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Senate advances DOTD restructuring, creates new office to handle smaller state roadways
Summary
Lawmakers passed a package of House bills aimed at reorganizing the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD), creating an Office of Transformation and a new Office of Louisiana Highway Construction to be run by an executive director appointed by the governor; votes on the bills were unanimous on the floor.
The Louisiana Senate on Monday passed a set of House bills that restructure parts of the Department of Transportation and Development and create a new agency tasked with management of certain state roadways.
Senator Karen Connick presented three House measures to the Senate: House Bill 528 (an organizational restructuring of DOTD to create an Office of Transformation and an Office of Project Delivery), House Bill 556 (defining the Assistant Secretary for Project Delivery), and House Bill 640 (creating the Office of Louisiana Highway Construction within the Office of the Governor and Division of Administration). Connick said the package is intended "to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely" and to make DOTD more "transparent, more accountable to the public, and have better roads and bridges in the state." She moved adoption of technical amendments and then moved favorable passage of each bill.
On House Bill 528, Connick described the measure as a “broad organizational and structural reform of DOTD,” saying it restructures leadership, creates the Office of Transformation with a governor‑appointed deputy secretary, and establishes an assistant secretary for project delivery to oversee engineering and project planning and delivery that had been in separate divisions. "The reforms aim to pull back the curtain of DOTD operations, identify and eliminate the waste and inefficiencies, and restore public trust," she told the Senate.
House Bill 556 was presented as a companion measure to clarify the role of an Assistant Secretary focused on on‑time project delivery. House Bill 640 would create the Office of Louisiana Highway Construction, an agency outside (independent of) DOTD to manage construction and maintenance of smaller state roadways. Connick told the chamber the office would oversee routes that do not qualify for federal funding, numbering “approximately 4,400, no. 4,800 miles of state roadway.” She said the office would be run by an executive director appointed by the governor.
Each of the DOTD bills passed on the floor by recorded voice votes: House Bills 528 and 556 each passed 35-0 on the recorded machine votes during that portion of the session; House Bill 640 passed 35-0 as well when the roll was called on that item. Senator Perez subsequently asked to be added as a co‑author on HB 640; the clerk recorded 15 or 16 co‑authors.
Floor discussion was focused on the mechanics of restructuring and technical cleanups; no floor amendments were offered that altered the substantive scope of the proposals. The measures move forward as the Senate confirmed favorable passage and the bills proceed toward enrollment and transmittal.
