A. The commission shall exercise the powers herein conferred upon it, within the port area, consisting of the entire parishes of Caddo and Bossier; however, specifically excluded from the port area are any docks, landings or wharves in use on November 8, 1966, and businesses engaged in river operations in the port area on November 8, 1966.

            B. The commission may authorize a reasonable travel allowance for its members in the performance of their official duties. It may employ such officers, agents, and employees as it finds necessary in the performance of its duties and may prescribe the duties, powers, and compensation of such officers, agents and employees. The commission, on such terms as it agrees upon, may contract for legal, financial, engineering, and other professional services necessary or expedient in the conduct of its affairs, and, on terms and conditions mutually agreeable, may utilize the services of the executive departments of the state.

            C.(1) The commission shall regulate the commerce and traffic within the port area in any manner as may, in its judgment, be for the best interests of the state. It shall not be subject in any respect to the authority, control, or supervision of any local regulatory body or any political subdivision. It shall have charge of and administer public wharves, docks, sheds, landings, industrial parks, industrial buildings, and other property or facilities owned, operated, or controlled by the commission. It shall have authority to construct or acquire and equip wharves and landings and other structures useful for the commerce of the port area, and provide mechanical facilities therefor; to erect sheds or other structures on the wharves and landings; to provide light, water, police protection, and other services for its facilities as it may deem advisable; to construct or acquire, maintain, and operate basins, locks, canals, warehouses, and elevators; to charge for the use of all facilities administered by it, and for all services rendered by it; to establish such fees, rates, tariffs, or other charges as it may deem fit; to establish harbor lines within the port area by agreement with the United States Army Corps of Engineers; and to construct, own, operate, and maintain terminal rail facilities and other common carrier rail facilities for the purpose of rendering rail transportation to and from the facilities to be erected, owned, or operated by the commission in both intrastate and interstate commerce. The commission shall have authority to plan, finance, develop, construct, and acquire industrial parks and industrial plant buildings within its port area, including sites and other necessary property or appurtenances therefor, and to acquire, construct, develop, improve, operate, maintain, and provide improvements and services necessary therefor, including but not limited to roads, streets, street lighting, bridges, rail facilities, drainage, sewers, sewerage disposal facilities, solid waste disposal facilities, waterworks, and other utilities and related properties. Title to such property and improvements shall be in the public and shall vest in the commission for public administration, subject only to the right of the commission to lease, sell, or otherwise dispose of the same in the manner provided in this Chapter.

            (2) In addition to any other powers and functions, the commission may perform the functions of an economic and industrial development entity. Such functions may include but shall not be limited to the following:

            (a) Public relations, advertising, marketing, and providing and disseminating information.

            (b) Government relations, ombudsman, and government liaison.

            (c) Financial and financing assistance.

            (d) Tax abatement.

            (e) Planning and coordination for economic development and resource utilization, including such functions as industrial and economic research and industrial programming and solicitation.

            (f) Industrial training, technical assistance, and technology transfer.

            (g) The use of public and other legal powers to facilitate development.

            (h) Promoting transfer mechanisms to take ideas from their point of origin and development to commercially successful utilization by local enterprises.

            (i) Fostering entrepreneurial activity in the port area.

            (j) Promoting the development of new products, processes, or services or new uses for existing products, processes, or services manufactured or marketed in the port area.

            (k) Supporting market research aimed at identifying new markets for local or regional products and processes, including international markets; determining the characteristics, needs, and preferences of those markets; and developing new marketing techniques to exploit those markets.

            (l) Fostering and supporting economic industrial development and education in cooperation with private business enterprises, financial institutions, educational institutions, nonprofit institutions and organizations, state government and political subdivisions of the state, the federal government, and other organizations or persons concerned with research, development, education, commercial application, and economic or industrial development in ways which increase the economic base of the port area.

            (3) For the purposes of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, the commission may engage in activities and projects it deems most appropriate to encourage and assist economic growth and development in the port area. However, the selection of utility service providers shall be subject to the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. 33:4160.1 and 4160.2, La. Rev. Stat. 45:123, and all applicable orders of the Louisiana Public Service Commission for facilities constructed or acquired by the commission.

            D.(1) The commission shall have authority to make and enter into contracts, leases, and other agreements with railroads, trucking companies, bargelines, and with any and all companies interested in the transportation, storage, and shipping of goods and other products, whether by rail, truckline, bargeline, or otherwise, for the use of facilities administered by the commission or any part or portion thereof for a period of time not exceeding ninety-nine years. However, no exclusive franchise shall be granted to any carrier.

            (2) The commission shall also have the authority to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of, by suitable and appropriate contract, to any enterprise locating or existing within its port area, all or any part of an industrial plant site, industrial plant building, or other property owned by the commission, subject only to the requirements of this Chapter. In determining the consideration for any contract to lease, sell, or otherwise dispose of lands, buildings, or other property of the commission, it may take into consideration the value of the lands, buildings, or other properties involved as well as the potential value of the economic impact of the industrial or business enterprise being induced to locate or expand within the port area. Such economic impact shall include increased employment, increased use of local labor, wages and salaries to be paid, consumption of local materials, products and resources and special tax revenues to be generated by the industrial or business enterprise acquiring or leasing lands, buildings, or other property from the commission. Any lease may be for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years and may contain an option to purchase by the lessee.

            (3) The resolution or ordinance adopted by the commission authorizing any lease, sale, or other disposition of lands, buildings, or other property of the commission shall set forth, in a general way, the terms of the authorized lease, sale, or other disposition, and such resolution or ordinance shall be published as soon as possible in one issue of the official journal of the commission. For a period of thirty days from the date of publication of any such resolution or ordinance, any interested person may contest the legality of such resolution or ordinance or the validity of the authorized lease, sale, or other disposition of commission property, after which time, no one shall have any cause of action to contest the legality of said resolution or ordinance or to draw in question the legality of the authorized lease, sale, or other disposition of commission property for any cause whatsoever, and it shall be conclusively presumed thereafter that every legal requirement has been complied with, and no court shall have authority to inquire into such matters after the lapse of said thirty days.

            Added by Acts 1975, No. 66, §1. Amended by Acts 1978, No. 316, §1, eff. July 10, 1978; Acts 2003, No. 38, §1; Acts 2021, No. 152, §1.