Senate committee delays Ascension Parish measure to raise public‑works contract cap after wide opposition

Baton Rouge — On May 14, 2025, the Louisiana Senate Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works held a lengthy hearing on House Bill 209, a local measure by Representative Brian Brass that would raise Ascension Parish’s public‑works contract threshold and tie performance bond limits to that threshold.

The bill originally would have raised the limit from $250,000 to $500,000 and applied automatic annual CPI adjustments. Representative Brian Brass said the change would let Ascension Parish “perform more work, actually in house by our own public works department” and speed delivery of routine road and drainage projects while saving taxpayer dollars.

Supporters including Ruth Phillips, chief administrative officer for Ascension Parish Government, told the committee the parish’s in‑house pavement crew can complete larger stretches of road for less money than outside contractors. “Right now if it goes 1¢ over $250,000 it has to be contracted out,” Phillips said, adding the parish would restrict the work to maintenance and repair and that the parish would pay the cost of renaming or signage when required.

Opponents argued the change would reduce competition and public oversight. Carson Deller of Associated Builders and Contractors testified in opposition, saying, “The contract limit set at $250,000 ensures that there's accountability, transparency, and free and open competition for these public works projects.” Reldon Owens of the Louisiana Associated General Contractors called the proposal “a policy issue,” warning it could permit no‑bid awards and weaken safeguards that protect taxpayers and ensure qualified, licensed contractors perform bonded public work.

Committee members pressed both sides on specific safeguards. Contractors and the surety industry pointed out that publicly let projects require performance and payment bonds that guarantee completion and payment to subcontractors — protections not present for in‑house work. Ascension officials acknowledged they would accept a lower cap tied to CPI and limit the expanded authority to in‑house maintenance and repair; Phillips cited Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) bid prices showing that a quarter‑mile of resurfacing can cost $375,000–$425,000 when contracted externally, while Ascension reported completing three‑quarters of a mile for about $250,000 in house.

Legislative staff offered an amendment that reduced the proposed threshold from $500,000 to $400,000; the committee adopted that amendment. After further discussion, committee chairmen and members agreed to hold the bill for additional negotiations; the author and stakeholders were encouraged to meet to refine language that would limit the expansion to strictly defined in‑house maintenance work, address CPI indexing, and preserve bonding or oversight where appropriate. The committee deferred the bill without objection.

The discussion drew dozens of witnesses and trade groups, including the Police Jury Association of Louisiana, the Louisiana Associated General Contractors, the Associated Builders and Contractors, the Louisiana Surety Association and local Ascension Parish officials. Committee members said they want a negotiated compromise that preserves competition and oversight while allowing parishes with demonstrated capacity to save taxpayer money on routine maintenance.

The bill will return to committee once the parties have worked on amendments. For now, no change in state law has occurred: the statewide public bid threshold remains $250,000 as of the committee action.

Ending: The committee set the bill aside to allow stakeholders to craft narrower language limiting expanded authority to defined in‑house maintenance, to refine CPI indexing language and to add accountability measures such as council approval or bonding where appropriate.