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In addition to the powers and duties elsewhere granted in this Chapter, the board is hereby granted and shall have and may exercise all powers necessary and convenient for the carrying out of its objects and purposes, 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 acquire by gift, grant, purchase, lease, or otherwise and to hold and use any property, real, personal, or mixed, tangible or intangible, or any interest therein necessary and desirable for carrying out the objects and purposes of the district and to hold and invest funds.

(4)  To sell, transfer, convey, or alienate any property acquired by it, or any interest therein at any time, by negotiation, to accomplish the objects and purposes of the district.

(5)  To lease or sublease all or any portion of any property, by negotiation, for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years at a fixed or variable rental and without advertisement for public bids.

(6)  To donate by fee simple title, or otherwise to convey to the United States, the state, or to any political subdivision of the state, any lands, property, right-of-way, easement, servitude, or other thing of value, which the district may own or acquire, for use by such governmental entity to accomplish the objects and purposes of the district.

(7)  To make and collect reasonable charges for the use of property of the district and for services rendered by the district and to regulate reasonably the fees and charges to be made by privately owned, leased, or otherwise authorized users of property owned by the district, or sold or leased by the district when same are offered for the use of the public.

(8)  To enter into contracts to achieve the district’s object and purposes including but not limited to contracts for professional and other services and for the purchase, lease, acquisition, sale, construction, operation, maintenance, and improvements of land, public or private works, and facilities, as the district may deem necessary and convenient to accomplish the objects and purposes of the district.

(9)  To plan, develop, regulate, operate, and maintain activities and land uses to foster creation of new jobs, economic development, industry, health care, commerce, manufacturing, relocation of people and businesses to the area, offices, the acquisition of land and improvements, and the construction, operation, and maintenance of facilities, improvements, and infrastructure, including buildings, roads, drainage, and utilities, and other functions and activities to accomplish the object and purposes of the district and to protect the public health and welfare.

(10)(a)  In its own name and behalf, to incur debt and issue general obligation bonds under the authority of and subject to the provisions of La. Const. Art. VI, § 33 , and Subpart A of Part III of Chapter 4 of Subtitle II of Title 39 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, for the establishment, operation, and maintenance of district property or to carry out the other public purposes of this Chapter, to issue revenue bonds, borrow money, and issue certificates of indebtedness, notes, and other debt obligations as evidence thereof and provide for the manner and method of repayment without election, to require and issue licenses, to regulate the imposition of fees and rentals charged by the district for services rendered by it or fees or rentals charged for use of privately owned facilities located on district property when such facilities are offered for use by the public or by a private industrial, commercial, research, or other economic development entity or activity.  However, the district is prohibited from incurring any obligation which arises out of the construction of water utility facilities which duplicate, curtail, impair, or directly compete with a regulated water utility operating in or adjacent to the district at the time of the creation of the district.

(b)  Subject to the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. 33:9039.109(A), to levy annually and cause to be collected an ad valorem tax of up to five mills for public purposes, which tax shall be imposed on all taxable property within the boundaries of the participating parish or municipality, or any combination of contiguous participating parishes or municipalities.  Any roll forward adjustment of ad valorem taxes by the district, as authorized by and in accordance with the Constitution of Louisiana, may be adopted only after the governing authority of each participating parish and municipality in the district has, by resolution, approved the proposed adjustment.

(c)(i)  Subject to the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. 33:9039.109(A), to levy and collect a sales and use tax of up to two percent for public purposes within the boundaries of the participating parish or municipality, or any combination of contiguous participating parishes or municipalities, which tax may exceed the limitation set forth in La. Const. Art. VI, § 29(A) , or state law relative to parishes, municipalities, and school boards.  Any such tax levied by the district shall not be considered in determining the aggregate tax when applying the limitation imposed under La. Const. Art. VI, § 29(A) .

(ii)  The sales and use tax shall be levied upon the sale at retail, the use, the lease or rental, the consumption, the distribution, and storage for use or consumption of tangible personal property, and upon the sales of services within the boundaries of the participating parish or municipality, or any combination of contiguous participating parishes or municipalities, all as presently defined in La. Rev. Stat. 47:301 through 318.

(iii)  Except where inapplicable, the procedure established by La. Rev. Stat. 47:301 through 318 shall be followed in the imposition, collection, and enforcement of the sales and use tax, and procedural details necessary to supplement those Sections and to make them applicable to such tax herein authorized shall be fixed in the resolution imposing the tax.

(iv)  The tax shall be imposed and collected uniformly throughout the boundaries of the participating parish or municipality, or any combination of contiguous participating parishes or municipalities.

(11)  To develop, activate, construct, exchange, acquire, improve, repair, operate, maintain, lease, mortgage, sell, and pledge movable and immovable property, servitudes, facilities, and works under such terms and conditions as the district deems necessary and appropriate for any purpose, notwithstanding the limitations of any law to the contrary.

(12)  To borrow money and pledge all or part of its revenues, leases, rents, and other income, fees, or resources of any nature as security for such loans or bonds.

(13)  To appoint officers, agents, and employees, including an executive director and staff and prescribe their duties.  The board, subject to the prior approval of the governing authority of each municipality and parish within the district, shall fix the compensation of the officers, agents, and employees of the district.

(14)  To sell by negotiation or by public bid, after due advertisement, to the highest bidder any property, movable or immovable, or portions thereof, acquired by the district subsequent to July 5, 2006.  Any advertisement for bids and the minimum price and terms of the sale shall be advertised in the official journal.  The advertisement shall be published three times within ten days before the day that bids will be received.  If, after the advertisement for bids, there are no bids received or the bids received are unreasonably low, as determined by a majority vote of the board, then the board may negotiate the sale of such property at fair market value to be agreed upon by majority vote of the board.  In no instance may the property be transferred by donation or sold for less than the highest bid.  If unreasonably low bids were received in the event a negotiated sale is used, the sale price shall not be less than the average value ascribed thereto by two appraisals by MIA appraisers.

Acts 2006, No. 839, §1, eff. July 5, 2006.