RS 3:1205 Creation; division or combination - Louisiana Statutes

§1205.  Creation; division or combination

A.  Any twenty-five owners of land lying within the limits of the territory proposed to be organized into a district may file a petition with the state soil and water conservation commission asking that a soil and water conservation district be organized to function in the territory described in the petition.  Such petition shall set forth:

(1)  The proposed name of the district;

(2)  That there is need, in the interest of public health, safety, and welfare, for a soil and water conservation district to function in the territory described in the petition;

(3)  A description of the territory proposed to be organized as a district, which description shall not be required to be given by metes and bounds or by legal subdivision, but shall be deemed sufficient if generally accurate;

(4)(a)  A request that the state soil and water conservation commission duly define the boundaries for such district; that a referendum be held within the territory so defined on the question of the creation of a soil and water conservation district in such territory; and that the commission determine that such a district be created.

(b)  Where more than one petition is filed covering parts of the same territory, the state soil and water conservation commission may consolidate all or any such petitions.

B.  Within thirty days after such petition has been filed with the state soil and water conservation commission, it shall cause due notice to be given of a proposed hearing upon the question of the desirability and necessity, in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare, of the creation of such district, upon the question of the appropriate boundaries to be assigned to such district, upon the propriety of the petition and other proceedings taken under this Part, and upon all questions relevant to such inquiries.  All landowners within the limits of the territory described in the petition, and of lands within any territory considered for addition to such described territory, and all other interested parties, shall have the right to attend such hearings and to be heard.  If it shall appear upon the hearing that it may be desirable to include within the proposed district territory outside of the area within which due notice of the hearing has been given, the hearing shall be adjourned and due notice of further hearing shall be given throughout the entire area considered for inclusion in the district, and such further hearing held.  After such hearing, if the commission shall determine, upon the facts presented at such hearing and upon such other relevant facts and information as may be available, that there is need, in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare, for a soil and water conservation district to function in the territory considered at the hearing, it shall make and record such determination, and shall define, by metes and bounds or by legal subdivisions, the boundaries of such district.  In making such determinations and in defining such boundaries, the commission shall give due weight and consideration to the topography of the area considered and of the state, the composition of soils therein, the distribution of erosion, the prevailing land-use practice, the desirability and necessity of including within the boundaries the particular lands under consideration and the benefits such lands may receive from being included within such boundaries, the relation of the proposed area to existing watersheds and agricultural regions, and to other soil and water conservation districts already organized or proposed for organization under the provisions of this Part, and such other physical, geographical, and economic factors as are relevant, having due regard to the legislative determinations set forth in R.S. 3:1201.  The territory to be included within such boundaries need not be contiguous.  If the commission shall determine after such hearing and after due consideration of the said relevant facts, that there is no need for a soil and water conservation district to function in the territory considered at the hearing, it shall make and record such determination and shall deny the petition.  After six months shall have expired from the date of the denial of any such petition, subsequent petitions covering the same or substantially the same territory may be filed as aforesaid and new hearings held and determinations made thereon.

C.  After the commission has made and recorded a determination that there is need, in the interest of public health, safety, and welfare, for the organization of a district in a particular territory and has defined the boundaries thereof, it shall consider the question whether the operation of a district within such boundaries, with the powers conferred upon soil and water conservation districts in this Part, is administratively practicable and feasible.  To assist the commission in the determination of such administrative practicability and feasibility, it shall be the duty of the commission, within reasonable time after entry of the finding that there is need for the organization of the proposed district and the determination of the boundaries thereof, to hold a referendum within the proposed district upon the proposition of the creation of the district, and to cause due notice of such referendum to be given.  The question shall be submitted by ballots upon which there shall appear the words: "For creation of a soil and water conservation district of the lands below described and lying in the parish (or parishes) of __________, and __________ and __________" and "Against the creation of a soil and water conservation district of the lands below described and lying in the parish(es) of __________ and __________", with a square before each proposition and a direction to insert an X mark in the square before one or the other of said propositions as the voter may favor or oppose creation of such district.  The ballot shall set forth the boundaries of such proposed district as determined by the commission.  All owners of land within such boundaries shall be eligible to vote in such referendum.  Only such landowners shall be eligible to vote.

D.  The commission shall pay all expenses for the issuance of such notices and the conduct of such hearings and referenda, and shall supervise the conduct of such hearings and referenda.  It shall issue appropriate regulations governing the conduct of such hearings and referenda, and providing for the registration prior to the date of the referendum of all eligible voters, or prescribing some other appropriate procedure for the determination of those eligible as voters in such referendum.  No informalities in the conduct of such referendum or in any matters relating thereto shall invalidate said referendum or the result thereof if notice thereof shall have been given substantially as herein provided and said referendum shall have been fairly conducted.

E.  The commission shall publish the result of such referendum and shall thereafter consider and determine whether the operation of the district within the defined boundaries is administratively practicable and feasible.  If the commission shall determine that the operation of such district is not administratively practicable and feasible, it shall record such determination and deny the petition.  If the commission shall determine that the operation of such district is administratively practicable and feasible, it shall record such determination and shall proceed with the organization of the district in the manner hereinafter provided.  In making such determination the commission shall give due regard and weight to the attitudes of the eligible voters within the defined boundaries, the number eligible to vote in such referendum who shall have voted, the proportion of the votes cast in such referendum in favor of the creation of the district to the total number of votes cast, the approximate wealth and income of land occupants of the proposed district, the probable expense of carrying on erosion-control operations within such district, and such other economic and social factors as may be relevant to such determination, having due regard to the legislative determinations set forth in R.S. 3:1201, provided, however, that the commission shall not have authority to determine that the operation of the proposed district within the defined boundaries is administratively practicable and feasible unless at least a majority of the votes cast in the referendum upon the proposition of the creation of the district shall have been cast in favor of the creation of such district.

F.  If the commission shall determine that the operation of the proposed district within the defined boundaries is administratively practicable and feasible, it shall appoint two supervisors to act, with the three supervisors elected as provided in R.S. 3:1207, as the governing body of the district.  Such district shall be a governmental subdivision of this state and a public body corporate and politic, upon the taking of the following proceedings:

(1)  The two appointed supervisors shall present to the secretary of state an application signed by them, which shall set forth (and such application need contain no detail other than the mere recitals):

(a)  that a petition for the creation of the district was filed with the state soil and water conservation commission pursuant to the provisions of this Part, and that the proceedings specified in this Part were taken pursuant to such petition; that the application is being filed in order to complete the organization of the district as a governmental subdivision and a public body, corporate and politic, under this Part; and that the commission has appointed them as supervisors;

(b)  the name and official residence of each of the supervisors, together with a certified copy of the appointments evidencing their right to office;

(c)  the term of office of each of the supervisors;

(d)  the name which is proposed for the district; and

(e)  the location of the principal office of the supervisors of the district.

(2)  The application shall be subscribed and sworn to by each of the said supervisors before an officer authorized by the laws of this state to take and certify oaths, who shall certify upon the application that he personally knows the supervisors and knows them to be the officers as affirmed in the application, and that each has subscribed thereto in the officer's presence.  The application shall be accompanied by a statement by the state soil and water conservation commission, which shall certify and such statement need contain no detail other than the mere recitals, that a petition was filed, notice issued, and hearings held as aforesaid; that the commission did duly determine that there is need, in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare, for a soil and water conservation district to function in the proposed territory and did define the boundaries thereof; that notice was given and a referendum held on the question of the creation of such district, and that the result of such referendum showed a majority of the votes cast in such referendum to be in favor of the creation of the district; that thereafter the commission did duly determine that the operation of the proposed district is administratively practicable and feasible.  The said statement shall set forth the boundaries of the district as they have been defined by the commission.

(3)  The secretary of state shall examine the application and statement, and if he finds that the name proposed for the district is not identical with that of any other soil and water conservation district of this state or so nearly similar as to lead to confusion or uncertainty, he shall receive and file them and shall record them in an appropriate book of record in his office.  If the secretary of state shall find that the name proposed for the district is identical with that of any other soil and water conservation district of this state, or so nearly similar as to lead to confusion and uncertainty, he shall certify such fact to the state soil and water conservation commission, which shall thereupon submit to the secretary of state a new name for the said district, which shall not be subject to such defects.  Upon receipt of such new name, free of such defects, the secretary of state shall record the application and statement, with the name so modified, in an appropriate book of record in his office.  When the application and statement have been made, filed, and recorded, as herein provided, the district shall constitute a governmental subdivision of this state and a public body corporate and politic.  The secretary of state shall make and issue to the said supervisors a certificate, under the seal of the state, of the due organization of said district, and shall record such certificate with the application and statement.  The boundaries of such district shall include the territory as determined by the state soil and water conservation commission as aforesaid, but in no event shall they include any area included within the boundaries of another soil and water conservation district organized under the provisions of this Part.

G.  After six months shall have expired from the date of entry of a determination by the state soil and water conservation commission that operation of a proposed district is not administratively practicable and feasible, and denial of a petition pursuant to such determination, subsequent petitions may be filed as aforesaid, and action taken thereon in accordance with the provisions of this Part.

H.  Petitions for including additional territory within an existing district may be filed with the state soil and water conservation commission, and the proceedings herein provided for in the case of petitions to organize a district shall be observed in the case of petitions for such inclusion.  The commission shall prescribe the form of such petitions, which shall be as nearly as may be in the form prescribed in this Part for petitions to organize a district.  Where the total number of eligible voters in the area proposed for inclusion shall be less than twenty-five, the petition may be filed when signed by a majority of the eligible voters of such area.  In referenda upon petitions for such inclusion, all owners of land within such area shall be eligible to vote.  Only such landowners shall be eligible to vote.

I.  Any district or districts organized under the provisions of this Part may be divided, or combined with any other district or districts, or divided and combined with any other district or districts in the following manner:

(1)  Twenty-five or more landowners of each district affected by the proposed division or combination shall sign and file with the commission a petition requesting that the district or districts, as the case may be, and the operations thereof, be divided or combined, or divided and combined, in the manner requested.  The commission shall prescribe the form for such petitions, which shall be as nearly as may be in the form described in this Part for petitions to organize a district.  The commission may conduct such public meetings and public hearings upon such petition as may be necessary to assist it in the consideration thereof.  The commission may define in more detail the boundaries outlined in the petitions for the districts proposed to result from the division or combination.

(2)  Within sixty days after such petition has been filed with the commission, it shall give due notice of the holding of a referendum, and shall supervise and conduct such referendum, and issue appropriate regulations governing the conduct thereof.  Each owner of land lying within the district or districts to be affected shall be entitled to vote; and only such landowners shall be entitled to vote.  The commission shall make provisions on the referendum for each landowner to vote (a) on whether or not he approves of the proposed division, if any, of the district in which his land is located, and (b) on whether or not he approves of the proposed new district in which his land will be located under the proposed combination, if any.  No informalities in the conduct of such referendum or in any matters relating thereto shall invalidate said referendum or the result thereof if notice shall have been given substantially as herein provided and said referendum shall have been fairly conducted.

(3)  The commission shall publish the results of such referendum and shall thereafter consider and determine whether the division or combination requested in the petition is administratively practicable and feasible.  If the commission shall determine that the division or combination of such district or districts is not administratively practicable and feasible, it shall record such determinations and deny the petition.  If the commission shall determine that the division or combination is administratively feasible and practicable, it shall record such determinations and proceed with the division or combination of the district or districts in the manner hereafter provided.  In making such determinations the commission shall give due regard and weight to the attitudes of the owners of lands lying within the defined boundaries of the districts to be affected, the number of landowners eligible to vote in such referendum who shall have voted, the proportion of the votes cast in such referendum in favor of the division or combination of the district or districts to the total number of votes cast, the approximate wealth and income of the landowners of the proposed new district, or districts, the probable expense of carrying on erosion control operations within such district or districts, and such other economic and social factors as may be relevant to such determination, having due regard to the legislative determinations set forth in R.S. 3:1201, provided, however, that no district or districts may be divided or combined if a majority of landowners voting vote against either the particular division or combination which is submitted to their vote as hereinabove provided.

(4)(a)  If the commission shall determine that the proposed division or combination is practicable and feasible in its entirety, it shall appoint for each district to result from the proposed division or combination two supervisors to act with three supervisors to be elected in accordance with, and subject to, the terms and conditions set forth in R.S. 3:1206 (except that the nominating petitions shall be filed within thirty days of the determination of the commission and notice thereof to the eligible voters), as the governing body of each such district.  Any existing supervisor shall be eligible to be appointed or elected as a new supervisor.  The commission shall then certify to the new supervisors, and to the supervisors of such existing district which is to be divided or combined (hereinafter sometimes called old supervisors), the determination of the commission as to the administrative practicability and feasibility of the division or combination, the boundaries of the proposed districts, the names, addresses, and positions of the supervisors appointed or elected for each new district, and such other data as it deems appropriate.  Thereupon, the old supervisors of each district to be divided, if any, shall decide the proportion and manner of division of its property, assets, and rights, exclusive, however, of any executory contracts, among the new districts into which the old district is to be divided, taking into consideration the nature and source of such property, assets, and rights, the comparative sizes of the new divisions, the number of landowners of each such division, and general considerations of fairness in making the allocation.  The supervisors shall notify the commission and the new supervisors who are to receive any of said property, rights, and assets, of their decision; and the said property, assets, and rights shall then be divided and transferred accordingly.  If no division of a district is to be made, the supervisors shall simply transfer the said assets, property, and rights of such district to the new supervisors of the combined district of which it will comprise a part.

(b)  If the supervisors of a district to be divided are unable to agree on the division of the said property, assets, and rights to be made, within sixty days after the certification of determination from the commission, they shall notify the commission, and the commission shall, after a hearing of the said supervisors and any other persons within the district who may be, in the commission's judgment, reasonably entitled to be heard, decide and determine finally the proportions and manner of the division, and shall certify its decision to said supervisors, who shall proceed forthwith to divide the said property, assets, and rights accordingly.

(5)  Upon receiving the said property, assets, and rights to which they shall be entitled under the division or combination decided upon in the above manner, the supervisors of each resulting district shall file an application, duly verified, with the secretary of state, for the completion of the division or combination, which application shall set forth (and such application need contain no detail other than the mere recitals) that a petition for the division or combination of the district was filed with the commission pursuant to the provisions of this Part, and that the proceedings specified in this Part were taken pursuant to such petition; that the application is being filed in order to complete the division or combination of the old district or districts as governmental subdivisions and public bodies, corporate and politic, under this Part; and that they have been appointed and elected, respectively, as supervisors; and the application shall also set forth with respect to the resulting district or districts the matters required in this Section.  Said application shall be executed and sworn to as provided in this Section; and shall be accompanied by a statement by the commission, which shall certify (and such statement need contain no detail other than the mere recitals) that a petition was filed, notice given, and a referendum held on the question of dividing or combining the named districts; that the commission did duly determine that such division or combination was administratively practicable and feasible; and that the division or combination of the property, assets, and rights was decided upon and carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Part.  The said statement shall set forth the boundaries of the district as they have been described in the petition, or further defined by the commission.

(6)  The secretary of state shall examine the applications, and shall receive and file them, and record them in the book for the recording of applications for the organization of districts; whereupon the old districts shall cease to exist as such and the resulting districts shall constitute governmental subdivisions of this state and public bodies corporate and politic; and the said secretary shall issue to the said supervisors of each resulting district, a certificate, under the seal of the state, of the due constitution by division or combination (as the case may be) of such district, and shall record said certificate with the application and statement.

(7)  Upon the issuance of the certificate of due constitution of each such district under the provisions of this Part, all ordinances and regulations theretofore adopted and in force within the former districts shall be of no further force and effect.  All contracts, agreements, and easements entered into, to which an old district or the old supervisors thereof are parties, shall remain in force and effect for the period provided in such contracts.  The commission shall be substituted for the district or supervisors as a party to such contracts.  The commission shall be entitled to all benefits and subject to all liabilities under such contracts and shall have the same right and liability to perform, to require performance, to sue and be sued, and to modify or terminate such contracts by mutual consent or otherwise, as the supervisors of the former district would have had.  The commission may designate and direct any of the new districts to act as its agent to carry out any contract or duty, or enforce any right, or perform any other work which accrues to it under this Section on account of the division or combination of an old district.

(8)  The district constituted by such division or combination, and the supervisors thereof, shall have the same powers and be subject to the same restrictions as districts organized under R.S. 3:1205, and the supervisors thereof.

J.(1)  When a petition signed by at least a majority of landowners in a territory is submitted to the commission requesting that the territory be transferred from the district wherein the territory is located to an adjoining district, the commission shall proceed as follows.

(2)  The commission may conduct public meetings and hearings upon such petition as may be necessary to assist it in the consideration thereof.  In making such determination, the commission shall give due weight and consideration to the legislative determinations set forth in R.S. 3:1201 and to the standards provided herein for the guidance of the commission in making its determinations in connection with the organization of districts.  The commission may define in more detail the boundaries of the territory proposed to be transferred.  If the commission determines that the proposed transfer is not administratively practicable and feasible, it shall record such determination and deny the petition.  If the commission shall determine that the transfer is administratively feasible and practicable, it shall record such determination, and provided that the proposed change is agreed to by a majority of the board of supervisors of each district affected by the transfer, the commission shall proceed with and complete the proposed transfer.  In such case, no referendum shall be necessary.

K.(1)  In any suit, action, or proceeding involving the validity or enforcement of, or relating to, any contract, proceeding, or action of the district, the district shall be deemed to have been established in accordance with the provisions of this Part upon proof of the issuance of the aforesaid certificate by the secretary of state.  A copy of such certificate duly certified by the secretary of state shall be admissible in evidence in any such suit, action, or proceeding and shall be prima facie proof of the filing and contents thereof.

(2)  It shall be the duty of the assessor for the parish or parishes in which real property included within the boundaries of an established or a proposed soil and water conservation district is situated to furnish, within thirty days after receipt of a written request, the state soil and water conservation commission a list of the persons paying taxes on real property located within the boundaries of an established or a proposed soil and water conservation district as shown by the assessment roll last made and filed; likewise, it shall be the duty of the registrar of voters to furnish a list of qualified voters.

(3)  The registration and assessment rolls, in the absence of fraud, shall be the sole and final tests of the qualifications of voters for participation in referenda or elections held under the provisions of this Part.

L.  A third method by which the boundaries of soil and water conservation districts may be changed is as follows:  The board of supervisors of any one or more districts organized under the provisions of this law may submit to the state commission a petition signed by eighty percent of the members of the board of supervisors of each district affected requesting a division of a district, a combination of two or more districts, or a transfer of land from one district to another.  The state commission shall make a determination as to the practicability and feasibility of the proposed change, giving due regard to the same considerations as provided in this Section for changes in district boundaries by other methods.  If the commission determines that the proposed change of district boundaries is not administratively practicable and feasible, it shall record such determination and deny the petition.  If the commission determines that the proposed change is administratively practicable and feasible, it shall record such determination and proceed with the reorganization of the district or districts affected in the same manner as provided in this Section for changes in district boundaries by other methods.

Amended by Acts 1958, No. 231, §1; Acts 1966, No. 195, §2; Acts 2008, No. 920, §1, eff. July 14, 2008.