2014 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 33 - Municipalities and Parishes
RS 33:4710.3 - Powers of authority; division of surplus

§4710.3. Powers of authority; division of surplus

A. The parish, city, school board, and state board, in said contract, may authorize and empower the authority, acting by and through the commission, to have and exercise all powers of a political subdivision necessary or convenient for the carrying out of its objects and purposes, including but not limited to the following rights and powers:

(1) To sue and be sued.

(2) To adopt, use and alter at will a corporate seal.

(3) To acquire, by gift, grant, purchase or expropriation or otherwise, all property, including rights-of-way; to hold and use any franchise, property, real, personal or mixed, tangible or intangible, or any interest therein, necessary or desirable for carrying out the objects and purposes of the authority, including, but not limited to, the establishment, maintenance, and operation of a landing field and/or airport.

(4) To lease or sublease all or any portion of Chennault or any lands leased by it for a term not exceeding forty years at a fixed rental or a term of ninety-nine years, provided such leases contain a clause or clauses providing for readjustment of rentals after forty years, without advertisement for bids or public bids.

(5) To enter into contracts for the purchase, acquisition, construction and improvement of works and facilities necessary in connection with the purposes of the authority.

(6) The authority shall have the right to borrow, from time to time, in the form of certificates of indebtedness. The certificates of indebtedness shall be secured by dedication and pledge of revenues of the authority derived from fees, designated lease rentals, service charges, payments under local services agreements with one or more of the contracting parties, and the avails of any taxes of the authority, provided that the term of such certificates shall not exceed fifteen years, and the annual debt service on the amount borrowed shall not exceed the anticipated revenues authorized to be dedicated and pledged to the payment of the certificates.

(7) To regulate commerce and industry at Chennault to insure the development of Chennault as an industrial park.

(8) In its own name and behalf, to incur debt, levy and cause to be collected ad valorem taxes and issue general obligation bonds under the authority of and subject to the provisions of Article VI, Section 33 of the Constitution of Louisiana, and Subpart A of Part III of Chapter 4 Subtitle II of Title 39 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 as amended, for the establishment, operation, and maintenance of Chennault as an industrial park and to carry out the other public purposes of this Chapter upon approval of a majority of the qualified electors who vote in an election called for either or both of those purposes under the Louisiana Election Code; to issue revenue bonds, borrow money, and issue certificates of indebtedness, notes, and other debt obligations as evidence thereof and provide for the manner and method of repayment; to require and issue license; to regulate the imposition of fees and rentals charged by the authority for services rendered by it or fees or rentals charged for use of privately-owned facilities located at Chennault when such facilities are offered for use by the public or a private industrial, commercial, research, or other economic development entity or activity.

(9) To develop, activate, construct, exchange, acquire, expropriate, improve, repair, operate, maintain, lease, mortgage, sell, subject to the provisions of Paragraph (13) of this Subsection, and pledge movable and immovable property, servitudes, facilities and works under such terms and conditions as the commission may deem necessary or appropriate for any public purpose, including industrial and commercial development, notwithstanding the limitations of R.S. 2:131.1, R.S. 2:135, R.S. 2:135.1 and Chapter 4 of Title 2, Chapter 13 of Title 33, and Chapter 10 of Title 41 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes.

(10) After notice and public hearing to designate one or more project areas within the boundaries of the authority, each of which designated project areas shall constitute a political subdivision of the state of Louisiana, governed by the commission with the power to incur debt, issue certificates, revenue and general obligation bonds, as well as refunding bonds, and levy taxes within their boundaries, in the same manner and on the same conditions as the authority is authorized to do within the boundaries of the authority. Each designated area shall be given a name and designated as "Chennault International Airport Authority Subdistrict No.______".

(11) To borrow money and pledge all or part of its revenues, leases, rents or other advantages as security for such loan.

(12) To appoint officers, agents and employees, prescribe their duties, and fix their compensation.

(13) To sell by written public bid, after due advertisement, to the highest bidder any property, movable or immovable, or portions thereof, acquired by the authority subsequent to the effective date of this Chapter, provided it is first determined that such property is not needed for industrial or commercial development or for other public purposes. However, if such property has previously been taken by expropriation, then the previous property owner shall first be given a prior opportunity to repurchase the property at the current appraised market value. Notice of the proposed sale including advertisement for bids and the minimum price and terms of the sale, shall be advertised in the official journal. The advertisement shall be published three times within ten days, the last advertisement to appear at least ten days before the day that bids will be received. If, after the advertisement for bids, there are no bids received or the bids received are unreasonably low, as determined by a majority vote of the commission, then the authority may negotiate the sale of such property at fair market value to be agreed upon by majority vote of the commission. In no instance may the property be transferred by donation or sold for less than the highest bid, if unreasonably low bids were received. The authority shall not have the authority to sell any property leased to it by any party to the make-up of the authority.

B. In the intergovernment contract, the parish, city, school board, and state board may also establish procedures for the division of surplus funds of the authority annually and at the termination of the authority.

C. No bonds, other debt obligations, or contracts of the authority shall be a charge upon the income, property, or revenue of the parish, the city, the school board, or the state board; nor shall any obligations of the authority be obligations of said parish, city, school board, or state board.

D. The parish, city, school board and state board are hereby authorized to enter into and/or amend the intergovernmental contract establishing the authority; to sell, subject to the provisions of Paragraph (13) of Subsection B of this Section, lease, purchase and exchange property to and from the authority; receive distributions of surplus property and funds from the authority; allow said authority to exercise the powers and rights of any political subdivision of the state of Louisiana for the purpose of economic development through industrial development commerce and/or research; restrict the powers and rights of the authority; and exercise the general power over the authority allowed by Article VI, Section 15 of the Constitution of Louisiana.

E. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the parish, city, school board, and state board are authorized to lease all or any portion of the land owned by it at Chennault and to thereby subject property to the jurisdiction and control of the authority for all purposes including industrial and commercial development on the terms and conditions as set forth in a contract as may be mutually agreed upon by the parish, city, school board, and state board as authorized herein.

Acts 1986, No. 19, §1, eff. June 5, 1986; Acts 1997, No. 458, §1; Acts 2010, No. 861, §15.