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. According to today’s issue of 10/12 Weekly, the corridor stretching from Lake Charles through Baton Rouge and into New Orleans is 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 Interstate 49 on solid footing. Senate Bill 176 by Sen. Mike Michot, R-Lafayette, would create the Energy Corridor Commission to accomplish just that.
In an effort to mirror the framework of the Louisiana Airport Authority, Rep. Joe Harrison, R-Napoleonville, has also filed a bill to create the Tri-Parish Port Authority in the parishes of Assumption, St. Mary and Terrebonne. “This is all about having our own corridor,” Harrison says. “And there are already seven companies interested in being part of this.”
In Baton Rouge, 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. Additionally, Rep. Bodi White, R-Denham Springs, is pushing for a new corridor to support a tolling authority in Livingston and East Baton Rouge parishes. To read the full story, or the rest of 10/12 Weekly, click here.—Jeremy Alford
