§ 33:9038.81 — Hotel Francis District; cooperative economic development

Louisiana § 33:9038.81

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 33: Municipalities and Parishes

Text

§9038.81. Hotel Francis District; cooperative economic development
A. There is hereby created within the town of St. Francisville, as more specifically
provided in Subsection B of this Section, a body politic and corporate which shall be known
as the Hotel Francis District, referred to in this Section as the "district". The district shall be
a political subdivision of the state as defined in the Constitution of Louisiana.
B. The boundaries of the district shall encompass the following area: One (1) certain
tract or parcel of ground designated as "Tract A", containing 14.800 Ac. (644,671 Sq. Ft.)
with all improvements thereon, located in Section 68, T-3-S, R-3-W, Greensburg Land
District, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, and more particularly described as follows:
Commence at a point and corner at the intersection of the Southwesterly right-of-way of U.S.
Highway 61 with the boundary line common to Tract B and a Tract owned by Whitney Bank
of Louisiana; thence, departing said right-of-way, S 50°05'59" W a distance of 403.60 feet
to the Point of Beginning; Thence, S 40°18'40" E a distance of 109.48 feet to a point and
corner; thence, S 72°09'24" E a distance of 727.64 feet to a point and corner; thence,
S 29°58'47" E a distance of 248.97 feet to point and corner; thence, S 64°48'40" W a distance
of 670.30 feet to a point and corner; thence, N 81°10'20" W a distance of 472.14 feet to a
point and corner; thence, N 80°14'15" W a distance of 77.17 feet to a point and corner;
thence, N 03°04'00" W a distance of 625.61 feet to a point and corner; thence, N 50°00'07"
E a distance of 287.53 feet to a point and corner; thence, S 40°18'40" E a distance of 115.15
feet to the Point of Beginning.
C. The district is created to provide for cooperative economic development among
the municipality, the parish, the owners of property in the district, the district, and the state,
in order to provide for the redevelopment of and dramatic improvement to the blighted
property within the area of the district into a conference-style hotel and related facilities.
D.(1) The district shall be governed by a three-member board of commissioners
composed as follows:
(a) The mayor of the town of St. Francisville.
(b) The mayor of the town of St. Francisville shall appoint two members of the
governing authority of the town of St. Francisville.
(2) A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business. The board shall keep minutes of all meetings and shall make them
available for inspection through the board's secretary-treasurer. The minute books and
archives of the district shall be maintained by the board's secretary-treasurer. The monies,
funds, and accounts of the district shall be in the official custody of the board.
(3) The board shall adopt bylaws and prescribe rules to govern its meetings. The
members of the board shall serve without salary or per diem but shall be entitled to
reimbursement for reasonable, actual, and necessary expenses incurred in the performance
of their duties.
(4) The domicile of the board shall be established by the board at a location within
the district.
(5) The board shall elect from its own members a president, a vice-president, and a
secretary-treasurer, whose duties shall be common to such offices or as may be provided by
bylaws adopted by the district. The board shall hold regular meetings and may hold special
meetings as provided in the bylaws.
E. The district, acting by and through its board, shall be a special taxing district and
shall have and exercise all powers of a political subdivision and special taxing district
necessary or convenient for the carrying out of its objectives and purposes, including but not
limited to the following:
(1) To sue and to be sued.
(2) To adopt bylaws, 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) 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 person, including but not limited to pledge and collateral
assignment agreements and tax collection agreements.
(5) To appoint officers, agents, and employees, prescribe their duties, and fix their
compensation.
(6) To acquire by gift, grant, purchase, lease, or otherwise property as necessary or
desirable for carrying out the objectives and purposes of the district and to mortgage and 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. If the district issues bonds pursuant to this
Section, 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 necessary for the conduct of the affairs of
the district.
(9) To levy and collect the taxes authorized by this Section.
(10) To enter into one or more agreements to provide for the collection of the taxes
collected within the district and remittance of the taxes to the appropriate recipients.
F.(1) In order to provide funds for the purposes of the district, the board of
commissioners may levy and collect the following taxes:
(a) A tax upon the occupancy of hotel rooms within the district at a rate not to exceed
the aggregate rate of all sales and use taxes levied and collected by local taxing authorities
upon the occupancy of hotel rooms in West Feliciana Parish. The hotel occupancy tax
authorized to be levied within the district pursuant to the provisions of this Subsection shall
be in addition to hotel occupancy taxes levied and collected by local taxing authorities and
sales and use taxes levied and collected by all taxing authorities on services as defined in
R.S. 47:301.3 pursuant to Chapters 2, 2-A, and 2-B of Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised
Statutes of 1950, in West Feliciana Parish.
(b) A sales and use tax upon purchases of food and beverages not intended for home
consumption sold within the district. The rate of the sales tax levied by the board of the
district pursuant to the provisions of this Subsection for purchases of food and beverages
within the district shall not exceed the aggregate rate of sales and use taxes levied and
collected on purchases of food and beverages levied and collected by local taxing authorities
in West Feliciana Parish. The sales and use tax authorized to be levied upon purchases of
food and beverages within the district pursuant to the provisions of this Subsection shall be
in addition to sales and use taxes levied and collected by all taxing authorities in West
Feliciana Parish.
(2)(a) The word "hotel" as used in this Section shall have the same meaning as
provided in R.S. 47:301(6).
(b) The occupancy tax shall be paid by the person who exercises or is entitled to
occupancy of the hotel room and shall be paid at the time the rent or fee of occupancy is paid.
(c) The food and beverage tax shall be paid by the person who pays for the food and
beverages at the point of sale.
(d) The word "person" as used in this Section has the same meaning as contained in
R.S. 47:301(8).
(3) The taxes authorized in this Section shall be imposed by resolution adopted by
the board without the need of an election.
G.(1)(a) The district may issue revenue bonds, in one or more series, payable from
an irrevocable pledge and dedication of available non-voter elected, pledged, or dedicated
up to the full amount of hotel occupancy and food and beverage sales tax increments, in an
amount to be determined by the district, to finance or refinance any project or projects or
parts thereof which are consistent with the purposes of the district. Additionally, without the
necessity of issuing revenue bonds, the district may pledge the tax increments collected under
the authority of this Section to any financing or multiple refinancing of a hotel and related
facilities within the district in furtherance of the purposes of the district. Such financing may
include but shall not be limited to loans, mortgages, the issuance of bonds, or the issuance
of certificates of indebtedness. For each of the designated non-voter elected, pledged, or
dedicated food and beverage and hotel occupancy taxes collected within the district, a tax
increment shall consist of that portion of the aggregate of such tax revenues collected by the
district each year which exceeds the amount of such taxes that were collected in the year
immediately prior to the year in which the district was established.
(b) Dedication of tax increments to pay the revenue bonds shall not impair existing
obligations of the district and shall not include tax revenues previously dedicated by the
district for a special purpose.
(2) The authority granted to the district pursuant to the provisions of this Section is
subject to the limitations provided in R.S. 33:9038.42.
H. The district shall dissolve and cease to exist one year after the date on which all
loans, bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness of the district, including refunding
bonds, are paid in full as to both principal and interest; however, the district shall not have
an existence of more than forty years from the date on which a tax authorized pursuant to this
Section is first levied by the district.
I. Any ordinance or resolution authorizing bonds or other debt obligations or the
pledge of tax increments collected under the authority of this Section to any financing
authorized by this Section shall be published at least once in the official journal of the parish
of West Feliciana. For thirty days after the date of publication, any person in interest may
contest the legality of the ordinance or resolution and of any provision therein made for the
security and payment of the debt obligation or the levy and collection of such taxes. After
that time, no one shall have any cause of action to test the regularity, formality, legality, or
effectiveness of the ordinance or resolution, and provision thereof for any cause whatever.
Thereafter, it shall be conclusively presumed that every legal requirement for the levy and
collection of taxes, the issuance of bonds or other debt obligation, or legal requirement for
the levy and collection of taxes, the issuance of bonds or other debt obligations, or the pledge
of tax increments collected, including all things pertaining to the authorizing thereof, has
been complied with. No court shall have authority to inquire into any of these matters after
the thirty-day period after publication.
J. This Section, being necessary for the welfare of the municipality and the parish
and the residents thereof, shall be liberally construed to effect the purposes thereof.

Legislative History

Acts 2025, No. 260, §1, eff. June 11, 2025.