§421. Local assessments or forced contributions

            A. Atchafalaya Basin Levee District. The board of commissioners of the Atchafalaya Basin Levee District may levy annually a local assessment or forced contribution of two and a half cents on each acre of land within the district and sixty dollars per mile on railroad lines within the district.

            B. Bossier Levee District. (1) The board of commissioners of the Bossier Levee District may levy annually a local assessment or forced contribution not exceeding ten cents per acre of land not in cultivation and a local assessment or forced contribution not exceeding twenty-five cents per acre of land cleared or cultivated within the district for the year in which the local assessment or forced contribution is levied and one hundred dollars per mile on railroad lines within the district. If the board deems the funds provided for in this Part are inadequate to locate, construct, and repair levees to prevent disastrous floods, the board may levy a special assessment or forced contribution not to exceed one dollar per head on all horses and mules.

            (2) The tax shall be collected by the sheriffs of the respective parishes in the manner and under regulations which the board may direct.

            C. Caddo Levee District. The board of commissioners of the Caddo Levee District may levy annually a local assessment or forced contribution not exceeding five cents on each acre of land within the district and sixty dollars per mile on railroad lines within the district.

            D. Fifth Louisiana Levee District. The board of commissioners of the Fifth Louisiana Levee District may levy annually a local assessment or forced contribution of five cents on each acre of land and one hundred dollars per mile on railroads of standard gauge or of gauge greater than standard gauge and twenty dollars per mile on railroads of less than standard gauge within the district. Neither side tracks nor switch tracks shall be included in the estimate of trackage for the purposes of the assessment or forced contribution.

            E. Lafourche Basin Conservation Levee and Drainage District. The board of commissioners of the Lafourche Basin Conservation Levee and Drainage District may levy annually a local assessment or forced contribution of two and one-half cents per acre on all lands within the district and one hundred dollars per mile on all standard gauge lines on railroads in the district upon railroads now constructed and which may be constructed in this state whose entire length does not exceed one hundred miles. The mileage assessment or forced contribution to be borne by the shorter roads shall not exceed fifty dollars per mile.

            F. Lake Borgne Basin Levee District. The board of commissioners of the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District may levy annually a local assessment or tax of sixty dollars per mile on railroad lines within the district.

            G. Natchitoches Levee and Drainage District. The board of commissioners of the Natchitoches Levee and Drainage District may levy annually a local assessment or forced contribution not exceeding five cents on each acre of land within the district and one hundred dollars per mile on railroad lines and fifty dollars per mile on pipelines for the transportation of oil and gas within the district.

            H. Nineteenth Louisiana Levee District. The board of commissioners of the Nineteenth Louisiana Levee District may levy annually a local assessment or forced contribution not in excess of twenty-five cents on each acre of land in the district, one hundred dollars per mile on the railroad lines in the district, and fifty dollars per mile on oil and gas pipelines in the district.

            I. Repealed by Acts 2006, No. 713, §4, eff. July 1, 2006.

            J. Pontchartrain Levee District. The board of commissioners of the Pontchartrain Levee District may levy annually a special assessment or forced contribution not to exceed three cents per acre on land and a special assessment not to exceed one hundred dollars per mile on each and every mile of main line of railroad within the district.

            K. Red River, Atchafalaya, and Bayou Beouf Levee District. The board of commissioners of the Red River, Atchafalaya, and Bayou Beouf Levee District may levy annually a forced contribution or local assessment not to exceed twenty-five cents per acre and one hundred dollars per mile of railroad lines.

            L. Red River Levee and Drainage District. The board of commissioners of the Red River Levee and Drainage District may levy annually a local assessment or forced contribution not exceeding five cents on each acre of land within the district and sixty dollars per mile on railroad lines within the district.

            M. Tensas Basin Levee District. The board of commissioners of the Tensas Basin Levee District may levy annually a forced contribution or local assessment not to exceed five cents per acre on land within the district and sixty dollars per mile of all railroad lines within the district of standard or greater than standard gauge and thirty dollars per mile for all railroad lines within the district of less than standard gauge. No railroad the entire length of which is less than one hundred miles shall be liable to an annual assessment or contribution of more than thirty dollars per mile.

            N. In General. A local assessment and forced contribution shall not be levied on lands not alluvial. Local assessments and forced contributions shall be placed on the assessment rolls of the parishes and parts of parishes in each district and shall be collected in the same manner and deposited as hereinabove provided for the district levee tax. The funds shall be credited by the treasurer to the account of the individual levee district and shall be paid out as hereinabove provided.

            O. Exemption of produce and other commodities from the special assessment or forced contribution. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, produce and other commodities, which shall include but not be limited to corn, cotton, esculents, hay, oats, oranges, oysters, sugar, syrup, and molasses, shall be exempt from the special assessment or forced contribution.

            Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985; Acts 2005, No. 58, §1, eff. for taxable periods beginning on or after Jan 1, 2006; Acts 2006, No. 713, §4, eff. July 1, 2006; Acts 2024, No. 177, §1.

{{NOTE: REGARDING R.S. 38:421(G), SEE ALSO R.S. 38:1117(A)(1) AS PER ACTS 1985, NO. 466, §2, WHICH MAY BE CONFLICTING.}}