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Lawmakers give New Orleans City Council added authority over Sewage and Water Board after committee vote
Summary
The Senate Committee on Local and Municipal Affairs on May 7 adopted amendments to HB1243, a bill that would give the New Orleans City Council more ordinance authority over the Sewage and Water Board to allow faster local responses to sewer, water and drainage emergencies; the measure was reported as amended.
The Senate Committee on Local and Municipal Affairs reported House Bill 1243 as amended after a full-afternoon debate about how to return local control and accountability to the New Orleans Sewage and Water Board.
Representative Joseph Hilferty, the bill’s sponsor, told the committee the measure ‘‘empower[s] the council of Orleans Parish to have more authority over Sewage and Water Board’’ so the council can act more quickly after breaks and flooding rather than waiting for the legislature. He said the change is intended as a step toward treating sewer, water and drainage like a standard municipal public works department.
Council President JP Morrell, who testified in support, said the council and mayor worked closely with the governor’s office on the bill and that previous limited legislative fixes…
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