reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
LA Rev Stat § 38:1618 (2021)
2021 Louisiana Laws|Revised Statutes|Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements|§1618. Sub-drainage districts

RS 1618 - Sub-drainage districts  The board of commissioners of any drainage district may form two or more sub-drainage districts out of the territory comprising the drainage district, by simple resolution to that effect, approved by the engineer of the district, defining the limits of the sub-drainage district. The sub-drainage district may be composed entirely of the land of one individual or corporation. No sub-district may be created after the adoption of the plan for reclamation for the drainage district. The sub-drainage district may be enlarged or diminished and the boundaries thereof changed by the board of commissioners of the drainage district by simple resolution, approved by the engineer of the district, prior to the adoption of the plan for reclamation of any of the lands affected by the change in boundaries.  The sub-drainage districts, in all matters affecting the reclamation and draining thereof, the incurring of debt and the issuance of bonds and the taxing of the lands therein, shall be treated as if they were drainage districts, except that the governing authority thereof shall be the board of commissioners of the drainage district out of which they were formed, or except as may be otherwise provided in this Part.  The drainage commissioners of any district created under this Part, upon creating a sub-drainage district shall appoint any number not exceeding three property owners, or representatives of property owners, of the sub-drainage district, who may or may not be drainage commissioners of the district, for the purpose of superintending and looking after the work of reclamation and drainage. The committee shall act under the direction of the drainage commissioners, but may conduct the work of drainage and reclamation, maintain the drainage, and make their report from time to time to the drainage commissioners of the district. The committee may employ and discharge laborers, perform ordinary works, and solicit and enter into contracts. Any contract in excess of one hundred dollars must be approved by the board of commissioners of the drainage district in which the sub-drainage district is situated.
LA Rev Stat § 38:1619 (2021)
2021 Louisiana Laws|Revised Statutes|Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements|§1619. Acreage tax

RS 1619 - Acreage tax  A. The board of commissioners of drainage district organized under the provisions of this Part, immediately after organizing, shall levy and order the assessment and collection of a uniform acreage tax of not more than twenty-five cents per acre upon each acre of land within the limits of the drainage district, to be used to pay the expenses to be incurred in organizing the district, making surveys of the district, assessing benefits and damages, and to pay other expenses necessary to be incurred before the board of commissioners shall be empowered by this Part to provide funds to pay the total cost of works and improvements of the district. In case the boundary lines of the district are subsequently extended so as to include additional lands within its limits, the same uniform tax shall be made immediately upon the additionally included land.  B. Neither the state nor its subdivisions shall ever be liable for the acreage tax or forced contribution authorized by this Section.  C. As soon as the tax is levied, the secretary of the board of commissioners shall assess the tax against each acre of land in the drainage district, upon a triplicate assessment roll suitably bound, and shall file one copy thereof with the recorder of mortgages of the parish or parishes in which the lands of the district are situated, one copy with the tax collector of the parish or parishes, and shall keep the third copy in the records of the board of commissioners of the drainage district. If the drainage district is situated in more than one parish, the assessment roll for each parish shall embrace and include only the lands situated in that parish.  D. The tax shall be due and collectible and shall be a tax lien upon the lands against which it is assessed, immediately upon the rolls being filed as aforesaid, and shall become delinquent on December 31 of the year in which it has been levied.  E. The tax shall be collected and payment thereof enforced and be paid over to the board of commissioners of the drainage district in the same manner as the other taxes provided for in this Part.  F. If the sum received from the uniform tax authorized by this Section exceeds the total cost of the preliminary expenses for which it was levied, the surplus shall be prorated and refunded to the landowners paying the uniform tax.  G. If the report of the board of appraisers, as confirmed by the court, shows that there are lands within the drainage district which will not be benefited by putting into effect the plan for reclamation and against which no benefits have been assessed, then any uniform acreage tax which has been assessed against the land and paid by the owner or owners thereof shall be refunded to the owner or owners by the board of commissioners.  Amended by Acts 1975, No. 520, §2.
LA Rev Stat § 38:1620 (2021)
2021 Louisiana Laws|Revised Statutes|Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements|§1620. Attorneys

RS 1620 - Attorneys  The board of commissioners of every drainage district created under the provisions of this Part may employ an attorney, to act for the drainage district, and to advise the board of commissioners. His employment shall be evidenced by resolution of the board and by an agreement in writing, which as far as possible, shall specify the amount to be paid to the attorney for all services to be rendered by him. The attorney shall conduct all legal proceedings and suits in court where the drainage district or any sub-drainage district thereof is a party or interested, and in all legal matters affecting the district or any sub-district shall advise the board of commissioners, all officers, employees, or agents thereof, and generally, shall look after, supervise, and attend to all matters of a legal nature affecting the drainage district, or any sub-district. When the board of commissioners may deem it necessary, they may, by and with the advice of the attorney and under like terms and conditions, employ an additional attorney or attorneys. For the work done by the attorney or attorneys in connection with the organization of the district, the assessing of benefits and the creating of debt and issuing of bonds, the board shall pay a fee not in excess of one and one-half per cent of the total benefits assessed by the board of appraisers as confirmed by the court.
LA Rev Stat § 38:1622 (2021)
2021 Louisiana Laws|Revised Statutes|Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements|§1622. Petitions to proceed with work

RS 1622 - Petitions to proceed with work  Upon the adoption and filing of the plan for reclamation, the owners of a majority in acres of the lands in the drainage district if they desire to proceed with the work of reclaiming the drainage district, or the owners of a majority in acres of the lands in any subdrainage district, if they desire to proceed with the work of reclaiming the lands in the sub-drainage district, may respectively present a petition to that effect to the board of commissioners of the drainage district, signed by the landowners. When so petitioned, the board of commissioners of the drainage district shall proceed with the reclamation of the district or sub-district, the incurring of debt, the issuance of bonds, and the levy, assessment, and collection of taxes as hereinafter provided.
LA Rev Stat § 38:1623 (2021)
2021 Louisiana Laws|Revised Statutes|Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements|§1623. Appointment and duties of board of appraisers

RS 1623 - Appointment and duties of board of appraisers  Within twenty days after having been petitioned for the carrying out of the plan for reclamation of the drainage district or of any sub-district, the board of commissioners shall name and appoint three appraisers who shall be residents of Louisiana, over the age of twenty-one years, who shall not be landowners in the drainage districts, nor related within the fourth degree of consanguinity to any person owning land in the district, nor be an officer or stockholder or bondholder of any corporation owning land in the district. These facts affecting the qualification of appraisers shall be made affirmatively to appear in the oath of each appraiser, and the oath shall make prima facie proof that the appraiser was legally qualified to act as an appraiser.  The three appraisers shall be known as "Board of Appraisers". They shall appraise the land within and without the drainage district or sub-district to be acquired for rights of way, holding basins, levees, canals, pumping plant sites, and other drainage works of the district, and to assess benefits and damages accruing to all land in the district or sub-district and other property by reason of the execution of the plan for reclamation.
LA Rev Stat § 38:1624 (2021)
2021 Louisiana Laws|Revised Statutes|Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements|§1624. Notice of appointment and meeting of appraisers; oath; organization

RS 1624 - Notice of appointment and meeting of appraisers; oath; organization The secretary of the board of commissioners of the drainage district shall notify each of the appraisers of his appointment by written or printed notice, in which shall be stated the time and place for the first meeting of the appraisers.  The secretary of the board of commissioners shall attend the meeting, and shall furnish to the appraisers a complete list of all lands within the drainage district or within any sub-drainage district which is to be reclaimed, or adjacent to the district or sub-district as may be affected by the carrying out and putting into effect of the plan for reclamation, with the names of owners of the lands as of the date of the filing of the petition for reclamation. The secretary shall also furnish the appraisers a copy of the plan for reclamation, with all maps and profiles, as prepared by the engineer of the district.  The appraisers at or before the meeting shall each take and subscribe to an oath, in which shall appear the facts necessary to show that the appraiser is qualified to act as an appraiser, and further to the effect that he will faithfully and impartially discharge his duties as appraiser and make true report of the work done by him and the other appraisers.  The appraisers shall also at the meeting elect one of their number as chairman, and the secretary of the board of commissioners shall be ex-officio secretary of the board of appraisers during their continuance in office. A majority of the appraisers shall constitute a quorum and shall control the action of the board of appraisers on all questions.
LA Rev Stat § 38:1626 (2021)
2021 Louisiana Laws|Revised Statutes|Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements|§1626. Report of findings of appraisers; fees

RS 1626 - Report of findings of appraisers; fees  The board of appraisers shall prepare a report of their findings, which shall be arranged in tabular form, the columns of which shall be headed as follows: Column one, "Owner of property assessed"; Column two, "Description of property assessed"; Column three, "Number of acres assessed"; Column four, "Amount of benefits assessed"; Column five, "Number of acres taken for right of way"; Column six, "Value of property taken"; Column seven, "Damages"; Column eight, "Value of improvements constructed by landowners". They shall also, by and with the advice of the engineer of the district, estimate the cost of works set out in the plan for reclamation, which shall include the cost of property required for rights of way, holding basins, and other works, and damages, and the value of improvements already constructed by landowners as above set forth, and the probable expense of organization and administration, as estimated by the board of commissioners, and shall tabulate the costs. The report shall be signed by at least a majority of the appraisers, and shall be filed with the secretary of the drainage district. The secretary of the board of commissioners shall perform all clerical work of the board of appraisers; and shall, under the advice, supervision, and direction of the attorney for the district, prepare their report. The board of appraisers shall report to the board of commissioners the number of days each has been employed and the actual expenses incurred. Each appraiser shall be paid a reasonable fee for his services, and necessary expenses in addition thereto.
LA Rev Stat § 38:1629 (2021)
2021 Louisiana Laws|Revised Statutes|Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements|§1629. Rejection of reclamation plan; submission of new or amended plan

RS 1629 - Rejection of reclamation plan; submission of new or amended plan  If after hearing all contests and considering the report of the board of appraisers, the court shall find that the estimated costs of works and improvements as reported by the appraisers, or as amended by the court, exceed the estimated benefits, the court shall decree the board of commissioners unauthorized to put into effect the plan for reclamation of the district or sub-district, as the case may be, and the clerk of the court shall certify a copy of the decree to the secretary of the board of commissioners who shall enter the decree in the records of the drainage district.  In case a plan for reclamation is rejected by the court as above provided, the board of commissioners, when petitioned to that effect by the landowners owning a majority of the land in the drainage or sub-drainage district, as the case may be, may cause other and amended plans for reclamation to be prepared by the engineer. The procedure in the case of the new or amended plan for reclamation shall be the procedure provided in the case of the original plan for reclamation; and the funds with which to pay the preliminary expenses of the new or amended plan for reclamation, the making of additional surveys, new assessments, and other necessary expenses, shall be advanced by the petitioning landowners, and reimbursed to them by the board of commissioners when the funds therefor shall be available.
LA Rev Stat § 38:1630 (2021)
2021 Louisiana Laws|Revised Statutes|Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements|§1630. Board of commissioners to carry out reclamation plan; letting contracts

RS 1630 - Board of commissioners to carry out reclamation plan; letting contracts  Upon the filing with the secretary of the board of commissioners of a certified copy of the decree of the court, the board of commissioners of the district may reclaim the district or sub-district, in accordance with the plan for reclamation, and build, construct, excavate, and complete all or any works and improvements which may be needed to carry out, maintain and protect the plan for reclamation. To accomplish that end, the board of commissioners may employ men and teams and purchase machinery, employ men to operate the machinery, and directly have charge of and construct the works and improvements, or by the use of other or more efficient means than provided for in the plan adopted. They may, in their discretion, let the contract for the works and improvements either as a whole or in sections, and when the contract or contracts are let, they shall be advertised and let to the lowest and best bidder, who shall give a good and approved bond, with ample security, conditioned that he will well and promptly carry out the contract for the work and improvements, and further conditioned as may be otherwise provided by law. The contract shall be in writing and complete plans and specifications of the work to be done and the improvements to be made under the contract shall be attached to and made a part of the contract. The contract shall be prepared by the attorney for the district, and before the work is commenced shall be approved by the board of commissioners, signed by the president of the board and by the contractor, and shall be executed in duplicate. The chief engineer shall be the superintendent of all the works and improvements, and shall, whenever required, and at least once each year, make a full report to the board of all work done and improvements made and make the suggestions and recommendations to the board as he may deem proper.
LA Rev Stat § 38:1631 (2021)
2021 Louisiana Laws|Revised Statutes|Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements|§1631. Tax levy for cost of work

RS 1631 - Tax levy for cost of work  After the list of lands, and other property, with the assessed benefits and the decree and judgment of court, have been certified by the district court clerk and transmitted to the secretary of the board of commissioners, then the board of commissioners shall without any unnecessary delay, levy a tax of the portion of the benefits on all lands, railroad, and other property in the district to which benefits have been assessed, which may be found necessary by the board of commissioners to pay the costs of the completion of the proposed works and improvements as shown in the plan for reclamation, and in carrying out the objects of the district, and plus ten percent of the total amount for emergencies. The tax shall be apportioned to and levied on each tract of land or other property in the district in proportion to the benefits assessed and not in excess thereof. In case bonds are issued, then the amount of the interest, as estimated by the board of commissioners plus ten per centum thereof for emergencies, which will accrue on the bonds shall be included and added to the tax, but the interest to accrue on account of the issuing of the bonds shall not be considered as a part of the cost of construction in determining whether or not the expenses and costs of making the improvements are or are not equal to or in excess of the benefits assessed. The secretary of the board of commissioners, as soon as the total tax is levied, shall, at the expense of the district, prepare a list of all taxes levied, in the form of a well bound book, which shall be endorsed and named "Drainage Tax Record of _____ Drainage District _____". This endorsement shall also be printed or written at the top of each page in the book, and shall be signed and certified by the president and secretary of the board of commissioners, attested by the seal of the district, and the book shall thereafter become a permanent record in the office of the secretary.
LA Rev Stat § 38:1632 (2021)
2021 Louisiana Laws|Revised Statutes|Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements|§1632. Tax lien on property; certificate and tables; record

RS 1632 - Tax lien on property; certificate and tables; record  All drainage taxes, together with all penalties for default in payment of the taxes, and all costs in collecting the taxes, shall, from the date of filing the certificate hereinafter mentioned in the office of the clerk of court and recorder of mortgages for the parish wherein the lands and other properties are situated, until paid, constitute a tax lien upon all of the lands and other property against which the taxes shall be levied. The tax lien shall be evidenced by a certificate substantially in the following form: State of Louisiana ) ) ss. Parish of ________ ) To the Clerk of Court and Recorder of Mortgages, _____________ Parish, Louisiana. This is to certify that by virtue and authority of the provisions of R.S. 38:1631, the Board of Commissioners of _____ Drainage District, in which are situated lands and other property in the parish of _____ in the State of Louisiana, have and do hereby certify the tax authorized thereby, which tax and the land and other property against which the same is levied in your parish are described in the following table, in which table are: (1) the names of the owners of the land and other property as they appeared in the report of the board of appraisers, assessing benefits in the district; (2) the descriptions of the land and other property opposite the names of the owners; and (3) the amount of the taxes levied on each tract of land or piece of property; to-wit: (here insert such table).  The tax shall be payable in annual installments; the amount of each installment as well as the amount of the maintenance tax will be determined and certified to the tax collector of your parish not later than the first day of September of each year. The aforesaid tax and the maintenance taxes which may be levied from time to time are hereby declared a tax lien upon all land and other property herein and heretofore described.  Witness the signature of the president of the board of commissioners attested by the seal of said district and the signature of the secretary of said board, this _____ day of _________ A.D. 19___  ___________________________ President. Seal Attest _______________________ Secretary. The certificate and tables shall be prepared in a well bound book and filed in the office of the clerk of court and recorder of mortgages of each of the parishes having lands in the district as it may affect the land or other property in his parish, where it shall become a permanent record of the office. The book or books shall be prepared by the secretary of the board of commissioners at the expense of the drainage district, and shall be designated as the "Drainage Tax Record". Each clerk of court and recorder shall receive a fee of one dollar for filing and preserving the book. The "Drainage Tax Record" shall also be recorded by the clerk of court and recorder in the "Drainage District Record Book" of his office.
LA Rev Stat § 38:1633 (2021)
2021 Louisiana Laws|Revised Statutes|Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements|§1633. Levy of maintenance tax

RS 1633 - Levy of maintenance tax  To maintain and preserve the ditches, drains, levees, or other improvements, and to strengthen, repair, and restore them, when needed, and for the purpose of defraying the current expenses of the district, or sub-district, the board of commissioners may, upon the completion of the improvements and on or before the first day of September in each year thereafter, levy a tax upon each tract or parcel of land and upon private corporate property within the district or sub-district, to be known as a maintenance tax. The maintenance tax shall be apportioned upon the basis of the net assessments of benefits accruing for original construction, shall not exceed five per cent thereof in any one year, and shall be certified to the sheriff and ex-officio tax collector of each parish in which lands of the district are situated in the same book, in like manner and at the same time as the annual installment tax is certified, but in a separate column, under the heading, "Maintenance Tax". The tax collector shall demand and collect the maintenance tax and make return thereof, and shall receive the same compensation therefor and be liable for the same penalties for failure or neglect so to do as is provided herein for the annual installment tax.
LA Rev Stat § 38:1636 (2021)
2021 Louisiana Laws|Revised Statutes|Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements|§1636. Non-liability of state and its subdivisions for taxes

RS 1636 - Non-liability of state and its subdivisions for taxes  Neither the state nor its subdivisions shall ever be liable for any taxes or forced contributions levied, assessed or imposed under the provisions of this Part. No sale for taxes of any land or property subject to tax lien for drainage district taxes imposed under the provisions of this Part shall have the effect of destroying the lien; but the property shall always remain subject to the tax lien for the drainage taxes.