BATON ROUGE — Wednesday, April 15, House Bill 573 by Representative Stephanie Hilferty was unanimously approved by the Legislature’s House Local and Municipal Committee.
The bill, the centerpiece of Mayor Helena Moreno’s legislative agenda, shifts control of the Sewerage and Water Board to the New Orleans City Council and for the first time, empowers local leaders to reform and manage the critical water utility.
Mayor Moreno testified with Rep. Hilferty in support of the bill, which was also unanimously endorsed by the seven members of the New Orleans City Council through a resolution authored by Council Public Works Committee Chair, Councilmember Jason Hughes. The supporting Council resolution will be considered at the April 23 City Council meeting.
“For decades, the people of New Orleans have grown increasingly frustrated with the problems at Sewerage and Water Board. Today, we finally have light at the end of the tunnel and a pathway to significant reform through local control and massively enhanced transparency and accountability,” Said Mayor Moreno. “This legislation authorizes local leaders at the City Council to legislate on operations, governance, and customer service issues through council ordinance. It enables our team to work collaboratively and in alignment with the council, the people and all stakeholders to drive change.”
The bill now heads to the state house floor for final passage.