§ 33:140.114 — Railroad development

Louisiana § 33:140.114

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 33: Municipalities and Parishes

Text

A.(1) The district shall have the power to lease, construct and acquire railroad tracks, railway spurs, rail yards, and subordinate and related facilities, including the acquisition of sites and other necessary property or appurtenances thereto within the district, or outside the district if the project is undertaken conjointly with other local units of government, under the authority of The Local Services Law, R.S. 33:1321, et seq., or other authorizing authority, and to acquire, construct, improve, operate, maintain, and provide improvements and services necessary therefor, including but not limited to roads, street lighting, grade crossings, bridges, rail facilities, drainage, and other utilities and related properties.
(2) The district shall also have the authority to sell, 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 site, building, or other 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, the board of commissioners may take into consideration the value of the lands, buildings, or other properties involved as well as the potential value of the economic impact of the 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 enterprise acquiring or leasing lands, buildings, or other property from the district. In no event, however, and under no circumstances shall the board dispose of any property of the district for less than the fair market value of the property as defined in R.S. 47:2321, without the prior approval of the State Bond Commission. The district shall be empowered to enter into leases having a term, including all renewal terms, not to exceed fifty years in the aggregate. The approval of the State Bond Commission shall be conclusive for purposes of compliance with the requirements of this Paragraph.
(3) The resolution or ordinance adopted by the board of commissioners authorizing any lease, sale, or other disposition of lands, buildings, or other property of the district or any attachment thereto shall set forth, in a general way, the terms of the authorized lease, sale, or other disposition, and such resolution or ordinance shall be published as soon as possible in one issue of the official journal of the district. For a period of thirty days from the date of publication of any such resolution or ordinance, any interested person may contest the legality of such resolution or ordinance or the validity of the authorized lease, sale, or other disposition of district property, after which time no one shall have any cause of action to contest the legality of such resolution or ordinance or to draw in question the legality of the authorized lease, sale, or other disposition of district property for any cause whatsoever, and it shall be conclusively presumed thereafter that every legal requirement has been complied with and no court shall have authority to inquire into such matters after the lapse of the thirty days.
B. The district shall have the following additional powers, together with all powers incidental thereto or necessary for the performance of those hereinafter stated:
(1) To acquire, whether by purchase, expropriation, exchange, gift, lease, or otherwise, and to construct and improve, maintain, equip, and furnish one or more railway development projects, including all immovable and movable properties which the board of commissioners may deem necessary in connection therewith.
(2) To lease or to contract for the use of any or all of its authorized projects and to charge and collect rent, fees, or charges, not to exceed the fair market value therefor, and to terminate any such lease or contractual arrangement upon the failure of the lessee or contracting party to comply with any of the obligations thereof all as may be provided for in the lease agreement to which the district may become a party.
(3) To sell, exchange, and convey any or all of its projects upon such terms and conditions as the board of commissioners may deem advisable, including the power to receive for any such sale the first mortgage note or notes of the purchaser of a project representing unpaid installments of the purchase price due by the purchaser to the district whenever the board of commissioners finds any such actions to be in furtherance of the purposes for which the district was organized.
(4) As security for the payment of the principal of and interest on any bonds, notes or other obligations of the district and any agreements made in connection therewith, to mortgage and pledge any or all of its projects or any part or parts thereof, whether then owned or thereafter acquired, and to pledge the revenues and receipts therefrom or from any other source.
(5)(a) To enter into any cooperative financing associated with railroad development between or among the district and the state, any of its local governmental subdivisions, political corporations or public benefit corporations, the United States or its agencies, or any public or private association, corporation, or individual.
(b) To enter into any cooperative development between or among the district and the state, any of its local governmental subdivisions, political corporations or public benefit corporations, the United States or its agencies under the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act, or any public or private association, corporation, or individual. Said methods of cooperative development shall include but not be limited to any number of joint development agreements and cooperative ownerships, limited partnerships, and investment syndicates not prohibited by the Constitution of Louisiana. Regardless of the method of financing, the district shall attempt to obtain the most favorable arrangement available in order to protect and ensure economic development and the railway system.

Legislative History

Acts 2010, No. 780, §1.