§130.355. Powers

In addition to the powers and duties elsewhere granted in this Subpart, the board is hereby granted and shall have and may exercise all powers necessary or convenient for the carrying out of its objects and purposes, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the following:

(1) To sue and be sued, and as such to stand in judgment.

(2) To adopt, use, and alter at will a corporate seal.

(3) To acquire by gift, grant, purchase, lease, expropriation or otherwise, and to hold and use any property, real, personal, or mixed, tangible or intangible, or any interest therein necessary or desirable for carrying out the objects and purposes of the district.

(4) To sell, transfer, and convey any property acquired by it, or any interest therein at any time, to accomplish the objects and purposes of the district.

(5) To lease or sublease all or any portion of any property for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years at a fixed or variable rental without advertisement for public bids.

(6) To donate by fee simple title, or otherwise to convey to the United States, the state, or to any political subdivision of the state, any lands, property, right-of-way, easement, servitude, or other thing of value, which the district may own or acquire, for use by said governmental entity to accomplish the objects and purposes of the district.

(7) To make and collect reasonable charges for the use of property of the district and for services rendered by the district, and to regulate reasonably the fees and charges to be made by privately owned, leased, or otherwise authorized uses of property owned by the district, or sold or leased by the district, when same are offered for the use of the public.

(8) To enter into contracts to achieve the district's object and purposes including, but not limited to, contracts for professional and other services and for the purchase, lease, acquisition, sale, construction, operation, maintenance, and improvements of land, public works, and facilities, as the district may deem necessary or convenient to accomplish the object and purposes of the district.

(9) To plan, develop, regulate, operate, and maintain activities and planned land uses to foster creation of new jobs, economic development, industry, health care, commerce, manufacturing, tourism, relocation of people and businesses to the area, aviation, military warehousing, transportation, offices, recreation, housing, and conservation, the acquisition of land and improvements, and the construction, operation, and maintenance of facilities, improvements, and infrastructure, including buildings, runways, roads, bridges, drainage, and utilities, and other functions and activities on property owned or leased by the district to accomplish the object and purposes of the district and to protect the public health and welfare.

(10)(a) In its own name and behalf, to incur debt, and issue general obligation bonds under the authority of and subject to the provisions of Article VI, Section 33 of the Constitution of Louisiana, and Subpart A of Part III of Chapter 4 of Subtitle II of Title 39 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, for the establishment, operation, and maintenance of district property as an industrial park or to carry out the other public purposes of this Subpart, without election, to issue revenue bonds, borrow money, and issue certificates of indebtedness, notes, and other debt obligations as evidence thereof and provide for the manner and method of repayment; to require and issue licenses, to regulate the imposition of fees and rentals charged by the district for services rendered by it or fees or rentals charged for use of privately-owned facilities located on district property when such facilities are offered for use by the public or by a private industrial, commercial, research, or other economic development entity or activity.

(b) To levy annually and cause to be collected an ad valorem tax, provided that the amount, term, and purpose of said tax, as set out in a proposition submitted to a vote in accordance with the Louisiana Election Code, shall be approved by a majority of the qualified electors voting in an election held for that purpose.

(c)(i) To levy and collect a sales and use tax within the boundaries of the district for such purposes and at such rate as provided by the proposition authorizing its levy, not exceeding one percent, which tax may exceed the limitation set forth in Article VI, Section 29(A) of the Constitution of Louisiana, provided the proposition submitted to a vote in accordance with the Louisiana Election Code, shall be approved by a majority of the qualified electors voting in an election held for that purpose.

(ii) The tax shall be levied upon the sale at retail, the use, the lease or rental, the consumption, the distribution, and storage for use or consumption of tangible personal property, and upon the sales of services within the district, all as presently defined in R.S. 47:301 through 317.

(iii) Except where inapplicable, the procedure established by R.S. 47:301 through 317 shall be followed in the imposition, collection, and enforcement of the tax, and procedural details necessary to supplement those Sections and to make them applicable to the tax herein authorized shall be fixed in the resolution imposing the tax.

(iv) The tax shall be imposed and collected uniformly throughout the district.

(v) Any tax levied under this Section shall be in addition to all other taxes which the parish or any other political subdivision within Rapides Parish are now or hereafter authorized to levy and collect.

(11) To develop, activate, construct, exchange, acquire, expropriate, improve, repair, operate, maintain, lease, mortgage, sell, subject to the provision of this Subsection, and pledge movable and immovable property, servitudes, facilities, and works under such terms and conditions as the district may deem necessary or appropriate for any public purpose, including industrial and commercial development, notwithstanding the limitations of R.S. 2:131.1, R.S. 2:135, R.S. 2:135.1, and Chapter 4 of Title 2, Chapter 13 of Title 33, and Chapter 10 of Title 41, all of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.

(12) After notice and public hearing to designate one or more project areas within the boundaries of the district, each of which designated project areas shall constitute a political subdivision of the state, governed by the board with the power to incur debt, issue certificates, revenue and general obligation bonds, as well as refunding bonds, and levy sales and use taxes within its boundaries, in the same manner and on the same conditions as the district is authorized to do with the boundaries of the district. Each designated area shall be given a name and designated as "England District Subdistrict No. ___".

(13) To borrow money and pledge all or part of its revenues, leases, rents, and other advantages as security for such loans.

(14) To appoint officers, agents, and employees, prescribe their duties, and fix their compensation.

(15) To sell by written public bid, after due advertisement, to the highest bidder any property, movable or immovable, or portions thereof, acquired by the district subsequent to the effective date of this Subpart. However, if such property has previously been taken by expropriation, then the previous property owner shall first be given a prior opportunity to repurchase the property at the current appraised market value. Notice of the proposed sale including advertisement for bids and the minimum price and terms of the sale, shall be advertised in the official journal. The advertisement shall be published three times within ten days before the day that bids will be received. If, after the advertisement for bids, there are no bids received or the bids received are unreasonably low, as determined by a majority vote of the board, then the board may negotiate the sale of such property at fair market value to be agreed upon by majority vote of the board. In no instance may the property be transferred by donation or sold for less than the highest bid, if unreasonably low bids were received.

(16) No bonds, other debt obligations, or contracts of the district shall be a charge upon the income, property, or revenue of Rapides Parish, the city of Alexandria, the city of Pineville, nor any other municipality in the parish; nor shall any obligations of the district be obligations of said governmental entities.

(17) The board shall be the appropriate governing body for all purposes provided in the Louisiana Enterprise Zone Act, R.S. 51:1781, et seq., within the area comprised of property owned and formerly owned by the district, and shall have the power to perform all acts specified by applicable laws and regulations to achieve such purpose.

(18) To use or allow the use of any facilities, land and improvements within the area comprised of property formerly a part of England Air Force Base or ever owned or leased by the district for any lawful purpose.

Acts 1991, No. 142, §1, eff. June 30, 1991.