2019 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE BILL NO. 67
BY SENATOR MORRELL
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 33:2740.70.2, relative to Orleans Parish; to create the Mid City Economic
3 Development District within the parish; to provide relative to the boundaries,
4 purpose, and powers and duties of the district; to provide relative to district funding,
5 including the authority to levy taxes; and to provide for related matters.
6 Notice of intention to introduce this Act has been published.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 33:2740.70.2 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
9 ยง2740.70.2. The Mid City Economic Development District; creation,
10 composition, and powers; levy of ad valorem taxes
11 A. There is hereby created within the parish of Orleans a body politic
12 and corporate which shall be known as the Mid City Economic Development
13 District, referred to in this Section as the "district". The district shall be a
14 political subdivision of the state as defined in the Constitution of Louisiana. The
15 district, acting through its board of commissioners, the governing authority of
16 the district, is hereby granted all of the rights, powers, privileges, and
17 immunities granted to political subdivisions for economic development
18 purposes.
19 B. The district is established to allow the assessor to purchase and
20 develop property in the district for the use of any governmental subdivision.
21 C. The boundaries of the district shall encompass the area included
22 within the following perimeter: I-10, LaSalle Street, Tulane Avenue, and
23 Broad Street.
24 D. The district shall be governed by a five-member board of
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1 commissioners, referred to in this Section as the "board". The board shall be
2 composed as follows:
3 (1)(a) The state representative who represents the district, or his
4 designee.
5 (b) The state senator who represents the district, or his designee.
6 (c) The mayor of the city of New Orleans, or his designee.
7 (d) The sheriff of Orleans Parish, or his designee.
8 (e) The assessor of Orleans Parish, or his designee.
9 (2)(a) Each designee shall be a resident of the district and a qualified
10 voter of the city of New Orleans. Each designee shall also have his principal
11 place of business in or own property in the district. Each designee shall serve at
12 the pleasure of his respective designating authority. Members shall serve until
13 their successors have been appointed and qualified.
14 (b) Any vacancy which occurs in the membership of the board shall be
15 filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
16 (3) As soon as practicable after its appointment, the board shall meet
17 and elect from its number a vice chairman, a treasurer, and other officers as it
18 may deem appropriate. The assessor of Orleans Parish shall serve as chairman.
19 The duties of the officers shall be fixed by bylaws adopted by the board.
20 (4) The board shall adopt rules and regulations as it deems necessary or
21 advisable for conducting its business and affairs and shall engage assistants and
22 employees as are needed to assist the board in the performance of its duties. It
23 shall hold regular meetings as shall be provided by its bylaws and may hold
24 special meetings at such time and places within or without the district as may
25 be prescribed in its rules or regulations.
26 (5) A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum
27 for the transaction of business. The board shall keep minutes of all regular and
28 special meetings and shall make them available to the public in conformance
29 with law.
30 (6) The members of the board shall serve without compensation;
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1 however, they shall receive travel allowance as reimbursement for expenses
2 incurred while attending to the business of the district.
3 (7) Any member of the board may serve on the board of a private entity
4 which enters into contracts with the district provided that the member does not
5 receive compensation from the private entity.
6 (8) The state senator who represents the district shall call the first
7 meeting of the board no later than February 15, 2020.
8 E. The district shall have the power to acquire, lease, insure, and sell
9 immovable property within its boundaries.
10 F. The city council, in addition to all other taxes which it may be
11 authorized by law to levy and collect, is authorized to levy and collect as
12 provided in this Section for a term not to exceed fifty years from and after the
13 date the first tax is levied pursuant to the provisions of this Section, in the same
14 manner and at the same time as all other ad valorem taxes on property subject
15 to taxation by the city are levied and collected, a special ad valorem tax upon all
16 taxable immovable property situated within the boundaries of the district. The
17 tax shall be levied and collected only after the question of its imposition has
18 been submitted to and approved by a majority of the qualified voters of the
19 district voting on the question at a regularly scheduled primary or general
20 election to be conducted in accordance with provisions of the Louisiana Election
21 Code. Any tax levied pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be subject
22 to the homestead exemption as provided by Article VII, Section 20 of the
23 Constitution of Louisiana. The proceeds of the tax shall be used solely and
24 exclusively for the purposes and benefit of the district. The proceeds shall be
25 paid over to the Board of Liquidation, City Debt, day by day as they are
26 collected and received by the appropriate officials of the city of New Orleans
27 and maintained in a separate account. The tax proceeds shall be paid out by the
28 Board of Liquidation, City Debt, solely for the purposes provided for in this
29 Section upon warrants or drafts drawn on the Board of Liquidation, City Debt,
30 by the appropriate officials of the city and the treasurer of the district.
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1 Section 2. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
2 signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
3 by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
4 vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
5 effective on the day following such approval.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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