§ 33:1420.16 — Special district in Jefferson Parish

Louisiana § 33:1420.16

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 33: Municipalities and Parishes

Text

§1420.16. Special district in Jefferson Parish
A. Creation. The governing authority of the parish of Jefferson is hereby authorized
pursuant to this Part and more specifically by this Section to create, by ordinance, a special taxing
district and political subdivision of the state, referred to in this Section as the "district".
B. Boundaries. The district shall be comprised of the property bounded by the Westbank
Expressway in Jefferson Parish, Highway 23, the Plaquemines Parish line, and the Orleans Parish
line.
C. Purpose. The district shall be established for the primary purpose of promoting,
encouraging, and participating in infrastructure improvements to stimulate the economy through
commerce, industry, and research and for the utilization and development of natural, physical, and
human resources of the area.
D. Rights and powers. The district, acting by and through the Jefferson Parish Council,
referred to in this Section as the "board", shall have and exercise all powers of a political subdivision
and special taxing district necessary or convenient for the carrying out of its objects and purposes,
including but not limited to the following:
(1) To sue and to be sued.
(2) To adopt bylaws and rules and regulations.
(3) To receive by gift, grant, donation, or otherwise any sum of money, property, aid, or
assistance from the United States, the state of Louisiana, or any political subdivision thereof, or any
person, firm, or corporation.
(4) For the public purposes of the district, to enter into contracts, agreements, or cooperative
endeavors with the state and its political subdivisions or political corporations and with any public
or private association, corporation, business entity, or individual.
(5) To appoint officers, agents, and employees, prescribe their duties, and fix their
compensation.
(6) To acquire by gift, grant, purchase, lease, or otherwise such property as may be necessary
or desirable for carrying out the objectives and purposes of the district and to mortgage or sell such
property.
(7) In its own name and on its own behalf to incur debt and to issue bonds, notes,
certificates, and other evidences of indebtedness. For this purpose the district shall be deemed and
considered to be an issuer for purposes of R.S. 33:9037 and shall, to the extent not in conflict with
this Section, be subject to the provisions of R.S. 33:9037.
(8) To establish such funds or accounts as are necessary for the conduct of the affairs of the
district.
E.(1) In addition to any other authority provided for in this Section and pursuant to a
cooperative endeavor agreement, the district may issue revenue bonds payable solely from an
irrevocable pledge and dedication of up to the full amount of any sales tax increments designated by
the board to finance or refinance or to pay all of or a portion of the costs of projects located within
the district which will result in economic development or the maintenance of existing jobs or will
achieve other economic goals that will benefit the parish of Jefferson. The district may also utilize
any sales tax increments designated by the board for any authorized purpose of the district.
(2)(a) A sales tax increment may consist of that portion of state sales tax revenues of the
state of Louisiana and any political subdivision whose boundaries are coterminous with those of the
state collected each year on the sale at retail, the use, the lease or rental, the consumption, and
storage for use or consumption of tangible personal property and on sales of services, all as defined
in R.S. 47:301 et seq., or any other applicable provision of law, as amended, from taxpayers located
within the district which exceeds the sales tax revenues that were collected by such taxing authorities
in the year immediately prior to the year of establishment of the district.
(b) Prior to the dedication of any state sales tax increments to be used to pay for an
authorized purpose of the district, the secretary of Louisiana Economic Development shall submit
the proposal to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget for approval. In addition, any
cooperative endeavor agreement or other agreement providing for the expenditure of funds collected
by the state as state sales tax increments and dedicated to a project or for the payment of revenue
bonds therefor shall be subject to approval by the State Bond Commission prior to execution by the
state.
(c)(i) The board of the district shall designate the initial annual baseline collection rate for
the district, which shall be the amount of the sales taxes collected in the district in the fiscal year
most recently completed prior to the establishment of the district. In addition, a monthly baseline
collection rate shall be determined by dividing the initial annual baseline collection rate by twelve.
(ii) The initial annual baseline collection rate and the monthly baseline collection rate shall
be certified by the chief financial officer of Jefferson Parish. The certification shall also be published
one time in the official journal of Jefferson Parish.
(iii) If the amounts of the initial annual baseline collection rate and the monthly baseline
collection rate are not contested within thirty days after the said publication, then such amounts shall
be conclusively presumed to be valid, and no court shall have any jurisdiction to alter or invalidate
the designation of the amount of either the initial annual baseline collection rate or the monthly
baseline collection rate.
(d) The increment of the sales taxes which are to be pledged and dedicated to the payment
of the revenue bonds or otherwise used for district purposes as provided in this Section shall be the
amount of the sales taxes which are collected in the sales tax area each year in excess of the initial
annual baseline collection rate. Such pledged sales tax increment may include all or any portion of
such excess as determined by the board of the district.
(3) Dedication of sales tax increments to pay the revenue bonds or other use of sales tax
increments for district purposes as provided in this Section shall not impair existing obligations and
shall not include tax revenues of a tax authority previously dedicated for a special purpose unless a
majority of the electors within the territorial jurisdiction of such tax authority voting at an election
held for such purpose approves the use of such tax for the purposes provided for in this Subsection.
F. Liberal construction. This Section, being for a public purpose and necessary for the
welfare of the state, Jefferson Parish, and their residents, shall be liberally construed to effect the
purposes thereof.

Legislative History

Acts 2007, No. 286, §1, eff. July 9, 2007.