§428. Commencement and duration of lease; renewal; fixing of rental rates

A. All leases made under the provisions of this Subpart shall begin on the day the lease is signed and continue for a period of fifteen years. The owners of expiring leases have first right of renewal of their leases. However, this right to renewal shall be subject to the provisions of this Subpart. Leases carry the first right of renewal for successive periods of fifteen years each, provided the lease is capable of supporting oyster populations. Renewals shall be executed by the secretary and shall be made subject to both the provisions of this Subpart and to the rules and regulations established by the department.

B. The secretary has sixty days from the date of expiration of a lease to execute a renewal lease. If a renewal lease is not executed within this sixty-day period, the lease is automatically renewed. In either situation, the fifteen-year period of the renewal lease shall begin on the first day following the expiration date of the prior lease, and the renewal lease shall be assigned the same number used for the prior lease with the addition of a designation to indicate which year the lease was renewed. If a leaseholder wishes to change the configuration of his lease in accordance with the department's rules governing leased areas, a resurvey and plan of the water bottom shall be made by the leaseholder in accordance with the standards required by the department and a copy supplied to the department. The department may resurvey any lease for potential conflicts with department rules and regulations. If the department determines that a resurvey will be conducted, the leaseholder shall be given ten days written notice of the scheduled resurvey by the department and may be present at the resurvey.

C. The commission shall fix the rate of rental for oyster leases at two dollars per acre per year until January 1, 2016, at which time the commission shall set the rate of rental at three dollars per acre per year. The rate of rental fixed by the commission shall apply to all leases executed by the secretary. For the purpose of calculating the rental due for a lease, the amount of acreage covered by the lease shall be rounded off to the nearest full acre. The rent must be paid no later than the thirty-first of December following the signing of the lease, and annually thereafter, in advance on or before the first day of January, whether the lease be held by the original lessees or by an heir, assignee, or transferee. All revenues received from the payment of lease rentals under the provisions of this Subsection shall be credited to the Public Oyster Seed Ground Development Account, R.S. 56:434.1.

Acts 1981, No. 925, §1. Amended by Acts 1982, No. 317, §1; Acts 1989, No. 504, §1; Acts 1997, No. 305, §1; Acts 1997, No. 434, §1; Acts 2006, No. 425, §1, eff. June 15, 2006; Acts 2010, No. 392, §1; Acts 2010, No. 979, §2; Acts 2015, No. 343, §1.

NOTE: See Acts 2005, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 17, for applicability to 2006 renewals.