§1453.  Terms and appointment of members of board

A.  The Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College is created as a body corporate in accordance with the provisions of Article VIII, Section 7 of the Constitution of 1974.  The board shall be composed of fifteen members appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate.  Two members shall be appointed from each congressional district and the remaining member or members shall be appointed from the state at large.  Each member shall serve a term of six years, which shall expire on June 1 of the sixth year of the term to which he is appointed, or until his successor is appointed and takes office.

B.  A vacancy on the board occurring prior to the expiration of the term shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the term within thirty days of the effective date of the vacancy by appointment by the governor, with the consent of the Senate.  Within twenty-four hours after being informed of a vacancy on the board, the chairman of the board or the officer exercising his duties shall notify the governor by certified mail of the vacancy and the effective date thereof.

C.  In order to effectuate the provisions of Subsection A hereof, each member of the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College whose term had not expired on December 31, 1974, shall become an initial member of the board and shall serve until the term to which he was appointed expires.  In addition, not later than ten days after the date of the election of initial members to the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education or, if no election is held, no later than the last day on which initial appointments are required by law to be made by the governor to the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities, the governor shall appoint, with the consent of the Senate, three initial members for the following terms: (1) one member whose term shall expire June 1, 1978; (2) one member whose term shall expire June 1, 1980, and (3) one member whose term shall expire on June 1, 1976.  In making these initial appointments the governor shall, to the extent possible, comply with the provisions of Subsection A hereof.

D.  The successor of any member shall be appointed to serve for the remainder of the term of such member.  In making such appointment as any vacancy occurs, the governor shall comply with the provisions of Subsection A above until such time as the board includes two members from each congressional district and one or more members at large.  As vacancies occur and as terms expire, the governor shall make appointments so as to ensure that each congressional district is represented by not less than two members who are residents of and are domiciled in such district.  Thereafter, the successor of each member, with the exception of the member or members at large, shall be a citizen and resident of the same congressional district as the member replaced.

E.  The governor must make his nominations to fill all existing vacancies on the board and submit such nominations to the Senate for confirmation not later than the tenth day of June of each year.

F.  The first meeting of the board created in this Section shall be held within ten days after the promulgation of the returns of the election for which provision is made in R.S. 17:22(B), or if no such election is held, within ten days after the appointment by the governor of initial members of the board and of the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities as provided by law.  In no event shall the first meeting of the board be held later than May 10, 1975.

G.  The Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College created by Section 7 of Article XII of the Louisiana Constitution of 1921 shall continue to exercise all power and authority granted to and perform all functions provided for such board by the Louisiana Constitution of 1921 or by law until the first meeting of the board created in this Section is held.  Should a vacancy occur on the board of supervisors created by the 1921 Constitution after midnight of December 31, 1974 and prior to the first meeting of the board created herein, it shall be filled by appointment by the governor, but any member so appointed shall serve only for such time and for such purposes as are provided in this Subsection and shall not be considered as a member whose term had not expired on December 31, 1974.

H.  On and after the date of the first meeting of the board, the obligations heretofore incurred by the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College created by Article XII, Section 7 of the Constitution of 1921 in connection with any contract or agreement shall be preserved and discharged by the board created in this Section.  All of these obligations and all books, papers, records, money and other property heretofore owned, possessed, controlled or used by the former board in the exercise of its functions and, to the extent practicable and necessary, all employees heretofore engaged in the performance of the functions of the former board are hereby transferred to the board created in this Section, effective on the date of the first meeting of the board and subject to all applicable state civil service rules and regulations and those of the applicable employees' retirement systems.

Amended by Acts 1974, Ex.Sess., No. 5, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1975; Acts 1978, No. 52, §1, eff. June 7, 1978; Acts 2012, No. 803, §3, eff. Dec. 10, 2012.