2021 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 33
BY SENATOR LUNEAU AND REPRESENTATIVES HARRIS AND MIKE JOHNSON
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the federal Office of Management and Budget to retain the 2010
Standards for Delineating Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA's)
with a minimum population of fifty thousand.
WHEREAS, the Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area Standards Review
Committee has recommended that the Office of Management and Budget of the United
States Government change the 2010 Standards for Delineating Metropolitan and
Micropolitan Statistical Areas from a minimum population of fifty thousand to one hundred
thousand; and
WHEREAS, raising the minimum Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) population
cutoff from fifty thousand to one hundred thousand would remove the MSA designation
from Alexandria, Louisiana, and Hammond, Louisiana, as well as over one hundred forty
other cities across the United States; and
WHEREAS, raising the minimum population cutoff would undermine the
consistency in the collection and tabulation of federal statistics; and
WHEREAS, according to the federal General Accounting Office, raising the
minimum population for MSA's would likely result in a loss of eligibility for funding from
three dozen federal programs for communities needing it most, including Alexandria and
Hammond; and
WHEREAS, interrupting the flow of funding from the federal Community
Development Block Grant program would be catastrophic to the poorest neighborhoods of
Alexandria and Hammond, impacting the ability to reduce blight, decrease lead hazards,
renovate dilapidated residences, and develop safer, affordable housing; and
WHEREAS, losing funding from federal rural development programs and eligibility
for certain grants to regional planning organizations to improve infrastructure would be
harmful to central and southeastern Louisiana, especially during the pandemic recovery
period; and
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WHEREAS, losing eligibility for federal loans for broadband expansion in rural
areas would be particularly harmful for Alexandria, Hammond, and surrounding areas and
would impede economic growth; and
WHEREAS, a reduction of reimbursement from the federal Hospital Inpatient
Prospective Payment System would severely financially impact acute care hospitals and their
ability to serve the people of Alexandria and Hammond as well as people in multi-parish
areas surrounding these cities; and
WHEREAS, raising the minimum MSA population would do little to return the
population balance between metropolitan and micropolitan areas back to the even split that
existed when the MSA's were first conceived more than seventy years ago, but would create
unwarranted changes on the distribution of federal assistance; and
WHEREAS, maintaining consistency in the MSA program is also helpful for local
governments and businesses that depend on long-term trend data to better understand the
economies in these areas, providing the tools to easily compare changes in labor markets and
an area's economic conditions; and
WHEREAS, long term data sets are also helpful for local governments as they
implement policies to raise unemployment rates and administer aid during the economic
recovery; and
WHEREAS, it is particularly important to nurture pro-growth policies for businesses,
families, and communities as we collectively work on the economic recovery.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Office of Management and Budget of the United States Government to
reject the recommendation by the Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area Standards
Review Committee to change the 2010 Standards for Delineating Metropolitan and
Micropolitan Statistical Areas from a minimum population of fifty thousand to one hundred
thousand.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge
and request the Office of Management and Budget of the United States Government to retain
the current Standard for Delineating Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas at a
minimum population of fifty thousand.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Robert S. Fairweather, Acting Director, Office of Management and Budget, and
Dominic Mancini, Deputy Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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