CHAPTER 2. LOUISIANA GAMING CONTROL BOARD

§11. Louisiana Gaming Control Board; creation; members; terms; meetings

            A. The Louisiana Gaming Control Board is hereby created. The board shall consist of nine members who shall be appointed by the governor and two ex officio members. In making the appointments, the governor shall appoint at least one member from each congressional district and such appointments shall, as nearly as practicable, be made in a manner that is representative of the population of the state. All such appointments are subject to confirmation by the Senate. Members shall serve staggered terms of six years. No person shall serve more than two terms whether consecutive or not. No person shall be appointed to serve on the board who had previously been confirmed by the Senate and served on any gaming regulatory board or commission in this state prior to the establishment of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.

            B.(1) Each member of the board shall be a citizen of the United States and a domiciliary of Louisiana who is registered to vote in Louisiana.

            (2) No person holding any elective office, appointive office, or employment in the government of this state or of any political subdivision thereof and no officer or official of any political party is eligible for appointment to or membership on the board, except for the ex officio board members.

            (3) Of the nine appointed members:

            (a) At least one shall have no less than five years of progressively responsible administrative experience in public or business administration or possess broad and demonstrable management skills.

            (b) At least one shall have expertise in matters of finance which shall include at a minimum, possession of either a master's degree in economics, business administration, public administration, or finance from an accredited business school or a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or administration and a current license as a certified public accountant issued by this state or another state of the United States, with five years of progressively responsible experience in general accounting, general finance, or auditing and having a comprehensive knowledge of the principles and practices of corporate finance.

            (c) At least one shall have expertise in investigation and law enforcement which shall include at a minimum possession of a bachelor's degree from an accredited school and at least ten years of verifiable training and experience in the fields of investigation and law enforcement.

            (d) At least one shall be a lawyer licensed to practice law in Louisiana with not less than five consecutive years of experience in the practice of law in Louisiana.

            (e) At least one shall have not less than five years of experience as an economic planner or a community planner, with a bachelor's degree from an accredited school.

            (f) Four members shall represent the state at large.

            (4) Five members of the board shall be appointed as provided in this Paragraph. The president of each of the state's public academic institutions of higher education and the presidents of the following academic institutions shall each submit to the governor a list of five nominees representing each qualification category enumerated in Subparagraphs (a) through (e) of Paragraph (3) of this Subsection: Centenary College in Shreveport; Dillard University in New Orleans; Loyola University in New Orleans; Tulane University in New Orleans; Xavier University in New Orleans; and Our Lady of Holy Cross College in New Orleans. The governor shall appoint one member from each category.

            (5) Four members of the board, representing the state at large, shall be appointed by the governor.

            (6) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (4) of this Subsection, should any college or university president fail to make all or any of the nominations initially required of him by May 20, 1996, then the governor shall make the appointments from among the nominations he has received as of that date. Should fewer than two nominations be received in any category enumerated in Subparagraphs (a) through (e) of Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, then the governor may make the board appointment without regard to any nominations for that position, provided that the appointee has the categorical qualifications for the respective position.

            (7) The governor shall appoint the chairman of the board and the board shall annually elect a vice chairman from among its voting members.

            C. Of the initial appointees and as designated by the governor, three members' terms shall expire on June 30, 2000, two on June 30, 2001, two on June 30, 2002, and two on June 30, 2003.

            D. The secretary of the Department of Revenue and the superintendent of the office of state police shall be ex officio members of the board. They shall not be voting members nor shall they be counted or be permitted to be counted for purposes of the number of members necessary to take board action or the number of members necessary to establish a quorum. In all other respects they shall have all the duties, authority, requirements, and benefits of any other board member. The term limits provision of Subsection A of this Section shall not apply to the ex officio board members.

            E.(1) When a vacancy on the board occurs among the members appointed pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph (4) of Subsection B of this Section, each university president who nominates members pursuant to Subsection B of this Section shall nominate one person with the qualifications of the member whose seat on the board is vacant. The governor shall fill the vacancy by appointment from among such nominees. The member appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term. If the vacancy occurs with three or more years remaining in the term, such service shall be considered as one term for purposes of the limit on the duration of service.

            (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, should any college or university president fail to make any nomination required of him by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection within thirty days after the vacancy occurs, then the governor shall make the appointment from among the nominations he has received as of such date. Should fewer than two nominations be received for any vacancy, then the governor may make the board appointment without regard to any nominations for that position, provided that the appointee has the categorical qualifications provided in Paragraph (3) of Subsection B of this Section.

            (3) If a vacancy occurs among the at-large members appointed pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph (5) of Subsection B of this Section, then the governor shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy. The member appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term. If the vacancy occurs with three or more years remaining in the term, such service shall be considered as one term for purposes of the limit on the duration of service.

            F.(1) The governor may remove any member only for misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office. The member may be removed only after he has been served with a copy of the charges against him and if he so requests, a public hearing before the governor has been held upon the charges. The member is removed five days after the public hearing required by this Paragraph has been conducted.

            (2) The request for a public hearing must be made within ten days after service upon such member of the charges against him. If a hearing is not requested, a member is removed effective ten days after service upon the member of a copy of the charges against him. Such hearing shall be held in accordance with the adjudication provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. A record of the proceedings at the public hearing shall be filed with the secretary of state.

            G.(1) All meetings of the board shall be open and subject to the provisions of R.S. 42:11 et seq. A record of all proceedings at regular and special meetings of the board shall be kept and shall be open to public inspection, except as otherwise provided by this Title or in R.S. 42:17.

            (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the board may conduct, and its members may attend and participate in, an emergency meeting occurring via video conference as the chairman determines to be necessary.

            (a) No later than twenty-four hours prior to a meeting conducted pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph, the board shall provide for the following:

            (i) The notice and agenda for the meeting, which shall be posted on the board's website and emailed to any member of the public or the news media who requests notice of the board meeting.

            (ii) The notice and agenda shall provide detailed information regarding how members of the public may participate in the meeting and submit comments regarding matters on the agenda.

            (iii) The agenda shall contain only those matters that are essential to the ongoing operations of the board as determined by the chairman.

            (iv) The agenda shall be unanimously adopted by a quorum of the board at the beginning of any emergency meeting conducted by video conference.

            (b) For each meeting conducted pursuant to this Paragraph:

            (i) The board shall provide a mechanism to receive public comment electronically prior to and during the meeting.

            (ii) The board shall properly identify and acknowledge all public comments during the meeting and shall maintain those comments in the record of the meeting.

            (iii) The chairman shall ensure that each person participating in the meeting is properly identified.

            (iv) The chairman shall ensure that all parts of the meeting, excluding any matter discussed in executive session, are clear and audible to all participants in the meeting, including the public.

            (c) For the purpose of this Paragraph, "video conference" means a method of communication which enables persons in different locations to participate in a meeting and to see, hear, and communicate with each other.

            (d) At no time shall the board conduct more than two consecutive emergency meetings by video conference except when the meeting is held during or subject to a gubernatorially declared disaster or pursuant to the emergency provisions as provided in R.S. 42:17.1.

            Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 7, §1, eff. May 1, 1996; Acts 1997, No. 85, §1, eff. June 11, 1997; Acts 2022, No. 310, §3, eff. July 1, 2022.