La. R.S. 47:820.4 — Duration and issuance of bonds priority list; progress reports; recommendations by the Revenue Estimating Conference and the Transportation Estimating Conference; duration of the tax

A.(1) The Department of Transportation and Development shall establish a list of priorities in which all projects enumerated in R.S. 47:820.2(B)(1) which have not been completed by June 10, 1998, are listed in priority according to their economic development value including but not limited to criteria developed pursuant to the Statewide Intermodal Transportation Plan and shall report this priority list to the House and Senate Committees on Transportation, Highways and Public Works, the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs not later than January 1, 1999.
(2) In establishing this priority list, the department may consider information, data, or testimony presented by any task force or study commission created by legislative act or executive order whose purpose is to study the Transportation Infrastructure Model for Economic Development program. The department may also evaluate the economic development potential of projects not listed in R.S. 47:820.2(B)(1) and may report this information to the committees.
(3)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, preconstruction work on the new Florida Avenue Bridge project shall begin no later than January 1, 2000.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, preconstruction work on the new Mississippi River Bridge at St. Francisville project shall begin no later than January 1, 2000.
B. The Department of Transportation and Development shall also submit a report to the House and Senate Committees on Transportation, Highways and Public Works, the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs annually to inform the committees of the progress of the projects enumerated in R.S. 47:820.2(B)(1). This report shall include information on each project, including but not limited to the current construction phase, the anticipated date of completion, the estimated cost, and any other information requested by the committees.
C. The Revenue Estimating Conference shall submit a written report annually to the House and Senate Committees on Transportation, Highways and Public Works, the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs to inform such committees of the projected amount of revenue to be collected during the next fiscal year pursuant to the tax levied in R.S. 47:820.1. The Transportation Estimating Conference created in R.S. 39:21.3(F) shall utilize the projected revenue data submitted by the Revenue Estimating Conference and shall make recommendations to the committees regarding the expiration of this tax when it deems that there are sufficient funds to complete the projects listed in R.S. 47:820.2(B)(1).
D. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the tax imposed by R.S. 47:820.1 shall cease at such time as all projects listed in R.S. 47:820.2(B)(1) are completed and all outstanding bonds or any refunding bonds issued pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 14-A or 15 of Title 39 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 or other indebtedness issued for the projects enumerated in this Part and payable from the proceeds of the tax levied by this Part have been paid in full as to principal and interest, whichever is later. However, no bonds may be issued which are secured by a pledge of the revenues generated by the tax levied by R.S. 47:820.1 to provide funds for any project listed in R.S. 47:820.2(B)(1) after December 31, 2012. Furthermore, no bonds may be issued for a term of more than thirty-five years.