Ask lawmakers who represent rural areas about their top priorities, and many of the answers are the same as their urban colleagues. Insurance, education and infrastructure are likely to come up.
But trying to spread limited resources over thinly populated areas creates its own unique challenges for cash-strapped small towns, many of which are literally fighting for survival.
As such, Rural Caucus members are seeking more ways to work together and promote their common interests.
“The biggest issue we have in our rural areas is always going to be water,” says Rep. Rhonda Butler, who chairs the 72-member caucus. “When you don’t have good, quality health and welfare for the people who live in those communities, those communities die.”
Rural legislators acknowledge that urban areas produce more tax dollars, but they still worry about not getting their fair share of the state pie. One consistent problem, they say, is difficulty coming up with a local match to draw state dollars.
However, lawmakers have tweaked some of the rules to give small towns a fighting chance. Water systems with fewer than 1,250 connections can get state funding without a 25% local match.
And last year’s Act 292 by Sen. Katrina Jackson-Andrews gives the Division of Administration discretion to waive part or all of a local match for towns with less than 6,000 people or parishes with 7,500 or fewer residents if the locals can demonstrate their inability to pay.
“Our little rural towns, they’re just barely making it,” says Rep. Jason Dewitt, a freshman who serves on Appropriations. “Unless it’s an emergency, any money I bring back to my area is going to have to do with infrastructure.”
Rural Caucus members also raise concerns about taking agricultural land out of production, whether for solar farms, carbon capture projects, or through purchase by foreign buyers. But those concerns must be balanced with respect for the property owner’s rights, Sen. Bill Wheat says.
Rep. Travis Johnson, the caucus vice chair, describes his district, which sprawls across six northeastern parishes, as the Legislature’s most rural. He wants to promote more regional cooperation to better compete for grants.
Johnson points to expanding broadband access as a key rural priority, both for telehealth and creating remote work opportunities for residents. But even with billions in federal subsidies, providers still aren’t finding it economically feasible to serve sparsely populated areas, and obtaining rights of way for the infrastructure can be a challenge, Butler says.
“I’m concerned I’m not going to see broadband in my rural areas because of the cost,” she says.
Butler plans to work with LED and her caucus executive committee to come up with plans to boost rural economic development, hopefully leading to legislation that can be brought in future sessions. What that will look like remains to be seen, but it could include targeted incentives.
The Rural Caucus is the Legislature’s largest regional caucus, and members hope to flex their muscles in the coming years.
“We just have to work together to make sure we’re getting our share,” Rep. Troy Romero says. “I think we do stand together on many issues, but we can always do a better job.”
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
