RS 1680.1 - St. Mary Parish; powers of parish, drainage districts, and any incorporated municipality in the parish to levy taxes and charges for drainage facilities
A. The parish of St. Mary, any drainage district in the parish, and any incorporated municipality in the parish are authorized to levy special taxes on all the property within their boundaries for the purpose of constructing, acquiring, maintaining, operating, or improving drains and drainage facilities within such boundaries in the manner provided by the constitution and laws of this state after having been authorized to do so at a special election held in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and laws of this state.
B.(1) The parish of St. Mary, any drainage district in the parish, and any incorporated municipality in the parish are authorized to levy and impose a charge for the purpose of constructing, acquiring, maintaining, operating, or improving drains and drainage facilities within their corporate boundaries, such charge to be imposed on a per acre basis, provided that such charge shall be imposed by resolution or ordinance of the governing authority of the particular public entity only after the question of the imposition of the charge and the purpose, rate, and duration of the charge has been approved by a majority of the voters voting at an election held within the corporate boundaries of the entity in accordance with the constitution and laws of this state. Any such charge authorized shall be levied by the governing authority of the entity against each acre of land, or portion of an acre on a pro rata basis, within the boundaries of the entity, and the assessor of St. Mary Parish shall assess each parcel of property within the entity and shall prepare an assessment roll in triplicate and shall provide a copy to the clerk of court and a copy to the tax collector of the parish, or the tax collector of the municipality in the case of a tax by a municipality, and one copy to the governing authority of the entity. The acreage of each parcel or pro rata portion of an acre may be determined by land surveying or may be determined by controlled aerial photography and computer digitalization, performed in accordance with the United States National Map Accuracy Standards of photography at a scale of 1"-100 feet. The charge shall be due and payable annually at the same time as property taxes and the charge shall be collected in the same manner as ad valorem taxes are collected by tax collectors of the respective entities.
(2) The purpose, rate, and duration of the charge shall be set forth in the proposition submitted at the election to authorize its imposition. Such charge shall not in any event exceed twenty-five dollars per acre for residential property, two dollars per acre for agricultural property, one dollar per acre for marsh and timberlands, fifteen dollars per acre for commercial and industrial property, and shall be based upon the following classifications:
(a) Bona fide agricultural lands.
(b) Improvements for residential purposes.
(c) Marsh and timberlands.
(d) Commercial and industrial properties.
(3) All laws now in force or that may hereafter be enacted, providing for, regulating, and governing the procedure for the collection of state and local ad valorem taxes and the creation of tax liens, penalties, methods, and procedures for sales for delinquent taxes shall also apply to regulate and govern the collection of the charges authorized to be imposed or levied under the provisions of this Section, and the charges shall be collected through the tax collector of the respective entity at the same time and in the same manner that he collects other ad valorem taxes, and the revenues from the charges shall be by him turned over to the treasurer of the entity.
Acts 1993, No. 1015, §1, eff. June 25, 1993.