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Committee clears bill removing bonding cap for Central Louisiana Regional Port
Summary
Senate Bill 50, which removes a $10 million bonding cap in the port’s enabling language and returns bonding limits to the state Bond Commission formula, was approved by the committee without objection after testimony from port officials and supporters.
The Senate Committee on Transportation voted without objection to approve Senate Bill 50, a local bill that removes a $10 million statutory cap on the Central Louisiana Regional Port’s bonding authority and allows the state Bond Commission to determine any future bonding limit by formula.
Senator Francis Luneau introduced the bill and turned the presentation to Ben Russo, executive director of the Central Louisiana Regional Port. Russo told the committee the port’s original enabling language contained an artificial cap that prevented the port from using the Bond Commission’s formula to determine appropriate bonding capacity. “When Central Louisiana Regional Port started… our enabling language had an artificial limit that was put on the bonding capacity,” Russo said, noting the port had never before issued bonds and that the cap could hinder future projects.
The bill removes the $10 million cap and restores the Bond Commission’s formula-based determination. Vice Chair Carter moved to approve the bill, and the chairman announced approval without objection. Supporters who filed cards included Ben Russo for the port, Jennifer Merzak of the Ports Association of Louisiana and Julia Cormier with the Commission on Multimodal Commerce.
Committee members emphasized that the Bond Commission retains a formula and criteria to assess any borrowing and that removing the cap does not automatically grant unlimited debt authority. No roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript; the chairman announced the bill was approved by unanimous consent.
