RS 797 - Rockefeller Foundation Wildlife Refuge and Game Preserve; revenues; allocation
A.(1) All revenues belonging to the state of Louisiana which are received as royalty, rentals, or otherwise from leases for the exploration, development, or production of oil, gas, and other minerals on all or any portion of the lands in the parishes of Vermilion and Cameron comprising the Rockefeller Foundation Wildlife Refuge and Game Preserve, which was donated to the state of Louisiana by the Rockefeller Foundation by act of donation executed by it on September 30, 1920, and was accepted by the state of Louisiana under the terms and provisions of Act No. 71 of 1920 on November 8, 1920, which constitutes a contract between the state of Louisiana and Rockefeller Foundation entered into pursuant to said Act, and which is now on file and of record in the offices of the secretary of state and the commissioner of conservation and also in the offices of the clerks of court and ex officio recorders of the parishes of Vermilion and Cameron, subject to the prior charge on said revenues in favor of the Royalty Road Funds for the parishes of Vermilion and Cameron under authority of Section 2 of Article IV of the Louisiana Constitution of 1921, and Section 4 of Article VII of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, when collected shall be deposited in the state treasury in a special fund designated as the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge and Game Preserve Fund.
(2) The state treasurer is authorized and directed to transfer annually an amount equalling five percent of the annual revenues credited to said fund into a special fund designated as the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Trust and Protection Fund. If mineral and interest income credited to the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge and Game Preserve Fund exceeds ten million dollars annually, the state treasurer is authorized and directed to transfer annually an amount equalling twenty-five percent of the annual income credited to the Preserve Fund into the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Trust and Protection Fund. Such transfers shall be made until such time as the principal amount credited to such fund equals the sum of fifty million dollars.
B. The remaining revenues comprising the said Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge and Game Preserve Fund and all income earned from investments of such revenues, shall be used first, for the purpose of paying the costs of maintenance, policing, and improving the said wildlife refuge and preserve, and the development of conditions suitable for improving such wildlife refuge and preserve, and any surplus of revenues derived from said mineral development or production on Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge shall be used by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in wildlife management programs and activities, particularly land acquisition throughout the state.
C. The state treasurer shall invest the principal and the undistributed return on the principal deposited in the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Trust and Protection Fund for the purpose of achieving perpetual financing of the fund. Such investments may include, among others authorized by law, investments permitted for the Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund, also known as the Kevin P. Reilly Sr. Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund, as set forth in R.S. 17:3803(B), (D), and (E).
D. Investment income from said trust and protection fund shall be allocated annually, even during the period that the fund is being increased to the fifty million dollar level, as follows:
(1) Three hundred thousand dollars to McNeese State University for educational purposes. The provisions of this Paragraph shall be inoperative and of no effect after July 1, 1993.
(2) Sixty thousand dollars to the Governor's Special Commission on Educational Services to provide for undergraduate and graduate scholarships to Louisiana state colleges and universities for Louisiana residents to study in the fields of wildlife, forestry, or marine sciences, or study in curricula leading to study in such fields, such scholarships to have been approved by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for funding from such monies.
(3) Three hundred thousand dollars for the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to purchase lands that are of benefit to waterfowl and contribute to the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.
(4) Three hundred thousand dollars for the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to purchase land for upland game habitat.
(5) Until the principal in the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Trust and Protection Fund reaches fifty million dollars, one hundred fifty thousand dollars to the Louisiana Fur and Alligator Advisory Council to accomplish the specific goals listed in R.S. 56:279(B).
(6) If revenue available from the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge and Game Preserve Fund is not sufficient to cover the cost of maintenance, policing, and improving the said wildlife refuge and preserve, and the development of conditions suitable for improving such wildlife refuge and preserve, any investment income needed from the trust and protection fund shall be made available to fulfill said needs, subject only to appropriation by the legislature. Use of the funds for such purposes shall take precedence over any other purpose provided in this Section.
(7) However, as a one time allocation, three hundred fifty thousand dollars to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for an initial design of a nature trail and visitor's center at the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge and Game Preserve.
E.(1) The investment income from said trust and protection fund remaining after the annual allocations provided for in this Section shall be added to the trust and protection fund. When the principal amount credited to the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Trust and Protection Fund reaches an amount equal to the sum of fifty million dollars, the proceeds derived from interest earned on investment of the principal shall, subject to all prior annual transfers of funds provided for by this Section, be allocated by the state treasurer in accordance with legislative appropriation to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to be used by said department first solely to defray the expense of maintaining, policing, and improving the Rockefeller Foundation Wildlife Refuge and Game Preserve and for the development of conditions suitable for improving said wildlife refuge and game preserve.
(2) After all needs of the refuge have been provided for, any income earned from the investment of the principal shall, subject to legislative appropriation, be available to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for the following activities:
(a) Marsh Island and State Wildlife Refuge land stewardship.
(b) Statewide fur management and research.
(c) Statewide alligator management and research.
(d) Statewide migratory bird management and research.
Added by Acts 1972, No. 321, §1; Amended by Acts 1978, No. 342, §1; Acts 1980, No. 807, §1; Acts 1982, No. 63, §1, eff. July 11, 1982; Acts 1982, No. 93, §1; Acts 1987, No. 849, §1, eff. July 20, 1987 and July 1, 1989; Acts 1989, No. 707, §1, eff. July 1, 1989; Acts 1992, No. 498, §1; Acts 1995, No. 832, §1; Acts 1999, No. 1041, §1; Acts 2020, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 21, §2, eff. July 1, 2020.
{{NOTE: SEE ACTS 1987, NO. 849, §2 REGARDING INCREASE IN MAXIMUM DEPOSITED AMOUNTS EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 1989.}}