§642. Issuance and sale of bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness

A. Bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness issued hereunder by the governing authority of any parish shall be authorized and issued by a resolution of the governing authority and shall be of such series, bear such date or dates, mature at such time or times not exceeding forty years from their respective dates, bear interest at such rate or rates, be in such denominations, be in such form, either coupon or fully registered without coupons, carry such registration and exchangeability privilege, be payable in such medium of payment and at such place or places, and be subject to such terms of redemption not exceeding 105% of the principal amount thereof, as such resolution or resolutions shall provide. The bonds shall be signed by the president and secretary of the governing authority, one of which signatures may be a facsimile, and coupon bonds shall have attached thereto interest coupons bearing the facsimile signatures of such officers of the governing authority. Any such bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness may be issued and delivered notwithstanding that one or more of the officers signing such bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness or the officer or officers whose facsimile signature or signatures appear upon the coupons shall have ceased to be such officer or officers at the time such bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness shall actually have been delivered. The bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness shall be sold for not less than par and accrued interest to the highest bidder, at public sale, after advertisement at least once a week for three weeks, with the first publication to be not less than twenty-one days prior to the date of sale, in a newspaper of general circulation within the parish, in one or more daily newspapers published in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana and in a financial newspaper or journal published in the city of New York or the city of Chicago, reserving to the governing authority the right to reject any and all bids and to readvertise for bids.

B. Bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness issued hereunder shall be exempt from all taxation for state, parish and municipal purposes, and savings banks and insurance companies are authorized to invest the funds in their hands therein. In addition, the bonds, notes and certificates of indebtedness may be used for deposit with any officer, board, municipality or other political subdivision of the State of Louisiana in any case where under any present or future laws deposit of security is required. The bonds, notes and certificates of indebtedness shall be deemed to be negotiable instruments and incontestable in the hands of bona fide holders, for value; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall be construed as pledging the credit of the State of Louisiana for the payment of the bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness or be construed as constituting the bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness obligations of the State of Louisiana.

C. The resolution or resolutions authorizing any bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness hereunder shall be promulgated by one insertion in a newspaper of general circulation in the parish. For a period of thirty days from the date of publication by the governing authority of a resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness, any person or persons in interest shall have the right to contest the legality of the resolution and the legality of the bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness for any cause, after which time no person shall have any cause or right of action to contest the legality of the resolution or of the bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness authorized thereby for any cause whatsoever. If no suit, action or proceedings are begun to contest the validity of the bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness within the thirty day period herein prescribed, the authority to issue the bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness and to provide for the payment thereof, the legality thereof and of all of the provisions of the resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness shall be conclusively presumed, and no court shall have any authority to inquire into such matters.

D. Any bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness issued under this authorization may be refunded by the governing authority, provided the total of the principal and interest to be paid on any refunding bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness shall not exceed the total of the principal amount of the bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness to be refunded, the premium, if any, payable upon their redemption and the interest which would have been paid upon such bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness were they not to be refunded. The refunding of bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness shall be authorized in all respects as original bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness are herein provided to be authorized.

E. The resolution or resolutions pledging not to exceed one-half of the moneys to the credit of and receivable by a parish from the Parish One Cent Gasoline Fund to the payment of bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness herein authorized shall provide that the payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness shall be a first charge on not to exceed one-half of the moneys so to be received by the parish, and such moneys, upon receipt shall be set aside for the purpose by the governing authority of the parish to the extent provided in the resolution or resolutions authorizing the issuance of bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness.

Acts 1970, No. 101, §2.