§ 48:600.1 — District Five Road Commission of St. Landry Parish

Louisiana § 48:600.1

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 48: Roads, Bridges and Ferries

Text

§600.1. District Five Road Commission of St. Landry Parish
A. Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary, specifically R.S. 48:578,
579, 581, 583, and 588, District Five Road Commission of St. Landry Parish, hereinafter
referred to as the "commission", is hereby created. The boundaries of the commission shall
be coterminous with the boundaries of Police Jury District Number Five of St. Landry Parish.
The commission shall be governed by a board of commissioners and shall be known as the
Board of Commissioners of District Five Road Commission of St. Landry Parish, hereinafter
referred to as the "board".
B.(1) The commissioners of the board shall be appointed by the governing authority
of the parish of St. Landry. The governing authority shall appoint one member from each
precinct within Police Jury District Five as such districts are established at the time the
appointments are being made and as certified by the St. Landry Parish register of voters.
Each member appointed shall be a resident of the precinct he is appointed to represent. The
governing authority of the parish shall attempt to achieve a racial balance when appointing
the commissioners to the board.
(2) Of the thirteen commissioners initially appointed, seven shall serve for a term of
one year and six shall serve for a term of two years. The length of the term of each
individual appointed shall be determined by lot at the first meeting of the commission.
(3) The members of the board shall serve until their successors have been appointed
and qualified.
(4) The terms of commissioners of the board appointed upon the expiration of the
initial terms shall be four years, and upon expiration of a term of office, the successor shall
be appointed as provided in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection. No person who has served as
a commissioner for two consecutive four-year terms shall be appointed for the succeeding
term.
(5) Any vacancy which occurs prior to the expiration of the term for which a member
of the board has been appointed shall be filled by appointment in the same manner as the
original appointment for the unexpired term.
C.(1) As soon as practical after their appointment, the board shall meet and elect
from their number a chairman, a vice-chairman, a secretary, a treasurer, and such other
officers as it may deem appropriate.
(2) The minute books and archives of the board shall be maintained by the board's
secretary. The monies, funds, and accounts of the commission shall be in the official custody
and control of the board's treasurer.
(3) The duties of the officers shall be fixed by bylaws adopted by the board. The
board shall adopt such rules and regulations as it deems necessary or advisable for
conducting its business and affairs and, to the extent that funds are available, shall hire such
assistants and employees as are needed to assist the board in the performance of its duties.
It shall hold regular meetings as shall be provided in the bylaws and may hold special
meetings at such time and places within the boundaries of the commission as may be
prescribed in the bylaws.
D.(1) The commission shall be considered a political subdivision of the state of
Louisiana, and is granted and shall have all the powers necessary to construct, acquire,
operate, and maintain roads, bridges, and road drainage facilities in the parish 1 , and without
limitation, shall have all the rights, powers, and authority enumerated for road districts in
Part II of Chapter 2 of Title 48. In addition, and without limitation, the commission shall
have the following powers:
(a) To levy and collect within said boundaries of the commission a tax not exceeding
one percent upon the sale at retail, the use, the lease or rental, the consumption, and the
storage for use or consumption of corporeal movable property and upon the sale of services,
as presently defined in R.S. 47:301 through 317, inclusive. Except where inapplicable, the
procedure established by R.S. 47:301 through 317, inclusive, shall be followed in the
imposition, collection, and enforcement of said tax and any procedural details necessary to
be established to supplement the provisions of said Sections and to make said provisions
applicable to the tax imposed hereunder shall be fixed by resolution of the commission. The
commission shall have the right to contract with the sheriff or the Department of Revenue
of the state of Louisiana, or any other agency or political subdivision for the collection of the
tax. The board shall set forth the purposes for which the proceeds of the tax are to be used
in the proposition submitted at the election hereinafter required, and such proceeds may be
funded into negotiable bonds.
(b) The resolution imposing such tax shall be adopted by the commission only after
the question of the imposition of such tax and the funding thereof into bonds under the
provisions of this Section shall have been submitted to the qualified electors within the
boundaries of the commission at an election to be called, conducted, canvassed, and
promulgated by the governing authority of the commission in accordance with the general
laws of the state of Louisiana governing the authorization of general obligation bonds and
the majority of the qualified electors voting in such election shall have voted in favor of such
additional tax and the funding thereof into bonds.
(c) The resolution imposing any tax hereunder, or amendments hereto, shall specify
that the avails or proceeds of the tax after payment of collection costs shall be used solely by
the commission for the construction, acquisition, operation, and maintenance of the roads,
bridges, or road drainage facilities of the commission. The question or proposition approved
at said election shall constitute a full and complete dedication of the avails or proceeds of
said tax and its provisions shall control the allocation and expenditure thereof.
(2) To levy on all taxable property within the boundaries of the commission an ad
valorem tax not to exceed fifteen mills, provided said commission has received prior
approval for the levy of said millage by a favorable vote of the qualified electors within the
boundaries of the commission at an election called by the board for the purposes of
constructing, acquiring, operating, and maintaining the roads, bridges, and road drainage
facilities of the commission.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 48:590, to merge or consolidate with
existing road districts or commissions.
(4) Construct any necessary improvements to facilitate drainage from immediate road
surfaces.
(5) To prepare, adopt, promulgate, amend, and repeal bylaws, orders, rules,
regulations, policies, forms, procedures to govern the affairs and conduct of its business and
to carry out its functions in order to effectuate the provisions of this Section.
(6) To perform any other necessary and ancillary acts to effectuate its functions, to
perform its duties, or to give effect to its powers in accordance with this Section.

Legislative History

Acts 1989, No. 785, §1; Acts 1993, No. 971, §1; Acts 1997, No. 658, §2; Acts 2017, No. 229, §1.