and adversely impacted by the well at issue may appeal devolutively a final determination by the commissioner only to the Nineteenth Judicial District Court. A petition for review must be filed in the district court within thirty days after notice of the final decision being appealed has been given. Copies of the petition shall be served upon the commissioner. The district court shall grant the petition for review. The commissioner shall not be required to file an answer to the petition for review.

B. The provisions of R.S. 49:978.1(C), (D), (F), and (G), including the standard of review, shall apply to petitions for judicial review provided in this Section.

C. Judicial review regarding well restriction orders shall be decided by the court summarily and by preference. In no case shall the date for a final decision on the merits of such review or appeals extend beyond the ninetieth day after receipt by the court of the record for adjudication. The court in its discretion may issue further orders consistent with the Code of Civil Procedure to carry out the summary mandate of such reviews or appeals.

Acts 2003, No. 49, §2, eff. July 1, 2003.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:369 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 369
Examination of juror
Status: in_force

The court shall permit the parties or their attorneys to conduct the examination of a prospective juror and may itself conduct an examination, which shall be limited to ascertaining the qualifications of the juror.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.10 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.10
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 1992, No. 888, §2, eff. July 8, 1992.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1802 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1802
Application of provisions; effect on existing laws
Status: in_force

The provisions of this Part shall apply to gravity drainage or sub-drainage districts authorized to be created under Article XIV of the Constitution of 1921, and created or reorganized under its provisions; and shall not apply to any drainage district created under Article XV of the Constitution of 1921, except as herein otherwise provided in R.S. 38:1801. This Part shall be considered as the general law governing gravity drainage districts or gravity sub-drainage districts under which they must organize in the future. But all laws or parts of laws, general or special, appertaining to drainage or subdrainage districts shall remain in force as to the drainage or subdrainage districts now existing, which are not reorganized under the provisions of this Part.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2234 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2234
Short title
Status: in_force

This Part shall be known as the "Political Subdivisions Telecommunications and Data Processing Procurement Law".

Acts 1988, No. 523, §1; Acts 1992, No. 486, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2573 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2573
Bayou D'Arbonne Lake dam and spillway; name
Status: in_force

A. The dam and spillway at Bayou D'Arbonne Lake is hereby named the "T.T. Fields Dam and Spillway".

B. The Department of Transportation and Development is hereby directed to erect and maintain appropriate signage of this designation.

Acts 2015, No. 33, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:309 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 309
Corporate status and powers of boards; domicile; evidence of acts and proceedings; deposit of funds; warrants
Status: in_force

A. A board of commissioners shall, in addition to the powers herein conferred, be constituted a body politic or a political corporation invested with the powers inherent in corporations.

B. The board may sue and be sued under the style of Board of Commissioners for the respective district. All suits on behalf of the board shall be brought by the president. The board shall at its first regular meeting choose a domicile for the purpose of being sued and keeping its office and archives. Service of process shall be made upon the president or vice president of the board in person.

C. The board may buy, sell, or exchange property, make and execute all contracts, and do and perform all things necessary to carry out the objects of this Chapter, subject to the limitations and duties herein provided. It shall have a corporate seal, and copies of all the regulations and copies of proceedings of the board certified to by its secretary under its corporate seal shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidence of the acts and proceedings of the board.

D. All funds of the board may be deposited with the state treasurer to the credit of the district unless otherwise provided, and all warrants drawn thereon by the president of the board shall specify the indebtedness the warrants are intended to liquidate, in part or in whole, and the funds shall not be drawn from the treasury except on the warrant of the state treasurer as hereinafter provided.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985; Acts 1999, No. 731, §1, eff. July 1, 1999.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3110 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3110
Last resort housing
Status: in_force

In the event that, in the vicinity of any state or local project, comparable, decent, safe and sanitary housing is not available to enable replacement of housing as contemplated by R.S. 38:3105, for whatever reason, then the agency constructing the project may use any method practicable to provide adequate housing, including, but not limited to, payment for the benefit of the displaced person in excess of the sums specified by R.S. 38:3105, acquisition of land and construction of housing, or other methods permitted under federal laws and regulations. This Section shall have both retroactive and prospective effect and shall be interpreted liberally to accomplish the desired result of providing the needed housing.

Added by Acts 1979, No. 369, §1, eff. July 10, 1979. Amended by Acts 1982, No. 230, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1649 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1649
Enlargement of boundaries of district
Status: in_force

The police jury or juries that by ordinance may have created any drainage district under the provisions of this Part, shall enlarge the boundaries thereof so as to include additional lands and property therein when petitioned to that effect by the land owners owning a majority of the acreage of the lands to be added to the drainage district. The petition shall be approved by the board of commissioners and the Department of Public Works.

Certified copies of the ordinance enlarging the boundaries of a drainage district shall be recorded without delay in the drainage district record book kept by the clerk of court and recorder in each parish in which any of the land is situated comprising the drainage district as enlarged.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2326 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2326
Advice and services of department of public works
Status: in_force

The said Authority and the board of commissioners therefor, shall have, with respect to all of the powers and functions prescribed by this Chapter, the advice and the services of the department of public works, State of Louisiana; that it shall be the duty of said department of public works to make such reports, inspections and investigations, render such reports, estimates and recommendations and furnish such plans and specifications as the board of commissioners for said Authority may request.

Added by Acts 1950, No. 261, §6.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1672 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1672
Sale or exchange of bonds; use of proceeds
Status: in_force

The bonds may be sold, or exchanged at not less than par and accrued interest with the holders of the outstanding indebtedness in payment thereof. If sold, the funding or refunding bonds shall be sold in the same manner and under the same provisions as provided in R.S. 38:1653, and the proceeds thereof dedicated exclusively to the retirement of the existing indebtedness of the district or sub-district.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2552 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2552
District as political subdivision and budgetary unit; purpose; free use of water by municipalities of Ruston and Farmerville
Status: in_force

The Bayou D'Arbonne Lake Watershed District shall be a political subdivision of the State of Louisiana and a budgetary unit of the State of Louisiana, which shall have as its purpose the conservation of soil and water, developing the natural resources and wealth of the district for sanitary, agricultural and recreational purposes, as the same may be conducive to the public health, safety, convenience or welfare or of public utility or benefit. The creation of the Bayou D'Arbonne Lake within the said district as hereinafter authorized shall be for the purpose of conserving the soil and water and developing the natural resources and wealth of the district for sanitary, agricultural or recreational purposes, as the same may be conducive to the public health or public utility or benefit.

The municipalities of Ruston and Farmerville are hereby authorized to draw upon and use any water resources or water supply of Bayou D'Arbonne Lake for the benefit and consumption of the residents of those municipalities and such other persons who may use or be served by the water supply system of those municipalities. No charge therefor shall be assessed against said municipalities or any persons served by them. The board of commissioners of the Bayou D'Arbonne Lake Watershed District shall comply and cooperate with said municipalities in their exercise of the authority granted herein.

Added by Acts 1956, No. 9, §2. Amended by Acts 1970, No. 542, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2254 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2254
Delivery tickets and itemized invoices
Status: in_force

All persons or companies selling to the state or any of its agencies, boards, districts or commissions shall comply with the following provisions:

(1) A delivery ticket must accompany the things sold when delivered and

(2) A complete itemized invoice must be sent to the proper place immediately.

Added by Acts 1958, No. 318, §4.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.6 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.6
Election of officers; record book
Status: in_force

Immediately after the members of the board of commissioners have been appointed by the governor, or as soon thereafter as 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 select the name by which any lake in the district is to be known and cause it 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.

Acts 1992, No. 888, §2, eff. July 8, 1992.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.44 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.44
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 said leases are subject to the terms and conditions of the servitude executed in favor of the commission.

Acts 1995, No. 443, §1, eff. June 17, 1995.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3097.1 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3097.1
Legislative findings; purpose; effect
Status: in_force

A. As the effective management and planning in the utilization of the state's water resources is hereby found and declared to be a matter of public interest, the state must have a comprehensive ground water management program. Said program must take into consideration the requirements, needs, and obligations of all stakeholders of water in the state of Louisiana. The program shall be based on good management practices, sound science, and economics according to generally accepted principles in those disciplines. It must include as a goal the long-term sustainability of the state's ground water aquifers and preservation of the state's ecological welfare, while considering the economic value thereof to the state's role in interstate commerce and the economic welfare of its citizens. Further, it must provide for the efficient administration in the utilization and management of ground water resources, including the gathering of data related to the state's water resources. Thus, the state's water resources must be protected, conserved, managed, and replenished in an effective manner, with due regard for the foregoing considerations and in the best interest of all the citizens of the state.

B. The legislature hereby recognizes the need for uniformity in the establishment of a comprehensive ground water management program. Therefore, the state shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the management of ground water and this Chapter shall supersede and preempt any rule, regulation, code, statute, or ordinance of any political subdivision or other unit of local government. However, nothing contained in this Chapter shall be construed to deny such local government the authority over siting facilities pursuant to any general land use planning or zoning or to deny soil and water conservation districts powers granted pursuant to R.S. 3:1208.

C. In accordance with the legislative intent provided herein, the statewide ground water resource management program and any rule, regulation, or order of the secretary shall recognize historic use of ground water resources in the state and may incorporate the use of appropriate incentives to encourage conservation of ground water resources and the appropriate utilization of alternate water supplies where appropriate. Consistent with the provisions of this Chapter and in consultation with the secretary, the incentives and provisions of alternate water resources may be provided by the state, or any local subdivision thereof, by virtue of tax incentives, tax credits, and physical projects transporting or providing alternate water resources to existing ground water users and by any private person with an interest in conserving such ground water resources for public use.

Acts 2003, No. 49, §2, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2012, No. 471, §2; Acts 2025, No. 458, §5, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.271 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.271
Playgrounds, parks, and other facilities
Status: in_force

The board of commissioners may create and construct playgrounds, picnic grounds, grounds for recreation, parks, and any and all other facilities to accommodate the public and to provide adequate access to water resources in the district as the board deems necessary.

Acts 2003, No. 1228, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2318.1 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2318.1
Louisiana "No Bidding of Architectural and Engineering Professional Services" policy
Status: in_force

A. It is the policy of the state of Louisiana and its political subdivisions and agencies to select architectural and engineering professional services on the basis of competence and qualifications for a fair and reasonable price. For projects using state or local funding, neither the state nor any of its political subdivisions, agencies, or persons they contract through may select architects, engineers, landscape architects, and land surveyors where price or price-related information is a factor in the selection.

B. A political subdivision, agency, or persons they contract through shall negotiate a contract for professional services at a compensation rate that the agency head determines is fair and reasonable with the firm selected. If the political subdivision, agency, or persons they contract through is unable to negotiate a satisfactory contract with that firm, the political subdivision, agency, or persons they contract through shall formally terminate negotiations and then undertake negotiations with the next selected firm, continuing the process until a contract is negotiated satisfactorily.

C. However, the provisions of this Section shall have no effect on and shall not supersede any contract permitted pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 1 of Title 48 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 relating to the authority for the Department of Transportation and Development to enter into design-build contracts or public-private partnership contracts, and the authority of the Louisiana Transportation Authority to enter into public-private partnership contracts, R.S. 38:85, 2225.2.1, or 2225.2.2 relating to the authority for certain political subdivisions to enter into design-build contracts, or R.S. 34:3523, relating to any port project that a notice of intent is advertised for in accordance with R.S. 34:3523, prior to December 31, 2020.

D. It is the policy of the state of Louisiana that all records, as defined in R.S. 44:1(A)(2)(a), involved or dealing with the selection of architectural and engineering professional services shall be open to the public in accord with the intent of Article XII, Section 3 of the Constitution of Louisiana and R.S. 44:31.

Acts 2006, No. 407, §1, eff. July 1, 2006; Acts 2007, No. 373, §1, eff. July 10, 2007; Acts 2008, No. 391, §1; Acts 2012, No. 755, §2, eff. June 12, 2012; Acts 2016, No. 519, §1, eff. June 13, 2016; Acts 2021, No. 200, §1; Acts 2024, No. 788, §1; Acts 2025, No. 180, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2214 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2214
Designation of time and place for opening bids; right to reject bids
Status: in_force

A. The public entity desiring to let a public contract shall, in the advertisement for bids, designate the time and place that the bids will be received and shall at that time and place publicly open the bids and read them aloud; however, no public entity shall accept or take any bids, including receiving any hand-delivered bids, on days which are recognized as holidays by the United States Postal Service.

B. The public entity may reject any and all bids for just cause. Just cause for the purpose of the construction of public works is defined, but is not limited to the following circumstances:

(1) The public entity's unavailability of funds sufficient for the construction of the proposed public work.

(2) The failure of any bidder to submit a bid within an established threshold of the preconstruction estimates for that public work, as part of the bid specifications.

(3) A substantial change by the public entity prior to the award in the scope or design of the proposed public work.

(4) A determination by the public entity not to build the proposed public work within twelve months of the date for the public opening and reading of bids.

(5) The disqualification by the public entity of all bidders.

C. Bids containing patently obvious, unintentional, and substantial mechanical, clerical, or mathematical errors, or errors of unintentional omission of a substantial quantity of work, labor, material, or services made directly in the compilation of the bid, may be withdrawn by the contractor if clear and convincing sworn, written evidence of such errors is furnished to the public entity within forty-eight hours of the bid opening excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. Such errors must be clearly shown by objective evidence drawn from inspection of the original work papers, documents, or materials used in the preparation of the bid sought to be withdrawn. If the public entity determines that the error is a patently obvious mechanical, clerical, or mathematical error, or unintentional omission of a substantial quantity of work, labor, material, or services, as opposed to a judgment error, and that the bid was submitted in good faith it shall accept the withdrawal and return the bid security to the contractor.

D.(1) A contractor who attempts to withdraw a bid under the provisions of this Section shall not be allowed to resubmit a bid on the project. If the bid withdrawn is the lowest bid, the next lowest bid may be accepted. If all bids are rejected no withdrawal of the bid which would result in the award of the contract on another bid of the same bidder, his partner, or to a corporation or business venture owned by or in which he has an interest shall be permitted. No bidder who is permitted to withdraw a bid shall supply any material or labor to, or perform any subcontract work agreement for, any person to whom a contract or subcontract is awarded in the performance of the contract for which the withdrawn bid was submitted.

(2) Whoever violates the provisions of the foregoing sentence shall be imprisoned for not more than six months, or fined not more than two thousand dollars, or both.

Acts 1991, No. 1043, §1, eff. July 26, 1991; Acts 1995, No. 484, §1; Acts 2010, No. 625, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:2327.2 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 2327.2
Sabine River Authority Law Enforcement Division; law enforcement officers; qualifications; authority
Status: in_force

A. The executive director of the Sabine River Authority may employ one or more persons as river authority law enforcement officers, within the law enforcement division, who shall be charged with the responsibility of maintaining order and exercising general police power within the territorial boundaries of the Authority, including any property and waters under the jurisdiction or management of the board of commissioners. The jurisdiction of such officers shall be restricted to properties and waters in those parishes within the jurisdiction of the Authority where the Authority does not have an interagency law enforcement agreement with the parish sheriff. Each person employed by the executive director of the Authority as a law enforcement officer 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 executive director and the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, subject to applicable civil service rules and regulations. Persons employed as law enforcement officers for the Authority shall have the right to exercise the power of arrest as peace officers, according to law, within the area of their jurisdiction as provided in this Section.

B. Each law enforcement officer shall execute a bond in an amount set by the board of commissioners in favor of the state of Louisiana for the faithful performance of his duties. The premium on such bond shall be paid by the Authority.

C. Any person applying for a law enforcement position with the Sabine River Authority shall have completed an accredited Louisiana Peace Officers Standards Training Academy and basic firearms training program and possess a current P.O.S.T. certification as provided for in R.S. 40:2405. However, the executive director may employ any person in an entry level position in the law enforcement division while such person is attending a certified law enforcement training course and basic firearms training program prior to his being commissioned as a peace officer. The Authority shall pay all costs and expenses associated with attending any law enforcement training course and basic firearms training programs.

D. The board of commissioners may seek, accept, and expend state and federal funds for the purposes of establishing and maintaining a law enforcement division for the security of the property and water within the jurisdiction or management of the Authority. In order to achieve this goal, the Authority may purchase fleet vehicles to accommodate the staffing and equipment needs of the law enforcement division. Additionally, the board of commissioners shall provide all persons employed as law enforcement officers with all required duty gear including defensive and offensive weapons, personal protection equipment, and body armor. However, the board shall be subject to R.S. 38:2211 et seq. when purchasing equipment and supplies.

E. The provisions of this Section do not entitle any such law enforcement officer to state supplemental pay.

F. The provisions of this Section shall be implemented provided funding is available.

Acts 2005, No. 429, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:497 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 497
Binding obligation of state
Status: in_force

This Subpart and the laws providing for the creation and government of the levee districts and levee and drainage districts and their authority or power to levy and collect taxes and local contributions and to issue bonds shall not be repealed or modified to the detriment of the bonds authorized by this Subpart. This obligation not to repeal or modify these statutes is declared to be binding on the state and to be part of the contract of the bonds.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:421 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 421
Local assessments or forced contributions
Status: in_force

A. Atchafalaya Basin Levee District. The board of commissioners of the Atchafalaya Basin Levee District may levy annually a local assessment or forced contribution of two and a half cents on each acre of land within the district and sixty dollars per mile on railroad lines within the district.

B. Bossier Levee District. (1) The board of commissioners of the Bossier Levee District may levy annually a local assessment or forced contribution not exceeding ten cents per acre of land not in cultivation and a local assessment or forced contribution not exceeding twenty-five cents per acre of land cleared or cultivated within the district for the year in which the local assessment or forced contribution is levied and one hundred dollars per mile on railroad lines within the district. If the board deems the funds provided for in this Part are inadequate to locate, construct, and repair levees to prevent disastrous floods, the board may levy a special assessment or forced contribution not to exceed one dollar per head on all horses and mules.

(2) The tax shall be collected by the sheriffs of the respective parishes in the manner and under regulations which the board may direct.

C. Caddo Levee District. The board of commissioners of the Caddo Levee District may levy annually a local assessment or forced contribution not exceeding five cents on each acre of land within the district and sixty dollars per mile on railroad lines within the district.

D. Fifth Louisiana Levee District. The board of commissioners of the Fifth Louisiana Levee District may levy annually a local assessment or forced contribution of five cents on each acre of land and one hundred dollars per mile on railroads of standard gauge or of gauge greater than standard gauge and twenty dollars per mile on railroads of less than standard gauge within the district. Neither side tracks nor switch tracks shall be included in the estimate of trackage for the purposes of the assessment or forced contribution.

E. Lafourche Basin Conservation Levee and Drainage District. The board of commissioners of the Lafourche Basin Conservation Levee and Drainage District may levy annually a local assessment or forced contribution of two and one-half cents per acre on all lands within the district and one hundred dollars per mile on all standard gauge lines on railroads in the district upon railroads now constructed and which may be constructed in this state whose entire length does not exceed one hundred miles. The mileage assessment or forced contribution to be borne by the shorter roads shall not exceed fifty dollars per mile.

F. Lake Borgne Basin Levee District. The board of commissioners of the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District may levy annually a local assessment or tax of sixty dollars per mile on railroad lines within the district.

G. Natchitoches Levee and Drainage District. The board of commissioners of the Natchitoches Levee and Drainage District may levy annually a local assessment or forced contribution not exceeding five cents on each acre of land within the district and one hundred dollars per mile on railroad lines and fifty dollars per mile on pipelines for the transportation of oil and gas within the district.

H. Nineteenth Louisiana Levee District. The board of commissioners of the Nineteenth Louisiana Levee District may levy annually a local assessment or forced contribution not in excess of twenty-five cents on each acre of land in the district, one hundred dollars per mile on the railroad lines in the district, and fifty dollars per mile on oil and gas pipelines in the district.

I. Repealed by Acts 2006, No. 713, §4, eff. July 1, 2006.

J. Pontchartrain Levee District. The board of commissioners of the Pontchartrain Levee District may levy annually a special assessment or forced contribution not to exceed three cents per acre on land and a special assessment not to exceed one hundred dollars per mile on each and every mile of main line of railroad within the district.

K. Red River, Atchafalaya, and Bayou Beouf Levee District. The board of commissioners of the Red River, Atchafalaya, and Bayou Beouf Levee District may levy annually a forced contribution or local assessment not to exceed twenty-five cents per acre and one hundred dollars per mile of railroad lines.

L. Red River Levee and Drainage District. The board of commissioners of the Red River Levee and Drainage District may levy annually a local assessment or forced contribution not exceeding five cents on each acre of land within the district and sixty dollars per mile on railroad lines within the district.

M. Tensas Basin Levee District. The board of commissioners of the Tensas Basin Levee District may levy annually a forced contribution or local assessment not to exceed five cents per acre on land within the district and sixty dollars per mile of all railroad lines within the district of standard or greater than standard gauge and thirty dollars per mile for all railroad lines within the district of less than standard gauge. No railroad the entire length of which is less than one hundred miles shall be liable to an annual assessment or contribution of more than thirty dollars per mile.

N. In General. A local assessment and forced contribution shall not be levied on lands not alluvial. Local assessments and forced contributions shall be placed on the assessment rolls of the parishes and parts of parishes in each district and shall be collected in the same manner and deposited as hereinabove provided for the district levee tax. The funds shall be credited by the treasurer to the account of the individual levee district and shall be paid out as hereinabove provided.

O. Exemption of produce and other commodities from the special assessment or forced contribution. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, produce and other commodities, which shall include but not be limited to corn, cotton, esculents, hay, oats, oranges, oysters, sugar, syrup, and molasses, shall be exempt from the special assessment or forced contribution.

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985; Acts 2005, No. 58, §1, eff. for taxable periods beginning on or after Jan 1, 2006; Acts 2006, No. 713, §4, eff. July 1, 2006; Acts 2024, No. 177, §1.

{{NOTE: REGARDING R.S. 38:421(G), SEE ALSO R.S. 38:1117(A)(1) AS PER ACTS 1985, NO. 466, §2, WHICH MAY BE CONFLICTING.}}
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.148 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.148
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 immovable and movable, 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 by solid, liquid, or substance 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, fences, including fences for the control of livestock or other works in, along, or across any channel or extending into the reservoir.

(3) To prescribe the manner in which natural or artificial drains, ditches, 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.

(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.

Acts 2001, No. 474, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3304 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3304
Meetings of board; quorum; officers; removal of commissioners; salaries and expenses; requirements; frequency and location
Status: in_force

A. A majority of the commissioners shall constitute a quorum to do business. They shall organize and elect a president and a vice president from their members and such other officers as the board deems necessary. They shall appoint a secretary and an attorney. The salary of the secretary shall be fixed by the board.

B. In case of the death, resignation, absence, inability, or failure to act of the president, the secretary shall call the board together and the board shall appoint one of their number to serve as acting president, and he shall perform all the duties of president. In case of neglect of duty by any commissioner, or of his failure, without good cause, to attend regular meetings for three times successively, the governor, on request of the board, shall remove the commissioner and appoint his successor. The commissioners may fix the per diem of the members appointed by the governor, however, the per diem of each member shall not exceed seventy-five percent of the rate allowable for per diem deductions pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 162(h)(1)(B)(ii) during the time such member is in actual attendance upon the board or performing duties authorized by the board. Such per diem shall be payable for a maximum of twenty-four days per year, except if an emergency is declared by the governor, during the period of such emergency as determined by the governor, the board shall be authorized to hold as many meetings or emergency activities as the board deems necessary and the members shall be paid per diem for such meetings or activities. The board shall provide at least two weeks notice to the public of its intent to vote on whether or not to fix the per diem of its members above sixty dollars.

C.(1) The board shall adhere to the Open Meetings Law, R.S. 42:11 et seq. The board shall operate under Robert's Rules of Order.

(2) The board shall designate the time and select the place for holding its regular sessions, which may be convened at any time upon call of the president or upon call of two of the commissioners, but the board shall meet at least quarterly. All meetings of the board shall be held at a meeting space located in a public building and open to the public for the purposes of the meetings. The location of the meetings shall be rotated among public buildings in Ascension, East Baton Rouge, and Livingston parishes.

(3) The board shall post agendas for all meetings on its website at least twenty-four hours prior to meetings. The board shall stream all district meetings live on the internet.

Added by Acts 1981, No. 896, §1. Acts 1983, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 12, §1, eff. Jan. 19, 1983; Acts 1984, No. 907, §1; Acts 2015, No. 423, §1; Acts 2018, No. 421, §1; Acts 2022, No. 490, §1, eff. June 16, 2022.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.31 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.31
Creation
Status: in_force

There is hereby created a recreation and water conservation district to be known as the "Kepler Creek Recreation and Water Conservation District".

Acts 1995, No. 443, §1, eff. June 17, 1995.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:1572 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 1572
Acceptance of transfer by municipality
Status: in_force

Any municipality may by ordinance, passed by its governing authority, accept the transfer, from any drainage district whose territorial limits lie wholly within the boundaries of the municipality and all of whose bonded and other indebtedness has been paid, and satisfied, of the canals, works, and property of the drainage district. The title to the property shall remain in the public.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.168 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.168
Contracts let by board
Status: in_force

Any and all contracts of the district shall be let by the board of commissioners under the provisions of the Public Bid Law, R.S. 38:2181 et seq.

Acts 2001, No. 475, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:3087.61 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 38 / Section 3087.61
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 1995, No. 443, §2, eff. June 17, 1995.