Louisiana 2011 2011 Regular Session

Louisiana House Bill HR166 Enrolled / Bill

                    ENROLLED
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Regular Session, 2011
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 166
BY REPRESENTATIVE LEGER
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request that the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East and Non-
Flood Protection Asset Management Authority maintain current levels of employees
so as to ensure proper protection of levees and assets and to continue to certify
disadvantaged business enterprises.
WHEREAS, the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East was created
by Act No. 1 of the First Extraordinary Session of 2006 of the Louisiana Legislature and
given governing authority of the Orleans Levee District for the purpose of flood protections;
and
WHEREAS, the Non-Flood Protection Asset Management Authority was created by
Act No. 1014 of the 2010 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature and given governing
authority of the non-flood assets of the Orleans Levee District; and
WHEREAS, the Non-Flood Protection Asset Management Authority and the
Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East shared responsibility for funding the
Orleans Levee District Police Department; and
WHEREAS, the Non-Flood Protection Asset Management Authority has no
recurring revenue source and can no longer pay its share of funding for the Orleans Levee
District Police Department; and
WHEREAS, as a result of the Non-Flood Protection Asset Management Authority's
inability to maintain funding its share, a number of police officers will be laid off; and
WHEREAS, recent flooding events on the upper Mississippi River have indicated
that levee districts and flood protection authorities must be ever vigilant in their duties to
maintain the integrity of our levees and flood protection systems; and
WHEREAS, these potential layoffs will leave over one hundred miles of levees to
be patrolled and protected by as few as fifteen officers; and ENROLLEDHR NO. 166
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WHEREAS, in comparison, the East Jefferson Levee District has approximately
thirty miles of levees to be patrolled and protected by a force of approximately forty full-
time and reserve officers; and
WHEREAS, in addition, the Orleans Levee  District is an entity which participates
in the United States Department of Transportation's Unified Certification Program and is
authorized to certify businesses as disadvantaged business enterprises; and
WHEREAS, as such, the Orleans Levee Board may certify small businesses
independently owned and controlled in both substance and form by one or more socially and
economically disadvantaged persons to participate in the Louisiana Unified Certification
Program Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program on federally assisted transportation
related contracts; and
WHEREAS, the budget problems faced by the Non-Flood Protection Asset
Management Authority have also put the Orleans Levee District's ability to continue to
certify disadvantaged business enterprises at risk; and
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request  Non-Flood Protection Asset
Management Authority and the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East  to
further review their budgets in order to make adjustments to retain the current number of
officers employed by the Orleans Levee District Police Department and to continue
certifying disadvantaged business enterprises.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East, the Non-Flood Protection Asset
Management Authority, the Orleans Levee District, and the Orleans Levee District Police
Department.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES