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            A. There is hereby created the Zachary Taylor Parkway District, subject to the conditions hereinafter set forth, which shall be a body politic and corporate and a political subdivision of the state of Louisiana comprising all of the territory within the geographical boundaries of the parishes of Avoyelles, East Feliciana, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, St. Helena, Tangipahoa, Washington, and West Feliciana.

            B. There is hereby created the Zachary Taylor Parkway Commission, and the management and control of the district is hereby vested in the commission. The commission shall be domiciled in West Feliciana Parish.

            C. The commission is hereby granted all the rights, powers, privileges, and immunities granted to political subdivisions, 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 initiate and coordinate research studies, and the gathering of information on the project, including but not limited to the following:

            (a) Engineering studies.

            (b) Traffic flow and pattern studies.

            (c) Environmental impact studies.

            (d) Location of the proposed route.

            (e) Economic development impacts and benefits.

            (f) Feasibility of obtaining designation of the highway as a National Defense Highway and as a part of the National Highway System.

            (g) Utility relocation.

            (h) Right of way acquisition.

            (i) Project construction cost/benefit ratio studies.

            (j) Feasibility of including the highway in the Louisiana Scenic Byway Program.

            (4) To be designated an official repository for information relating to and about the project. As such, the district is empowered to receive and preserve all information gathered by other parties pertaining to the project.

            (5) To receive contributions, donations, grants, and appropriations of money or other things of value from any public or private source.

            (6) To enter into a cooperative endeavor by written agreement with the state or with any other public or private entity.

            (7) To employ such persons as employees and to enter into such contracts for services as it deems advisable, but the commission shall not enter into any contract for the design or construction of the project or any portion thereof.

            (8) To work jointly or in cooperation with the state of Mississippi in the planning and development of the parkway and to carry out the purposes of this Chapter.

            D. The commission shall not design any portion of the project, engage in or supervise the construction of any portion of the project, nor maintain any portion of the project.

            Acts 1992, No. 288, §1; Acts 1993, No. 230, §1; Acts 2016, No. 290, §1.