§33. Industrial plant erection; agricultural industrial boards

           Section 33. In order to provide funds for the erection and maintenance of industrial plants for the conversion or processing of raw farm or agricultural products, the Police Jury of any Parish may, as the governing authority of the Parish or any Police Jury Ward thereof, when authorized by a majority vote of the property taxpayers of the entire Parish or any Police Jury Ward, who are qualified to vote under the Constitution and laws of this State, incur debt and issue negotiable bonds for the payment thereof.

           Bonds issued under this Section shall not exceed Three Hundred Thousand ($300,000) Dollars in amount, nor shall any tax levied hereunder exceed four mills on the dollar of assessed property for any one year. This four mill limitation, however, shall be in excess of all other limitations on the amount of Parish or Ward tax levied.

           The election referred to hereinabove, and, except as herein otherwise provided, the issuance of bonds as herein authorized, shall be as nearly as possible in accordance with the provisions of Act 46 of the Extra Session of 1921 and Acts amendatory thereto.

           Whenever an election provided for herein shall have carried, the Police Jury shall create an Agricultural Industrial Board consisting of five members, to be appointed by the Police Jury for a period of four years. The members, when so appointed, shall continue to serve until their successors are appointed. There shall be no prohibition against the County Agent of any Parish or Ward serving as a member of a Parish Agricultural Industrial Board or as Secretary for the same. The members of the Board shall receive no salary, but they shall be reimbursed for any expenses actually incurred by them in the performance of their duties under this Section.

           The Board herein provided for shall be a body politic, with authority to sue under the name of "(Parish name) 'Parish Agricultural Industrial Board', or '(Parish name) Parish (Ward name) Ward Agricultural Industrial Board', as the case may be," and to be sued under its own name. A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The Board shall have all the powers and authority necessary or incidental to the establishment and maintenance of the plants contemplated by this Section, including the power and authority to buy, sell or lease real property, but it shall not have the authority to operate such plants.

           Whenever any plant contemplated by this Act shall have been established, the Parish or Ward Agricultural Board shall have the authority to lease such plant upon such terms as it deems most advantageous to the property taxpayers of the Parish. It shall, also, have the authority to sell any such plant with the approval of a two-thirds vote of the elected members of the Police Jury; provided, that no plant shall be sold for less than the total cost of its erection, including the cost of all real estate and improvements thereon, and expenses incurred in connection therewith, less a reasonable deduction for depreciation.

           In the event of such sale, the amount received shall be applied to the retirement of the principal and interest of any outstanding bonds which were issued by the Parish or Ward for the purpose of establishing and maintaining the plant. Any surplus over and above the amount of any such bonds or other expenses, shall be deposited in the Parish Treasury to the credit of the General Fund.

           All revenues derived from the leasing of any plant established under this Section, shall be used for the maintenance and improvement thereof, and for other expenses incurred in connection therewith; and any surplus shall be deposited in a reserve fund for the retirement of any bonds issued hereunder.

           Provided that no Police Jury shall exercise the authority herein granted with respect to the establishment and maintenance of any industrial conversion or processing plant when the exercise of such authority will result in competition between the Parish or Ward plant to be established and a plant which is already operating in the Parish.

           All bonds issued under the provisions of this Section shall be exempt from taxation.

           This amendment shall be self-operative.

           (Added by Acts 1938, No. 392, adopted Nov. 8, 1938.)