§330.1. Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East and Southeast Louisiana Flood
Protection Authority-West Bank; territorial jurisdiction; board of commissioners;
appointments; terms; compensation; vacancy; officers; meetings; domicile
A.(1) The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East and Southeast
Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West Bank, referred to herein as "flood protection
authority" or "authority", are established as levee districts pursuant to Article VI, Sections
38 and 38.1 of the Constitution of Louisiana.
(2) The authority shall be subject to Part II of Chapter 2 of Title 49 of the Louisiana
Revised Statutes of 1950.
(3) It shall be the position of the authority that the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet
navigability is no longer necessary and the value associated with it remaining open is far
outweighed by the danger it poses to the citizens of St. Bernard Parish, the Lower Ninth
Ward of Orleans Parish, New Orleans East and surrounding areas.
B. Each flood protection authority, through its board of commissioners as provided
for in this Section, shall exercise all authority over and have management, oversight, and
control of the following territories as provided by law for the boards of commissioners of
such levee districts to which the authority is a successor and to the extent provided for in this
Part:
(1)(a) The following levee districts and parts of levee districts and parishes shall be
included within the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East:
(i) East Jefferson Levee District.
(ii) Lake Borgne Basin Levee District.
(iii) The Orleans Levee District.
(iv) Repealed by Acts 2014, No. 303, §3, eff. May 28, 2014.
(v) Repealed by Acts 2022, No. 430, §2, eff. June 15, 2022.
(b) These lands and all property thereon situated, not exempt from taxation, shall be
subject to the provisions of this Chapter.
(2)(a) The following levee districts and parts of levee districts and parishes shall be
included within the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West Bank:
(i) West Jefferson Levee District.
(ii) The Algiers Levee District.
(b) These lands and all property thereon situated, not exempt from taxation, shall be
subject to the provisions of this Chapter.
C.(1) There is hereby created a board of commissioners for each flood protection
authority as follows:
(a) The board of commissioners of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection
Authority-East shall be composed of nine members, one member from St. Bernard Parish,
two members from Jefferson Parish, three members from Orleans Parish who shall reside
within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority, and three members who do not reside
within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority. The members shall be appointed by the
governor from nominations submitted by the nominating committee as follows:
(i) Four members who shall either be an engineer or a professional in a related field
such as geotechnical, hydrological, or environmental science. Of the four members, one
member shall be a civil engineer.
(ii) Three members who shall be a professional in a discipline other than that
occurring in Item (i) of this Subparagraph with at least ten years of professional experience
in that discipline.
(iii) Two members who shall be at large.
(b) The board of commissioners of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection
Authority-West Bank shall be composed of seven members of whom two shall reside in
Jefferson Parish on the west side of the Mississippi River within the jurisdiction of the
authority, two shall reside in Orleans Parish on the west side of the Mississippi River, and
three shall reside outside of Jefferson and Orleans parishes. The members shall be appointed
by the governor from nominations submitted by the nominating committee as follows:
(i) Three members, each of whom shall be either an engineer or a professional in a
related field such as geotechnical, hydrological, or environmental science. At least one of
the three members shall be a civil engineer.
(ii) Three members, each of whom shall be a professional in a discipline other than
those identified in Item (i) of this Subparagraph who shall at a minimum hold a baccalaureate
degree from an accredited institution of higher learning with at least ten years of professional
experience in that discipline.
(iii) One member who shall possess the qualifications set forth in either Item (i) or
(ii) of this Subparagraph.
(2)(a) The nominating committee for each board shall be composed as follows:
(i) A member or designee of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana.
(ii) A member or designee of the Leaders for A Better Louisiana.
(iii) A member or designee of the Louisiana Geological Survey at Louisiana State
University.
(iv) A member or designee of the Association of State Floodplain Managers.
(v) A member or designee of the National Society of Black Engineers.
(vi) A faculty member or designee of the College of Engineering at the University
of New Orleans.
(vii) A faculty member or his designee of the School of Science and Engineering at
Tulane University.
(viii) A faculty member or designee of the College of Engineering at Southern
University and Agricultural and Mechanical College.
(ix) A faculty member or designee of the College of Engineering at Louisiana State
University.
(x) A member or designee of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
(xi) A member or designee of the Louisiana Engineering Society.
(xii) The executive director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority or
his designee.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph for the
purpose of nominating persons to serve on the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection
Authority-West Bank, the committee shall also include, a member or designee of the West
Bank Business and Industry Association and a faculty member or designee of Our Lady of
Holy Cross College.
(c) The executive director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority or his
designee shall be the custodian of the records of the nominating committee for the respective
flood authority. The chair shall call the meeting of the nominating committee for the
respective flood authority. The executive director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration
Authority or his designee shall serve as secretary for the nominating committee for the
respective flood authority.
(d) After August 1, 2017, all nominating committee members shall be appointed for
a term of eight years. A term shall end on January first. A term for nominating committee
members whose eight-year term expires in 2025 shall end on January 1, 2026. A former
nominating committee member may be reappointed to a nominating committee four years
from the completion of a previous term. Service of four or more years of an unexpired term
shall constitute a term.
(e) For purposes of this Paragraph, the nominating committee shall be considered a
"public body" as defined in R.S. 42:13, and the Open Meetings Law, R.S. 42:11 et seq., shall
apply to such committee. The nominating committee shall be able to meet and convene
remotely.
(f) The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority shall assign a staff
representative to assist the nominating committee in its work and preparation and to attend
all meetings.
(g) The nominating committees shall be represented by the attorney general.
(3)(a) Within ten days after the occurrence of an unexpected vacancy on the flood
protection authority board, the board shall notify the chair of the nominating committee of
such unexpected vacancy within the flood authority. The chair of the nominating committee
shall cause notification of the unexpected vacancy to be published in the official journal of
the state and of each parish within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority. Such
notification shall be published no later than thirty days following receipt by the chair of
notice of the unexpected vacancy.
(b) The nominating committee shall meet to determine the nominations to send to
the governor to fill each unexpected vacancy at any time after receipt of the notice of the
unexpected vacancy. The committee shall consider each name submitted to the committee
from whatever source, and the committee members may propose names of persons to be
considered. After review, the committee shall select the nominees for each unexpected
vacancy who meet the requirements of this Section. The committee shall submit two
nominees for each unexpected vacancy. A majority vote of the total membership of the
nominating committee shall be required to nominate persons to positions on the board. The
committee shall submit its nominations for each unexpected vacancy to the governor for
consideration no later than ninety days after the notification of the occurrence of such
unexpected vacancy. The governor shall appoint the nominees and submit such appointees
to the Senate for confirmation, regardless of whether the legislature is in regular session.
(c) If the nominating committee fails to submit the nominees within ninety days after
notification of the occurrence of such unexpected vacancy, the governor shall appoint
persons meeting the requirements of this Section within thirty days of the expiration of such
time and submit such appointees to the Senate for confirmation, regardless of whether the
legislature is in regular session.
(d) In the event that the Senate fails to confirm an appointment made pursuant to this
Paragraph by taking no action at all or voting not to confirm an appointee in open session by
the end of a regular session, the position shall be considered as having an unexpected
vacancy and the process required by this Paragraph shall occur until such position is filled.
Any appointee the Senate fails to confirm shall not be appointed to the same position during
any recess of the legislature.
(4)(a) Each July first, the board shall notify the chair of the nominating committee
of any vacancy which will occur on a board in the following year due to expiration of a term,
hereinafter in this Paragraph referred to as "expected vacancy". The chair shall cause
notification of each expected vacancy to be published in the official journal of the state and
of each parish within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority. Such notification shall be
published no later than thirty days following receipt by the chair of notice of an expected
vacancy.
(b) The nominating committee shall follow the procedure outlined in Paragraph (3)
of this Subsection, except the nominating committee shall submit its nominations for each
expected vacancy to the governor for consideration no later than thirty days prior to the start
of the Regular Session. If the nominating committee fails to submit nominees for an
expected vacancy thirty days prior to the start of the Regular Session, the governor shall
follow the procedure outlined in Subparagraph (3)(c) of this Subsection. Any nominee
confirmed by the Senate shall take office the day after the expiration of the term of the board
member whose term is expiring.
(5) Each appointment made to the board shall be subject to confirmation by the
Senate.
D.(1) All commissioners, except a commissioner appointed to fill an unexpired term,
shall be appointed as provided in Subsection C of this Section for staggered terms of four
years. No member shall serve more than three consecutive terms, beginning on June 1, 2025.
If a person serves two years or more of an unexpired term, such service shall constitute a
term. A former board member may be reappointed to the board after sitting out four years
from the completion of his last consecutive term.
(2) Notwithstanding R.S. 24:14(K), no person shall serve on the board beyond the
expiration of a term unless reappointed to a position on the board by the process required by
either Paragraph (C)(3) or (4) of this Section.
E. Immediately after the members of the board of commissioners have been
appointed, or as soon as thereafter is practicable, they shall meet and organize by electing
from their number a president, vice president, and secretary who shall perform the duties
normally required of such officers. In case of death or resignation of the president, the vice
president shall call the board together to fill the position of the president. In case of absence,
inability, or failure to act of the president, the vice president shall perform all the duties of
the president.
F.(1) A majority of the sitting commissioners of the board shall constitute a quorum
to do business. They shall designate the time and select the place for holding their regular
sessions, which shall be convened each month. Special meetings may be convened at any
time upon the call of the president. Regular monthly meetings of the board shall be
convened on a rotating basis at a place to be determined by the board in a levee district under
the jurisdiction of the authority.
(2)(a) In recognition that the primary purpose of the authority is regional
coordination of flood protection and in order to promote such coordination over parochial
concerns, approval of a proposed project shall require the favorable vote of at least two-thirds
of the total voting membership of the board, regardless of whether the project is limited to
one or more levee districts within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority.
(b) As used in this Paragraph, "project" means a program or engineering activity,
either new or continuing that will be planned and implemented with the primary goal being
the reduction of existing flood damages. "Program" means the flood control system which
may include, but not be limited to, floodproofing, waterproofing, ring dikes, relocation
assistance, information programs, formulation of codes, and engineering studies.
"Engineering activities" means functions which may include, but not be limited to, dams,
reservoirs, levees, dikes, floodwalls, diversions, channel alterations such as snagging and
channel straightening, on site detention, spillways, and land treatment.
(3) Except as provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, a favorable vote of a
majority of the total voting membership of the board shall be required to take action.
(4) The members of the board of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection
Authority-East appointed as residents of St. Charles or St. John the Baptist parishes from the
east side of the Mississippi River shall be nonvoting except for any project which includes
the parish or a portion of the parish. When these members are eligible to vote, they shall be
included in the total voting membership for such purposes.
(5) Repealed by Acts 2007, No. 475, §2, eff. July 12, 2007.
G. Each board member shall have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the
board and shall serve the board's mission without any undue influence. In case of neglect of
fiduciary duty or any other duty by any board member or of his failure, without good cause,
to attend three successive regular meetings, on request of the board, the governor shall
remove the commissioner.
H. A vacancy created by reason of death, resignation, removal, or any other cause,
other than the expiration of a term, shall be an unexpected vacancy to be filled according to
Paragraph (C)(3) of this Section.
I.(1) The official domicile of an authority shall be determined by the board. An
authority shall maintain an office at its domicile for the transaction of its business.
(2) A flood protection authority may also maintain branch offices within the
territorial jurisdiction of the authority.
J. No member of a board, or any of the immediate family of the member, shall own
or have any interest or part in any business, company, or entity conducting business of any
kind with the authority or levee district within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority or
any of the facilities controlled by the authority or any such district. "Immediate family" as
used in this Subsection means his children, the spouses of his children, his brothers and their
spouses, his sisters and their spouses, his parents, his spouse, the parents of his spouse, his
spouse's brothers and their spouses, his spouse's sisters and their spouses, and his spouse's
children.
K.(1) No former board member may qualify as a candidate for any elected office
within twelve months of the termination of his term on the board.
(2) No elected official or former elected official may serve as a member of the board
within twenty-four months of the termination of his term.
(3) No public employee or former public employee shall serve as a member of the
board within twelve months of the termination of his employment other than as a member
of the board. Any person who is a member of faculty or staff of any state university or any
individual serving on any state board or commission where the individual is not compensated
for that service shall be excluded from the provisions of this Paragraph.
(4) No person shall be eligible for selection who has been registered as a lobbyist
before the legislature within two calendar years of the date of appointment. Should any
member serving on the board thereafter register as a lobbyist, he shall immediately resign his
position on the board.
(5) No member of a board and no officer or employee of a board shall participate or
engage in an effort to support or oppose the election of a candidate for political office or to
support a particular party or issue in an election; be a member of any national, state, or local
committee of any political party or faction; make or solicit contributions for any political
party, faction, candidate, or issue; or take active part in the management of the affairs of a
political party, faction, candidate, or any political campaign, except to exercise his right as
a citizen to express his opinion privately and to cast his vote as he desires.
(6) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, except for membership on
the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board, no member of a board shall serve
at the same time on any other board or commission, the membership of which is appointed
in whole or in part by an elected official or by a public body the majority of the membership
of which consists of elected officials. "Elected official" as used in this provision means any
person holding an office in a governmental entity which is filled by the vote of the
appropriate electorate and includes any person appointed to fill a vacancy in such offices.
(7) No person shall be eligible for selection who is a party to any contract with an
authority established by this Part or levee district within the territorial jurisdiction of an
authority.
L.(1) In lieu of the compensation provided in R.S. 38:308, the members of the board
of commissioners of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East shall receive
a per diem equal to the rate allowable for per diem deduction under 26 U.S.C.
162(h)(1)(B)(ii) for its official domicile during their attendance on that body. In addition to
the per diem, each member shall be paid a mileage allowance for going to and from meetings
and for other travel authorized by the board equal to the rate established as the standard
mileage rate for business travel for purposes of 26 U.S.C. 162(a).
(2)(a) In lieu of the compensation provided in R.S. 38:308, the members of the board
of commissioners of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West Bank shall
receive a per diem equal to the rate allowable for per diem deduction under 26 U.S.C.
162(h)(1)(B)(ii) for its official domicile for each day such member is in actual attendance at
a meeting of the board or one of its committees or performing duties authorized by the board.
If the president of the board also acts as its administrator, he may receive a salary not to
exceed the sum of one thousand dollars per month in lieu of the per diem.
(b) In addition to the per diem, each member shall be paid a mileage allowance for
going to and from meetings and for other travel authorized by the board at the rate
established as the standard mileage rate for business travel for purposes of 26 U.S.C. 162(a).
Members shall also be reimbursed for properly documented actual expenses incurred for air
travel, meals, and lodging when traveling in the performance of duties authorized by the
board.