A.  The commission shall exercise the powers herein conferred upon it within the port area, consisting of the parish of Ouachita.

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 may find necessary in the performance of its duties and may prescribe their duties, powers, and compensation.  The commission may contract for legal, financial, engineering, and other professional services necessary or expedient in the conduct of its affairs and may utilize the services of the other executive departments of the state, upon terms and conditions mutually agreeable.

C.  The commission shall regulate the commerce and traffic within the port area in such a manner as in its judgment may be for the best interests of the state.  It shall have charge of and administer public wharves, docks, sheds, and landings and may construct or acquire and equip wharves, landings, and other structures useful for the commerce of the port area and provide mechanical facilities therefor; erect sheds or other structures on the wharves and landings; maintain proper depths of water at the wharves and landings; provide light, water, police protection, and other services for its facilities; construct or acquire, maintain, and operate basins, locks, canals, warehouses, and elevators; charge for the use of all facilities it administers and for all services it renders such fees, rates, tariffs, or other charges as it may establish; establish harbor lines within the port area by agreement with the Corps of Engineers; and 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, and operated by the commission in both intrastate and interstate commerce.  Title to all property and improvements thereon operated by the commission shall vest in the commission.  Nothing herein shall operate as a restriction upon the lawful use and development of private property within the port area for port purposes, including the construction and operation of grain elevators and docks appurtenant thereto.

D.  The commission may charge a reasonable fee to each vessel arriving in the port area in ballast or carrying cargo of any kind.  It may also charge for each copy of any certificate issued by it or by any of its officers or employees for inspecting hatches, surveying cargo, or making other surveys or inspections of vessels in the port area, but it shall furnish without charge to the master of each such vessel one copy of all surveys upon his vessel or cargo.

E.  The commission may enter into contracts, leases, and other agreements with railroads, trucking companies, barge lines, and any other companies interested in the transportation, storage, and shipping of goods and other products, whether by rail, truck line, barge line, oceangoing vessels, or otherwise, for the use of all or any part or portion of the facilities administered by the commission for a period of time not exceeding forty years.  However, no exclusive franchise  shall be granted to any carrier.

Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 45, §1.