§3303. Appointment and term of commissioners

            A. The board of commissioners shall be composed of sixteen members.

            B.(1) Seven members shall be the parish presidents representing the parishes making up the district, or their designee, and shall serve ex officio without appointment.

            (2) One member shall be the executive director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, or his designee, one member shall be the secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development, or his designee, and one member shall be the executive director of the Pontchartrain Levee District Board of Commissioners, or his designee, all serving in a nonvoting advisory role.

            C.(1) The remaining six members shall serve at large and shall be appointed by the governor, subject to Senate confirmation, from nominations submitted by the representatives and senators whose districts include any portion of the district.

            (2) Priority shall be given to nominees that reside in the district or any parish within it; however, district or parish residency is not required.

            (3)(a) Each legislator within the district may nominate up to two persons meeting the qualification requirements per vacant position.

            (b) If no nominees meeting the qualification requirements are submitted for a seat, the governor may choose his own.

            D. At-large commissioners shall serve a term of four years, staggered with three positions expiring every two years. Initial terms shall be two years for three commissioners and four years for three commissioners, chosen by lot. The existing board shall terminate effective January first following enactment of this Act.

            E. All six commissioners-at-large shall have at least seven years of professional experience in their discipline, of which at least four shall be engineers, project managers, certified floodplain managers, or professionals in a drainage-related field such as geotechnical, hydrological, or environmental science. Parish commissioner designees are encouraged to be, but need not be, professionals as provided for in this Subsection.

            F. Appointment of, or voting by, public servants to the board of commissioners shall not constitute violation of the dual officeholding and dual employment law, R.S. 42:61 et seq., or the Code of Governmental Ethics, R.S. 42:1101 et seq., but such persons shall not vote on any matter in which they have a personal financial interest other than as a resident of the district.

            Added by Acts 1981, No. 896, §1. Amended by Acts 1982, No. 111, §1; Acts 1983, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 12, §§1, 2, eff. Jan. 19, 1983; Acts 1984, No. 907, §1; Acts 2022, No. 490, §1, eff. June 16, 2022.