Louisiana Constitution Art. 6 Sec. 38.1 – Regional Flood Protection Authorities
Terms Used In Louisiana Constitution Art. 6 Sec. 38.1
- Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Governing authority: means the body which exercises the legislative functions of the political subdivision. See Louisiana Constitution Art. 6 Sec. 44
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
Section 38.1.(A) Establishment. (1) The legislature by law may establish regional flood protection authorities, with territorial jurisdiction limited to parishes and levee districts which are situated entirely or partially within the coastal zone as described in La. Rev. Stat. 49:214.24 as of the effective date of this Section, and provide for their territorial jurisdiction, governing authority, powers, duties, and functions for the purpose of constructing and maintaining levees, levee drainage, flood protection, and hurricane flood protection within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority, and for all other purposes incidental thereto. Each authority shall be governed by a board of commissioners which shall also be the governing authority of each levee district within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority.
(2) The legislature, by law, may include within territorial jurisdiction of the regional flood protection authority one or more parishes or portions of parishes which are included in one or more levee districts that are not included within territorial jurisdiction of the authority. The inclusion of such parishes or portions of parishes shall not affect the authority of the respective levee district (a) to levy taxes in such areas nor prohibit the levy of taxes provided for in this Section in such areas, (b) to employ and provide for its employees, or (c) to own, construct, and maintain its property.
(B) Authority-wide Tax. In addition to the taxes authorized to be levied by any levee district situated within the territorial jurisdiction of a regional flood protection authority, the board of commissioners of the authority may levy annually a tax on the dollar of the assessed valuation of all property not exempt from taxation situated within the territorial jurisdiction of the authority. The necessity and the levy and rate of the tax, or any increase thereof, shall be subject to the provisions of Article VII, § 20 of this Constitution and shall be subject to the provisions of Article VII, § 21(F) of this Constitution and shall be submitted to the electors within the authority, and the tax or increase shall take effect only if approved by:
(1) A majority of the electors voting thereon within that authority, and
(2) Each of the parishes in that authority, by a majority of the electors voting thereon in each parish, in an election held for that purpose.
(C) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article VII, Section 10.2(D) of this Constitution, the legislature may appropriate up to five hundred thousand dollars annually to regional flood protection authorities from the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund.
(D) Obligation of Contract Affirmed. No action taken under this Section shall impair the obligation of outstanding bonded indebtedness or of any other contract of a levee district.
(E) The phrase “levee district” when used in Sections 40 and 41 of this Part and in Articles VII and IX of this Constitution shall include regional flood protection authorities.
Acts 2006, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 43, §1, approved Sept. 30, 2006, eff. Jan. 1, 2007.