The latest fad in economic development may be the creation of corridors, especially if you’re judging by the action in the ongoing regular legislative session. Of course, this publication writes about the 10/12 corridor stretching from Lake Charles through Baton Rouge and into New Orleans. But we’re no longer alone. For instance, there’s quite a buzz building around legislation that would join the bayou parishes region with Acadiana in an effort to put the conversion of I-49 on solid footing. Senate Bill 176 by Sen. Mike Michot, R-Lafayette, would create the Energy Corridor Commission to accomplish just that. The legislation would rename the existing Lafayette Metropolitan Expressway Commission and transform it into the new 15-member commission that would have the power to tax an eight-parish region, borrow money and sign into contracts with private companies. The boundaries of the proposed political subdivision would include Iberia, Lafayette, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. Martin, St. Mary, Terrebonne and Vermilion parishes.
In an effort to mirror the framework of the Louisiana Airport Authority, Rep. Joe Harrison, R-Napoleonville, has also filed House Bill 845 for debate during the ongoing session. It would create the Tri-Parish Port Authority in the parishes of Assumption, St. Mary and Terrebonne. In particular, Harrison says a hub is already in place along La. 182 in the area of the old Avondale Shipyard near the Amelia Bridge. Building out, albeit conceptual in nature at this point, he says nearby parishes could house an airport and other facilities. “This is all about having our own corridor,” Harrison says. “And there are already seven companies interested in being part of this.” In Red Stick, Senate President Pro Tem Sharon Weston Broome, D-Baton Rouge, is trying to strengthen the city’s “medical corridor” with Senate Bill 333, which creates the Bluebonnet Conference Hotel Taxing District. The bill would set up a tax increment financing, or TIF, to direct sales tax revenue from the proposed hotel to back bonds to pay for the construction and renovation of the half-completed Jimmy Swaggart Ministries dormitory. Additionally, Rep. Bodi White, R-Denham Springs, has House Bill 849 to push for a new corridor to support a tolling authority in Livingston and East Baton Rouge parishes. – Jeremy Alford
