Bill
HB 573
The bill lets New Orleans override state rules on SWBNO billing and rates through city ordinances, with a new Billing Ordinance Working Group reviewing proposals.
Purpose
- HB 573 aims to revise provisions governing the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) related to:
- board composition and officers
- board powers and duties
- city council powers and oversight
- rates for sewerage services
- billing policies and related processes
- The bill also authorizes the city of New Orleans to adopt ordinances that may conflict with current statutory provisions, with the ordinance provisions prevailing if enacted after the current law.
Key Provisions and Changes
1) Board Composition and Officers
- The Mayor remains ex officio president of the SWBNO.
- The SWBNO must elect an executive director, with salary and bond set by the board; the executive director serves at the board’s pleasure.
- The board can elect a member as president pro tempore (to act in the president’s absence).
- Salaries: board members receive no salary beyond actual travel expenses for board business.
- The City’s governing authority may adopt ordinances that conflict with the statute; if an ordinance is enacted after the statute, the ordinance provisions prevail.
2) Rate Setting and Bond Authority
- The city’s governing authority may establish alternative procedures for rate approval for sewerage services.
- The SWBNO may issue bonds payable solely from sewer service charges revenues, including bonds for refunding.
- Current exemptions and uniform rate requirements remain in place unless amended by subsequent provisions.
3) Billing Policies and City Council Oversight
- The City Council may establish by ordinance procedures regarding SWBNO billing policies, including:
- reducing or modifying a bill
- waiving late charges or accrued interest
- The City Council must implement such procedures uniformly to avoid special treatment.
- A new provision creates a Billing Ordinance Working Group tasked with reviewing proposed billing ordinances before they reach the Public Works, Sanitation, and Environmental Committee.
- Working Group composition includes:
- Council leadership from Budget/Audit/Board of Review; Public Works/Sanitation/Environment; Governmental Affairs
- A member of the Louisiana House ( Orleans Parish) and a member of the Senate (Orleans Parish)
- The SWBNO executive director and SWBNO president (or designees)
- The Working Group’s findings must be part of the record for any such ordinance.
- The bill retains, and in some cases expands, the ability of the City Council to address billing issues and to implement a structured review process.
4) Rates and Public Oversight
- Present law requires rates to be fixed by the SWBNO, collected from users, with certain exemptions (city facilities, specific school board accounts).
- Rates typically require approval by the Board of Liquidation, City Debt, and the City Council; rates must be uniform across customer classes.
- The bill allows the city to adopt alternative rate approval procedures and to enact ordinances that supersede current law if enacted later.
5) Federal and Local Conflict Clarification
- The bill consistently includes language that ordinances adopted by New Orleans’ governing authorities may supersede conflicting state provisions if enacted after the original statutes.
Effective Date and Procedural Aspects
- The bill contains a standard “ordinance supersession” mechanism: later-enacted city ordinances supersede earlier statutory provisions when conflicts exist.
- If enacted, the changes would become part of the SWBNO governance framework, affecting composition, authority, rate-setting processes, and city-council oversight of billing practices.
Impact Considerations
- For SWBNO governance: potential shifts in oversight dynamics between the Mayor, SWBNO, and the City Council; enhanced city-level discretion over billing and rate-approval processes.
- For ratepayers: potential procedural changes in how rates are approved and how billing adjustments or waivers are administered.
- For financial operations: continued authorization to issue revenue bonds tied to sewer services; potential new pathways for rate-approval processes.
- For transparency and accountability: introduction of a formal Billing Ordinance Working Group to scrutinize billing-related ordinances and ensure consistent application.
Note
- The bill’s “conflict with existing law” provisions mean that, if an ordinance is enacted after the statute, the ordinance can supersede the statute. This is a key structural change guiding how local rules interact with state law.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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