Louisiana HB 182: DISTRICTS/ECONOMIC DEVEL: Creates the Ferriday Downtown Entertainment District

Bill Text

ENROLLED
ACT No. 200
2024 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 182
BY REPRESENTATIVE TRAVIS JOHNSON
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 33:2740.70.6, relative to the town of Ferriday; to create the Ferriday
3 Downtown Entertainment District; to provide relative to the boundaries, purpose,
4 governance, and powers and duties of the district; to provide relative to district
5 funding; to provide for an effective date; and to provide for related matters.
6 Notice of intention to introduce this Act has been published
7 as provided by Article III, Section 13 of the Constitution of
8 Louisiana.
9 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
10 Section 1. R.S. 33:2740.70.6 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
11 §2740.70.6. Ferriday Downtown Entertainment District
12 A. There is hereby created within the town of Ferriday, as more specifically
13 provided in Subsection B of this Section, a body politic and corporate which shall
14 be known as the Ferriday Downtown Entertainment District, referred to in this
15 Section as the "district". The district shall be a political subdivision of the state as
16 defined in the Constitution of Louisiana.
17 B. The boundaries of the district shall include the area within the following
18 perimeter: Texas Avenue, EE Wallace Boulevard, Mickey Gilley Avenue, and First
19 Street.
20 C. The district is created to provide for cooperative economic and
21 community development among the district, the city, the state, and the owners of
22 property in the district, to enhance the development of and improvement to the
23 property within the area of the district, and to expand the entertainment and leisure
24 activities within the district.
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CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
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HB NO. 182 ENROLLED
1 D.(1) In order to provide for the orderly development of the district and
2 effect the purposes of the district, the district shall be administered and governed by
3 a seven-member board of commissioners, referred to in this Section as the "board",
4 composed as follows:
5 (a) The mayor of the town of Ferriday shall appoint two members.
6 (b) The governing authority of the town of Ferriday shall appoint two
7 members.
8 (c) The chief executive officer of Concordia Bank & Trust shall appoint one
9 member.
10 (d) The chief executive officer of Delta Bank shall appoint one member.
11 (e) A representative of the Delta Museum appointed by the governing board
12 of the museum.
13 (2) Members shall serve three-year terms after serving initial terms as
14 provided in this Paragraph. Three members shall serve three-year initial terms, two
15 members shall serve two-year initial terms, and two members shall serve one-year
16 initial terms as determined by lot at the first meeting of the board.
17 (3) Any vacancy which occurs prior to the expiration of the term for which
18 a member of the board has been appointed shall be filled by appointment in the same
19 manner as the original appointment for the unexpired term.
20 (4) The board shall elect from its members a chairman, a vice chairman, a
21 secretary-treasurer, and other officers as it deems necessary. The duties of the
22 officers shall be fixed by the bylaws adopted by the board.
23 (5) The minute books and archives of the district shall be maintained by the
24 secretary-treasurer of the board. The monies, funds, and accounts of the district shall
25 be in the official custody of the board.
26 (6) The board shall adopt rules and regulations as it deems necessary or
27 advisable for conducting its business affairs. Rules and regulations of the board
28 relative to the notice and conduct of meetings shall conform to applicable law. The
29 board shall hold regular meetings as provided for in the bylaws and may hold special
30 meetings at such times and places within the district as prescribed in the bylaws.
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HB NO. 182 ENROLLED
1 (7) A majority of the members of the board constitutes a quorum for the
2 transaction of business. The board shall keep minutes of all meetings and shall make
3 them available through the secretary-treasurer of the board.
4 (8) The members of the board shall serve without compensation but shall be
5 reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses directly related to the governance
6 of the district.
7 E. The district, acting by and through its board, shall have and exercise all
8 powers of a political subdivision necessary or convenient for carrying out its objects
9 and purposes, including but not limited to the following:
10 (1) To sue and be sued.
11 (2) To adopt, use, and alter at will a corporate seal.
12 (3) To acquire by gift, grant, purchase, or lease all property, including rights-
13 of-way; to hold and use any franchise or property, immovable or movable, corporeal
14 or incorporeal, or any interest therein, necessary or desirable for carry