2024 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE BILL NO. 305
BY SENATOR HARRIS AND REPRESENTATIVE HILFERTY
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 33:4071(A)(1)(b) and to enact R.S. 33:4071.2, relative to New
3 Orleans Sewerage and Water Board; to provide relative to the development of a
4 coordinated flood prevention plan; to provide relative to the responsibility for
5 drainage operations in the city of New Orleans; to provide relative to funding; and
6 to provide for related matters.
7 Notice of intention to introduce this Act has been published.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9 Section 1. R.S. 33:4071(A)(1)(b) is amended and reenacted and R.S. 33:4071.2 is
10 hereby enacted to read as follows:
11 §4071. Creation and organization of sewerage and water board
12 A.(1) The public water system, the public sewerage system, and the public
13 drainage system of the city of New Orleans shall be constructed, controlled,
14 maintained, and operated by a sewerage and water board to be composed as follows:
15 * * *
16 (b) The chair of the Public Works, Sanitation and Environment Committee
17 of the New Orleans city council, or an appointee selected by the council president
18 with a background in engineering, law, or consumer advocacy selected with the
19 advice and consent of the city council, a member of the committee appointed by
20 the chair, or a civil engineer appointed by the chair. Any member appointed by the
21 chair council president shall serve at the pleasure of the chair. council president.
22 * * *
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1 §4071.2. Drainage operations; city of New Orleans
2 A. At the beginning of every quarter, the Coastal Protection Restoration
3 Authority, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, the
4 Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, and
5 representatives from the Jefferson Parish Department of Public Works, the
6 Saint Bernard Parish Department of Public Works, and the Plaquemines Parish
7 Engineering & Public Works Department shall meet with the executive director
8 of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans and his team to develop a
9 coordinated southeast Louisiana urban flood prevention plan. The purposes of
10 the meetings shall be to identify areas that need to be addressed in order to
11 allow for proper drainage; to model and predict storm drainage in the
12 multiparish area; and to anticipate emergency response priorities. The plan
13 shall be presented to the members of the New Orleans Delegation and the city
14 council of New Orleans annually on May fifteenth, beginning May 15th, 2025.
15 B.(1) The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans shall be
16 responsible for all drainage operations in the city of New Orleans. The city of
17 New Orleans shall transfer all employees and equipment used for drainage
18 maintenance to the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans.
19 (2) The city of New Orleans shall allocate on an annual basis to the
20 Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans the same level of funding the New
21 Orleans Department of Public Works utilized in fiscal year 2023 for drainage
22 operations. Any other increases in funding by the city of New Orleans to the
23 Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans shall be subject to New Orleans
24 City Council approval.
25 C. The city of New Orleans, the Sewerage and Water Board of New
26 Orleans, and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority shall sign a
27 cooperative endeavor agreement to assist in the coordination of the city of New
28 Orleans award of one hundred forty-one million three hundred thousand
29 dollars from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development National
30 Disaster Resilience Grant.
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1 D. The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans and the Louisiana
2 Department of Transportation and Development shall sign a cooperative
3 endeavor agreement allowing the option to undertake contracting
4 responsibilities, including procurement, quality assurance, and payments, of
5 any special capital improvement projects over one hundred million dollars. In
6 addition, the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans and the Department
7 of Transportation and Development shall create and update annually a capital
8 improvement plan, including a cost-benefit analysis of future projects and a
9 maintenance plan to ensure the longevity of the infrastructure of the Sewerage
10 and Water Board of New Orleans.
11 Section 2. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
12 signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
13 by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
14 vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
15 effective on the day following such approval.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.