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A.  The commission shall exercise the powers herein conferred upon it, within the port area, which shall consist of the entire parish of West Feliciana.

B.  The commission shall regulate the commerce and traffic within the port area with respect to the port and any facilities related to the port, whether such commerce and traffic be on land or water, in such manner as may, in its judgment, be for the best interest of the port area.  Title to all property and improvements thereon acquired by the commission shall vest in the commission.

C.  In addition to the powers and duties elsewhere granted in this Chapter, the commission is hereby granted and shall have and may exercise all powers necessary or convenient for the carrying out of its objects and purposes, including but not limited to the following:

(1)  Sue and be sued.

(2)  Adopt, use, and alter at will a corporate seal.

(3)  Employ, organize, and reorganize the executive, administrative, clerical, and other departments and forces of the commission and employ such officers, agents, and employees as it deems necessary for the performance of its powers and duties and prescribe the powers and duties and fix the compensation of such officers, agents, and employees.

(4)  Contract, upon such terms as it may agree upon, for legal, financial, engineering, and other professional services necessary or expedient in the conduct of its affairs.

(5)  Utilize the services of the executive departments of the state upon mutually agreeable terms and conditions.

(6)  Own, construct, acquire, operate, and maintain docks, wharves, landings, elevators, sheds, warehouses, basins, locks, slips, laterals, canals, levees, and all other property, structures, equipment, facilities, and works of public improvement necessary or useful for port, harbor, or terminal purposes.

(7)  Maintain proper depths of water at all wharves and landings and dredge and maintain shipways, bayous, waterways, channels, slips, basins, and turning basins.

(8)  Establish harbor lines within the port area by agreement with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and establish, operate, and maintain navigable waterway systems in cooperation with the federal government, the state of Louisiana, and its various agencies, subdivisions, and public bodies.

(9)  Construct, own, operate, maintain, and lease terminal rail facilities and other common carrier  rail facilities, including rail spurs, for the purpose of rendering rail transportation to and from the facilities to be erected, owned, and operated by the commission in both intrastate and interstate commerce:

(a)  Within the geographical boundaries of the port area.

(b)  Outside the geographical boundaries of the port area, provided that the commission may conjointly undertake any project with or contracts with other units of local government pursuant to the authority of The Local Services Law, La. Rev. Stat. 33:1321 et seq., or other authorizing authority, including any railroad development district created pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. 33:140.71 et seq.

(10)  Acquire by expropriation, in accordance with the expropriation laws of the state, any properties necessary for the construction of port facilities and a deep sea channel; however, the commission shall not have the right to expropriate minerals or mineral rights.  Should the properties expropriated hereunder cease to be used for the purposes for which they were expropriated, such properties shall revert to the original landowner or his heirs or assigns, provided such landowner, or his heirs or assigns, shall reimburse the commission, or its successor, in the full amount originally paid by the port commission for such land.

(11)  Acquire, by purchase, lease, or otherwise, industrial plant sites and necessary property or appurtenances therefor and acquire or construct industrial plant buildings, with necessary machinery and equipment, within such port area.

(12)  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 or desirable for carrying out the objects and purposes of the commission.

(13)  Receive by gift, grant, donation, or otherwise any sum of money, or property, aid, or assistance from the United States, the state of Louisiana, or any political subdivision thereof, or any person, firm, or corporation.

(14)  Provide such light, water, police protection, and other services for its facilities as it deems advisable.

(15)  Establish and charge reasonable fees, rates, tariffs, or other charges for the use of all facilities administered by it and for all services rendered by it.

(16)  Charge for each copy of any certificate issued by it or by any of its officers or employees for inspecting hatches, surveying cargo, or making other surveys or inspections of vessels and barges in the port area, but shall furnish, without charge, to the master of each such vessel one copy of all surveys upon his vessel or cargo.

(17)  Charge a reasonable fee to each vessel arriving in ballast or carrying cargo of any kind.

(18)  Make and enter into contracts, leases, and other agreements with railroads, trucking companies, barge lines, and with any and all companies interested in the transportation, storage, or shipping of goods and other products, whether by rail, truck line, barge line, ocean-going vessels, or otherwise, for the use of facilities administered by the commission or any part or portion thereof, for a period not exceeding forty years; provided, however, no exclusive franchise shall be granted to any carrier.

(19)  Enter into contracts to achieve the commission’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 commission may deem necessary or convenient to accomplish the object and purposes of the commission.

(20)  Lease or sublease for processing, manufacturing, commercial business purposes, lands or buildings owned, acquired, or leased as lessee by it, which leases may run for any term not exceeding forty years at a fixed rental, or may run for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years if they contain a clause or clauses for readjustment of the rentals upon the expiration of a primary term of forty years.  All property leased or subleased by the port for commercial purposes must comply with parish building codes, planning, zoning, and other ordinances of the parish.

(21)  Subject to approval of the West Feliciana Parish governing authority, levy and collect a sales and use tax for such purposes and at such rate as provided by the proposition authorizing its levy, 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, provided the proposition submitted to a vote in accordance with the Louisiana Election Code, shall be approved by a majority of the qualified electors voting in an election held for that purpose.

(22)  Borrow money for the administration, operation, construction, and maintenance costs and expenses of the port, from time to time, and issue bonds, notes, renewal notes, refunding bonds, interim certificates, certificates of indebtedness, certificates of participation, debentures, warrants, commercial paper, capital leases, revenue bonds, or other obligations or evidences of indebtedness, hereinafter sometimes referred to as “bonds”, secured by any revenues, rates, fees, tariffs, charges, taxes, or any other sources of revenue authorized by this Chapter.

(23)  In its own name and behalf, incur debt and issue bonds under the authority of and subject to the provisions of this Chapter or any other statutory or constitutional authority, for the establishment, operation, and maintenance of commission-owned property or to carry out the other public purposes of this Chapter and to 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 commission for services rendered by it or fees or rentals charged for use of privately owned facilities located on commission-owned 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.

(24)  Invest any funds held in reserve or sinking funds or any monies not required for immediate use or disbursements at the discretion of the commission in any investments or securities in which monies of a political subdivision are authorized to be invested.

(25)  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, contract or invest any funds, monies, or bond proceeds of the commission or of any political subdivision in such manner as shall be deemed by the commission to be prudent or necessary.

(26)  Enter into agreements with political subdivisions, including but not limited to local service agreements and cooperative endeavor agreements, through which such political subdivisions may agree to share in the costs of operating, managing, and administering the commission and to pay such charges and fees as may be imposed by the commission.

(27)  Mortgage properties constructed or acquired by the commission and pledge any lease or leases and the rents, income, and other advantages arising out of any lease or leases granted, assigned, or subleased by the commission.

(28)  Sell immovable property owned by the commission after legal notice as provided by law for the judicial sale of immovable property.

(29)  Negotiate lease-lease back, sale-sale back, purchase-lease, or sale-lease transactions with any public or private entity in the manner set forth in La. Rev. Stat. 33:4717.2, including public institutions with which the commissioners are associated, provided the only requirement shall be that they recuse themselves from any participation on the issue, notwithstanding any law to the contrary.

(30)  Do any and all things necessary or proper for the government, regulation, development, and control of the business of the commission.

D.  The legislature may confer additional powers upon the commission not inconsistent with the provisions hereof; however, no such provisions shall impair any contract lawfully entered into by the commission.

Acts 2005, No. 98, §1, eff. June 21, 2005.