All Along The Levee

Louisiana's legislature is considering a move to consolidate the levee boards. On it's face, this seems like an idea that is long overdue. Previously, there were multiple levee boards that often fought for resources and corruption and graft were rife.

The consolidation of the individual boards into a single entity would eliminate some of the corruption and graft, but multiple problems remain. NOLA.com seems to think that Gov. Blanco's idea of a statewide levee board would somehow increase the amount of bureaucracy more than a regional board. I'm not quite convinced that would be the case. And yes, that's correct - I haven't dismissed an idea proferred by Gov. Blanco, despite her hold on the title of Worst. Governor. Ever. Even a broken clock strikes the right time twice a day.

Solomon's House notes the more practical problems with the current bill:

it seems premature to do so before the levee failure investigation is complete - immediate reorganization may even impede it. Most annoyingly, the bill rules out the appointment of any out-of-state carpetbaggers to the commission. This two-year residence rule seems tailor-made to exclude most of the personnel on the investigating teams analyzing the levee failures.

Actually, according to proposed Section 306.1, there's a 10 year residency requirement, not just a 2-year residency rule:

E. Qualification of commissioners. Any person appointed as a commissioner shall:
1) Have resided in this state the preceding ten years, at a minimum.
2) Have resided in the respective levee district the preceding ten years to which he is appointed, at a minimum.
3) Be a qualified voter of the parish included in the district to which he is appointed.
4) Reside in the district while serving as a commissioner.
5) Have a minimum of a bachelor's degree from a college or university that was, at the time the degree was granted, accredited by a regional or national higher education accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.

This is even more restrictive than what Solomon's House noted. This provision will not improve the situation since it limits the number of people qualified to serve on the levee board to many of the same people involved in the decision making that led to the problematic levee situation in the first place.

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