HLS 21RS-3092 ORIGINAL
2021 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 117
BY REPRESENTATIVE PIERRE
TRANSPORTATION: Commends the Department of Transportation and Development on
its centennial celebration
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To recognize and commend the Department of Transportation and Development on its
3 centennial celebration of delivering a safe and innovative multimodal transportation
4 and infrastructure system.
5 WHEREAS, it is with great pleasure that the members of the Louisiana Legislature
6have learned of the Department of Transportation and Development's one hundredth
7anniversary; and
8 WHEREAS, the Department of Transportation and Development has been and
9remains committed to moving projects forward that enhance economic development while
10maintaining safety and improving the efficiency of Louisiana's system; and
11 WHEREAS, the Department of Transportation and Development's commitment is
12evident by the many years of planning, designing, building, and sustaining infrastructure
13needs of Louisiana citizens with minimal use of resources; and
14 WHEREAS, the history of the Department of Transportation and Development has
15paved the way for a safe and reliable multimodal transportation and infrastructure system
16from 1921 to the present with the Louisiana Legislature board approval in 1898; and
17 WHEREAS, in 1898, the Board of State Engineers was established to create a
18uniform public road system; and
19 WHEREAS, in 1910, the state highway department was established; and
20 WHEREAS, in 1919, the budget of the state highway department was one hundred
21and forty thousand dollars; and
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HCR NO. 117
1 WHEREAS, in 1921, the legislature created the Louisiana Highway Commission as
2an independent state agency and approved ten maintenance districts; and
3 WHEREAS, in 1922, the legislature passed a one-cent gas tax; and
4 WHEREAS, in 1926, the legislature deemed a two-cent gas tax inadequate and
5recommended a four-cent gas tax; and
6 WHEREAS, in 1930, the legislature approved bond insurance for highway and
7bridge construction; and
8 WHEREAS, in 1940, the Louisiana Department of Highways, formerly the Louisiana
9Highway Commission, was established under the leadership of the Board of Highways and
10a Director; and
11 WHEREAS, in 1948, the legislature increased the gas tax to nine-cent; and
12 WHEREAS, in 1953, the legislature diverted three-eighths of a cent of the state sales
13tax to secondary, gravel and shell, road improvements; and
14 WHEREAS, in 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the Federal
15Aid Highway Act of 1956 enacting the beginning of the Interstate Highway System; and
16 WHEREAS, in 1968, the legislature decreased the gas tax to eight-cent; and
17 WHEREAS, in 1976, the Department of Highways and Public Works was abolished
18and the legislature established the Louisiana Department of Transportation and
19Development; and
20 WHEREAS, in 1984, the legislature increased the gas tax to sixteen-cent; and
21 WHEREAS, in 1989, the legislature increased the gas tax to twenty-cent; and
22 WHEREAS, in 1998, the Department of Transportation and Development
23reorganized to its current configuration of five offices under the office of the secretary; and
24 WHEREAS, in 2000, the first traffic cameras were installed on Interstate 12 in Baton
25Rouge; and
26 WHEREAS, in 2006, the John Audubon Bridge construction was the first state
27design-build project; and
28 WHEREAS, in 2021, the Department of Transportation and Development celebrates
29one hundred years of delivering infrastructure; and
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HCR NO. 117
1 WHEREAS, in 2021, the cost to repair existing highways to adequate standards is
2fourteen billion eight million dollars; and
3 WHEREAS, in 2021, the current budget of the department is two billion and the gas
4tax remains at twenty-cent.
5 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
6recognize and commend the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development on
7its centennial celebration and does express sincere appreciation for the many years of
8planning, designing, building, and sustaining infrastructure needs of Louisiana citizens.
9 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
10secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 117 Original 2021 Regular Session Pierre
Recognizes and commends the Dept. of Transportation and Development on its 100
th
anniversary celebration of delivering a safe and innovative multimodal transportation and
infrastructure system.
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