Statutes that Created and Define the Claiborne Parish Watershed District
PRIOR TO 2004 and 2005 REVISIONS:
Revised Statutes of the Louisiana Legislature 38:
§2861. Creation; location
The Claiborne Parish Watershed District is hereby
created out of the watershed of all streams located in Claiborne
Parish, and more particularly defined as all of Claiborne Parish,
Louisiana.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 1.
§2862. District as political subdivision
and budgetary unit; purpose
The Claiborne Parish Watershed District shall be a
political subdivision of the State of Louisiana and a budgetary
unit of the State of Louisiana, which shall have as its purpose
the conservation of soil and water, including surface and ground water, developing the natural resources and wealth of the
district for sanitary, agricultural, industrial and recreational
purposes, as the same may be conducive to the public health,
safety, convenience or welfare or of public utility or benefit.
The creation and maintenance of Lake Claiborne within the said
district shall be for the purpose of conserving the soil and
water and developing the natural resources and wealth of the
district for sanitary, agricultural, industrial and recreational
purposes, as the same may be conducive to the public health and
public utility and benefit.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 2. Added by Act 2004, No. 390 (Italics).
§2863. Body corporate; powers
The Claiborne Parish
Watershed District shall constitute a body corporate in law, with
all the powers of a corporation, and with all the powers and
rights of a political subdivision of the state as provided by the
laws of the state relating to the incurring of debt and the
issuing of bonds therefor. Said district, through its board of
commissioners, may incur debt and issue negotiable bonds in
accordance with the power and authority and in the form and
manner, and with the effect and security now or hereafter
provided by the constitution and laws of the State of Louisiana.
This district, through its board of commissioners, may incur debt
and contract obligations in accordance with law, sue and be sued,
have a corporate seal, and do and perform any and all acts in its
corporate capacity and in its corporate name which are necessary
and proper for carrying out the purposes and objects for which it
is created. It shall have the power of eminent domain and may
expropriate property for all its purposes and objectives, in
accordance with the constitution and laws of the State of
Louisiana. Through its governing authority, the district may
conserve the fresh water supply within its boundaries for the
benefit of the inhabitants and property owners within said
district and state, to provide water for commercial, municipal
and any other uses, both within and without the district. It may
construct, lease, maintain, acquire, enlarge and operate any
machinery or do any other thing necessary for the use and purpose
of the district. It may own in full ownership all servitudes,
rights of way, flowage rights and may acquire same by donation,
prescription, purchase, expropriation, or otherwise.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 3.
§2864. Transfer of property
The State Bond and Building Commission is
hereby authorized and directed to transfer, convey and assign to
the Claiborne Parish Watershed District all of the rights, titles
and interest of the State Bond and Building Commission for the
State of Louisiana in all fee titles, servitudes and flowage
rights acquired as a part of the Lake Claiborne project.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 4.
§2865. Board of commissioners
created
The Board of Commissioners of the Claiborne
Parish Watershed District, with its powers and duties as defined
herein, is hereby created and established as the governing
authority of the Claiborne Parish Watershed District.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 5.
§2866. Board to govern; membership;
tenure; vacancies; compensation
A. The said district shall be governed and
controlled by the Board of Commissioners of the Claiborne Parish
Watershed District, to be composed of seven commissioners, each
of whom shall be a qualified elector of the State of Louisiana
who resides within the limits boundaries
of Claiborne Parish. The membership of
the board shall be representative of the various geographical
areas of the district, and members shall possess additional
qualifications as follows: (1) Be dedicated to district purposes
of conserving the district's soil and water, including surface
and groundwater, and developing its natural resources and wealth
for present and future citizens of Claiborne Parish. (2) Be very
knowledgeable of and have extensive experience in the production
of water and system management or in another field of work
pertinent to the purposes of the district. (3) Be dedicated to
the team approach of goal setting and problem solving. (4) Be
willing to volunteer time and effort as needed to accomplish
district objectives.
B. (1) The commissioners shall be
appointed by the Claiborne Parish Police Jury and shall serve
terms of four years and until their successors have been
appointed and have qualified; except that one of the initial
appointments shall be for a term of one year, two shall be for a
term of two years, two shall be for a term of three years, and
two shall be for a term of four years. At any given time
one of the commissioners shall be a resident of either Ward 1, 2
or 9; two shall be residents of Ward 3; one shall be a resident
of Ward 4 or 5; one shall be a resident of Ward 6 or 8; and two
shall be residents of Ward 7.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision
of law to the contrary, no person shall serve more than two
consecutive terms. However, if a person has been appointed to
fill less than one-half of an unexpired term, such person may
serve two consecutive terms in addition to such partial term. If
a person has been appointed to fill more than one-half of an
unexpired term, such person shall be eligible to serve \softline
consecutively no more than one full term in addition to such
partial term. At the conclusion of such service, a board member
who becomes subject to these limitations shall not serve on the
board for four years. Upon the expiration of four years, such
member shall be eligible to serve again, subject to the same
limitations.
C. Any vacancy in the office of
commissioner, due to death, resignation, or any other cause,
shall be filled by an appointment of the Claiborne Parish Police
Jury.
D. The members of the board shall receive
no compensation for their services, but may be reimbursed for
expenses actually incurred in the performance of official duties.
E. Any member of the board may be
removed for cause. Grounds for removal shall include but not be
limited to conduct having a material adverse affect upon the work
of the district or conviction of a felony. A written
recommendation of removal, approved by a majority of the
membership of the board, shall be submitted to the police jury of
Claiborne Parish. The police jury shall send notice of
recommendation of removal to such board member, which notice
shall set forth the charges against him. Unless within ten days
from receipt of such notice such board member files a written
request for a hearing before the police jury, the board member
shall be deemed removed from office. If a request for \softline
hearing is so filed, the police jury shall hold a hearing not
sooner than ten days subsequent to the date a \softline hearing
is requested, at which the board members shall determine whether
the removal shall be upheld. \softline Removal of such member
shall be by majority vote of the membership of the police jury.
If removal is not \softline upheld, the board member shall
continue to hold his office.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 6; Act
2004, No. 390 (Italics & Strikeout)).
§2867. Oaths
Before entering upon his official duties, each
commissioner of the district created hereby shall take and
subscribe to an oath before an officer authorized by law to
administer oaths, that he will honestly, faithfully and
impartially perform the duties devolving upon him as a
commissioner of said district and that he will not neglect any of
the duties imposed upon him thereby. The oaths of the
commissioner shall be recorded in the oath book of Claiborne
Parish.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 7.
§2868. Election of officers; record
book, public inspection
Immediately after the commissioners have been
appointed by the Claiborne Parish Police Jury, or as soon
thereafter as practicable, the commissioners shall meet and
immediately organize by electing officers as follows: They shall
elect from among their number a president, who shall preside over
the meetings of the board and perform such other duties as are
usually required of presidents of corporate bodies and such other
duties as are fixed by the bylaws adopted by the board. The
commissioners shall also elect from among their membership
a vice president, who shall perform the duties of
the president in case of his absence or disability.
The board shall cause to be kept a well-bound book
entitled "Record Book of Claiborne Parish Watershed
District," in which shall be recorded the minutes of all
meetings, all proceedings, certificates, oaths of commissioners,
bonds of employees and contractors, and any and all corporate
acts. The records shall be in the possession of the secretary of
the board and shall be open to public inspection at all times by
any person interested.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 8; Act 2004, No.
390 (Italics)..
§2869. Powers of board
In order to accomplish the purposes for which the
district is created, the board of commissioners may:
(1) Purchase, hold, sell and convey land and
personal property and execute such contracts as it may deem
necessary or convenient to enable it properly to carry out the
purposes for which it is created.
(2) Acquire servitudes, rights of way and flowage
rights, by purchase, by expropriation, and by assignment, in
accordance with the constitution and laws of the State of
Louisiana.
(3) Assist in conserving soil and water and in
developing the water resources of the district. The board may
cooperate with conservation districts, including soil and water
conservation districts, lake districts, or other watershed
districts in order to accomplish these objectives; provided, however, nothing shall be done to interfere
with districts previously organized under Louisiana law.
(4) Construct, maintain, and improve any works or
improvements for the control, retention, diversion, or
utilization of water and cooperate with the state Department of
Transportation and Development and other state agencies in
accomplishing such objectives.
(4) Cooperate with the Department of
Public Works and other state agencies in the maintenance or
improvements, and the construction of any works or improvements
for the control, retention, diversion or utilization of water;
retard runoff of water and soil erosion, construct any ditch,
channel improvement, dike, dam, or levee, and repair, improve and
maintain any of said improvements or structures.
(5) Acquire personal property by gift or purchase;
and employ and hire a secretary and such other personnel as may
be necessary in the operation of the business of the district,
and fix their compensation; and the commission is further
authorized to employ engineers, attorneys and other professional
personnel as the need becomes necessary and fix their
compensation.
(6) Levy taxes, issue bonds and incur indebtedness
within the limitations prescribed by the constitution of the
State of Louisiana, and in the manner prescribed thereby.
(7) Cooperate and contract with persons, firms,
associations, partnerships and private corporations, and cities
of this state, or other public corporations and with any other
local, state and governmental agencies for the sale or use of any
waters impounded hereby.
(8) Select a domicile and home office for the
district.
(9) Do and perform any and all things necessary or
incident to the fulfillment of the purposes for which this
district is created, including all acts necessary to construct,
lease, acquire in any manner, maintain, and operate dikes, dams,
reservoirs, storage basins, locks, levees, flumes, conduits,
spillways or other structures necessary, suitable or convenient
to the purposes of the district.
(10) The Board of Commissioners of the Claiborne
Parish Watershed District shall have the care, management and
control of the said lake or reservoir formed by the damming of
Bayou D'Arbonne and its property and finances. They shall have
power:
(a) To appropriate money and provide for the
current expenses of the said district.
(b) To make all police regulations necessary for
the preservation of good order and the peace of the district; and
to prevent injury to, destruction of, or interference with public
or private property.
(c) To secure the general health of the district,
to prevent, remove and abate nuisances; to prohibit the
construction of privy vaults and cesspools, and to regulate or
suppress those already constructed; to compel and regulate the
connection of all property with the sewers and drains; to
establish and regulate health and sanitary regulations with the
concurrent approval of the Board of Health or to regulate them
and to prescribe and enforce regulations for cleanliness and
sanitary regulations with regard to construction within the said
district; to compel and regulate the removal of garbage and filth
within the said limits of the district.
(d) To grant franchises to telephone,
telegraph and electric power companies for the purpose of
supplying such service to construction within one mile of the
high water line of the said reservoir. To grant franchises to telephone, telegraph, cable,
electric power companies and grant franchises for the purposes of
constructing gas, sewer, electricity, or other utility lines and
facilities to supply the inhabitants or any person or corporation
with gas, water, sewerage, and electricity, when such
construction is within the district. The provisions of this
Subparagraph shall not impair the rights granted to public
utilities pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 45:781.
(e) To grant franchises for the purpose of
laying gas, water, sewer, electric light or other utilities
supplying the inhabitants or any person or corporation with gas,
water, sewerage, light, when such construction is located within
one mile of the high water line of the said reservoir. For the
granting of any such franchise, the Board of Commissioners of the
Claiborne Parish Watershed District shall be authorized and
permitted to levy and collect from such supplier of electric
current, gas, water, butane, or any other utilities, an amount
which shall not be in excess of the license tax imposed by the
state under the provisions of R.S. 47:1001 and based on the gross
realized by the said utility in furnishing such services to any
person, corporation, partnership or association of individuals
when such construction is located within one mile of and above
the high water mark of the said reservoir. This applies only to
construction begun after August 1, 1966. Such funds accruing to
the commission as aforesaid shall be used for the sole and only
purpose of the improvement of the said Lake Claiborne.
(e) REPEALED BY ACTS 2004, NO. 390 in its
entirety. (Old franchise provision)
(f) REPEALED BY ACTS 1993, NO. 830,§ 2.
Historical and Statutory Notes
Section 2 of Acts1993,
No. 830 repealed subpar. (10)(f) of this section. Section 1 of
Act 830 enacted Part I of Chapter 13, "Powers and Duties of
the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission", containing
R.S. 38:2501, and granting to the Wildlife and Fisheries
Commission the sole authority to control and regulate hunting,
fishing and boating in certain water conservation districts.
Prior to repeal, subpar. (10)(f) read: "(f) To
promulgate and enforce all the regulations pertaining to hunting,
fishing, water sports, boating and the operation of any water
craft upon Lake Claiborne and its watershed, said hunting and
fishing regulations shall be subject to approval by Wildlife and
Fisheries Commission of the State of Louisiana."
(g) To appoint, hire, designate and empower
wardens, rangers, patrols, and such other personnel as may be
deemed necessary by the commission for the enforcement of such
regulations as may be promulgated and adopted by the said
commission. The Claiborne Parish
Watershed District shall not be deemed to be an instrumentality
of the state for purposes of Article X, Section 1(A) of the
Constitution of Louisiana.
(11) The Board of Commissioners of the Claiborne
Parish Watershed District of this state may raise funds by taxes
or otherwise to be expended by and under the direction of the
said commission.
(12) The said watershed district as defined
hereinabove, through its governing authority, is authorized to
incur debt and issue negotiable bonds for the construction of
works of public improvement and for such other public purposes as
may be necessary and proper to effect the purpose of this said
water conservation district; and to that effect, they are
authorized to call any special elections that are necessary to
levy taxes, incur debt, and to issue and sell negotiable bonds,
all in conformity with the constitution and laws of the State of
Louisiana.
(13) The Claiborne Parish Watershed District shall
have, with respect to the improvement and maintaining of the said
watershed district, the advice of the Department of Public Works,
and it shall be the duty of the department to make such surveys,
inspections, and investigations, render such report, estimate and
recommendations and furnish such plans and specifications as the
board of commissioners of the said district may request from time
to time.
(14) Whenever any work is to be let under the
provisions of this Part, the contract for which will exceed the
value of two thousand dollars, the said board of commissioners of
the said district shall proceed to provide through the Department
of Public Works, proper specifications for the performing of said
work, which specifications shall receive the approval of the
board of commissioners of the said district. After the adoption
of the said specifications thus approved the said board of
commissioners of the district shall advertise for bids to do the
work according to the plans and specifications prepared by the
Department of Public Works, which advertisement shall appear once
a week for the full term of thirty days in a newspaper of
Claiborne Parish, as well as any other paper or papers in the
discretion of the said board of commissioners. Such advertisement
shall state the place where the bids will be received, the time
and place where the bids will be opened, and a general outline of
the work expected to be performed. Every bid shall be accompanied
by a certified check of the bidder in an amount equal to five
percent of the amount of the bid, which checks shall be forfeited
to the board of commissioners of the said district, should the
bidder to whom such contract is awarded fail to enter into the
contract required within ten days after notice to do so from the
board of commissioners awarding the work. The checks of all
unsuccessful bidders shall be returned after the contract is
awarded. All bids submitted shall be addressed to the Board of
Commissioners of the Claiborne Parish Watershed District and
shall be publicly opened and read at the time stated in the
advertisement.
The governing authority of the district may reject
any and all bids, if, in its opinion, it is to the best interest
of the district to do so, but whenever a contract is awarded,
unless rejected for cause which in its discretion may be deemed
sufficient, it shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.
The bidder to whom such contract is awarded shall be required to
furnish bond of a surety company authorized to do business in
Louisiana, or other good and solvent surety, in the sum equal to
one-half of the amount of the contract awarded, conditioned that
such work shall be performed in accordance with the plans and
specifications of the Department of Public Works and the terms of
the contract, and containing such other stipulations and
provisions as may be required by the authority granting the
contract. The awarding of the contract to a successful bidder
shall be binding upon both, even though for some cause there
should be no signing of the actual contract.
(15) The special taxes imposed for the purpose of
providing for the payment of principal and interest on the bonds
as aforesaid, shall each year be levied, assessed and collected
on the property taxed, under the same terms and conditions and at
the same time as state and parish taxes; the said taxes shall
bear the same liens upon the property as state, parish, municipal
and other special taxes; the property shall be sold for
delinquent taxes in the same manner as properties sold for
delinquent state, parish, municipal and other taxes.
(16) The provisions of the constitution and all
laws regulating the collection of taxes, the creation of tax
liens, mortgages, tax penalties and sales, shall apply to and
regulate the collection of special taxes for the purpose
enumerated in this Part.
Where the taxes have been levied by the governing
authority of the said Claiborne Parish Watershed District, the
sheriff and ex officio tax collector for Claiborne Parish shall
make monthly statements to the parish treasurer and receive from
him a receipt for the amount of special taxes paid over, in the
same manner as the tax collectors are required to settle with the
comptroller of the state, and he shall receive from the parish
treasurer the same quietus for a full settlement of taxes due and
exigible in a given year and account for delinquencies or
deductions in the same manner as though accounting to the
comptroller of the state for the state taxes. The sheriff and ex
officio tax collector shall retain no commission thereon. Upon
the failure of the tax collector to comply with the provisions of
this Section, the governing authorities of the Claiborne Parish
Watershed District shall proceed against him and the sureties on
his official bond for the collection of whatever amount may be
due the said Claiborne Parish Watershed District.
(17) For the purpose of providing funds to carry
out the objects and purposes for which the Claiborne Parish
Watershed District is created, its board of commissioners may
call special elections for the purpose of submitting to the
property taxpayers throughout the Claiborne Parish Watershed
District as hereinabove defined to vote at such election, a
proposition to levy annually a special tax not to exceed one mill
on the dollar upon all the taxable property within the district,
to run for a period of not more than ten years. The expense of
any election so held shall be borne by the police jury of
Claiborne Parish.
(18) In the resolution calling an election, the
rate, object and purpose for which the tax is to be levied and
the number of years it is to run must be stated. After the
resolution is passed by the board of commissioners of the said
district, notice of the election shall be given, embracing
substantially all things that are required to be set forth in the
resolution, and setting forth further that the authorities
ordering the election will, in open session to be held at an hour
and place named in the notice, proceed to open the ballot boxes,
examine and count the ballots in number and amount, and declare
the results of the election. This notice shall be advertised for
thirty days in a newspaper published in the district, and the
insertion of the advertisements once a week for five weeks in
such newspapers shall constitute sufficient notice. Thirty days
must intervene from the day on which the advertisement is first
inserted and the day on which the election takes place.
(19) Only property taxpayers, qualified as
electors under the constitution and laws of the state shall be
entitled to vote at such elections; the qualifications of the
taxpayers as voters shall be those of age, residence and
registration as voters.
(20) The Board of Commissioners of the Claiborne
Parish Watershed District shall designate the polling places,
provide the ballot boxes, ballots, evaluations of property and
compile statements of the voters in number and amount and fix the
compensation of election officers. They shall appoint for each
polling place three commissioners and one clerk of election all
of whom shall be persons qualified to vote at such election. The
police jury of the parish shall pay all of the expenses of such
election.
(21) The registrar of voters in Claiborne Parish
shall furnish to the election commissioners appointed to hold the
election a list of taxpayers entitled to vote, together with
valuation of each taxpayer's property as shown by the assessment
roll and filed prior to the election. When any taxpayer's name
and valuation of property is omitted from such list or
erroneously entered thereon, the commissioners of election may
receive affidavits of such taxpayer entitled to vote and the
assessed valuation of his property, which affidavit shall be
attached to his taxpayer's ballot. No defect or irregularity in
or omission from the list of voters furnished by the registrar of
voters shall affect the validity of the election, unless it is
established that voters deprived of right to vote were sufficient
in number and amount to have changed the result of the
election.
(22) The questions submitted to the voters at
special elections hereunder and the ballot to be used thereat
shall be substantially in the following form:
Shall the Claiborne Parish Watershed District of
Louisiana impose, levy and collect annually for the term of _____
years, beginning with the year 19___, a tax not exceeding one
mill on the dollar upon all the taxable property within the
district for the purpose of providing funds for carrying out the
objects and purposes for which it is created? Taxable valuation
$____________.
_______________________________ Signature of
Voter
NOTICE TO VOTERS
To vote in favor of the proposition submitted upon
this ballot place an (X) in the square after the word
"yes"; to vote against, place a similar mark after the
word "no".
(23) If any commissioner or clerk of election is
unable, fails, or neglects to attend or serve at the polling
place designated and at the hour fixed for opening the polls or
within one hour thereafter, the commissioners present shall
appoint, or in the absence of all commissioners, the voters
present shall elect, the necessary number of commissioners and
clerks, who shall have the same powers, compensation and duties
as other commissioners and clerks and shall serve in the place
and stead of the delinquent absentee appointees. Commissioners
and clerks of elections, before opening the polls, shall be sworn
to perform all duties incumbent upon them as such, the oaths to
be taken before any officer authorized to administer oaths or by
the clerk, and each commissioner of election before any other
commissioner. Commissioners and clerks may administer any
affidavit provided for in this Part.
(24) Each voter's name shall be written on his
ballot. The commissioners of election shall receive the ballot of
each voter, check his name on the list of voters furnished by the
registrar as having voted, enter number of his name on the list
of taxpayers voting, and immediately deposit his ballot in the
ballot box, reserving to each voter the right to so fold his
ballot that it shall not be known at the time whether he voted
for or against the proposition submitted.
(25) The polls shall be opened on the date
appointed at 7 o'clock a.m. and remain open until, and not later
than, 7 o'clock p.m. No election shall be vitiated by failure to
open the polls at the time prescribed or by closing them before
the time prescribed, unless on a contest it could be established
that voters were there by the time to vote sufficient in number
and amount to have changed the result of the election.
(26) Immediately after the closing of the polls
the commissioners shall, in the presence of the bystanders, open
the ballot box, count the ballots found therein, check the same
with the list of voters kept, proceed to count the votes in
number and amount, keep in duplicate tally sheets showing the
votes in number in favor of or against the proposition submitted
and showing the valuation of property in favor of and against the
same, make in duplicate compiled statements of the vote in number
and amount, both in favor of and against the proposition. After
swearing to the correctness of the numbered list of voters, the
duplicate tally sheets, and duplicate compiled statements, they
shall deposit the ballots, registrar's list of voters, the
numbered list of taxpayers voting, one duplicate tally sheet and
one duplicate compiled statement in the ballot box, immediately
seal the said ballot box and within seventy-two hours after the
closing of the polls, deliver said sealed ballot box with its
contents to the Board of Commissioners of the Claiborne Parish
Watershed District, at its domicile, and shall within the said
period, deliver the duplicate tally sheet and the duplicate
compiled statement to the clerk of the district court of
Claiborne Parish, who shall file the same in his office. If the
election commissioners on counting the ballots find they do not
correspond with the list of voters, they shall, before examining
and counting the ballots, examine the same for the purpose of
finding the discrepancy, and if it should be found that any
ballots have been duplicated, the same shall be destroyed, and if
it be found that the name of a voter has been omitted from the
list of persons voting, the same shall be added to the
list.
(27) On the day and at the hour and place named in
the notice of election, the Board of Commissioners of the
Claiborne Parish Watershed District shall, in public session,
open the ballot boxes, examine and count the ballots in number
and amount, examine and canvass the returns and declare the
results of such election. The results shall be promulgated by the
proclamation published in one issue of a newspaper published in
Claiborne Parish. The board of commissioners shall keep a proces
verbal of the manner in which the ballot boxes were opened, the
returns canvassed and the result of the election ascertained, and
shall forward a copy thereof to the secretary of state, who shall
record the same; a copy to the Clerk of the District Court of
Claiborne Parish who shall record same in the mortgage records of
said parish, retaining the original proces verbal in the archives
of the said district and in the clerk's office of said parish.
The secretary of the Board of Commissioners of the Claiborne
Parish Watershed District shall preserve for a term of three
months from the date of the promulgation of the election, the
ballots and other returns thereof.
(28) During the thirty days next following the
publication of the proclamation declaring the results of any
election, if the same be in favor of the tax, any taxpayer within
the district may contest the legality of the election by
appropriate action. Thereafter no one may contest the regularity,
formality or legality of the election or the validity of the tax
levied or authorized to be levied, but the same shall be
absolutely incontestable for any cause whatever and no court may
hear or determine any such question, and the board of
commissioners of the district shall not be permitted to question
this authority to levy the tax.
(29) If a majority in number and amount of the
qualified taxpayers voting at the election vote in favor of the
proposition to levy the tax, the board of commissioners of the
district may, by resolution, proceed to levy such tax from year
to year, for the term for which the same has been voted. The
board shall not be required to levy the full one mill tax, but
their failure to levy the tax in any one year shall not permit
them to exceed the one mill tax for any subsequent year.
(30) The copy of the resolution levying the tax,
certified by the secretary of the board of commissioners of the
said district, shall be transmitted to the tax assessor of the
parish on or before June 1 of the year in which the tax is to be
assessed and collected, and it shall be the duty of the assessor
to assess the tax and extend the same upon the tax rolls of the
parish. The tax shall be collected by the sheriff and ex officio
tax collector of the parish in the same manner as taxes levied by
the state. The tax collector shall make settlement for taxes so
collected with the state comptroller and state treasurer for the
account of the respective Claiborne Parish Watershed District,
and the funds so derived shall be withdrawn upon the warrant of
the secretary of the Board of Commissioners of the Claiborne
Parish Watershed District; counter-signed by the president of the
said commission. Taxes assessed shall constitute the same liens
upon the property assessed; shall bear the same penalties; and
collection thereof shall be enforced in the same manner and at
the same time as state and parish taxes.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 9; Acts 1993, No.
830,§ 2; Act 2004, No. 390 (Italics & Strikeouts).
§2870. Rules and regulations
In order to accomplish the purposes of the
district, to protect the works, improvements and property of the
district, both real and personal; to secure the best results from
the construction, operation and maintenance thereof, and to
prevent damage to the district by misuse of any works,
improvements or properties or by the pollution or misuse of the
waters of the district or any water course therein, the board of
commissioners may make and enforce such rules and regulations as
it shall deem necessary and advisable.
(1) To protect and preserve the works,
improvements and properties owned or controlled by the district,
prescribe the manner of their use by public corporations and
persons, and preserve order within and adjacent thereto;
(2) To prescribe the manner of building bridges,
roads, or fences, or other works in, along or across any channel,
reservoir or other construction of the district;
(3) To prescribe the manner in which ditches,
sewers, pipelines or other works shall be adjusted to or
connected with the works of the district or any water course
therein and the manner in which the water courses of the district
may be used for sewer outlets or for disposal of waste;
(4) To prescribe the permissible uses of the water
supply, provided by the impoundments constructed, and to prevent
the pollution or unnecessary waste of such water supply;
(5) To prohibit or regulate the discharge into
sewers of the district of any liquid or solid waste deemed
detrimental to the works and improvements of the district;
(6), (7) REPEALED BY ACTS 1993, NO. 830,§
2.
Historical and Statutory Notes (re:
Rules and Regulations)
Section 2 of Acts
1993, No. 830 repealed pars. (6) and (7) of this section.
Section 1 of Act 830 enacted Part I of Chapter 13, "Powers
and Duties of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries
Commission", containing R.S. 38:2501, and granting to the
Wildlife and Fisheries Commission the sole authority to control
and regulate hunting, fishing and boating in certain water
conservation districts. Prior to repeal, pars. (6) and (7) read:
"(6) To
establish rules and regulations and to cause same to be enforced
with regard to hunting and fishing, water sports, boating
recreation and any and all other activities engaged in upon Lake
Claiborne or its watershed. Said regulations shall be
approved by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission
before becoming effective.
"(7)
To fully regulate all commercial fishing on Lake Claiborne, to
issue such permits and licenses for commercial fishing, to
regulate the number of such permits and licenses, fix the amount
or fix for the issuance of same and to revoke any such licenses
or permits at the discretion of the board. Said regulations
to be approved by the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission before
becoming effective."
B. Any person who violates the rules and regulations established
and promulgated by the board of commissioners pursuant to this
Section shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor
more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned for more than sixty
days, or both. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate
offense.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 10; Acts
1993, No. 830,§ 2; Act 2004, No. 390
(Italics)..
§2871. Constructions which
would impede flow of water in watershed prohibited; pollution
defined and prohibited; penalties fixed for violations
(A) No person or public corporation shall erect
within the drainage area of the district any dam or reservoir
upon any stream or water course which will affect Lake Claiborne
until a copy of the plans thereof has been filed with the board
of commissioners for approval.
Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined
not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand
dollars or imprisoned for not less than thirty days, nor more
than sixty days, or both.
(B) No person shall knowingly and willfully empty
or drain into, or permit to be drained from any pumps,
reservoirs, wells or oil fields into any stream or drain
constituting the Lake Claiborne watershed or from any stream
within said district into the said reservoir any oil, salt water
or other noxious or poisonous gases or substances which would
render the water unfit for irrigation purposes or would destroy
aquatic and fish life in the streams.
Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined
not less than one hundred dollars nor more than two hundred
dollars or imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than
three months.
Each and every day that oil, salt water, or other
substances are permitted to flow into natural streams or drains
which constitute the watershed of Lake Claiborne shall constitute
a separate and distinct offense.
(C) No person shall:
(1) Obstruct drainage channels which compose any
drain or stream flowing into Lake Claiborne by bridging them
except in accordance with plans, specifications and instructions
prescribed by the Board of Commissioners of the said Claiborne
Parish Watershed District.
(2) Construct dams, locks, or gates in drainage
channels of the said Lake Claiborne watershed without permission
of the commission.
(3) Extend fences of wire or any other material
across drainage channels into and forming a part of the watershed
of Lake Claiborne.
(4) Anchor rafts, crafts, fish traps, fish cars
and other obstacles in the channel of any stream, drain or
natural flow of the feeder streams of the Lake Claiborne
watershed.
(5) Drain into channels by natural or artificial
inlets except under regulations prescribed by the Board of
Commissioners of the Claiborne Parish Watershed District.
(6) Float timber in the watershed of Lake
Claiborne.
(7) Use the channels for transportation or
navigation except under authority of and agreement with the Board
of Commissioners of Claiborne Parish Watershed District.
(8) In any manner obstruct drainage channels,
natural flow drains or natural flowage or violate any of the
rules or regulations adopted and promulgated by the Board of
Commissioners of Claiborne Parish Watershed District for
preserving and maintaining the efficiency of the drainage
channels in said district.
Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined
not less than two hundred and fifty dollars nor more than five
hundred dollars or be imprisoned for not less than thirty days
nor more than sixty days or both.
(D) No proprietor, owner, lessee, or possessor of
land abutting upon the Lake Claiborne reservoir or upon any
public road paralleling the water line or contiguous to the said
Lake Claiborne reservoir shall in any manner close or place any
obstruction in the drains or ditches, whether on private property
or on the public road or levee adjacent to the road which will in
any manner interfere with the effective, thorough and continuous
drainage into the said reservoir.
Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined
not less than two hundred and fifty dollars nor more than five
hundred dollars or be imprisoned for not less than thirty days
nor more than sixty days, or both.
The sheriff of the parish, in addition to his
other duties, is charged with the responsibility of aiding and
assisting the commission in the enforcement of all rules and
regulations adopted in accordance herewith.
(E) The district attorney of the judicial district
within which the said watershed district is situated is hereby
designated as the proper official and charged with the
responsibility of the prosecution of all violations of the rules
and regulations adopted by the said commission in pursuance
hereto.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 11.
§2872. Contracts, let by board; bond
Any and all contracts of the district may be let
by the board of commissioners, with advertisement, on the terms
and subject to the conditions which it may fix in the ordinance
or advertisement calling for bids. The person or firm to whom any
contract is awarded shall furnish, within the delay fixed by the
board, a bond of a surety company authorized to do business in
the state of Louisiana, in the amount required by the laws
relating to contracts for public works, and conditioned that the
work shall be performed in accordance with the plans and
specifications of the engineers, and the terms of the contract,
and the board shall demand any other bonds and obligations which
the laws relating to public works contracts require the
contractor to give.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 12.
§2873. Playgrounds, parks and other
facilities; limitation
The board of commissioners shall have the power to
cause to be created and constructed playgrounds, picnic grounds,
grounds for recreation parks, and any and all other facilities to
accommodate the public and to provide adequate access to the said
lake, as may within the opinion of the said board become
necessary, and said district shall have the right of eminent
domain and expropriation in the exercise of such powers.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 13.
§2874. Management of fish, game, and
wildlife
A, B, C. REPEALED BY ACTS 1993, NO.
830,§ 2.
Historical and Statutory Notes
Section 2 of Acts1993, No. 830
repealed subsecs. A, B, and C of this section. Section 1 of Act
830 enacted Part I of Chapter 13, "Powers and Duties of the
Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission", containing
R.S. 38:2501, and granting to the Wildlife and Fisheries
Commission the sole authority to control and regulate hunting,
fishing and boating in certain water conservation districts.
Prior to repeal, subsecs. A, B, and C read:
"A.
The Board of Commissioners of the Claiborne Parish Watershed
District shall have the-right to determine and to fix the
necessary rules and regulations pertaining to the fluctuation of
the waters of the said lake and to do any and all other things
necessary and proper within its discretion for the proper
management of fish, game and wildlife over, along and upon the
said lake and its watershed.
"B. The
Board of Commissioners of the Claiborne Parish Watershed District
shall have the power and authority to establish and promulgate
all rules and regulations pertaining to hunting and fishing upon
Lake Claiborne and its watershed, including the right to limit or
restrict hunting and, fishing to certain times and places, the
right to construct and to control the construction of all duck
blinds thereupon, and to regulate the hours of hunting and
fishing upon the said lake, its waters and its watershed, so long
as said rules and regulations are first approved by the Louisiana
Wildlife and Fisheries Commission and are within the laws of the
state or federal authority.
"C. The
Board of Commissioners of the Claiborne Parish Watershed District
shall have authority to regulate the size and type of watercraft,
boats or other flotilla upon the waters of said lake; to issue a
license or permit for each such watercraft, boat or flotilla and
to levy and collect a license or permit fee therefor."
Pursuant to the statutory revision authority of the Louisiana
State Law Institute, a comma was inserted following
"game" in the section heading.
Act 541 of 2004, new A was
added; D & E became B.(1)&(2); and § 2874
heading struck out the words "game, and wildlife" and
added "commercial establishments."
A. The Wildlife and Fisheries
Commission may regulate, restrict, or prohibit the recreational
or commercial use of hoop nets, gill nets, trammel nets, strike
nets, seines, wire nets, slat traps, and wire traps on Lake
Claiborne.
B.(1) D. The Board of
Commissioners of the Claiborne Parish Watershed District shall
have authority to establish and cause to be enforced rules and
regulations pertaining to all commercial establishments which may
be constructed for the purpose of commercializing and making
commercial use of the facilities provided by the said lake or its
watershed; to license and permit such establishments and to levy
and collect a fee, to be fixed by the commission, for the
privilege of making commercial use of the facilities of said
lake, or to refuse to license or permit any commercial
establishment to use the facilities provided by said lake.
(2) E. The rules and regulations
established and promulgated by the Board of Commissioners of the
Claiborne Parish Watershed District shall provide penalties for
any such commercial establishment operating without a permit or
license, and such rules and regulations shall be enforced by the
sheriff and violations thereof prosecuted by the district
attorney of the judicial district within which the watershed
district is situated, as hereinabove provided.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 14; Acts 1993, No.
830,§ 2; .Act 2004, No. 541 (Italics).
§2875. Management of improvements
The board of commissioners shall have the right to
regulate the construction and use of all piers, docks, bridges
and other improvements built or erected on any part of the
district to be inundated by Lake Claiborne and shall further have
the right to regulate and control the erection of any
improvements of any kind whatever within one mile from the 185.0
foot contour shoreline of Lake Claiborne. The board of
commissioners shall have the authority and power to regulate said
improvements by the issuance of permits for same and fix a fee
for the issuance of same.
The board of commissioners is authorized to charge
an annual fee for the permit to maintain improvements on or
within one mile of the shores of Lake Claiborne.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 15.
§2876. Property exempt from taxation
The lands which lie within and form the Lake
Claiborne proper shall not be subject to any ad valorem taxation
or any other tax of any nature whatsoever by either the State of
Louisiana or any of its political subdivisions, for so long as
the said lands shall form and lie within the lake proper. All
property acquired, however, regardless of the manner in which it
is acquired or the source from which it is acquired, shall
thereafter become the property of the State of Louisiana for the
use and benefit of the Claiborne Parish Watershed District.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 16.
§2877. Grant of state lands to district;
right of mineral leases unabridged
All lands purchased by the State Bond and Building
Commission for the State of Louisiana, which are enclosed in the
said area and which are necessary to the erection and maintenance
of said Lake Claiborne are hereby granted to the Lake Claiborne
Watershed District, as provided in R.S. 38:2864, for the purposes
herein set out, but this grant shall in no wise abridge the right
of the state to lease the said land for the production of oil,
gas and other minerals under the general laws of the state as now
provided.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 17.
§2878. Individual mineral leases unabridged
The provisions of this Part shall in no wise
abridge the right of any individual from whom the flowage rights,
rights of way and servitudes may have been acquired by any means
however to lease said lands for the production of oil, gas and
other minerals and the right of such lessee or his assignee to
produce or cause to be produced oil, gas or other minerals
therefrom.
Added by Acts 1966, No. 299,§ 18.