§4715.3. Avoyelles Parish Justice Center District

            A.(1) There is hereby created within Avoyelles Parish a body politic and corporate which shall be known as the Avoyelles Parish Justice Center District, hereafter in this Section referred to as the "district". The district shall have boundaries coterminous with the parish. The district shall be a political subdivision of the state as defined in the Constitution of Louisiana.

            (2) The purposes of the district are to locate, build, operate, and maintain courtroom facilities for the Twelfth Judicial District Court for the state of Louisiana that encompasses the district, hereafter in this Section referred to as the "judicial district", including all matters relating to incurring debt and financing such activities as approved by the voters, all as more specifically prescribed by this Section. These courtroom facilities for the judicial district may include offices for judges, clerks of court and support staff, jury rooms, accommodations for the public, and other facilities deemed appropriate for administration of justice by the governing authority of the district. The courtroom facilities shall be located anywhere within the boundaries of the judicial district as may be deemed appropriate by the board of commissioners of the Avoyelles Parish Justice Center District.

            B. The district shall be governed by a board of commissioners consisting of not less than three nor more than seven members appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the elected judges of the judicial district.

            C. The district, acting through its board of commissioners, shall have all powers necessary or convenient to effectuate the purposes of the district, including but not limited to the following:

            (1) To sue and be sued.

            (2) To adopt, use, and alter at will a corporate seal.

            (3) To receive and expend funds collected pursuant to and in accordance with this Section.

            (4)(a) To acquire and develop property to be used as a justice center.

            (b) To develop plans for and to construct a justice center.

            (c) To operate and maintain the justice center.

            (5) To acquire, purchase, lease as lessee, and hold and use any property, movable or immovable, corporeal or incorporeal, or any interest therein necessary or desirable for carrying out the purposes of the district, and to sell, lease as lessor, transfer, and dispose of any property or interest therein at any time acquired by it.

            (6) To exercise the authority granted to political subdivisions by R.S. 33:4715.1. Public facilities of the district are hereby deemed to be public facilities for purposes of such authority.

            (7) To enter into contracts with any public or private entity in carrying out its corporate objectives, including but not limited to contracts for construction or acquisition of property and facilities incident to the purposes of the district.

            (8) To enter into agreements with any persons, corporations, associations, or other entities, including public corporations, political subdivisions, the United States government and agencies thereof, the state of Louisiana or any of its agencies, or any combination thereof, for the operation or use of properties and facilities of the district.

            (9) To adopt bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs and for the regulation and control of its facilities, programs, and activities.

            (10) To accept gifts, grants, and donations of property and money. Title to immovable property acquired shall reside with the district.

            (11) To govern, manage, and direct the justice center; to lay out, regulate, improve, and beautify the same; to pass ordinances for the regulation and governance thereof; to appoint and employ such architects, engineers, surveyors, clerks, and others as may be necessary and to prescribe and define their respective duties and authority and the amount of their compensation; and generally to do all things in regard to the powers granted pursuant to this Section.

            (12) To purchase items and supplies as may be necessary or convenient in performing the functions of the district.

            (13) To contract with, employ, and fix the compensation and terms of employment of attorneys, clerks, or any other agents or employees.

            (14) To perform or have performed any other function or activity necessary for the achievement of the purpose of the district.

            D.(1) The board of commissioners may, subject to the provisions of this Subsection and other applicable provisions of law, levy ad valorem taxes within the district.

            (2) The board of commissioners may, subject to the provisions of this Subsection and other applicable provisions of law, levy sales and use taxes. Any such tax shall be in addition to all other sales and use taxes authorized by law and shall be excluded when calculating the combined rate of sales and use taxes levied in the parish pursuant to Article VI, Section 29(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana including but not limited to sales and use taxes authorized by R.S. 47:338.54. Such tax shall be levied upon the sale at retail, the use, lease or rental, the consumption, and the storage for use or consumption, of tangible personal property, and on sales of services, all as defined in Chapter 2 of Subtitle II of Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, R.S. 47:301 et seq., in the district. Sales and use taxes shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as set forth in R.S. 47:301 through 316.

            (3)(a) No tax may be levied pursuant to Paragraph (1) or (2) of this Subsection unless the levy is authorized by a majority of the electors of the district who vote at an election held for that purpose in accordance with the Louisiana Election Code.

            (b) A tax proposition submitted to the voters shall state the rate, duration, and purpose of the tax as requested by duly adopted resolution of the governing authority of the district. The rate, duration, and use of any tax shall be as so stated in the proposition authorizing its levy.

            (4)(a) The board of commissioners may, subject to the provisions of this Subsection and other applicable provisions of law, incur debt and fund tax revenues into bonds in the manner provided by Part III of Chapter 4 of Subtitle II of Title 39 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.

            (b) Any proposition submitted to the voters for the issuance of bonds secured by sales and use taxes shall state the amount of bonds to be issued, and the district governing authority shall not issue such bonds in an amount exceeding the stated amount.

            (5) The district may, on its own initiative, call a special election to submit to the qualified electors of the district a proposition or propositions authorizing the levy of a tax or the issuance of bonds or both.

            (6) The district, through the board, may also seek any additional sources of funding, specifically including grants, from both public or private entities to accomplish the purposes of the district.

            E. The governing authority of the district shall exercise the authority granted in this Section to the extent that sufficient revenues are authorized by the voters of the district, and the parish governing authority shall not exercise any authority which conflicts with such exercise of authority by the district. To the extent that voters do not authorize the district to acquire sufficient revenues for the exercise of the authority granted in this Section, the parish governing authority may, as it deems appropriate, exercise its own authority, as otherwise provided by law, to provide for the acquisition, construction, renovation, operation, or maintenance of the parish courthouse.

            F. The district shall be subject to audit by the legislative auditor pursuant to R.S. 24:513.

            Acts 2018, No. 510, §1; Acts 2019, No. 138, §1, eff. June 6, 2019.