§4303. Board of commissioners

            A. Each gas utility district created pursuant to this Subpart shall be governed by a board of five commissioners, except that where the district includes one or more municipalities as hereafter provided, the board shall consist of nine members. Each member shall be a taxpayer on real property located in such district and a resident thereof. In the resolution creating the district the governing authority shall appoint the five commissioners who are to make up the first board of commissioners for the district and, if the district shall lie in more than one parish, the governing authority of the parish containing a larger part of the district than that in any other parish shall have jurisdiction to appoint the commissioners and to fill subsequent vacancies.

            B. The five commissioners first appointed shall at their first meeting determine by lot their terms of office, which shall commence immediately upon their qualification and shall expire respectively one, two, three, four, and five years from the first day of January immediately succeeding such appointment. All commissioners thereafter appointed, except a commissioner appointed to fill an unexpired term, shall be appointed for terms of five years.

            C.(1) Where one or more municipalities, or any part of such municipalities, is to be included in the district, the membership of the board of commissioners shall consist of nine members, seven to be appointed by the governing authority which creates the district and the remaining two to be appointed by the governing authority of the municipality included in the district. If two municipalities, or parts of municipalities, are included, the governing authority of each such municipality shall be entitled to appoint one member and the governing authority which creates the district shall be entitled to appoint the remaining seven members; in the event more than two municipalities are included, the two municipalities having the largest population within the district shall appoint the two members representing the municipalities, one from each such municipality.

            (2)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, Gas Utility District No. 1 of West Feliciana Parish shall be governed by a board of eleven commissioners. The two members added to the board by this Paragraph shall be appointed as follows:

            (i) One member shall be appointed by the warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary.

            (ii) One member shall be appointed by the chief executive officer of the Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System-Jackson Campus.

            (b) Members appointed pursuant to this Paragraph shall serve initial terms of three years each and their successors shall serve five-year terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the manner of the original appointments.

            (3)(a) Notwithstanding Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, the membership of the board of commissioners of East Feliciana Gas Utility District No. 1 shall consist of five members appointed as follows:

            (i) The governing authority of East Feliciana Parish shall appoint three members.

            (ii) The governing authority of Wilson shall appoint one member.

            (iii) The governing authority of Norwood shall appoint one member.

            (b) Members of the board of commissioners shall serve initial and subsequent terms as provided by Subsection B of this Section.

            D. Any vacancy which occurs by expiration or otherwise of any commissioner appointed by the governing authority of the parish shall be filled by such governing authority, and any vacancy which occurs by expiration or otherwise of any commissioner appointed by the governing authority of a municipality included in the district shall be filled by the governing authority of said municipality, both at the sole discretion of the governing authority concerned.

            E. These provisions shall apply to existing gas utility districts, as well as those hereafter created. When any existing district contains one or more municipalities or any part of such municipalities, the board of commissioners of such existing district shall consist of nine members, as aforesaid. The governing authority of the municipality or municipalities included in the district shall, within sixty days after July 27, 1966, fill the vacancies thus created, the terms of such appointments to be five years, and the governing authority of the parish shall likewise, and within the same period of time, fill the additional two vacancies thus created and allocated to it, the terms to be five years.

            Acts 1960, No. 415, §3. Amended by Acts 1966, No. 126, §1; Acts 2004, No. 537, §1; Acts 2023, No. 57, §1, eff. June 6, 2023.

            NOTE: See Acts 2023, No. 345, §2, relative to terms of board members.