reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1653. Sale of bonds

RS 38:1653 - Sale of bonds
All of the bonds shall be executed and delivered to the secretary-treasurer of the district, who shall sell the bonds in the quantities and at the dates which the board of commissioners may deem necessary to meet the payments for the works and improvements in the district. The bonds shall not be sold for less than ninety per cent of par and accrued interest to date of delivery, and shall show on their face the purpose for which they are issued, and shall be payable out of money derived from the taxes levied as provided by previous sections of this Part.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1654. Payment of principal and interest of bonds

RS 38:1654 - Payment of principal and interest of bonds
A sufficient amount of the drainage tax shall be appropriated by the board of commissioners for the purpose of paying the principal and interest of the bonds, and the taxes, when collected, shall be preserved in a separate fund for that purpose and no other. All bonds and coupons not paid at maturity shall bear interest at the rate of six per centum per annum from maturity until paid, or until sufficient funds have been deposited at the place of payment, named in the bonds and coupons, and the interest for deferred payment shall be appropriated by the board of commissioners out of the penalties and interest collected on delinquent taxes or any other available funds of the district. Any expense incurred in paying the bonds and interest thereon and a reasonable compensation to the bank or trust company for paying the same, shall be paid out of other funds in the hands of the district and collected for the purpose of meeting the expense of administration. The board of commissioners in making the annual tax levy, as heretofore provided, shall take into account the maturing bonds and interest on all bonds and to make an ample provision in advance for the payment thereof.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1655. Additional levy for payment of principal and interest

RS 38:1655 - Additional levy for payment of principal and interest
In case the proceeds of the original tax levy made under the provisions of R.S. 38:1631 are not sufficient to pay the principal and interest of all bonds issued, then the board of commissioners shall make any additional levy or levies upon benefits assessed necessary for this purpose. Under no circumstances shall any tax levies be made that will in any manner or to any extent impair the security of the bonds or the funds available for the payment of the principal and interest of the bonds.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1656. Limit of tax levy

RS 38:1656 - Limit of tax levy
The total taxes levied, exclusive of taxes levied for interest on bonds, for maintenance, or under R.S. 38:1669, shall not exceed the total assessed benefits as decreed by the court under R.S. 38:1628. The annual installment of taxes shall not exceed in any one year ten per cent of the total taxes levied, exclusive of maintenance taxes and taxes levied under R.S. 38:1669.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1657. Bond of secretary-treasurer

RS 38:1657 - Bond of secretary-treasurer
The secretary-treasurer shall, at the time of the receipt by him of the bonds, execute and deliver to the president of the board of commissioners of the district, a bond with good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by the board of commissioners, conditioned that he shall account for and pay over as required by law and as ordered by the board of commissioners any and all money received by him on the sale of the bonds, or any of them, and that he will only sell and deliver the bonds to the purchaser or purchasers thereof under and according to the terms herein prescribed, and that he will return, duly canceled, any and all bonds not sold, to the board of commissioners when ordered by the board so to do. The treasurer's bond shall remain in the custody of the president of the board of commissioners, who shall produce the same for inspection or for use as evidence whenever and wherever legally requested so to do. All premiums for the bond shall be at the expense of the board. The secretary-treasurer shall promptly report all sales of bonds to the board of commissioners.
The board of commissioners shall cause to be deposited at the place of payment sufficient funds to pay the maturing bonds and coupons when due, as well as a reasonable compensation to the bank or trust company for paying the bonds and coupons.
The successor in office of any secretary-treasurer shall not be entitled to the bonds or the proceeds thereof until he shall have complied with all the foregoing provisions applicable to his predecessor in office. The bond of the secretary-treasurer, may, if the board shall so direct, be furnished by a surety or bonding company, which may be approved by the board of commissioners.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1658. Use of funds derived from the sale of bonds

RS 38:1658 - Use of funds derived from the sale of bonds
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.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1660. Consolidation of adjacent districts

RS 38:1660 - Consolidation of adjacent districts
Any two or more adjacent drainage districts organized or reorganized under the provisions of this Part, whether in the same or different parishes, may be united and consolidated into one drainage district and the new district and the board of commissioners thereof shall have all of the rights, powers, privileges, and duties of any other drainage district created and organized under this Part.
In order to effect the consolidation, the land owners owning a majority of the acreage in each of the drainage districts shall present a joint petition to that effect approved by the board of commissioners and the chief engineers of the drainage districts to the police jury of the parish in which the districts are situated, or if they are situated in more than one parish, then to the policy jury of the parish in which the majority of land in the proposed consolidated district is situated. The petition shall also contain a statement showing the names and boundaries of the original districts, the name and boundaries of the proposed consolidated district, and shall be accompanied by a certificate as to land owners and acreage as provided in R.S. 38:1604, and the approval of the board of state engineers as provided in R.S. 38:1605.
The police jury shall adopt an ordinance creating the consolidated drainage district and appointing commissioners therefor in the same manner as provided in this Part for creating original drainage districts. The ordinance shall be recorded by the clerk of court and recorder of each parish in which is situated any land in the consolidated drainage district in the drainage district record of his office.
The consolidated drainage district shall then be subject in all respects to the provisions of this Part, and all of the lands and property in the new district shall be subject to the same liens, liabilities, and obligations that may have existed against the lands and property in the original districts composing the new district.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1661. New or amended reclamation plans; additional assessments and taxes

RS 38:1661 - New or amended reclamation plans; additional assessments and taxes
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.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1662. Connection of ditches; drainage systems, and watercourses with works and improvements of district

RS 38:1662 - Connection of ditches; drainage systems, and watercourses with works and improvements of district
At the time of the construction in any district organized under this Part of the plan for reclamation hereinbefore referred to, all ditches or systems of drainage already constructed in the district and all watercourses shall, if necessary to the drainage of any of the lands in the district, be connected with and made a part of the works and improvements of the plan for reclamation of the district. No ditches, drains or systems of drainage constructed in the district after the completion of the plan for reclamation of the district, shall be connected therewith, unless the consent of the board of commissioners shall be first obtained. The consent shall be in writing and shall particularly describe the method, term, and conditions of the connection, and shall be approved by the chief engineer. The connection, if made, shall be in strict accord with the methods, terms, and conditions laid down in the consent. If the land owners wishing to make the connection are refused by the board of commissioners or decline to accept the consent granted, the land owners may bring suit against the board of commissioners for the connection, in the district court having jurisdiction, and the matter in dispute shall be decided in a summary manner by the courts. No connection with the works or improvements of the plan for reclamation of the district or with any ditch, drain or artificial drainage wholly within the district, shall be made, caused, or effected by any land owners, company, or corporation, municipal or private, by means of or with any ditch, drain, cut, fill, roadbed, levee, embankment, or artificial drainage, wholly without the limits of the district, unless the connection is consented to by the board of commissioners, or in the manner hereinbefore provided.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1663. Advance payment of tax in full

RS 38:1663 - Advance payment of tax in full
Any land owner owning lands or other property assessed for taxes under the provisions of this Part, shall have the privilege of paying the total tax assessment provided under R.S. 38:1631 to the secretary-treasurer of the board of commissioners at any time on or before a date to be fixed by the board of commissioners, and the amount to be paid shall be the full amount of the tax levied, less any amount added thereto to meet interest. The board of commissioners shall fix the time after which the privilege of paying the total tax assessment shall not exist, which shall not be subsequent to the date of any bonds that may be issued and shall give notice of the date by publication once a week for two consecutive weeks in the manner provided in R.S. 38:1616. When the tax assessment has been paid, the secretary-treasurer of the board shall enter upon the drainage tax record opposite each tract for which payment is made the words "paid in full", and the tax assessment shall be deemed satisfied. The secretary-treasurer of the board of commissioners shall also make or cause to be made the same entry opposite each tract for which payment is made in the table included in the certificate filed in the office of the clerk of court and recorder of mortgages, under the provisions of R.S. 38:1632.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1664. Reorganization of existing districts permitted

RS 38:1664 - Reorganization of existing districts permitted
Any drainage district heretofore organized, or any drainage district now in process of organization, under any previous or existing law of the state, for the purpose of draining and reclaiming the undrained marsh, swamp or overflowed lands of the state that must be leveed and pumped in order to be drained and reclaimed, may reorganize, or any two or more drainage districts may consolidate and reorganize under the provisions of this Part. The reorganized district shall be deemed created under this Part, and entitled to the benefit of all the provisions of this Part.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1665. Reorganization procedure

RS 38:1665 - Reorganization procedure
The owners of a majority of acreage of the lands in each drainage district, desiring to reorganize or to consolidate and reorganize under the provisions of this Part, shall present a petition to that effect to the police jury of the parish in which the drainage district or districts is situated, or if situated in more than one parish, then to the police jury of the parish in which the greater portion of the lands of the district or districts is situated. The petition shall contain a statement showing the name and boundaries of the drainage district or districts, the name desired for the reorganized drainage district, and shall be accompanied by a certificate as to the land owners and acreage as provided in R.S. 38:1604. The petition shall be approved by the board of commissioners of each drainage district, and shall be accompanied by the approval of the Department of Public Works as provided in R.S. 38:1605.
The police jury shall adopt an ordinance creating the reorganized drainage district, and appointing commissioners therefor in the same manner as provided in this Part for creating new drainage districts.
The ordinance shall be recorded by the clerk of court and recorder of each parish in which is situated any land in the reorganized drainage district in the drainage district record of his office.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1666. Powers and duties of boards of commissioners of reorganized districts

RS 38:1666 - Powers and duties of boards of commissioners of reorganized districts
The reorganized drainage district shall then be subject in all respects to the provisions of this Part, and a plan for reclamation may be prepared as is herein provided, except that the board of commissioners of the reorganized drainage district will not be required to follow the steps or requirements of this Part which are inconsistent with or rendered unnecessary by the work that has already been done prior to reorganization. The drainage commissioners of any reorganized drainage district may continue the work of reclamation and drainage through any existing sub-drainage district, or sub-drainage districts, or they may if they deem it necessary for the more effective drainage and reclamation of the lands in the reorganized drainage district, consolidate any one or more existing sub-drainage districts with each other, or with other land or lands in the reorganized drainage district, and may cause to be prepared and adopted a plan for reclamation in the manner as provided for by this Part, embracing all or any portion of the lands in the reorganized drainage district, including any one or more existing sub-drainage districts, and may levy taxes against the lands and issue bonds as herein authorized including refunding bonds under R.S. 38:1670 through 38:1673 and, without regard to the boundaries of the previously existing sub-drainage district. No reorganization of an existing drainage district, or the consolidation of subdrainage districts of a reorganized district, shall have the effect of in any way invalidating any indebtedness, liability, or contract of any nature incurred under the former organization of any reorganized drainage district or any sub-drainage district, but all indebtedness, liability, or contract shall attach to and become the debt and liability of the new organization or of the respective sub-drainage district originally liable, until the indebtedness, liability, or contract is fully paid and discharged.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1667. Obligations of former district assumed by reorganized districts

RS 38:1667 - Obligations of former district assumed by reorganized districts
All debts owing to and all property or contract rights, privileges, and immunities held or enjoyed by the old district or districts, or any sub-district thereof under former organization, shall be held and enjoyed by the new district or the respective sub-district thereof, when the district shall reorganize under the provisions of this Part. No right of action shall exist nor remedy be allowed against any reorganized drainage district, or sub-drainage district thereof by virtue of any contract or contracts made by or on behalf of any reorganized drainage district, or sub-drainage district thereof prior to its reorganization as herein provided for, which did not exist or was not allowed by statute against the drainage district or sub-drainage district prior to the time of its reorganization as herein provided for. Where any drainage district or districts have heretofore been reorganized under the provisions of this Part, and one or more of the sub-drainage districts thereof have been consolidated with each other or with other lands, and one plan for reclamation has been provided for and adopted therefor, taxes have been levied and bonds issued under the provisions of this Part, the plan for reclamation, the taxes and the bonds are hereby declared to be valid and legal, and binding on the reorganized drainage district. Each and every act of the drainage commissioners is hereby declared to have been done and performed in accordance with law, and the plan for reclamation, taxes, bonds, and acts are hereby validated and declared legal and binding upon the district and the landowners thereof.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1668. Chief engineer of reorganized district

RS 38:1668 - Chief engineer of reorganized district
When any existing drainage district or districts have been reorganized, and a board of commissioners has been appointed and qualified, the board shall employ a chief engineer, and thereafter all proceedings relative to the reclamation, assessment, taxation, and maintenance of the lands of the reorganized drainage district shall be had as provided in this Part in the case of a new district. The engineer of the reorganized drainage district in preparing the plan for reclamation thereof, or of any sub-district thereof, shall prepare a plan that will afford complete and entire reclamation and drainage of the district or sub-district, and which will provide for the completion of any work of reclamation or drainage undertaken prior to reorganization, as well as the restoration, enlargement or improvement of any works theretofore constructed, or the construction of new works.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1670. Issuance of funding or refunding bonds

RS 38:1670 - Issuance of funding or refunding bonds
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.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1671. Form and terms of bonds; denominations

RS 38:1671 - Form and terms of bonds; denominations
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.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1672. Sale or exchange of bonds; use of proceeds

RS 38:1672 - Sale or exchange of bonds; use of proceeds
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.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1673. Payment and retirement of bonds

RS 38:1673 - Payment and retirement of bonds
The funding or refunding bonds shall be payable out of any funds of the district or sub-district, as the case may be, not otherwise dedicated. The board of commissioners may levy, in the manner provided in R.S. 38:1631, taxes up to the full amount of the total benefits assessed against the lands of the district or sub-district if necessary, sufficient to pay and retire the bonds in principal and interest. The proceedings for the total levy, the annual levy and the collection of taxes shall be the same as heretofore provided in this Part, in the case of new districts created and organized under this Part. In the case of reorganized drainage districts which have issued funding or refunding bonds to fund or refund their indebtedness existing prior to reorganization they shall provide for retiring the bonds in the manner provided in R.S. 38:1669.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1674. Waiver of procedural rights; recordation of consent

RS 38:1674 - Waiver of procedural rights; recordation of consent
Any notice, publication, or delay, provided to be given by this Part, or the right to contest any proceeding taken under the provisions of this Part, may be waived by the written consent of any land owner or other persons interested. The consent shall be spread on the record of the board of commissioners of the drainage district, and be recorded in the drainage district record book of the clerk of court in each parish in which any lands of the district are situated.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1674.1. Construction of drainage projects; financing

RS 38:1674.1 - Construction of drainage projects; financing
The board of commissioners is authorized to construct projects for the drainage of lands in the district by the construction, improvement, extension, renewal and/or replacement of drainage facilities, including canals, ditches, pumps, levees and related buildings, machinery, rights-of-way and sites, and to finance all or part of the cost thereof by the levy of local or special assessments and the issuance and sale of drainage certificates, in the manner hereinafter set forth. All of such projects, works and improvements are hereby determined to be works of public improvement as contemplated by and included in Article X, section 13 of the Louisiana Constitution for the year 1921, as amended, and drainage districts created and organized under this Part are likewise determined to be subdivisions under such constitutional provision.
Added by Acts 1962, No. 144, §1. Amended by Acts 1970, No. 617, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1674.3. Plans and specifications; advertisement for bids

RS 38:1674.3 - Plans and specifications; advertisement for bids
The board of commissioners, after having given notice of its intention as above set forth, and after hearing and disposing of all objections and having decided to order the construction of such improvements, may without further delay have the necessary plans and specifications for said work prepared and adopt a resolution authorizing the advertisement for bids therefor by the giving of notice to be signed by the president or vice-president of the board, to be published for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in the district; or, if there be none, in some newspaper of general circulation in the parish wherein the district is located. Said notice shall contain a general description of the work contemplated, and the advertisement for bids shall conform with the general law relative to the advertisement for bids under R.S. 38:2211 through R.S. 38:2217.
Added by Acts 1962, No. 144, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1674.4. Opening of bids; award of contract

RS 38:1674.4 - Opening of bids; award of contract
The board of commissioners shall meet in open session on the date and at the place and hour named in the notice calling for bids, and shall proceed to open the bids and award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder who can furnish satisfactory security, in conformity with the said provisions of R.S. 38:2211 through R.S. 38:2217, but the board may, however, reject any and all bids.
Added by Acts 1962, No. 144, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1674.6. Issuance of Certificates

RS 38:1674.6 - Issuance of Certificates
The board of commissioners of any drainage district complying with the provisions of R.S. 38:1674.1 through R.S. 38:1674.10 shall be and is hereby authorized to issue, execute, negotiate, sell and deliver negotiable interest bearing drainage certificates of the district in an amount not exceeding the total amount of the installments or deferred payments, as provided for in R.S. 38:1674.5, said certificates to bear interest at a rate or rates not exceeding the maximum rate provided for conventional interest by the Louisiana Civil Code as the same now exists or may be hereafter amended, payable annually, and to mature serially over a period not exceeding twenty years, but in no event shall said certificates extend over a longer period of time than that provided for by the ordinance levying the local or special assessments which may be payable in annual installments. Said certificates shall be of such form, date, denomination and payable in principal and interest at such time and place as the board may determine, and such certificates shall be secured by and payable in principal and interest from the irrevocable pledge and dedication of the funds derived from the levying and collection of the said local or special assessments, as hereinabove provided, and which funds shall be set aside in a separate fund and shall not be drawn upon for any other purpose than to pay the principal and interest of said certificates. Said certificates shall be issued in compliance with the provisions of Article X, Section 13 of the Louisiana Constitution and shall be secured as therein and herein provided.
Added by Acts 1962, No. 144, §1. Amended by Acts 1970, No. 617, §4.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1674.7. Signature on certificates and coupons; form of endorsement

RS 38:1674.7 - Signature on certificates and coupons; form of endorsement
The said drainage certificates shall be signed by the president and secretary of the board of commissioners for, on behalf of, and in the name of the district and under the seal thereof. Any interest coupons shall be signed with the facsimile signature of the said officers, and before delivery thereof, the certificates shall be registered in the mortgage records of the parish in which the district is located as to the serial number or numbers, amount, rate of interest and dates due. Each of the said certificates shall bear the following endorsement, viz.:
"This certificate registered in the Mortgage Records of the Parish of ________________, on this the ______ day of __________, 19__.
_____________________________________ Clerk of Court and Ex-Officio Recorder of Mortgages, Parish of __________, Louisiana."
Added by Acts 1962, No. 144, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1674.8. Sale of certificates; disposition of funds

RS 38:1674.8 - Sale of certificates; disposition of funds
The board of commissioners issuing such drainage certificates may by resolution empower and authorize its president and its secretary to negotiate and deliver such drainage certificates and collect the purchase price thereof and do any and all things necessary and incidental thereto, and the funds derived from the sale of the said certificates shall be expended solely in payment of the costs of the improvements herein authorized, and shall not be drawn upon for any other purpose whatsoever.
Added by Acts 1962, No. 144, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1674.9. Nature of certificates

RS 38:1674.9 - Nature of certificates
Drainage certificates issued hereunder shall have all the requisites of negotiable paper under the law merchant, and shall not be invalid for any irregularity or defect in the proceedings for their issuance, sale or delivery, and shall be incontestable in the hands of bona fide purchasers or holders for value thereof.
Added by Acts 1962, No. 144, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1674.10. Contesting validity

RS 38:1674.10 - Contesting validity
No contest or proceeding to question the validity or legality of any resolutions or ordinances adopted or proceedings had under the provisions of R.S. 38:1674.1 through R.S. 38:1674.10 shall be begun in any court by any person for any cause whatsoever after the expiration of thirty days from the date when the resolution, ordinance or proceeding was published, and after such time the regularity of such resolution, ordinance, or proceeding shall be conclusively presumed. If the validity of any certificates issued under the provisions hereof is not raised within thirty days from the date of publication of the resolution or ordinance issuing said certificates and fixing their terms, the authority to issue said certificates, the legality thereof and of the local or special assessments necessary to pay the same shall be conclusively presumed and no court shall thereafter have authority to inquire into such matters.
Added by Acts 1962, No. 144, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1674.11. Arrangements under Local Services Law

RS 38:1674.11 - Arrangements under Local Services Law
The district, through its board of commissioners, may engage jointly in the exercise of any power, the making of any improvement, or the promotion and maintenance of any undertaking authorized under this Part, with any one or more special districts or other political subdivisions of this state and all of such arrangements shall be undertaken and concluded under the provisions of the Local Services Law (R.S. 33:1321 et seq.).
Added by Acts 1970, No. 617, §5.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1674.14. Sunset Drainage District of St. Charles Parish; acreage tax

RS 38:1674.14 - Sunset Drainage District of St. Charles Parish; acreage tax
The governing authority of the Sunset Drainage District of St. Charles Parish may annually levy an acreage tax in an amount not to exceed twenty dollars per acre on each acre of land in the district for the purpose of improving, operating, and maintaining any drainage facilities, including but not limited to pumps, drains, levees, and other drainage works. Said tax shall be levied and collected in the manner provided in R.S. 38:1619(C), (D), and (E).
Acts 1989, No. 720, §1, eff. July 8, 1989.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1675. Application of Part

RS 38:1675 - Application of Part
The provisions of this Part shall apply only to drainage districts organized under Article XV of the Constitution of Louisiana of 1921, or reorganized under the provisions of this Part, for the purpose of draining and reclaiming the undrained marsh, swamp and overflowed lands in the State of Louisiana that must be leveed and pumped in order to be drained and reclaimed, and nothing in this Part shall apply in any way to gravity drainage districts as provided for in Article XIV of the constitution. This Part shall be considered the general law on the subject of drainage or reclamation districts under which all drainage or reclamation districts created in the future must organize.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1676. Tax sale properties; confirmation of title

RS 38:1676 - Tax sale properties; confirmation of title
A. Where drainage districts organized under Article 15 of the constitution of 1921, and R.S. 38:1601 through 38:1675, have acquired property located in said districts at tax sales made by the sheriffs and ex-officio tax collectors of the parishes wherein such sales were made, and the three year period in which the property may be redeemed shall have expired, that all right, title, and interest in and to said property be and the same is hereby ratified and confirmed unto said districts, and the said districts shall have the right to sell at public or private sale, said lands in whole or in such parts as may be deemed proper and advisable by said districts, and under such terms and conditions as may be deemed advisable by said districts.
B. Where judgments have been obtained against any such districts by the holders of outstanding bonds for the amount of any outstanding bonded indebtedness and pursuant to such judgments execution has been levied against said districts, and the properties of the district have been purchased at execution sale, including properties acquired at tax sales, and the three year redemption period has expired, any such sales, and the titles thereby acquired are hereby fully ratified and confirmed so as to invest in any such purchaser full and unencumbered fee title.
Added by Acts 1962, No. 332, §§1, 2.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1677. Police juries as governing authority

RS 38:1677 - Police juries as governing authority
A. Where the police jury creating a drainage district determines that the board of commissioners of any such district has failed to hold meetings during a period of five years, the said police jury may adopt an ordinance in which it shall enter a finding of fact that no such meetings have been held by the board of commissioners of said drainage district during the five years preceding the adoption of said ordinance, such determination to be final and conclusive, and shall declare the offices of the board of commissioners to be vacated.
The police jury shall, thereupon, become the governing authority of said district, and shall succeed to all of the powers and duties of the board of commissioners of said district, expressly invested with the powers, rights, privileges and immunities of the antecedent board of commissioners, as defined under Article 15 of the constitution of 1921, and R.S. 38:1601 through 38:1675, as amended, and under the constitution and laws of the state of Louisiana. No right of action shall exist nor remedy be allowed or exercised against the police jury as the governing authority under any existing committal, contract or contracts consummated in the name of and on behalf of said district unless any such committal, contract or contracts were entered into by the district in pursuance to the provisions of Article 15 of the constitution of 1921, and R.S. 38:1601 through 38:1675, and acts amendatory thereof and under the constitution and laws of the state of Louisiana.
B. Where police juries have acted as the governing authorities of such drainage districts prior to August 1, 1962, each and every such act on the part of the police jury is hereby declared to have been done and performed and executed in accordance with law, and the acts of said police jury are hereby validated and declared legal and binding upon the district and the landowners thereof.
Added by Acts 1962, No. 331, §§1, 2.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1678. Authorization to incur debt; issue bonds and levy taxes

RS 38:1678 - Authorization to incur debt; issue bonds and levy taxes
A.(1) After having been authorized to do so at an election held in accordance with the provisions of law, drainage districts created under the provisions of R.S. 38:1601 through R.S. 38:1675 may incur debt and issue bonds for the purpose of constructing drainage works and acquiring the necessary lands, equipment, and machinery therefor.
(2) Such bonds shall constitute general obligations of such drainage districts and shall be secured by and be payable from ad valorem taxation and may be issued to an amount not exceeding in the aggregate ten percent of the assessed valuation of the property of such drainage districts, including both homestead exempt property, which shall be included on the assessment roll for the purpose of calculating debt limitation and nonexempt property, as ascertained by the last assessment for parish, municipal, or local purposes prior to delivery of the bonds representing such indebtedness, regardless of the date of the election at which said bonds were approved, all in the manner and form provided by Article VI, Section 33 of the 1974 Louisiana Constitution and R.S. 39:551 through R.S. 39:578.
(3) In addition, such drainage districts may levy special taxes for the maintenance and operating expenses of said drainage districts in the manner provided by the constitution and laws of this state.
B. The powers, rights, and authority granted by Subsection A of this Section shall be an addition to any powers now or hereafter conferred on drainage districts by R.S. 38:1601-38:1675 or any other law.
C. Anything to the contrary notwithstanding an ad valorem tax shall not be levied against lands and improvements already drained when the proceeds of such tax will be used for the purpose of draining and reclaiming privately owned swamp and overflow lands. In the event lands already drained are included within a district formed for the drainage and reclamation of privately owned swamp and overflow lands such lands shall be taxed as otherwise authorized in this part only in the proportion, if any, as such lands and improvements shall be directly benefited by the reclamation. Nothing in this section shall affect the authority to levy an ad valorem tax against undrained or partially drained swamp and overflow lands including populated areas which are subject to periodic overflow and are otherwise subject to drainage and reclamation under the provisions of this Part. The provisions of Subsections B and C hereof shall not apply to such districts which have heretofore issued bonds or have authorized issuance of bonds or in which taxes have heretofore been imposed or the imposition thereof authorized, nor shall said provisions apply to drainage districts resulting from the division, under applicable provisions of law, of any existing drainage district lying within two or more parishes.
Acts 1962, No. 312, §§1, 2. Amended by Acts 1968, No. 572, §§1, 2; Acts 1975, No. 520, §3. Acts 1984, No. 939, §1.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1701. Creation of districts authorized

RS 38:1701 - Creation of districts authorized
For the purpose of draining and reclaiming the undrained or partially drained marsh, swamp, and overflowed lands in Louisiana that must be leveed and pumped in order to be drained and reclaimed, the police juries of the several parishes of the state are hereby empowered and required under the conditions hereinafter specified to create drainage districts.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1702. Creation upon petition of landowners

RS 38:1702 - Creation upon petition of landowners
Whenever the owners of a majority of contiguous undrained or partially drained lands in any drainage district heretofore organized or in process of organization under any previous or existing law of the state, or the owners of a majority of the lands in contiguous portions of two or more drainage districts, or the owners of a majority of lands in contiguous portions of one or more drainage districts and contiguous lands not in any drainage district, for the purpose of draining and reclaiming the undrained or partially drained marsh, swamp, and overflowed lands in Louisiana that must be leveed and pumped in order to be drained and reclaimed, shall petition the police jury of the parish in which the lands are situated, or in which the majority of the lands are situated, if in more than one parish, to create the lands into a drainage district, the policy jury shall create and form the drainage district. The petition shall be signed by the owners of a majority of the acreage to be included in the district, and shall be accompanied by a certificate of the clerk of court and ex-officio recorder of the parish or parishes in which the land is situated certifying to the ownership of the land to be included in the drainage district together with the acreage of each owner, as appears from the records of his office. If the ownership of any land is unknown, this fact shall also be made to appear by the certificate. The clerks of court and recorders of the parishes shall furnish the certificates.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1703. Approval of formation by Department of Public Works

RS 38:1703 - Approval of formation by Department of Public Works
No drainage district shall be created under this Part until the Department of Public Works has approved the formation of the district with respect to the body of land to be included therein, and has furnished the police jury a map approved by the Department of Public Works showing the lands which it is proper to include in the drainage district. If in the opinion of the Department of Public Works it is necessary to include in the district any high lands for the purpose of reclaiming the body of unreclaimed lands, the inclusion shall not invalidate the creation of the district or any proceeding taken in connection therewith, but the high lands shall be taxed only in the proportion, if any, as they shall be benefited by the reclamation and drainage works constructed in the district. The Department of Public Works when requested to do so by any police jury, by any drainage board affected, or by a majority of the land owners in the proposed district shall examine into and report its opinion or findings, and furnish all maps required to be given, made or furnished by it under the provisions of this Part.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1704. Organization of districts

RS 38:1704 - Organization of districts
The same forms and procedure, except as herein otherwise provided, shall be observed as to the creation and organization of drainage districts under this Part as are provided under R.S. 38:1601 through 38:1675. The drainage districts, created under the provisions of this Part, shall then be subject in all respects, except as herein otherwise provided, to the provisions of R.S. 38:1601 through 38:1675 except that the board of commissioners of the drainage district will not be required to follow the steps or requirements of these Sections which are inconsistent with or rendered unnecessary by the work that has already been done prior to organization. The creation of the drainage district shall not have the effect of in any way invalidating any indebtedness, liability or contract of any nature incurred under any former organization, but all indebtedness, liability, or contract shall attach to and become the debt or liability of the new organization or of the lands originally liable, until the debt or liability is fully paid and discharged. All debts owing to, and all property or contract rights, privileges, and immunities held or enjoyed under any former organization shall be held and enjoyed by the new district or the respective sub-districts thereof when the district shall organize under the provisions of this Part. No right of action shall exist nor remedy be allowed against any of the lands in any drainage district organized under the provisions of this Part by virtue of any contract or contracts made by or on behalf of any lands prior to its organization as herein provided for, which did not exist or was not allowed by statute against the lands prior to the time of organization as herein provided.
2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:1705. Rights of district in which land formerly included

RS 38:1705 - Rights of district in which land formerly included
Where any lands included in a drainage district created under the provisions of this Part were liable together with other lands under prior organization for any indebtedness or contract, bonded or otherwise, and for the liquidation of which taxes were assessable and collectible, then and in that event, the governing authority of the drainage district or districts within which the lands were formerly included shall continue to levy and collect any and all taxes and charges for which the lands were liable under prior organization to the same extent, but no further, as if the lands had not been separately organized. The district or districts within which the lands were formerly included shall have no other rights, control, or authority over the lands than herein set forth. Where the lands were alone liable for any indebtedness or contract, bonded or otherwise, then and in that event, the governing authority of the drainage district or districts within which the lands were formerly included shall have no rights, control, or authority whatever over the lands after they shall have been separately organized.