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A.  The Drug Rehabilitation Services District, hereinafter referred to as the “district”, is hereby created.  The district shall be a political subdivision.  The boundaries of the district shall be coterminous with the boundaries of the Twenty-third Judicial District which district includes the parishes of Ascension, Assumption, and St. James.

B.  The district is established for the primary object and purpose of providing a funding source for drug rehabilitation services and prevention programs to residents of the district who are determined to be in need of such services.

C.  To provide for the orderly provision of the services to be furnished by the district and to provide for representation in the affairs of the district of those persons and interests immediately concerned with and affected by the purposes of the district, a board of commissioners for the district is hereby created as the governing authority of the district, hereinafter referred to as the “board”.

D.(1)  The board shall be composed of seven members selected as provided in this Paragraph.

(a)  The seven members of the board shall be appointed as follows:

(i)  The sheriffs of the parishes of Ascension, Assumption, and St. James shall appoint one member each domiciled in the respective parish.

(ii)  The parish governing authorities of the parishes of Ascension, Assumption, and St. James shall appoint one member each domiciled in the respective parishes.

(iii)  The judges of the Twenty-third Judicial District court shall appoint one member to the board.

(b)  As provided in this Paragraph, two members of the board shall be domiciled in each parish included in the district.  However, the member appointed by the district judges shall be selected from the district at large.

(2)(a)  The members of the board shall serve four-year terms of office.

(b)  The members of the board shall serve until their successors have been appointed and qualified.

(c)  Any vacancy which occurs prior to the expiration of the term for which a member of the board has been appointed shall be filled by appointment in the same manner as the original appointment for the unexpired term.

E.(1)  As soon as practical after appointment of the members, the board shall meet and elect from among the members a chairman, a vice chairman, a secretary-treasurer, and such other officers as it may deem appropriate.  The secretary-treasurer shall furnish bond in an amount and in accordance with terms and conditions fixed by the board.

(2)  A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum.  A quorum shall be required to transact business and all plans, actions, and resolutions of the board must be approved by a majority of the quorum present.

(3)  The board shall fix a time and place for the holding of its regular meetings and shall hold at least one regular meeting in each calendar month.  Additional regular or special meetings may be held in accordance with the rules and regulations adopted by the board.

(4)  The board shall adopt such rules and regulations as it considers necessary or advisable for conducting its business and affairs.

(5)  The members of the board shall receive per diem, in an amount set by the board, not to exceed a total of one hundred dollars per month, for attendance at meetings of the board and conducting the business of the district.

(6)  The board shall have the authority to contract, in accordance with applicable state law, for the provision of drug rehabilitation services and prevention programs in accordance with the plan developed by the board pursuant to Subsection F of this Section.

(7)  The powers, duties, functions, and responsibilities of the board shall include but not be limited to:

(a)  Monitoring, evaluating, and reviewing the development and quality of drug rehabilitation and prevention programs funded through the district.

(b)  Advising and supplying information, as far as available, to civic groups and private persons and organizations who may request such information or advice, and who study or otherwise concern themselves with the district’s problems.

(c)  Providing information to officials of departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of state and local government and to the public at large, in order to foster public awareness and understanding of the objectives of the district in order to stimulate public interest and participation in the objectives of the district.

(d)  Accepting and receiving, in furtherance of its functions, funds, grants, and services from the federal government or its agencies, from departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of state, parish, municipal, or local government, or from private or civic sources.

(e)  Soliciting the assistance and active cooperation of industry and private civic organizations which are active in anti-drug and drug rehabilitation efforts.

(f)  Holding public hearings and sponsoring public forums whenever it deems necessary or useful in the execution of its functions.

(g)  Exercising all other powers necessary and proper for the discharge of its duties.

F.(1)  Prior to the levy of any tax herein authorized, the board shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, a plan specifying the types of services and programs proposed to be funded through the district.  The board shall conduct such public hearings, publish such notices with respect thereto, and disseminate such information as it may consider to be appropriate or advisable and in the public interest.

(2)  Any plan shall include the following:

(a)  An estimate of the annual and aggregate cost of providing the services and programs set forth therein.

(b)  An estimate of the aggregate number of mills required to be levied in each year on the taxable real property within the district in order to provide the funds required for the implementation or effectuation of the plan for furnishing the services specified.

(c)  Requirements and criteria for a determination of eligibility for the funded services and programs.

(3)  The plan shall become final and the tax specified in the plan shall be levied as provided in this Section only upon approval of the plan by a majority vote of the membership of the board and after at least one public hearing on the plan has been held in the district.

G.  For implementation of the plan that has been approved pursuant to this Section, the board with the approval of the parish governing authorities may levy and collect, in the same manner and at the same time as all other ad valorem taxes on property subject to taxation by the parishes included within the district are levied and collected, a special ad valorem tax, not to exceed twenty mills, upon all taxable real property situated within the boundaries of the district.  The tax, when levied, shall be from year to year or for such period of years as may be designated in the plan and in the resolution by which the election is called on the question of the imposition of the tax.

H.  An ordinance imposing the tax herein authorized shall be adopted by the board and approved by the parish governing authorities only after the question of the imposition of the tax, including its purpose, rate, and duration, has been submitted by the board to the qualified electors of the district at an election conducted in accordance with law and a majority of those voting in the election have voted in favor of the proposition.

I.  The proceeds of any tax authorized by and levied in accordance with the provisions of this Section shall be used exclusively to fund drug rehabilitation activities as provided for in the plan.  The district may contract with tax collectors of the parishes of the district to collect the taxes authorized by this Section.

Acts 1990, No. 925, §1, eff. July 25, 1990; Redesignated from La. Rev. Stat. 33:2740.22 pursuant to Acts 2011, No. 248, §3.