§445. Parish executive committees; formation in parishes where no committee has been elected

A. Call for formation. (1) In a parish where a parish executive committee of a recognized political party has not been elected, fifteen or more qualified voters who are registered in the parish as being affiliated with the party may petition the chairman of the state central committee of the party to issue a call to the qualified voters who are registered in the parish as being affiliated with the party for a public meeting to elect a parish executive committee. Within thirty days after receipt of the petition, the chairman of the state central committee shall fix a date for the meeting, appoint a temporary chairman and secretary to open the meeting, and issue a call for the public meeting to elect a parish executive committee. The call shall be published three times in the official parish journal or a newspaper of a general circulation in the parish, and the first publication shall be at least twenty-one days before the day fixed for the meeting.

(2) If there is no chairman of the state central committee or if the chairman of the state central committee fails to issue the call within thirty days after receipt of the petition, the signers of the petition may fix the date of the public meeting and issue the call.

(3) For a recognized political party with which more than thirty percent of the registered voters of the state are affiliated, if after such a public meeting is held, no qualified voter who is registered in the parish as being affiliated with the party qualifies as a candidate for any position on the parish executive committee, the chairman of the state central committee may appoint a qualified voter who is registered in the parish to fill any remaining vacancy.

(4) For a recognized political party with which no more than thirty percent of the registered voters of the state are affiliated, if the qualified voters who are registered in the parish as being affiliated with the party fail to petition the chairman of the state central committee to issue a call for the formation of a parish executive committee, the chairman of the state central committee may fix the date of the public meeting, issue the call, and form a parish executive committee.

B. Public meeting. At the public meeting, a majority of the qualified voters who are registered in the parish as being affiliated with the political party who are present at the meeting shall elect a chairman and a secretary to preside over the meeting. The chairman shall conduct the election of the parish executive committee members, who shall be elected by a majority of the qualified voters present at the meeting who are registered as being affiliated with the party and are residents of the parish, ward, or district from which the committee members are elected.

C. Accreditation. Within ten days after the public meeting, a certified copy of the minutes of the meeting shall be filed with the secretary of state, the clerk of the district court, and the chairman of the state central committee of the party. When the copies of the minutes of the public meeting are filed, the parish executive committee shall be accredited by the state central committee of the party, and the members of the parish executive committee shall be vested with all the authority of duly elected committee members.

Acts 1976, No. 697, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978; Acts 1993, No. 981, §1; Acts 2003, No. 910, §1, eff. July 1, 2003.