Your LA Legislature screwing up again--coastal protection

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While state lawmakers scramble today to try to reach an 11th-hour agreement on the state budget and avoid having to go into special session later this year, one issue they won't be debating is whether to dedicate money to coastal restoration and flood protection projects. That's because the Senate effectively killed a constitutional amendment that would have committed money from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement to the Coastal Restoration and Protection Fund. Though House Bill 118 by Rep. Simone Champagne, R-Erath, passed the House unanimously in early May, the Senate never acted on the proposed legislation, which, had it been passed by voters, would have dedicated billions of dollars to coastal restoration and flood protection projects. Garret Graves, who chairs the state's Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority, says the Legislature's lack of action comes as a disappointment at a time when the agency needs as much help as it can get to shore up the state's shrinking coastline. But he remains optimistic, or at least diplomatic, with respect to the possibility of future funding. "Gov. Bobby Jindal has been clear on his commitment to community protection in south Louisiana," Graves says. "We are confident that RESTORE funds in our state will be properly invested in projects that have been through a transparent public process." —

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