A.(1)  In order to promote commerce and industry and develop trade by inducing manufacturing, industrial, commercial, and other enterprises, including those relating to arts, entertainment, and culture, to locate within the jurisdiction of the commission, and to attract and retain business and commercial enterprises within the jurisdiction of the commission to maintain employment and the economy of the area, the commission shall have authority to plan, finance, develop, acquire, own, construct, repair, renovate, and improve commercial and industrial parks and plant buildings within the jurisdiction of the commission, including sites and other necessary property or appurtenances thereto, and to acquire, construct, develop, improve, operate, maintain, and provide improvements and services necessary therefor, including but not limited to roads, streets, lighting, bridges, rail facilities, drainage, sewers, sewerage disposal facilities, plant solid waste disposal facilities, water works, and other utilities and related properties.

(2)(a)  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 the jurisdiction of the commission all or any part of a site, building, or other property owned by the commission.

(b)  In determining the consideration for any contract to lease, sell, or otherwise dispose of lands, buildings, or other property of the commission, the board 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 enterprise being induced to locate or expand within the jurisdiction of the commission.  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 revenue to be generated by the enterprise acquiring or leasing lands, buildings, or other property from the commission.  In no event, however, and under no circumstances shall the board dispose of any property of the commission for less than the fair market value of the property as defined in La. Rev. Stat. 47:2321 without the prior approval of the State Bond Commission.

(c)  The commission shall be empowered to enter into leases having a term, including all renewal terms, not to exceed fifty years in the aggregate; provided that there shall be a provision for periodic adjustments of the rental rate, commensurate with economic conditions, during the fifty-year term.

(3)(a)  The resolution or ordinance adopted by the board authorizing any lease, sale, or other disposition of lands, buildings, or other property of the commission or any attachment thereto 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.

(b)  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 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 thirty days.

B.  The commission shall have the following additional powers, together with all powers incidental thereto or necessary to carry out the provisions of this Subsection:

(1)(a)  To acquire, whether by purchase, exchange, donation, or lease, and to construct and improve, maintain, equip, and furnish one or more economic development projects, including all immovable and movable properties which the board may deem necessary in connection therewith.

(b)  Nothing in this Paragraph shall be construed to apply to electric cooperatives or investor-owned public utilities that are regulated by the Louisiana Public Service Commission or the city of New Orleans.

(2)  To lease or to contract for the use of any or all of its authorized projects and to charge and collect rent, fees, or charges therefor, and to terminate any such lease or contractual arrangement upon the failure of the obligations thereof, all as may be provided for in the lease agreement to which the commission may become a party.

(3)  To sell, exchange, donate, and convey any or all of its projects upon such terms and conditions as the board may deem advisable, including the power to receive for any such sale the first mortgage note or notes of the purchaser of a project representing unpaid installments of the purchase price due by the purchaser to the commission whenever the board finds any such actions to be in furtherance of the purpose for which the commission was organized.

(4)  As security for the payment of the principal of and interest on any bonds, notes, or other obligations of the commission, and any agreements made in connection therewith, to mortgage and pledge any or all of its projects or any part or parts thereof, whether then owned or thereafter acquired, and to pledge the revenues and receipts therefrom or from any other source.

(5)(a)  To enter into any cooperative financing of an economic development project between or among the commission and the state of Louisiana, any of its political subdivisions or public benefit corporations, the United States or its agencies, or any public or private association, corporation, or individual.  The methods of financing shall include loan guarantees, land write-downs, grants, lease guarantees, or any form of financial subsidy or incentive that complies with the provisions of La. Const. Art. VII, § 14 .

(b)  To enter into any cooperative development between or among the commission and the state of Louisiana, any of its political subdivisions or public benefit corporations, the United States or its agencies, or any public or private association, corporation, or individual.  The methods of cooperative development shall include but not be limited to any number of joint development agreements such as condominiums and cooperative ownership, limited partnerships, and investment syndicates not prohibited by the Constitution of Louisiana.  Regardless of the method of financing, the commission shall attempt to obtain the most favorable security available in order to protect and ensure recovery of sums loaned or paid pursuant to such financing.

(c)  “Cooperative endeavor” means any form of economic development assistance between or among the commission and the state, any of its local governmental subdivisions, political corporations or public benefit corporations, the United States or its agencies, or any public or private association, corporation, or individual.  The term “cooperative endeavor” shall include but not be limited to cooperative financing, cooperative development, or any other form of cooperative economic development activity.

Acts 2014, No. 834, §1, eff. June 23, 2014.