§1604. Board of commissioners; membership, terms, vacancies

A.(1) The board of commissioners of the authority shall be composed of seven members to be appointed in the following manner:

(a) One member from each of the three parishes to be appointed by the governing authority of such parish.

(b) One member to be appointed by the governing authority of St. Charles Parish from a list of three nominees submitted by the St. Charles Business Association, one nominee submitted by the River Area Council of the New Orleans Regional Chamber of Commerce, and three nominees submitted by the Louisiana AFL-CIO.

(c) One member to be appointed by the governing authority of St. James Parish from a list of three nominees submitted by the St. James Business Association, one nominee submitted by the River Area council of the New Orleans Regional Chamber of Commerce, and three nominees submitted by the Louisiana AFL-CIO.

(d) One member to be appointed by the governing authority of St. John the Baptist Parish from a list of three nominees submitted by the St. John Business Association, one nominee submitted by the River Area Council of the New Orleans Regional Chamber of Commerce, and three nominees submitted by the Louisiana AFL-CIO.

(e) One at-large member representing the local workforce development board and appointed by a majority vote of the three parishes.

(2) Each commissioner must be domiciled within the parish from which he is appointed, except for the one at-large member representing the workforce development board, who must be domiciled within the state.

(3) All commissioners shall be subject to confirmation by the Senate.

B. Such appointees may be either elected public officials or citizens holding no other public office, or both. Appointees to any agency, board, or commission of any of the parishes shall not be deemed as holding any other public office, provided such appointee shall not receive per diem from any such agency, board or commission.

C. All initial terms shall begin September 15, 1999. After the initial terms have expired, appointments shall be concurrent with the terms of the appointing authority, except that a vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the term by the authority which made the original appointment. A member of the authority may be appointed by the appropriate authority to succeed himself.

D. Members of the board may be removed for just and reasonable cause at the discretion of the respective appointing authority. In case of abandonment of his office, conviction of a felony or a plea of nolo contendere thereto, the office of a member shall be vacant upon the declaration of the board. A member shall be deemed to have abandoned his office upon failure to attend any regular or special meeting of the board for a period of four months without an excuse approved by a resolution of the board, or upon change of his domicile from the parish which he represents on the authority.

E. The board may establish a system by which each board member shall receive per diem or where the members shall be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred by him in the performance of his duties, as approved by the board. A board member who is not an employee in the state civil service system shall not be allowed employee benefits as authorized under Subsection J of this Section.

F. The board shall elect from its members a chairman and vice chairman for terms to expire on December thirty-first of each year. The presiding officer of the board may continue to vote as any other member, notwithstanding his duties as presiding officer, if he so desires.

G.(1) The board shall hold at least one meeting each month. The secretary of the board shall give written notice to each member of the board at least five days prior to any meeting. The secretary shall be informed of any meeting to enable him to give notice as above.

(2) A quorum shall consist of five members. A quorum may exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of the board, except as otherwise provided or as limited by its bylaws. No vacancy in the original membership of the board or thereafter shall impair the power of the board to act. All meetings of the board, its executive committee, or any committee appointed by the board, at which any official business is transacted shall be open to the public, and the minutes of the meetings and any documents or reports which are a part of or are referred to in the minutes shall be open to public inspection in accordance with reasonable rules and regulations prescribed by the board. The board shall furnish certified copies of such public records upon written request and upon payment of a reasonable charge therefor.

H. The board shall appoint and employ, as needed, a general manager and his assistant, a secretary, a treasurer, and a general counsel, none of whom may be members of the board or a relative of a member of the board, and delegate to them such authority as it may deem appropriate. It may make such bylaws or rules and regulations as it may deem appropriate for the conduct of its own affairs, not inconsistent with this Chapter, including the establishment of an executive committee to exercise such authority as its bylaws may prescribe.

I. The treasurer of the authority and such other officer and employees of the authority and such members of the board as the board may determine shall execute corporate surety bonds, conditioned upon the faithful performance of their respective duties. A blanket form of surety bond may be used for this purpose. Neither the obligation of the principal or the surety shall extend to any loss sustained by the insolvency, failure or closing of any depository which has been approved as a depository for public funds.

J. All permanent employees of the authority, other than the commissioners, the secretary, the treasurer, the general counsel, and the general manager and his assistant shall be classified employees in the state civil service system and as such shall be eligible to participate in the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System; however, no part-time employee shall participate in group insurance or retirement benefits. Consultants or other persons or groups furnishing services under contract, including but not limited to managerial, engineering, planning, or legal services, shall not be an employee of the state civil service system regardless of the length of their contracts or the nature of the services rendered.

Added by Acts 1976, No. 638, §1; Acts 1999, No. 1371, §1; Acts 2015, No. 426, §5; Acts 2016, No. 614, §3.