Louisiana House Bill HB836

Louisiana 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/27/26
• Refer: 2/27/26
• Refer: 3/9/26
• Report Pass: 4/13/26

Caption

LEVEES/BDS & DISTRICTS: Modifies the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East and the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West

Summary

HB 836 makes targeted changes to the law governing the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East and the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West. For the West Bank authority, the bill adds language directing the levee districts and related parishes to work together to safeguard the public from flooding, storm surge, and other flood-related risks. It also states that nothing in the section should be interpreted to impair existing rights, contracts, or obligations of the affected districts or parishes. For the East authority, the bill keeps the existing nine-member board structure but expands the professional qualifications for certain members. Under current law, four board members must be engineers or professionals in related fields such as geotechnical, hydrological, or environmental science, with one of those four required to be a civil engineer. HB 836 adds hydraulic science to the list of acceptable related fields, broadening the pool of qualified appointees with technical flood-control expertise.

Impact

The bill amends R.S. 38:330.1, the statute governing territorial jurisdiction and board composition for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East and -West. Its practical effect is to reinforce cooperative flood-protection responsibilities on the West Bank side while preserving existing legal and contractual rights of the levee districts and parishes. On the East authority side, it modestly changes board-appointment qualifications by recognizing hydraulic science as an eligible professional background for the technically qualified members, which could affect future gubernatorial appointments and the expertise represented on the board.

Sentiment

The available record suggests the bill was framed in a technical, administrative way rather than as a major policy dispute. The substance of the proposal appears aimed at improving flood-protection governance and ensuring board members have relevant engineering and water-management expertise. There is no recorded committee transcript or vote history in the provided material showing opposition or support, but the fact that the measure was later substituted on the House floor and became HB 1240 indicates the proposal continued to move through the legislative process in some form.

Contention

The main potential points of contention are likely to be the scope of the new cooperative-duty language for the West Bank levee districts and whether it could affect how those districts operate alongside parish governments. The bill tries to address that concern by expressly preserving existing rights, contracts, and obligations. Another possible issue is the board-qualification change for the East authority: while adding hydraulic science broadens expertise, it also slightly changes the professional profile of appointees, which could matter to stakeholders concerned about board composition, technical credentials, or appointment discretion.