Jefferson contractor says the parish was obliged; parish says both Watch video

If 100,000 stoplight camera tickets issued in Jefferson Parish were ignored by the alleged violators, just who was obliged to track down these motorists to force them to court? The contract between the parish government and the Sheriff's Office with Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. is not explicit on this point, and responses to the question were inconclusive Thursday.

A Redflex spokeswoman put the burden on Jefferson Parish. The parish attorney said it depends. A Sheriff's Office spokesman said it wasn't his agency. And Parish Council Chairman Chris Roberts, who disclosed the number of scofflaws at a council meeting Wednesday, wouldn't venture to say.

The perceived inequity between those who ignored citations and the 180,000 who paid the $110 fine is the latest wrinkle in the 6-year-old camera story, which began with a vow that automated ticketing of stoplight violators would improve traffic safety but devolved into a public backlash, lawsuits and the shuttering of the cameras. The Parish Council decided Wednesday to refund what's left of the $19.7 million in fine revenue once it resolves litigation with motorists and Redflex.

The council chose Redflex for the camera program in 2006 and ratified the written agreement Jan. 24, 2007. The council chairman at the time, Tom Capella, and then-Sheriff Harry Lee signed it, as did Redflex Vice President Aaron Rosenberg.

Roberts said he wasn't on the committee that put together the camera program and, therefore, wouldn't point the finger at anyone for not enforcing the 100,000 uncollected tickets.

But a Redflex spokeswoman, Jody Ryan, was firm: "Jefferson Parish was responsible for pursuing violators and managing the parish's collections on issued citations."

 Parish attorney Deborah Foshee, however, said the obligation depended on how long the citation had been outstanding. She cited one contract section that says the parish "shall diligently prosecute citations and the collection of fines" and another that says, "Redflex will be responsible for handling the collection of delinquent citation fines and court costs."

"But for the lawsuits," Foshee said, "Jefferson Parish would have been responsible for the prosecution and collection of fines initially. After the fines became delinquent, it would have been the responsibility of Redflex to collect."

A Sheriff's Office spokesman, Col. John Fortunato, said that agency's role in the camera program was limited to reviewing camera images to advise Redflex whether to mail a citation and to receiving the fines paid by motorists. All duties in between, including finding motorists who ignored the citations, belonged to other parties, he said.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is scheduled Friday to unveil his new energy proposals - including setting up a $2 billion fund from off-shore oil and gas drilling royalty payments to support research on alternative energy. The pot of money, to be made available over a 10-year period, would develop ways to develop and expand use of electrical vehicles,...

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is scheduled Friday to unveil his new energy proposals - including setting up a $2 billion fund from off-shore oil and gas drilling royalty payments to support research on alternative energy. The pot of money, to be made available over a 10-year period, would develop ways to develop and expand use of electrical vehicles, homegrown biofuels, fuel cells and domestic produced natural gas.

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Clik here to view. President Barack Obama plans to unveil a new energy policy today in Illinois. Brett Duke, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune  

Obama administration officials say off-shore royalty payments are expected to increase in coming years based on a combination of leasing, production and price tends.

As part of his new policy, being unveiled at a speech Friday at the Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Ill, the president will say the United States should set a goal of cutting net oil imports in half by the end of the decade.

According to the White House, the plan calls for speedier permitting of both alternative energy products and oil and gas. It said the Interior Department will propose more diligent development of oil and gas leases through shorter primary lease terms, stricter enforcement of lease terms and monetary incentives to get leases into production quicker.

In his speech, the president is expected to commit to an "all-of-the-above energy strategy," as he did in his State of the Union Address last month. But he's also expected to say the recent spike in gas prices, which are now easing, should serve as a reminder that the United States is still too reliant on oil and that the reliance comes at a cost to American families and businesses.

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., immediately cried foul over the president's proposal. She expressed disappointment he didn't link the proposal to use off-shore royalty payments to fund alternative energy research to her long-standing efforts to increase and speed revenue sharing for producing states to fund ecosystem restoration.

"The President's idea is not a new one and does indeed have some merit," Landrieu said. "But dedicating offshore oil and gas revenues toward this purpose and not at the same time acknowledging the role that coastal states play in producing these revenues for the nation is a grave oversight."

"As interested as I am in research and development for alternative fuels, I will not be able to support such a proposal without first addressing the inequity that currently exists between interior and coastal states."

Under an earlier bill Landrieu sponsored and helped pass, revenue sharing is to increase to 37.5 percent in 2017.

Under a new bill she is drafting, the increased revenue sharing would begin as soon as the bill is enacted. The royalty payments would begin being calculated immediately, and then dispensed to the states the following fiscal year.

Landrieu's bill is also expected to call for an eventual phase out of the $500 million cap on revenue sharing for the Gulf States. There is no cap on revenue sharing for oil produced from interior states.

The senator anticipates the revenue will be used in Louisiana to restore ecosystems and wetlands critical to Louisiana's seafood industry and natural flood protection.

This week doings at the national Capitol

Former Detroit mayor heads to prison after guilty verdict

Of course, we will probably never know for sure.

But it's very possible that Detroit Federal Judge Nancy Edmunds was thinking about the William Jefferson case when she ruled that former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick must report to prison immediately after a jury found him guilty Tuesday of 24 of 30 corruption charges.

It's fairly common in white collar cases to let a convicted defendant remain free until sentencing is completed. That's what Judge T.S. Ellis III did in the Jefferson case after the New Orleans Democrat was found guilty of 11 of 16 corruption charges in August, 2009. Ellis went further and let him remain free after imposing a record 13-year sentence in November, 2009, allowing him to complete his appeals' process. But the appeal dragged on and on. It wasn't until 28 months after the sentencing, in March, 2012, that a federal appeals court upheld all but one of the 11 guilty verdicts.

A few weeks later, Ellis ordered Jefferson to report to the federal correctional facility in Beaumont, Tx. As Judge Edmunds in Detroit is likely well aware, Ellis was criticized by folks in New Orleans who objected to the long lapse between the guilty verdict in August, 2009, and the day he finally began serving his sentence, the longest ever for a member of Congress.

Oil tax hikes not in Senate budget budget

One surprise about the Senate Democratic budget proposal unveiled Wednesday was that it didn't recommend specific tax reforms to raise revenue to help close the federal deficit. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the bill's chief author, left it up to the Senate Finance Committee and other panels to determine what tax breaks should be targeted. That was a win for Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who had written Murray and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., with other oil-state lawmakers, to urge the budget writers not to target energy companies for tax reform.

The decision not to target oil and gas companies in the bill was a surprise because quite few Democratic senators, along with President Barack Obama, said some of the tax breaks for oil and gas companies can't be justified at a time when industry profits are so high. Landrieu and others have argued that the tax breaks are available to many other businesses, as well, and it's unfair to target an industry that provides so many jobs, particularly in Louisiana.

When you don't fund, should you attend project opening?

Louisiana Democrats raised a howl last week when Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson showed up at the opening of the $31 million Bayou Lafourche Bridge at Larose. They point out that Scalise had voted against the 2009 federal stimulus bill that funded the project.

"This is the height of hypocrisy," said Louisiana Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Carter Peterson. "Pictures from today of Rep. Scalise standing in front of a bridge that he voted against are truly worth a thousand words." She said Scalise should support the needs of his constituents instead of catering to the Tea Party.

Scalise responded by saying he long championed the project. "My only regret is that I didn't bring my fishing rod with me while I was down there to catch some fresh fish in the bayou," Scalise said. "The LA 1 corridor is critical to our nation's energy security, since nearly one-fifth of the oil and gas used throughout our country travels through Port Fourchon."

Richmond/Landrieu try again to pass dredging bill

If at first you don't succeed...Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, and Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., reintroduced a bill Thursday that authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the Mississippi River to 50 feet so larger vessels traveling from the Panama Canal can access the river. The bill, which failed to advance during the last Congress, also creates a pilot program in which dredge material would be used to rebuild wetlands.

"For our economy to prosper, it is imperative that the single most important river in the United States be prepared for the 21st Century economy," Richmond said. "Readying the Mississippi River for the expanded Panama Canal is critical to taking advantage of new trade while expanding U.S. exports to businesses worldwide."

Richmond and Landrieu call their bill the "DREDGE Act."

Explain that email

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., is asking Gina McCarthy, President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency, to explain her views on a controversial email written by a now former EPA administrator, Dr. Al Armendariz. Armendariz resigned from his post as director of Region 6 after saying in a talk that the general philosophy of the EPA should be to "crucify" oil and gas companies. But Vitter, the top Republican on the Environment and Public Workers Committee, is joining other GOP senators in asking McCarthy to discuss her views on another Armendariz email.

In the email, he wrote, "We have set things in motion, including empowering and shaming the states, to clean up the oil/gas sector. Further progress is inevitable. I am extremely proud of the work that we have done collectively. Gina's (McCarthy) new air rules will soon be the icing on the cake, on an issue I worked on years before my current job."

Said Vitter: "It appears there's a collective strategy at the EPA to punish energy producers, but also an effort towards 'shaming the states." Environmental advocates argue that Vitter and other Republicans are pressuring the EPA from, forcing oil and gas companies, and other industrial facilities, to comply with important air and water pollution rules.

First step in a long process

Step one in a long process was accomplished Thursday when the Senate Energy Committee approved a bill directing the Secretary of Interior to study the feasibility of designating sites in Plaquemine Parish along the Lower Mississippi River part of the National Park System.

"Protecting our rich cultural assets in Southeastern Louisiana is long overdue and it is time that we pass this important legislation so we can get to work," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., the bill's sponsor. "Today's committee approval is an important step to getting this bill enacted, and I will do everything I can to ensure it comes up before the full Senate for a vote."

You got the wrong guy, pal

Part of being a politician is getting hit with unfair criticism. That's certainly how Sen. David Vitter, R-La, must have felt when caller to his virtual Town Hall meeting this week said that as a Fox News Junkie he wonders whether some members of the state's congressional members had stayed on the job too long. It seemed he was including Vitter on that list.

Vitter said that he too is a "Fox News junkie, but suggested politely that the caller had the wrong lawmaker. Vitter noted that he was first elected to the Senate in 2004, and is now just in his third year of his second six-year term.

He also reminded the caller that he is the leading congressional supporter of term limits for congressional members and, while a state legislator, helped pass a strict term limits bill that is credited, or blamed, depending on your point of view, with tossing out some long-time legislative veterans and bringing in more conservative replacements.

Vitter might voluntarily impose term limits on himself if he runs, and wins, for governor in 2015. 

• The new gun rights group Defend Louisiana will hold a news conference Friday (March 15) at 3 p.m. in Metairie. It also plans to gather petition signatures Saturday and Sunday at the Greater New Orleans Gun Show at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner. The petition offers support for the legal protection of gun ownership.
  
• Mark Moseley opines that the collapse of the federal government's criminal investigation of River Birch Inc. suggests "more ugly revelations" are to come. His piece is at The Lens.
• The Fat City Advisory Board meets Monday (March 18) at 4 p.m. in Metairie. It plans to talk about crime prevention, capital improvements and business development, according to its agenda.
• Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta of Metairie defends the PSC's decision to overturn an energy efficiency program. His response to a forbes.com opinion piece is at clickjefferson.com.

Complaining that city officials for years have failed to enforce laws banning illegal short-term rentals, residents and advocates appeared before the City Council on Monday to lobby for more action. "This is a problem faced by tourist destinations all over the world, and they continue to wrestle with the problem," said Jerry Zachary of the Vieux Carre Property Owners,...

Complaining that city officials for years have failed to enforce laws banning illegal short-term rentals, residents and advocates appeared before the City Council on Monday to lobby for more action.

"This is a problem faced by tourist destinations all over the world, and they continue to wrestle with the problem," said Jerry Zachary of the Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents and Associates Inc. "In the French Quarter it is increasingly difficult to know your neighbors because they change every weekend."

The critics say that property owners who lease their apartments or homes to visitors for short stays are not only hurting their neighbors but are cutting into the profits or legitimate lodging businesses.

Members of VCPORA estimated that licensed hotels, motels, inns and bed-and-breakfasts annually lose $13 million in revenue to short-term rental scofflaws. That adds up to about $1.4 million in taxes and licensing fees the city fails to collect every year, they said.

Renting a property for fewer than 60 days in the French Quarter and 30 days in the rest of the New Orleans is prohibited by city ordinance. French Quarter resident Brian Furness said he recently found 561 short-term rentals advertised online, in apparent violation of the law.

These unlicensed, short-term rentals operate outside the rules, contributing not a cent to city coffers, he said. Hotel and motel taxes produce about $30 million annually, and a per-room hotel occupancy tax adds another $10 million to the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corp.

Critics also complained the rentals undermine neighborhoods by portraying them as tourism pit stops rather than residential enclaves. City Council President Stacy Head agreed.

"I do believe it deprives you of your property values in a city like New Orleans where your neighbors' behaviors impact your property so dramatically, " Head said.

Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer said the council has informed City Hall of residents' complaints in the past, but to no avail.

"This is something that is very frustrating," she said. "We do pass on to the administration and we do ask for follow-up and it does not happen."

Jared Munster, the acting director of the Safety & Permits Office, said enforcement is difficult because of the very nature of the short-term rental business. It's hard to tie anonymous online ads to actual properties, he said. When violators are actually tracked down, he said their most common response is they didn't know they were breaking the law.

Head called on the Landrieu administration to aggressively educate the public about the law, to hire administrators or solicit volunteers to help hunt down properties up for rent and possibly stage online stings to track down violators.

Meg Lousteau, VCPORA executive director, said her group is working with state Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, to increase the state-mandated $500 cap on fines.

Not all speakers Monday were detractors of the short-term rental practice, however. Lawyer James Uschold said it benefits some, like the film industry. He, too, called for better enforcement of laws, but said the city should make it legal for more property owners to rent their buildings. He questioned whether critics were just trying to tamp down competition.

In a more dramatic description of a short-term rental gone wrong, French Quarter resident Mercedes Whitecloud said a woman arrived at her door on Royal Street with keys in her hand and paperwork that showed she had rented out Whitecloud's apartment for the French Quarter Festival. She had been duped in a scam.

"This woman had taken the train from New Jersey for her week's vacation, spent her money and now didn't have a place to stay," she said.

WASHINGTON - Just two hours after President Barack Obama nominated Thomas Perez Monday to be his secretary of Labor, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., announced he'll try to block his confirmation. At a White House ceremony, President Obama hailed Perez, the son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, for being a "consensus builder" who has made protecting opportunities for all...

WASHINGTON - Just two hours after President Barack Obama nominated Thomas Perez Monday to be his secretary of Labor, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., announced he'll try to block his confirmation.

At a White House ceremony, President Obama hailed Perez, the son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, for being a "consensus builder" who has made protecting opportunities for all Americans his life work.

Vitter raised concerns about what he called Perez's inconsistent application of voting rights laws  as the head of the Justice Department's civil rights division.

On one hand, Vitter said the Civil Rights Division filed suit against Louisiana for allegedly failing to enforce Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act requiring some state government offices, such as social services, to provide voter registrations forms. But Vitter said  the Justice Department under Perez failed to enforce Section 8 that requires states to regularly review voter rolls to purge those who don't belong, including ineligible felons, undocumented aliens and the deceased.

Vitter also said the division failed to take seriously allegations that the New Black Panther Party engaged in voter intimidation during the 2008 election. A former Justice Department official charged the Obama administration didn't pursue the case because it involved intimidation of white voters, but others said the alleged intimidation was exaggerated by some media outlets, including Fox News.

In announcing his plans to try and block Perez from being confirmed, Vitter said:

"Thomas Perez's record should be met with great suspicion by my colleagues for his spotty work related to the New Black Panther case, but Louisianans most certainly should have caused for concern about this nomination," Vitter said. "Perez was greatly involved in the DOJ's partisan full court press to pressure Louisiana's Secretary of State to only enforce one side of the law--the side that specifically benefits the politics of the president and his administration at the expense of identity security of each and every Louisianan on the voter rolls."

If confirmed by the Senate, Perez would replace Hilda Solis, who angered some Louisiana business leaders for attempting to force better salaries and working conditions for guest foreign workers with the argument that such a policy insured fairness. Moreover, she said, it would provide more jobs for American workers who no longer would have to compete with artificially low wages being paid foreign workers.

Congress ended up intervening and preventing Solis from enforcing many of the new guest worker rules. They backed the arguments of some businesses that argued they would force much higher costs that would threaten their businesses.

Here's what Obama said about Perez Monday:

"Like so many Americans, Tom knows what it's like to climb the ladder of opportunity. He is the son of Dominican immigrants. He helped pay his way through college as a garbage collector and working at a warehouse. He went on to become the first lawyer in his family. So his story reminds us of this country's promise, that if you're willing to work hard, it doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, what your last name is -- you can make it if you try. "

"And Tom has made protecting that promise -- for everybody -- the cause of his life. As a civil rights attorney, an aide to Senator Ted Kennedy, a member of the Montgomery, Maryland County Council, Tom fought for a level playing field where hard work and responsibility are rewarded and working families can get ahead."

Most of Metairie north of Airline Drive and east of Transcontinental Drive is targeted for a Jefferson Parish code enforcement sweep set for Wednesday (March 20), the parish said.

Most of Metairie is targeted for a Jefferson Parish code enforcement sweep set for Wednesday (March 20), the parish said. Inspectors and utility companies will be moving through neighborhoods in Council District 5, which includes Metairie neighborhoods east of Transcontinental Drive and north of Airline Drive.

That section includes Old Metairie, the Bonnabel area, Fat City and subdivisions extending westward from Lake Pontchartrain to Airline. District 5 also includes much of the parish's commercial properties along Airline, Veterans Memorial Boulevard and the Interstate 10 service roads.

Here's a map of Parish Council districts.

The Inspection and Code Enforcement effort is the latest in the monthly sweeps the parish launched in mid-2011, after residents and civic associations complained of persistent blight, overgrown lawns and other violations. Crews from Entergy and Cox Communications generally accompany the parish inspectors, searching for unsealed meters and unauthorized connections.

For some of the areas targeted this week, this will be the second code sweep in half a year. In October, inspectors issued 75 infractions during a sweep of Fat City, tagging 26 vehicles for removal and citing the owners of a building that was leaking sewage onto the sidewalk.

WASHINGTON - Less than a week after House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Ky., released a budget that Democratic critics called too draconian, the House conservative caucus Monday offered its own spending plan that offers even bigger spending cuts. The Republican Study Committee's proposal would create a "premium support" system for Medicare for people age 59 and younger, five...

WASHINGTON - Less than a week after House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Ky., released a budget that Democratic critics called too draconian, the House conservative caucus Monday offered its own spending plan that offers even bigger spending cuts.

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Clik here to view. Rep. Steve Scalise offers up a spending plan with more spending cuts than proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan. Jacquelyn Martin, The Associated Press archive  

The Republican Study Committee's proposal would create a "premium support" system for Medicare for people age 59 and younger, five years earlier than Ryan, and balance the budget in four years. Ryan's proposal doesn't balance the budget until 2023.

Like the Ryan plan, seniors under the RSC proposal would have the option of receiving federal aid to purchase private insurance, or choose traditional Medicare.

The RSC, chaired by Louisiana Republican Rep. Steve Scalise, would also in its budget eventually raise the retirement age for full Social Security benefits from 66 to 70.

In addition, it would eliminate some $600 billion in tax increases approved by Congress on New Year's Day -- obtained largely from ending the Bush tax cuts for households with incomes over $450,000.

Ryan, who was Mitt Romney's vice presidential running-mate in 2012, would continue the higher tax rates in his budget plan, thereby enabling his proposal to balance the budget in 10 years. Ryan's previous budget proposal reduced, but did not totally eliminate the deficit in 10 years.

The RSC plan achieves budget balance with much deeper cuts in discretionary funding that was recommended by Ryan. The RSC would cap such funding at $950 billion, spending levels in effect during 2009, and freeze those spending levels until 2017 when the budget is balanced under its plan.

But it would allow, as the Ryan plan does, for defense spending to increase from $552 billion in 2014 to $678 billion in 2023. It also follows the lead of the Ryan budget in eliminating the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama's 2010 health overhaul legislation.

Scalise said the RSC budget provides many benefits.

"This plan lays out a clear path towards preserving the American Dream for future generations, controlling spending to create jobs and get the economy back on track, and finally returning Washington back on the party to fiscal responsibility," Scalise said.

But with a Democratic president who lists the health overhaul plan as the signature achievement of his first term, and a Democratic Senate, neither the repeal of the health care plan, or substantial cuts in domestic spending favored by Republicans are likely to be enacted. Obama has said he's willing to okay big spending cuts, and reforms in entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, but not without getting some revenue by eliminating tax breaks for the wealthy.

Scalise, during an appearance Sunday on C-SPAN, said he expects the vast majority of the 171-member Republican Study Committee to vote for the Ryan budget after first voting for the RSC's leaner spending proposal. The RSC proposal isn't expected to pass.

Votes on the spending plans are likely this week.

Last week, Democrats, including Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, denounced the Ryan spending bill for imposing what they called radical cuts in important domestic spending.

"I am absolutely disgusted by the "new" Ryan budget because once again, it confirms that House Republicans have chosen to neglect the most vulnerable among us and endanger hard-won health care gains," Richmond said.

WASHINGTON - With many federal employees facing a once-a-week furloughs and agencies planning cuts in services, some folks are asking whether Congress is also feeling the pinch of sequester. So far, the sequester isn't affecting congressional pay, though that could change in November 2014 under legislation recently introduced by Reps. Ami Bera, D-Calif., and Ron DeSantis, R-Fla. But members...

WASHINGTON - With many federal employees facing a once-a-week furloughs and agencies planning cuts in services, some folks are asking whether Congress is also feeling the pinch of sequester.

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Clik here to view. The U.S. Capitol. Members of Congress face 8.2 percent cuts in their office budgets as a result of sequester. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite  

So far, the sequester isn't affecting congressional pay, though that could change in November 2014 under legislation recently introduced by Reps. Ami Bera, D-Calif., and Ron DeSantis, R-Fla.

But members are implementing 8.2 percent cuts in their office budgets, the same cuts required under sequester for most federal agencies.

The sequester began March 1 when Congress and the Obama administration failed to reach an agreement on alternative spending cuts and/or revenue increases. It means some $85 billion in across-the-board cuts for most federal agencies, including the Department of Defense.

Many federal employees have been told that starting in late April, they'll be furloughed one day a week - reducing take-home-pay by 20 percent. Cuts are expected to result in fewer opening hours at national parks, and longer lines for security and Customs at airports.

Already, the White House has eliminated tours popular with Washington D.C. visitors.

Last week, Reps. Bera and DeSantis proposed legislation that would impose an 8.2 percent reduction in congressional pay, now $174,000 a year, but not until November of 2014.

"As representatives, we should lead by example," Bera said. Congress can't act on pay until after the 2014 November elections because the 27th Amendment bars Congress from voting changes in its own pay.

With an average budget of about $1.3 million per House office, and $3 million per Senate office, the sequester's 8.2 percent reduction in spending per office isn't insignificant.

Louisiana members say they are adjusting.

"Knowing that the sequester was a possibility, my office and I worked early on last year to improve efficiencies and increase savings so--despite the sequester--we can continue to effectively work for and assist Louisianans," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.

A Landrieu aide said the staff is reducing travel by conducting more meetings via conference calls and video conferences, and that some staff vacancies haven't been filled.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., is also making adjustments, though no details were provided. "Sen. Vitter has been preparing for these reductions and has a plan in place to make sure he continues his full service to the people of Louisiana," Vitter spokesman Luke Bolar said.

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, has cut travel, and the amount of mail being sent to constituents, according to his spokesman Stephen Bell.

Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, said he's looking at ways to cut spending without cutting constituent service.

"We are asking many people to sacrifice or live within their means and I should be no different," Richmond said.

Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, said his office "will continue to offer our constituents the services they need and depend on."

So far the most noticeable impact has been longer lines to pass through security to get into the Capitol and Congressional offices. Last week, wait times were as long as 20 to 30 minutes for the Senate Dirksen Office Building, four to five times the normal wait.

Both Republicans and Democrats are considering budget language that would give the White House and federal agencies the same discretion congressional members have to determine how to cut 8.2 percent in spending for the remaining 2013 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. A House spending bill would give the Defense Department flexibility, but not other agencies.

But Scalise, the Jefferson Republican who chairs the House Republican Conservative caucus, said he suspects the GOP would be open to a reasonable deal with the Senate to increase flexibility for other federal agencies, as well.

He said it makes more sense for agencies to cut programs that don't provide essential services, while leaving vital work, such as food inspections, to operate at pre-sequester levels.

When FEMA National Flood Insurance Program experts greeted visitors in City Park Monday during a five-hour open house designed to explain proposed new flood insurance maps for New Orleans on Monday, they brought with them a mix of good and bad news, depending on where people live in the city. Property owners were able to sit down at computer...

When FEMA National Flood Insurance Program experts greeted visitors in City Park Monday during a five-hour open house designed to explain proposed new flood insurance maps for New Orleans on Monday, they brought with them a mix of good and bad news, depending on where people live in the city.

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Clik here to view. National Flood Insurance Program  

Property owners were able to sit down at computer terminals and see exactly where their home or business sits on the new maps, and how the changes will affect them.The same maps are available to all on the web at FEMA's Region 6 flood insurance site.

After reviewing the changes, they were able to talk to insurance experts about whether the changes will result in increases or reductions in their insurance bills, although specific costs will require discussions with their own insurance agents.

Federal, state and local officials also provided information on how to reduce the risk of damage from storms to their property, either through improving the building's roof, protecting windows and doors with shutters, or raising the building above the base flood elevation.They also explained that parish and regional drainage improvements might result in future reductions in local insurance rates.

Lakeview homeowners were likely to hear that the base flood elevation of their home - the lowest point at which their ground floor should be built to stay above floodwaters created by a hurricane or a rainfall event with a 1 percent chance of occurring each year, a so-called 100-year flood - has dropped to 5 feet below sea level, or about 2 ½ feet lower than the base listed on existing maps. The reduction, the result of flood insurance officials taking into account the dramatic improvements to the area's hurricane levee system in the aftermath of Katrina, could mean reduced insurance rates for some, and less worry that homes considered too low after Katrina will have to be elevated.

The news wasn't as good for residents of Venetian Isles, which lies outside the improved levee system along Michoud Boulevard in eastern New Orleans. The potential effects of storm surge, proven during Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Isaac, has resulted in the area being reclassified as a high-risk velocity, or V, zone, which eventually will result in higher insurance rates, even if homes are elevated to the base elevation of as much as 18.1 feet above sea level.

In Algiers, numerous properties have been reclassified as moderately risky, joining the A zone that already covers much of the New Orleans area within the levee system, after years in a less risky classification that has been phased out. Again, the change will mean an increase in insurance rates.

For all three examples, however, any insurance rate changes are likely a year or more away, the result of the complex process that is used to place the new flood maps into effect.

The open house kicks off the first phase of that process, with additional open houses scheduled this week and next for Jefferson, Plaquemines, and St. Charles parishes. Orleans residents are welcome to attend, as well.

Federal officials will soon announce a three-month period for property owners and elected officials to challenge their map ratings. After a period to respond to those challenges, the flood maps will be officially presented to parishes and to some smaller communities within Jefferson Parish, for approval, a process that will take six months.

However, a failure by a parish or one of the local Jefferson Parish communities to approve the revised maps will result in a suspension of flood insurance within those areas.

An additional layer of uncertainty concerning the effects of the map changes has to do with the insurance program's efforts to implement the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, legislation designed to place the federal flood insurance program on a better financial footing after years of debt in part caused by claims filed during Hurricane Katrina.

Congress designed the five-year update of the law to increase the cost of insurance in flood-prone areas so premiums will be high enough to reimburse the cost of claims.

The first portion of the law, governing some commercial properties, went into effect on Jan. 1, and other parts will go into effect later this year and early next year.

The Jan. 1 change requires older residential properties that are not a family's primary residence, including beach houses, to see increases in their rates at 25 percent a year until the rates equal the actual cost of providing them insurance. This change also affects rental apartments.

A similar change is in effect for primary properties that have seen repetitive flooding resulting in insurance claims, with repetitive defined as four or more floods, or a combination of floods equaling the value of the building.

And the law does not recognize construction of the new levee system in New Orleans as wiping out the past flood experience.

The next part of the law to go into effect later this year, although an exact date has not yet been set, will be an increase to the full cost of insurance for other properties that have had lower rates than their risk required. The law allows the new rates to still be discounted by 50 percent at first, with a 20 percent increase each year, for properties that are moved into mandatory purchase areas or that are subject to a revised or updated map.

The law also increases the minimum deductible for structures valued at $100,000 or less, and $2,000 for more expensive properties for policies that are still being charged subsidized rates. Non-subsidized properties will see a $1,000 deductible for structures of $100,000 or less, and $1,250 for those above $100,000.

More information about the insurance program, including a map page where individual property address can be entered, is available online at http://maps.riskmap6.com/ .

The remaining open houses, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., are:

• Tuesday, West Bank -- Meeting Room 101, Terrytown Playground gymnasium, 641 Heritage Ave., Terrytown

• Wednesday, Metairie-- Foundation Center, Lafreniere Park, 3000 Downs Blvd., Metairie.

• March 25, St. Charles Parish -- Raymond K. Smith Middle School, 281 Sugarland Parkway, Luling.

• March 26, St. Bernard Parish -- St. Bernard Civic Center, 8245 W. Judge Perez Drive, Chalmette

• March 27, Plaquemines Parish -- Belle Chasse Auditorium, 8398 Louisiana 23, Belle Chasse.

WASHINGTON -- While Louisiana lawmakers continue to push the Obama administration to encourage more oil and gas drilling, two Democratic senators from California and Florida are offering two bills that take a different approach. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a bill Monday that would end federal incentives that encourage the waiving of royalty payments to encourage deep-water drilling. Sen....

WASHINGTON -- While Louisiana lawmakers continue to push the Obama administration to encourage more oil and gas drilling, two Democratic senators from California and Florida are offering two bills that take a different approach.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a bill Monday that would end federal incentives that encourage the waiving of royalty payments to encourage deep-water drilling. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., introduced a bill at the same time that would change the tax code to deny tax deductions from oil-spill related expenses including legal, clean-up and other costs.,

Both senators say the 2010 BP oil spill is motivating their legislative efforts.

Nelson said his legislation was spurred by BP efforts to write off its clean-up expenses after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion caused one of the largest oil spills in U.S. history.

"Given the record profits of the big oil companies, I don't think they need any more help from taxpayers," Nelson said.

Feinstein said that with oil company profits at record levels now isn't the time for the government to give up on royalties.

She also said the BP oil spill should provoke some caution for deep-water drilling.

"The BP spill illustrated just how devastating oil spills in deep water can be," Feinstein said. "But even though we understand the great risks and lack the technology to drill safely, unwise incentives that push oil companies to drill deeper and deeper remain in place."

Louisiana lawmakers argue that the BP accident was an aberration from an otherwise good safety record for deep-water drilling. Obama administration officials have said the Interior Department imposed new tougher regulations, and an improved regulatory regime, in an effort to avert a repeat of the 2010 BP spill.

• FEMA shows off and explains new flood insurance maps Tuesday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Terrytown Playground gymnasium, Meeting Room 101, 641 Heritage Ave. On Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., the show moves to the Foundation Center at Lafreniere Park, 3000 Downs Blvd., Metairie.
• The future of the Crescent City Connection is likely to dominate a public meeting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. It will be held at the West Jefferson Medical Center auditorium in Marrero.
• Despite the Jefferson Parish Council's push to cut its ties with Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. and the stoplight camera program that the company ran, Gretna and Westwego officials say they remain satisfied with the company's service, according to The Advocate. Redflex provides speed cameras in both cities.
• State Rep. Julie Stokes, R-Kenner, will host a public inauguration March 26 at 6:30 p.m. at the City Council chamber at Kenner City Hall, 1801 Williams Blvd. She was elected March 2 to the 79th District seat and was sworn into office in a private ceremony March 13.

WASHINGTON - A new bipartisan Senate bill authorizing billions of dollars worth of water projects includes reforms that sponsors say will speed up the Army Corps of Engineers lengthy study procedures and increase available financing for harbor dredging work. The draft bill, authored by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and David Vitter, R-La., is scheduled to be taken up Wednesday...

WASHINGTON - A new bipartisan Senate bill authorizing billions of dollars worth of water projects includes reforms that sponsors say will speed up the Army Corps of Engineers lengthy study procedures and increase available financing for harbor dredging work.

The draft bill, authored by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and David Vitter, R-La., is scheduled to be taken up Wednesday at a meeting of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Boxer is the chair and Vitter the top Republican on the committee.

Despite the concurrence of Boxer, one of the Senate's leading advocates for tough environmental regulation, and Vitter, who argues for significantly less intrusive regulations, the bill faces many obstacles. Given the growing influences of fiscal conservatives in the Republican Party, and new congressional rules that make it impossible to draw support for legislation by earmarking projects in members' states and districts, passage won't be easy.

It also faces opposition, at least for some components of the bill, from environmental groups that argue the new streamlined authorization process, while expediting coastal restoration work in Louisiana that they support, would lead to more big Corps projects that will damage the environment.

Vitter said the bill will help speed up some needed projects in Louisiana.

Vitter said to deal with continued delays for the Morganza to the Gulf hurricane protection and other stalled Corps projects, the bill includes language that authorize projects that receive favorable chief's report, as well as concurrence from the Office of Management and Budget and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for civil works. That, Vitter staffers said, would help deal with continued missed deadlines by the Corps of Engineers that resulted in the termination of previous congressional authorizations.

The bill also includes a provision allowing the Corps to hand over some projects to state and local officials - a process Vitter says can speed construction of some needed work.

And to deal with a backlog of dredging and harbor maintenance projects, a Vitter provision would require the government to spend the proceeds of a 0.125 percent ad valoreum tax on goods that arrive on U.S. docks for their intended purpose - harbor maintenance. The levy generates about $1.5 billion annually, but only about half of it is used for harbor maintenance.

The rest of the money has been used for the federal government's general fund.

The water resources bill, which would be the first in six years, would also raise the Corps threshold for maintaining waterways from the current level of 45 feet to 50 feet, a depth Metro New Orleans port officials say is critical to handle ships from the recently expanded Panama Canal.

"I'm very encouraged to moving this bipartisan WRDA forward, along with Chairman Boxer," Vitter said. "Our bill will implement some real, necessary reforms to the Corps of Engineers and decrease project delivery time so folks will be better protected from flooding and other projects that will help jumpstart increased commerce."

Boxer, who has totally different views than Vitter on environmental issues, including global warming, said it was important for her and Vitter to come together on a water resources bill.

"This bill is a victory for bipartisanship, for jobs and for economic growth," Boxer said.

Environmentalists had mixed views.

In a memo on the WRDA proposal, the National Wildlife Federation said this about the new authorization process for Corps projects:

"This provision will allow continued progress toward restoring America's Everglades and coastal Louisiana as key restoration projects meet these criteria. Delay in restoring these two environmentally and economically valuable ecosystems would result in further degradation and higher costs in the long-ruin. However, other projects that meet these criteria would cost taxpayers billions of dollars while creating large scale environmental destruction and producing questionable benefits. In addition, the public currently has no way of knowing the full suite of projects that may be authorized through this provis

WASHINGTON -- A new bipartisan Senate bill authorizing billions of dollars worth of water projects includes reforms that sponsors say will speed up the Army Corps of Engineers cumbersome study and approval process and increase available financing for harbor dredging work. The draft water resources bill, or WRDA as it is known on Capitol Hill, was written by Sens....

WASHINGTON -- A new bipartisan Senate bill authorizing billions of dollars worth of water projects includes reforms that sponsors say will speed up the Army Corps of Engineers cumbersome study and approval process and increase available financing for harbor dredging work.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., joins Sen. Barbara Boxer in offering new water resources bill he says contains key reforms for the Army Corps of Engineers. Harry Hamburg, The Associated Press archive

The draft water resources bill, or WRDA as it is known on Capitol Hill, was written by Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and David Vitter, R-La. It is scheduled to be considered Wednesday by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which is chaired by Boxer. Vitter is the panel's top Republican.

Vitter said key elements of the bill include reforms that are intended to address long-term shortcomings at the Corps of Engineers, which were revealed in dramatic form through the destructive flooding from Hurricane Katrina.

For example, to deal with a problem in coastal areas of Louisiana in which levees are weakened by subsidence and sea-level rise, a significant problem with levees in place for Hurricane Katrina, The Corps would be given authority to spend construction dollars for up to 10 years to reconstruct faulty levees. Currently, reconstruction costs are the responsibility of the local sponsor, not the federal government.

Another reform touted by Vitter: A pilot program in which local and state governments could take over as project manager for Corps projects, a procedure Vitter believes will improve the quality of projects and speed their construction.

Another provision requires the Corps to be more transparent, and respond quickly to requests for reports and information from members of Congress and communities impacted by Corps projects.

And another pilot provision sets up a loan program in which localities can borrow the money from the federal government for the local share of projects -- a provision Boxer said is critical at a time when so many local and state governments are struggling financially.

Despite the concurrence of Boxer, one of the Senate's leading advocates for tough environmental regulation, and Vitter, who argues for significantly less intrusive regulations, the bill faces many obstacles. Given the growing influences of fiscal conservatives in the Republican Party, and new congressional rules that make it impossible to draw support for legislation by earmarking projects in members' states and districts, passage won't be easy, though Vitter argues this is a bill that should get strong conservative support.

The bill also faces opposition, at least for some components of the bill, from environmental groups that argue the new streamlined authorization process, while expediting coastal restoration work in Louisiana that they support, would lead to more big Corps projects that will damage the environment.

Vitter said the bill will help speed up some needed projects in Louisiana.

Vitter said to deal with continued delays for the Morganza to the Gulf hurricane protection and other stalled Corps projects, the bill includes language that authorize projects that receive favorable chief's report, as well as concurrence from the Office of Management and Budget and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for civil works. That, Vitter staffers said, would help deal with continued missed deadlines by the Corps of Engineers that resulted in the termination of previous congressional authorizations.

And to deal with a backlog of dredging and harbor maintenance projects, a Vitter provision would require the government to spend the proceeds of a Harbor Maintenance Fund -- 0.125 percent ad valoreum levy on goods that arrive on U.S. docks for their intended purpose - dredging. The tax generates about $1.5 billion annually, but only about half of it is used for harbor maintenance.

The water resources bill, which would be the first in over five years, would also raise the Corps threshold for maintaining waterways from the current level of 45 feet to 50 feet, a depth Metro New Orleans port officials say is critical to handle ships from the recently expanded Panama Canal.

One disappointment for Port of New Orleans officials. The bill does not include a provision that would have ease funding for lock projects, such as the Inner Harbor Navigational Lock Replacement, which has been stalled for lack of funding.

Vittter, who during a news conference referred to Boxer as Barbara, and Boxer, who referred to Vitter, as David, certainly are highlighting their bipartisan support.

"I'm very encouraged to moving this bipartisan WRDA forward, along with Chairman Boxer," Vitter said. "Our bill will implement some real, necessary reforms to the Corps of Engineers and decrease project delivery time so folks will be better protected from flooding and other projects that will help jump start increased commerce."

Boxer, who has totally different views than Vitter on many environmental issues, including her belief that the United States must take immediate steps to reduce carbon emissions to deal with global warming, said it was important for the two of them to come together on the water resources bill.

Environmentalists had mixed views.

In a memo on the WRDA proposal, the National Wildlife Federation said this about the new authorization process for Corps projects:

"This provision will allow continued progress toward restoring America's Everglades and coastal Louisiana as key restoration projects meet these criteria. Delay in restoring these two environmentally and economically valuable ecosystems would result in further degradation and higher costs in the long-ruin. However, other projects that meet these criteria would cost taxpayers billions of dollars while creating large scale environmental destruction and producing questionable benefits."

Vitter said the bill "doesn't get rid of any requirement or review," but rather streamlines the process so that some reviews can be conducted concurrently. 

A scorecard released Tuesday by the American Society of Civil Engineers gave Louisiana a C- for the quality of its infrastructure, after finding that 62 percent of the state's roads were of mediocre to poor condition, 3,815 bridges were structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, 33 dams were considered "high hazard," and drinking water and wastewater systems will need $10.9...

A scorecard released Tuesday by the American Society of Civil Engineers gave Louisiana a C- for the quality of its infrastructure, after finding that 62 percent of the state's roads were of mediocre to poor condition, 3,815 bridges were structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, 33 dams were considered "high hazard," and drinking water and wastewater systems will need $10.9 billion in improvements during the next 20 years.

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Clik here to view. View full size The United States ranked D+ in the latest American Society of Civil Engineers ranking of infrastructure needs. American Society of Civil Engineers  

The ranking is part of the engineering organization's infrastructure report card for the nation and the state, which is issued every four years. Louisiana's state ranking is based on an infrastructure report produced by ASCE's Louisiana chapter last year.

That gap will increase to $4.7 trillion by 2040, the report predicts.

The bulk of the nation's infrastructure needs are in the form of surface transportation, the report said, with $1.7 trillion needed by 2020, and only $877 billion expected in funding through that period.

"This is not a report card that anybody would be proud of," said Kam Movassaghi, a member of Louisiana's ASCE chapter and a former secretary of the state Department of Transportation and Development. "The nation as a whole is in trouble. Our infrastructure is the backbone of our economy."

Movassaghi said that Louisiana has effectively outlined how it plans to deal with some portions of its infrastructure problems, including coastal restoration and flood protection, with its 50-year, $50 billion coastal master plan, approved by the Legislature last year.

But that same kind of comprehensive effort needs to be aimed at all the state's infrastructure needs, he said.

"If trucks can't get from point A to point B, who's going to pay the extra cost? You and I," said Movassaghi, who oversaw the production of the state report. "If the lights go out, who suffers? Businesses. The effects of poor infrastructure show up in our gross domestic product and our ability to compete."

In Louisiana, the poor condition of some state roads result in an average of $1.2 billion in vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $408 per motorist, the report said. Louisiana has 61,335 miles of public roads.

The report also points out that Louisiana's 20-cent per gallon gasoline tax, much of which goes to road repairs, hasn't increased in 22 years.

As for bridges, Louisiana ranks 4th nationally for the most bridge surface area, at 15.4 million square feet of bridge deck. But the state also ranks in the bottom third of states for federal funding of bridge maintenance, repair and replacement, the report said. The number of deficient bridges in Louisiana is more than the total number of bridges in 10 other states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

By 2015, about 31 percent of Louisiana's bridges will be more than 50 years old, and by 2025, more than half of all current bridges will be more than 50 years old, the report said. Meanwhile, the state is 44th in the nation in both trucking fees and gas taxes and 46th in auto registration fees.

Like with the recommendations for streets, the state report recommends increases in gasoline and diesel taxes, motor vehicle sales taxes and registration fees to pay for bridge maintenance and replacement. It also recommends allowing parishes to increase license fees and motor fuels taxes to help pay for bridge repairs.

"Although our political leaders frequently proclaim the safety and condition of our bridges are of national importance, federal funding has not empowered the transportation agencies with sufficient funding to maintain, much less improve, our aging bridge infrastructure," the state report said.

State Department of Transportation and Development officials, however, expressed a brighter view of the state's infrastructure needs, saying the backlog of road and bridge needs has been reduced from $14 billion to $12.1 billion.

"Over the past 5 years, the state has invested more than $5 billion in Louisiana's infrastructure - an unprecedented amount," said a statement released by the department on Tuesday. "This translates into more than 2,100 improvement projects including approximately 5,400 miles of roadway and 395 bridges.

While Louisiana has 33 dams considered high hazard -- which means the loss of at least one human life is likely if the dam fails -- 86 percent have emergency action plans, the report said. Louisiana actually has 555 dams, most of which are privately owned. Of the 33 with a high hazard potential, 29 are considered to be in satisfactory or fair condition, based on the most recent inspection reports.

Water and sewer systems are a different story. The state's drinking water infrastructure will need $6.9 billion in improvements over the next 20 years, while wastewater facilities will need $4 billion.

"Louisiana's potable water infrastructure is deteriorating at an alarming rate," said the report, which gave the drinking water systems a grade of D+. "Approximately half of the 89 water systems studied were constructed before 1960. Many of these systems have had little if any rehabilitation conducted since the system was built."

A 2007 needs survey by the state Department of Health and Hospitals indicated more than 10,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines will require replacement within the next 20 years because of their age, with the older lines leaking at rates that cost the water systems valuable revenue.

The report recommended the development of master plans for public water systems to address existing and future needs, including funding. It also warned that continued withdrawal of large quantities of groundwater for industrial use will continue to decrease water levels in aquifers that contain water fit for drinking, and urged daily limits for withdrawal quantities.

It also suggests the establishment of sustainable funding sources for wastewater infrastructure, and for local governments to continue to develop new wastewater treatment facilities to accommodate areas not yet served by municipal sewer systems. Extensions of those community systems would reduce the number of individual septic systems and their pollution problems, the report said.

WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., is reintroducing legislation that would speed up revenue sharing for Louisiana and other off-shore oil producing states.  A slightly different version of the bill died in the last Congress, but Landrieu is more upbeat about the current measure, which she calls the Fixing America's Inequities with Revenue Act. Her optimism is...

WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., is reintroducing legislation that would speed up revenue sharing for Louisiana and other off-shore oil producing states.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu is reintroducing legislation to speed up off shore revenue sharing for oil and gas exploration. Susan Poag,The Times-Picayune archive

 A slightly different version of the bill died in the last Congress, but Landrieu is more upbeat about the current measure, which she calls the Fixing America's Inequities with Revenue Act.

Her optimism is based in a change at the Senate Energy Committee, which has jurisdiction over the bill. The former chairman, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., opposed the bill, but the current chairman, Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is supportive.

"I'm very excited about introducing this bill," Landrieu said Tuesday, one day before she and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, will provide details of the bill at a Capitol news conference.

Under the bill, states would begin sharing in 37.5 percent of federal off-shore oil and gas royalties immediately upon enactment. Currently, the 37.5 percent royalty share, spelled out in earlier Landrieu legislation, isn't scheduled to begin until 2017.

The bill also allows states to share in revenues from alternative energy projects, such as wind farms, produced off their shores.

In addition, the bill would gradually lift the $500 million cap in revenue sharing for Gulf Coast states.

Last week, President Barack Obama also made a claim for some Outer Continental Shelf drilling revenue, saying he'd like Congress to allow $2 billion in off-shore royalty payments over the next 10 years to be used to fund alternative energy research.

Landrieu said there's an opportunity to work with the administration and members of Congress on a measure that would make some royalty payments available for alternative energy research, while ending an inequity in which she says states with land-based energy already get 50 percent of royalty payments but off-shore producing states practically nothing.

In the past, environmental groups have opposed the legislation, arguing that it encourages states to allow more oil and gas production off their coasts. Landrieu said that the bill is neutral on energy development. It does not advocate increased production, although she anticipates increased production from market factors.

Landrieu said the main "barrier" to passage of her similar bill in the last Congress was opposition of then Energy Committee Chairman Bingaman, who believed it encouraged risky oil and gas exploration. "Now, with the backing of our chairman, I believe we can move forward," Landrieu said.

Landrieu didn't have an estimate of how much money the bill will generate for coastal restoration projects in Louisiana. But she said staffers are working at getting a solid projection.

The Algiers Development District board's attorney found the 1989 agreement after the board decided to get involved in the bridge light debate.

The state of Louisiana agreed 24 years ago to maintain the decorative lighting on the Crescent City Connection for the life of the span, officials in Algiers said Wednesday morning, after finding a copy of the July 31, 1989, act of donation in which the state accepted the light system from a private group that paid for the lights. Just how this dusty document will factor into ongoing debate over restoring the lights remains to be seen.

State transportation officials, who turned off the lights Friday after a Baton Rouge judge's ruling suspended toll collections until the May 4 election, have said they're too costly to maintain. The Young Leadership Council of New Orleans, a nonprofit that raised $500,000 to pay for the lights in the late 1980s, wants the lights turned back on and has raised $3,000 it says will pay to have the bridge illuminated for three months.

"This reinforces what we've been saying all along, that the lights are a state obligation," said Richard Pavlick, Young Leadership Council's president, of the 1989 agreement.

The 1989 act of donation was between Bridge Lighting Inc., a nonprofit created by the Young Leadership Council specifically for the lights donation, and the state, said attorney Ken Pickering of Algiers, who was legal counsel for the now defunct Crescent City Connection bridge commission, whose appointed members oversaw how toll revenue was spent. As such, Pickering played a part in the 1989 act of donation and said he found it in his files Wednesday morning.

Question of what that legal document said has circulated, including at a community meeting Tuesday night in Marrero. Pickering said no one could find it, and at an Algiers Development District board meeting earlier Wednesday, he and other questioned whether state transportation officials wanted to find it. The agreement mentions the state, only, and no particular governmental agency, said Pickering, who is attorney for the Algiers board.

State Rep. Jeff Arnold, D-Algiers, who chairs that board, said Pickering gave the agreement to him, and in turn he forwarded it to the Young Leadership Council and the state Department of Transportation and Development.

Bambi Hall, a spokeswoman for the transportation department, confirmed Wednesday it has the agreement and said attorneys for the state are review it. But she said state officials believe that a state law prohibiting the state from paying for the lights applies.

Pavlick, of the Young Leadership Council, said the group received the act from Arnold and is looking at it and the state law. "We're reviewing the state law that they're referencing and exploring our options," Pavlick said.

Wednesday's discovery came on the heels of the Algiers Development District board agreeing to inject itself into the bridge lighting debate.

While the Young Leadership Council has offered to pay to have the lights turned back on temporarily, the state transportation department has said it cannot legally accept money from the private group.

The council sought out other governmental entities that would agree to be the go-between. They declined. So, too, has the Regional Planning Commission, officials said.

"All I have seen is people passing the buck left and right," said New Orleans City Councilwoman Kristin Palmer, who is a member of the Algiers board.

Arnold said Wednesday that the Young Leadership Council approached the Algiers board with the proposal. So the Algiers board, a state entity that oversees a tax increment financing district in New Orleans' West Bank community, agreed to step up.

The board authorized Arnold to enter into a cooperative endeavor agreement with the Young Leadership Council, whose money would flow through the Algiers board to the state. The agreement would be in effect for only three months.

"It sucks that we're the last line of resort to keep the stupid lights on, but it might as well be us," said state Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, who as a member of the Algiers board made the motion to authorize the agreement.

Morrell said three months is enough time to lobby the Regional Planning Commission to take over paying the light bill - "enough time to put the screws to those guys," he said.

He said it costs $43 per day to pay for the decorative lighting. "We're not talking about a lot of money," Morrell said.

Later Wednesday, the Regional Planning Commission, which has backed off from committing to pay for the lights, called an emergency meeting for next Tuesday to address the lighting issue, officials said.

In voting to get involved, the Algiers board said it would not accept liability for the lights, and the agreement hinged on the Youth Leadership Council's paying the board's legal costs of preparing the contract.

In the meantime, Morrell said private groups, which he did not name, have launched an effort to replace the bridge lighting with LED lights like those colorfully illuminating the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. LED lights are more efficient and less expensive, he said.

"They're looking to trick it out like the Superdome," Morrell said of the bridge.

In unrelated matter, the Algiers Development District board will push for an increase in its revenue, to possibly help fund Canal Street-Algiers Point ferry operations, should other efforts to preserve the ferry operations fail.

Ferry operations will not be tied to the tolls, should voters in New Orleans, Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish decide to renew them for 20 years in the May 4 referendum, officials at the Algiers board meeting said.

"We described this as a 'Hail Mary pass,' and if everything else fails, could we step in and assist with the ferries," Arnold said.

Arnold said a bill will be filed during the legislative session that begins next month. The Algiers board, created in state law, receives a portion of the city's sales tax revenue from the Walmart Supercenter on Behrman Highway, and all the adjacent businesses, and the state matches that amount dollar for dollar.

Known as tax-increment financing, or TIF, the Algiers district is the only one in the city, and the money is directed for projects the New Orleans City Council approves. Chief among them is the Federal City project.

Arnold said the proposed legislation would expand the geographic area from which the board's revenue is derived. Essentially, board members said, the city would have to agree to give the Algiers board more of its sales tax revenue generated by existing Algiers businesses.

"We want to be crystal clear: This will not be a tax increase for anyone," Morrell said.

Staff writer Andrea Shaw contributed to this story.

Harahan officials are poised to raise the city's minimum sewer fees 43 percent for residences and 71 percent for businesses. After discussing the idea  for the better part of a year, they say they expect the City Council to vote on it Thursday night (March 21). It would be the first increase in a decade. Mayor Vinny Mosca said...

Harahan officials are poised to raise the city's minimum sewer fees 43 percent for residences and 71 percent for businesses. After discussing the idea  for the better part of a year, they say they expect the City Council to vote on it Thursday night (March 21).

It would be the first increase in a decade. Mayor Vinny Mosca said the money would pay for $4 million in repairs to underground pipes and likely leave Harahan "in good shape for another 10 years."

Council members have been mulling the idea for months, at first blanching at the size of the increase. But a smaller addition, perhaps 10 percent to 20 percent, would necessitate raising rates again in a year or two, Councilman Eric Chatelain said Wednesday.

"Most of the citizens understand what bad shape our sewer system is in," Chatelain said. "If we're going to get beat up, let's get up beat up just one time."

Sewer fees are pegged to water use and appear on bimonthly utility bills. Harahan now charges $1.20 monthly per 1,000 gallons, based on 85 percent of the water use. The minimum is $5.25.

Under the proposal before the council, the base charge would rise to $2.50 for residences and $2.75 for businesses. The minimums would be $7.50 for residences, $9.00 for businesses.

That would raise Harahan's minimum from one of the lowest in Jefferson Parish to one of the highest. Other residential minimums, according to City Hall:

• Unincorporated Jefferson Parish -- $4.68 to $4.74
• Kenner -- $6.51
• Westwego -- $7.09
• Gretna -- $10.70.

Mosca said Harahan's sewer lines are cracked and blocked by tree roots. Leaking wastewater pollutes the earth, and groundwater seeping into the pipes raises the cost of treating sewage.

In order to slip liners into "every single pipe in the city," Mosca wants to borrow money from the state Department of Environmental Quality at less than 1 percent interest. Harahan would pay off the loan with revenue from increased user fees.

"I can't get the $4 million loan unless I can show them how I will pay them back," Mosca said. "And this is the way to pay them back."

Raising sewer fees also would free money in the general fund to pay for other government services. Harahan now spends $150,000 to $290,000 annually from the general fund to subsidize sewer operations, officials said.

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Clik here to view. Harahan Mayor Vinny Mosca T-P archive  

"We've got to stop the bleeding," Mosca said.

He said fixing every sewer pipe in the city would cost $5 million, about $1 million more than the revenue from the sewer fee increase. Asked about the gap, he said, "It's a project in process."

WASHINGTON -- Barring a last-minute impediment, the House Thursday is expected to pass a $982 billion spending package that will avert a federal government shutdown at the end of the month. The Senate approved the measure Wednesday 73-26, with a yes vote by Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and a no vote by Sen. David Vitter, R-La. The bill locks...

WASHINGTON -- Barring a last-minute impediment, the House Thursday is expected to pass a $982 billion spending package that will avert a federal government shutdown at the end of the month.

The Senate approved the measure Wednesday 73-26, with a yes vote by Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and a no vote by Sen. David Vitter, R-La.

The bill locks in some $85 billion in across the board spending cuts for the remainder of the fiscal year, required by the so-called sequester. But it gives some flexibility to some, not all federal agencies, on how to make the cuts. The flexibility, under the Senate bill, is extended to the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, Justice, and Commerce as well as the Food and Drug Administration.

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Clik here to view. Sens. Mary Landrieu and David Vitter cast conflicting votes Wednesday on Senate budget bill. Scott Threlkeld, The Times-Picayune archive

One provision enacted by the Senate averts furloughs for meat inspectors at the Department of Agriculture. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said the furloughs would have caused the closure of meat, poultry and egg processing facilities for up to two weeks.

The bill also includes a provision that would block the Postal Service from going ahead this summer with plans to end Saturday postal delivery, except for prescription drugs and next-day delivery packages. It's unclear, however, what authority Congress has over the Postal Service, which does not receive direct federal funds.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called the provision outrageous.

"The Postal Service lost $1.3 billion in the first quarter of this year and recorded a loss of $15.9 billion in fiscal year 2012," McCain said. "So what are we telling them to do? Business as usual."

Among the local items, of interest, was a provision inserted by Landrieu for $335 million for six Fast Response Cutters, which are built at Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport. Another Landrieu provision adjusts the criteria for forgiveness of Community Disaster Loans made to Louisiana and Mississippi communities for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The change is expected to make it easier for more Metro New Orleans communities, including the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board, to get the disaster loans forgiven.

Landrieu said that she's pleased the bill includes more money than initially proposed for the Coast Guard by the Obama administration.

"I don't have to remind everyone about the oil spill, the terrible accident," Landrieu said in a Senate floor speech. "That trial is still going on in New Orleans as I speak, with hundreds of lawyers still debating the worst oil spill in the history of the country. Who showed up? The Coast Guard."

Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. did not receive approval Thursday from the State Bond Commission to borrow $100 million through bonds. The commission, failing to vote on the issue, sent it back to the Citizens board with orders to consider other options. Citizens CEO Richard Robertson and CFO Steve Cottrell argued the state insurer of last resort needed to...

Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. did not receive approval Thursday from the State Bond Commission to borrow $100 million through bonds. The commission, failing to vote on the issue, sent it back to the Citizens board with orders to consider other options.

Citizens CEO Richard Robertson and CFO Steve Cottrell argued the state insurer of last resort needed to borrow $100 million through bonds to cover a $70 million cash shortfall. This would cover costs from a class action lawsuit, a February hailstorm and $75 million in reinsurance costs.

"It's likely as of the end of May or June ... we'll be down to less than $20 million in cash. And for an insurance company, that is below any threshold," Cottrell said at the meeting, adding if the "wind blows one night," Citizens won't have cash to pay claims.

Citizens is expected to keep about $125 million in cash on hand, or enough to cover one hurricane season, along with the company's yearly reinsurance costs. In 2006, it borrowed nearly $1 billion to cover claims after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which it has been paying down by issuing an assessment, or fee, on every insurer operating in the state. This is then passed down to all homeowners in the state.

Several members of the commission expressed opposition to the bond issue, highlighting that the cost would be passed onto Louisiana homeowners. According to Citizens board documents, the assessment rate would drop more slowly than previously expected over the next 13 years to finance the bond sale.

In the short term, the assessment rate could even jump from 3.74 to 3.92 percent after a bond issue. While the fee can be recouped through a tax rebate, only about 60 percent of Louisiana homeowners file for it. The remaining 40 percent of unclaimed rebates goes into the general fund.

Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols, who along with Insurance Department head Jim Donelon has been open about her opposition to the sale, highlighted the bond sale would hurt homeowners as well as hurting the state to the tune of about $5.4 million next year.

Cottrell responded by highlighting one of Citizens' only other options would be to issue a regular assessment on homeowners. Homeowners would end up paying an extra assessment fee every year on top of their current fee, which would not be available for rebate.

Nichols then suggested the Citizens Finance Committee return to the drawing board to consider other options. Jim Napper, Treasury Department Executive Counsel, said a bridge loan was made in 2006 after the initial bond sale and could be an current option.

The Bond Commission adjourned without holding a vote on the Citizens bond issue. Citizens will reconsider the issue in the next few months.