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2024 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 472
BY SENATOR BARROW
LOCAL AGENCIES. Provides relative to certain airport commissions. (8/1/24)
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 2:614, relative to airport commissions in certain parishes, to provide relative
3 to powers and functions of the commissions; to provide relative to economic growth
4 and development; to provide relative to terms, conditions, and procedures; and to
5 provide for related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 2:614 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
8 ยง614. Airport Commissions in Certain Parishes; additional economic
9 development functions
10 A. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, in any parish
11 with a population of not less than four hundred thousand persons and no more
12 than five hundred thousand persons based on the latest federal decennial
13 census, in addition to any other powers and functions, the airport commission
14 may perform the functions of an economic and industrial development entity.
15 Such functions may include but shall not be limited to the following:
16 (1) Public relations, advertising, marketing, and providing and
17 disseminating information.
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
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1 (2) Government relations, ombudsman, and government liaison.
2 (3) Financial and financing assistance.
3 (4) Tax abatement.
4 (5) Planning and coordination for economic development and resource
5 utilization, including such functions as industrial and economic research and
6 industrial programming and solicitation.
7 (6) Industrial training, technical assistance, and technology transfer.
8 (7) The use of public and other legal powers to facilitate development.
9 (8) Promoting transfer mechanisms to take ideas from their point of
10 origin and development to commercially successful utilization by local
11 enterprises.
12 (9) Fostering entrepreneurial activity for the airport located in the
13 parish.
14 (10) Promoting the development of new products, processes, or services
15 or new uses for existing products, processes, or services manufactured or
16 marketed for the airport located in the parish.
17 (11) Supporting market research aimed at identifying new markets for
18 local or regional products and processes, including international markets;
19 determining the characteristics, needs and preferences of those markets; and
20 developing new marketing techniques to exploit those markets.
21 (12) Fostering and supporting economic and industrial development and
22 education in cooperation with private business enterprises, financial
23 institutions, educational institutions, nonprofit institutions and organizations,
24 state government and political subdivisions of the state, the federal government,
25 and other organizations or persons concerned with research, development,
26 education, commercial application, and economic or industrial development in
27 ways which increase the economic base of the airport located in the parish.
28 B. For the purposes enumerated in Subsection A of this Section, the
29 commission may engage in whatever activities and projects it deems most
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
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1 appropriate to encourage and assist economic growth and development in
2 accordance with and pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter, including but
3 not limited to the following:
4 (1) To plan, acquire, construct, improve, maintain, equip, operate,
5 regulate, and protect economic development facilities, including the acquisition,
6 maintenance and operation of buildings and other facilities, and the purchase
7 of and sale of supplies, goods, and commodities as an incident to the operation
8 of its properties. For such purposes an authority may, by purchase, gift, devise,
9 or lease, acquire property, movable or immovable, or any interest therein,
10 including easements in land outside the boundaries of such facility site.
11 (2) To establish or acquire and maintain economic development facilities
12 in, over, and upon any public waters of this state, any submerged lands under
13 such public water; and to construct and maintain buildings, landing floats,
14 causeways, roadways, and bridges for approaches to or connecting with any
15 such facilities, and landing floats and breakwaters for the protection thereof.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by James Benton.
DIGEST
SB 472 Original 2024 Regular Session Barrow
Present law provides for the general powers of airport authorities and authorizes airport
authorities to make contracts for a fixed term of no longer than 10 years and to dedicate
excess future revenues above statutory, necessary, and usual charges subject to approval of
the State Bond Commission.
Proposed law authorizes airport commissions in any parish with a population of not less than
400,000 persons and no more than 500,000 persons based on the latest federal decennial
census, to perform the functions of an economic and industrial development entity which
functions may include but shall not be limited to the following:
(1)Public relations, advertising, marketing, and providing and disseminating
information.
(2)Government relations, ombudsman, and government liaison.
(3)Financial and financing assistance.
(4)Tax abatement.
(5)Planning and coordination for economic development and resource utilization,
including such functions as industrial and economic research and industrial
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 472
SLS 24RS-825 ORIGINAL
programming and solicitation.
(6)Industrial training, technical assistance, and technology transfer.
(7)The use of public and other legal powers to facilitate development.
(8)Promoting transfer mechanisms to take ideas from their point of origin and
development to commercially successful utilization by local enterprises.
(9)Fostering entrepreneurial activity for the airport located in the parish.
(10)Promoting the development of new products, processes, or services or new uses for
existing products, processes, or services manufactured or marketed for the airport
located in the parish.
(11)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.
(12)Fostering and supporting economic and 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
airport located in the parish.
Proposed law provides that for such enumerated purposes, the airport located in the parish
may engage in whatever activities and projects it deems most appropriate to encourage and
assist economic growth and development, including but not limited to the following:
(1)To plan, acquire, construct, improve, maintain, equip, operate, regulate, and protect
economic development facilities, including the acquisition, maintenance and
operation of buildings and other facilities, and the purchase of and sale of supplies,
goods, and commodities as an incident to the operation of its properties. For such
purposes an authority may, by purchase, gift, or lease, acquire property, real or
personal, or any interest therein, including easements in land outside the boundaries
of such facility site.
(2)To establish or acquire and maintain economic development facilities in, over, and
upon any public waters of this state, any submerged lands under such public water;
and to construct and maintain buildings, landing floats, causeways, roadways, and
bridges for approaches to or connecting with any such facilities, and landing floats
and breakwaters for the protection thereof.
Effective August 1, 2024.
(Adds R.S. 2:614)
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.