If a drainage district’s board has not met for five years, the police jury may pass an ordinance, take over as the district’s governing authority, and vacate the board offices.
§1677. Police juries as governing authority A. Where the police jury creating a drainage district determines that the board of commissioners of any such district has failed to hold meetings during a period of five years, the said police jury may adopt an ordinance in which it shall enter a finding of fact that no such meetings have been held by the board of commissioners of said drainage district during the five years preceding the adoption of said ordinance, such determination to be final and conclusive, and shall declare the offices of the board of commissioners to be vacated. The police jury shall, thereupon, become the governing authority of said district, and shall succeed to all of the powers and duties of the board of commissioners of said district, expressly invested with the powers, rights, privileges and immunities of the antecedent board of commissioners, as defined under Article 15 of the constitution of 1921, and R.S. 38:1601 through 38:1675, as amended, and under the constitution and laws of the state of Louisiana. No right of action shall exist nor remedy be allowed or exercised against the police jury as the governing authority under any existing committal, contract or contracts consummated in the name of and on behalf of said district unless any such committal, contract or contracts were entered into by the district in pursuance to the provisions of Article 15 of the constitution of 1921, and R.S. 38:1601 through 38:1675, and acts amendatory thereof and under the constitution and laws of the state of Louisiana. B. Where police juries have acted as the governing authorities of such drainage districts prior to August 1, 1962, each and every such act on the part of the police jury is hereby declared to have been done and performed and executed in accordance with law, and the acts of said police jury are hereby validated and declared legal and binding upon the district and the landowners thereof. Added by Acts 1962, No. 331, §§1, 2.