§130.585. Additional powers and duties of the board of commissioners

A. In addition to the powers and duties elsewhere granted in this Subpart, the board of commissioners 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 not limited to the following:

(1) To sue and be sued.

(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 such 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 object and purposes of the district 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 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) To levy annually and cause to be collected an ad valorem tax, provided that the amount, term, and purpose of such 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.

(b)(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 Chapter 2 of Subtitle II of Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.

(iii) Except where inapplicable, the procedure established in Chapter 2 of Subtitle II of Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 shall be followed in the imposition, collection, and enforcement of the tax, and procedural details necessary to supplement such provisions and to make them applicable to the tax herein authorized shall be fixed in the ordinance imposing the tax.

(c) Any tax levied pursuant to this Paragraph shall be imposed and collected uniformly throughout the district and shall be in addition to all other taxes which the parish of Avoyelles or any other political subdivision within such parish is now or hereafter authorized to levy and collect.

(11) 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 or to carry out the other public purposes of this Subpart, 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.

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

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

B. The district shall not be deemed to be an instrumentality of the state for purposes of Article X, Section 1(A) of the Constitution of Louisiana.

C. No bonds, other debt obligations, or contracts of the district shall be a charge upon the income, property, or revenue of the parish of Avoyelles nor any other municipality in the parish nor shall any obligations of the district be obligations of such governmental entities.

D. In order to promote commerce and industry and develop trade by inducing manufacturing, industrial, commercial, and other enterprises to locate within the district, and to attract and retain business and commercial enterprises in the district to maintain employment and the economy of the area, the district shall have authority to plan, finance, develop, acquire, own, construct, repair, renovate, and improve commercial and industrial parks and plant buildings within the district, including sites and other necessary property or appurtenances therefor and acquire, construct, develop, improve, operate, maintain, and provide improvements and services necessary therefor.

E. The district shall have the authority to sell, rent, lease, or otherwise dispose of, by suitable and appropriate contract, to any enterprise locating or existing within the district, all or any part of a commercial or industrial plant site and buildings or property owned by the district. In determining the consideration for any contract to lease, sell, or otherwise dispose of lands, buildings, or other property of the district, it may take into consideration the value of the land, buildings, or other properties involved as well as the potential value of the economic impact of the industrial or business enterprise being induced to locate or expand within the district. Such economic impact shall include increased employment, increased use of local labor, wages and salaries to be paid, consumption of local materials, products, and resources, and special tax revenues to be generated by the industrial or business enterprise acquiring or leasing lands, buildings, or other property from the district. Any lease may contain an option to purchase by the lessee.

F. The district shall serve as the principal parish organization for furthering economic development of the parish and for promoting and assisting the growth and development of the parish industrial and business concerns.

G. The district and all properties at any time owned by the district and the income therefrom and all bonds, certificates, and other evidence of indebtedness issued by the district under this Subpart and the interest or income therefrom shall be exempt from all taxation by the state of Louisiana.

Acts 2005, No. 87, §1, eff. July 1, 2005.