§214.6.8. Coastal Louisiana Levee Consortium; establishment; purposes

            A.(1) There is hereby created the Coastal Louisiana Levee Consortium, hereinafter referred to as the "consortium", which shall include members from those levee districts, flood protection authorities, or parishes situated entirely or partially within the coastal area as defined in R.S. 49:214.2(4) and as provided in Subsection B of this Section.

            (2) The consortium shall be an advisory commission of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board. It shall be a public body and subject to public records and open meeting laws.

            (3) The purpose of the consortium shall be to facilitate communication and coordination of efforts of the levee districts, flood protection authorities, and parishes specified in Subsection B of this Section; to protect coastal Louisiana, its people, property, and resources; to increase awareness and understanding of integrated coastal protection, including but not limited to conditions, issues, strategies, and policies of flood control, coastal levee systems, hurricane risk reduction systems, and mitigation projects; and to provide one unified voice that is representative of the coastal levee community in communicating information necessary for decision-making to policymakers at the state and federal levels and to the board and the authority set forth in R.S. 49:214.1 et seq.

            B.(1) The members of the consortium shall consist of the director, general manager, or president, or their designee, of each board of commissioners of a coastal levee district or flood protection authority, including the following:

            (a) Atchafalaya Basin Levee District.

            (b) Grand Isle Independent Levee District.

            (c) Lafourche Basin Levee District.

            (d) North Lafourche Conservation, Levee and Drainage District.

            (e) Pontchartrain Levee District.

            (f) South Lafourche Levee District.

            (g) Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District.

            (h) Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - East.

            (i) Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - West.

            (j) Lafitte Area Independent Levee District.

            (k) St. Mary Levee District.

            (l) Iberia Parish Levee, Hurricane and Conservation District.

            (m) Chenier Plain Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority.

            (n) Amite River Basin Commission.

            (o) Non-Flood Protection Asset Management Authority.

            (p) The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans.

            (q) Any other levee district or flood protection authority that may be created and made operational for a coastal parish after January 1, 2014, including but not limited to levee districts or flood protection authorities for Acadia, Lafayette, Jefferson Davis, St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes. However, until such time as a levee district or flood protection authority is created and made operational for the parish, the parish president or police jury president, or their designee, of each of the above parishes shall be a member of the consortium.

            (r) Plaquemines Parish president.

            (s) Livingston Parish president.

            (2) A designee of a member shall meet at least one of the following requirements:

            (a) He shall be serving as a current member of his respective levee board, flood protection authority, or parish governing authority.

            (b) He shall have expertise in engineering or public works functions related to flood and drainage control, water resources, soil conservation, or related functions.

            C. The consortium shall:

            (1) Advise the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board concerning integrated coastal protection, including but not limited to conditions, issues, strategies, and policies of flood control, coastal levee systems, hurricane risk reduction systems, and mitigation projects.

            (2) Coordinate the exchange of information among consortium members and advise consortium members and others in assessing and addressing the issues in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.

            (3) Evaluate the potential of various strategies, develop regional awareness of effective strategies, and develop a regional plan for the improvement of regional levee systems and integrated coastal protection.

            (4) Seek the input of other local officials in assessing, addressing, or developing any regional strategy or plan.

            (5) Seek the expertise of and work in conjunction with any other interested federal, state or local entities, including but not limited to the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and nongovernmental organizations.

            (6) Provide an annual report on the status of levees and integrated coastal protection within the member levee districts, flood protection authorities, and parishes no later than January first of each year to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board.

            D.(1) The chairman of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board shall call the first meeting of the consortium. Thereafter, the meetings shall be called by the consortium chairman.

            (2) At the first meeting, the members shall elect a consortium chairman, vice chairman, and such other officers as the members may deem advisable.

            (3) The officers shall be selected from among the members of the consortium. The consortium chairman shall be a member who is already serving as a current member of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board.

            (4) Every four years thereafter or at a special call by majority vote of the consortium, an election shall be held for officers, subject to the eligibility requirements set forth in this Section.

            E. Members of the consortium shall receive no pay or allowances for their attendance at meetings of the consortium, but may be compensated for expenses incurred in attending meetings by their respective governing authorities according to the authority's regulations. Participation in the consortium shall be considered as a function of the office held by the member in their governing authority.

            F. A meeting of the consortium shall be convened at least twice a year in the capital of the state or at a location in the coastal area of the state, as determined by the consortium members.

            Acts 2014, No. 387, §1, eff. May 30, 2014; Acts 2016, No. 393, §1.