2014 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 33 - Municipalities and Parishes
RS 33:4715.2 - Plaquemines Parish Courthouse District

§4715.2. Plaquemines Parish Courthouse District

A.(1) Creation. There is hereby created within the parish of Plaquemines a body politic and corporate which shall be known as the Plaquemines Parish Courthouse District, hereinafter referred to as the "district". The district shall have boundaries coterminous with the parish. The district shall be a political subdivision of the state as defined in the Constitution of Louisiana.

(2) The purposes of the district shall be to acquire or construct a new courthouse or renovate the existing courthouse, construct an annex or annexes to any such courthouse, construct courthouse branch or satellite offices or facilities, and to maintain and operate the courthouse and any annex or annexes and any branch or satellite office or facility, including all matters relating to incurring debt and financing such activities as approved by the voters, all as more specifically prescribed by this Section.

B. Governance. (1) The district shall be governed by a board of commissioners consisting of nine members as follows:

(a) The district attorney for the Twenty-fifth Judicial District Court or his designee.

(b) The sheriff of Plaquemines Parish or his designee.

(c) The parish tax assessor or his designee.

(d) The clerk of the Twenty-fifth Judicial District Court or his designee.

(e) The Plaquemines Parish president or his designee.

(f) The chairman of the Plaquemines Parish council or his designee.

(g) The judge of Division A of the Twenty-fifth Judicial District Court or his designee.

(h) The judge of Division B of the Twenty-fifth Judicial District Court or his designee.

(i) The Plaquemines Parish council shall appoint one member for a term concurrent with that of the council.

(2) Any designee serving as a member and the member appointed pursuant to Subparagraph (1)(i) of this Subsection shall be a qualified elector of the district.

(3) The members of the board shall select from among themselves a president and such other officers as they deem appropriate. The terms and responsibilities of officers shall be as provided by the bylaws of the board.

(4) The members of the board shall serve without compensation and shall not receive reimbursement for expenses.

C. Powers and duties. The district, acting through its board of commissioners, shall have all powers necessary or convenient to effectuate the purposes of the district, including but not limited to the following:

(1) To sue and be sued.

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

(3) To receive and expend funds collected pursuant to and in accordance with this Section.

(4)(a) To acquire and develop property to be used as a new courthouse for Plaquemines Parish.

(b) To develop plans for and to construct a new courthouse.

(c) To renovate the existing courthouse.

(d) To operate and maintain the existing courthouse.

(e) To operate and maintain a new courthouse.

(f) To perform any combination of the functions listed in this Paragraph.

(g) To construct an annex or annexes to an existing or new courthouse within the district and to operate and maintain such annex or annexes.

(h) To construct courthouse branch or satellite offices or facilities for such use as determined by the board and to operate and maintain such offices or facilities.

(5) To acquire, purchase, lease as lessee, and hold and use any property, movable or immovable, tangible or intangible, or any interest therein necessary or desirable for carrying out the purposes of the district, and to sell, lease as lessor, transfer, and dispose of any property or interest therein at any time acquired by it.

(6) To exercise the authority granted to political subdivisions by R.S. 33:4715.1. Public facilities of the district are hereby deemed to be public facilities for purposes of such authority.

(7) To enter into contracts with any public or private entity in carrying out its corporate objectives, including but not limited to contracts for construction or acquisition of property and facilities incident to the purposes of the district.

(8) To enter into agreements with any persons, corporations, associations, or other entities, including public corporations, political subdivisions, the United States government and agencies thereof, the state of Louisiana or any of its agencies, or any combination thereof, for the operation or use of properties and facilities of the district.

(9) To adopt bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs and for the regulation and control of its facilities, programs, and activities.

(10) To accept gifts, grants, and donations of property and money. Title to immovable property acquired shall reside with the Plaquemines Parish Courthouse District.

(11) To govern, manage, and direct the existing courthouse, a new courthouse, or both and associated facilities, including any courthouse annex or annexes and any branch or satellite office or facility; to lay out, regulate, improve, and beautify the same; to pass ordinances for the regulation and governance thereof; to appoint and employ such architects, engineers, surveyors, clerks, and others as may be necessary and to prescribe and define their respective duties and authority and the amount of their compensation; and generally to do all things in regard to the powers granted pursuant to this Section.

(12) To purchase items and supplies as may be necessary or convenient in performing the functions of the district.

(13) To contract with, employ, and fix the compensation and terms of employment of attorneys, clerks, or any other agents or employees.

(14) To perform or have performed any other function or activity necessary for the achievement of the purpose of the district.

D. Revenues. (1) The board of commissioners may, subject to the provisions of this Subsection and other applicable provisions of law, levy taxes on real property including but not limited to parcel fees and ad valorem taxes.

(2) The board of commissioners may, subject to the provisions of this Subsection and other applicable provisions of law, levy sales and use taxes. Any such tax shall be in addition to all other sales and use taxes authorized by law and shall be excluded when calculating the combined rate of sales and use taxes levied in Plaquemines Parish pursuant to Article VI, Section 29(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana including but not limited to sales and use taxes authorized by R.S. 33:2721.6. Such tax shall be levied upon the sale at retail, the use, lease or rental, the consumption, and the storage for use or consumption, of tangible personal property, and on sales of services, all as defined in Chapter 2 of Subtitle II of Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, R.S. 47:301 et seq., in the district. Sales and use taxes shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as set forth in R.S. 47:301 through 317.

(3)(a) No tax may be levied pursuant to Paragraph (1) or (2) of this Subsection unless and until such levy is authorized by a majority of the electors of the district who vote at an election held for that purpose in accordance with the Louisiana Election Code.

(b) A tax proposition submitted to the voters shall state the rate, duration, and purpose of the tax as requested by duly adopted resolution of the governing authority of the district. The rate, duration, and use of any tax shall be as so stated in the proposition authorizing its levy.

(4)(a) The board of commissioners may, subject to the provisions of this Subsection and other applicable provisions of law, incur debt and fund tax revenues into bonds in the manner provided by Part III of Chapter 4 of Subtitle II of Title 39 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, R.S. 39:551 et seq.

(b) Any proposition submitted to the voters for the issuance of bonds secured by sales and use taxes shall state the amount of bonds to be issued and the district governing authority shall not issue such bonds in an amount exceeding such stated amount.

(5) If the governing authority of the district proposes to acquire or construct and to operate and maintain a new courthouse, the governing authority shall not submit to the voters of the district a single proposition providing for the levy of taxes or the incurring of debt or both for purposes related to the acquisition or construction of a new courthouse and for purposes related to the operation and maintenance of a new courthouse. It is the intent of this Paragraph that the question of authorizing revenues for acquisition or construction of a new courthouse and the question of authorizing revenues for operation and maintenance of a new courthouse, if both are submitted to the voters, be submitted to the voters in separate propositions such that the voters may vote on each issue independently of the other.

(6) The district may, on its own initiative, call a special election to submit to the qualified electors of the district a proposition or propositions authorizing the levy of a tax or the issuance of bonds or both.

(7) In addition to the authority granted pursuant to this Section, the district, through the board, is authorized to levy and collect any additional tax authorized by law for political subdivisions. The district, through the board, may also seek any additional sources of funding from both public or private entities to accomplish the purposes of the district.

E. Authority. The governing authority of the district shall exercise the authority granted in this Section to the extent that sufficient revenues are authorized by the voters of the district, and the parish governing authority shall not exercise any authority which conflicts with such exercise of authority by the district. To the extent that voters do not authorize the district to acquire sufficient revenues for the exercise of the authority granted in this Section, the parish governing authority may, as it deems appropriate, exercise its own authority, as otherwise provided by law, to provide for the acquisition, construction, renovation, operation, or maintenance of the parish courthouse, including any courthouse annex and branch or satellite office or facility.

F. Audit. The district shall be subject to audit by the legislative auditor pursuant to R.S. 24:513.

Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 46, §1, eff. April 24, 1998; Acts 2006, No. 698, §1, eff. July 1, 2006.