ENROLLED
ACT No. 231
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 258
BY REPRESENTATIVES WRIGHT, AMEDEE, BRASS, FREIBERG, PHELPS, ST.
BLANC, AND TARVER
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 17:3217, relative to the University of Louisiana System; to
3 establish a state maritime academy under the supervision and management of the
4 system's board of supervisors; to provide for the purposes and programs of the
5 academy; to provide for the hiring of an executive director; to authorize the
6 executive director to establish an advisory board; to provide relative to federal
7 funding; and to provide for related matters.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9 Section 1. R.S. 17:3217 is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
10 ยง3217. University of Louisiana System
11 A. The University of Louisiana System is composed of the institutions under
12 the supervision and management of the Board of Supervisors for the University of
13 Louisiana System, referred to in this Section as the board of supervisors or the board,
14 as follows:
15 (1) Grambling State University at Grambling.
16 (2) Louisiana Tech University at Ruston.
17 (3) McNeese State University at Lake Charles.
18 (4) Nicholls State University at Thibodaux.
19 (5) Northwestern State University of Louisiana at Natchitoches.
20 (6) Southeastern Louisiana University at Hammond.
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1 (7) The University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
2 (8) The University of Louisiana at Monroe.
3 (9) The University of New Orleans.
4 (10) Any other college, university, school, institution or program now or
5 hereafter under the supervision and management of the Board of Supervisors for the
6 University of Louisiana System. board of supervisors.
7 B.(1) A state maritime academy, the Universities of Louisiana Maritime
8 Academy, is hereby established for the purposes of leveraging and coordinating
9 existing maritime programs and facilities, providing for the training of merchant
10 marine officers, and providing for additional educational pathways aligned with the
11 workforce needs of the maritime industry.
12 (2) Subject to the powers, duties, and responsibilities of the Board of
13 Regents under Article VIII, Section 5(D) of the Constitution of Louisiana,
14 specifically the authority to approve, disapprove, or modify a proposed degree
15 program, department of instruction, division, or similar subdivision, the academy
16 shall be under the supervision and management of the board of supervisors and shall
17 be headed by an executive director hired by the system president.
18 (3) The training programs offered through the academy may operate across
19 multiple institutions within the system. The programs shall be developed in a
20 manner that makes maximum use of existing state and local resources, including
21 programs, facilities, and faculty, through cooperative service agreements and
22 contracts with other public education institutions' maritime programs such as those
23 housed in the Louisiana Community Technical College System and elementary and
24 secondary training programs recognized by the Maritime Administration of the
25 United States Department of Transportation.
26 (4) The board of supervisors is the designated legal state entity to qualify the
27 academy and its training programs for federal assistance and to receive and expend
28 funds under the provisions of the Maritime Academy Act of 1958 (P.L 85-672) and
29 any applicable rules, regulations, and laws.
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1 (5) The executive director of the academy may establish an advisory board
2 for the purpose of making recommendations relative to the establishment and
3 operations of the academy.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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