Louisiana Revised Statutes 49:214.3.1 – Governor’s Executive Assistant for Coastal Activities
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 49:214.3.1
- Authority: means the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 49:214.2
- Board: means the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 49:214.2
- Coastal area: means the Louisiana Coastal Zone and contiguous areas subject to storm or tidal surge and the area comprising the Louisiana Coastal Ecosystem as defined in Section 7001 of P. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 49:214.2
- Conservation and restoration: means the conservation, protection, enhancement, and restoration of coastal resources including but not limited to coastal wetlands, marshes, cheniers, ridges, coastal forests, and barrier islands, shorelines, coastal passes, or reefs through the construction and management of coastal resources enhancement projects, including privately funded marsh management projects or plans, and those activities requiring a coastal use permit which significantly affect such projects or which significantly diminish the benefits of such projects or plans insofar as they are intended to conserve or enhance coastal resources consistent with the legislative intent as expressed in Louisiana Revised Statutes 49:214.2
- Executive assistant: means the special assistant to the governor for coordination of coastal activities as delineated in Louisiana Revised Statutes 49:214.2
- Fund: means the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 49:214.2
- Hurricane protection: means systems to provide protection against tidal and storm surges. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 49:214.2
- Infrastructure: means facilities or systems in the coastal area that are negatively impacted by coastal land loss or rising seas, and that serve a critical public purpose and are consistent with the priorities stated in the master plan and the eligible uses of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 49:214.2
- Integrated coastal protection: means plans, projects, policies, and programs intended to provide hurricane protection or coastal conservation or restoration, and shall include but not be limited to coastal restoration; coastal protection; infrastructure; storm damage reduction; flood control; water resources development; erosion control measures; marsh management; diversions; saltwater intrusion prevention; wetlands and central wetlands conservation, enhancement, and restoration; barrier island and shoreline stabilization and preservation; coastal passes stabilization and restoration; mitigation; storm surge reduction; or beneficial use projects. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 49:214.2
- Wetlands: means an open water area or an area that is inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, but specifically excluding fastlands and lands more than five feet above mean sea level which occur within the designated coastal area of the state. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 49:214.2
A. The executive assistant
(1) The executive assistant shall be appointed by the governor, subject to Senate confirmation, and shall serve at the governor’s pleasure. He shall report directly to the governor.
(2) The governor, through the executive assistant, consistent with the legislative intent as expressed in La. Rev. Stat. 49:214.1, shall coordinate the powers, duties, functions, and responsibilities of any state agency relative to integrated coastal protection.
(3) The executive assistant shall employ necessary staff to carry out the duties and functions provided in this Part or as otherwise provided by law and may seek and utilize the assistance of personnel of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority or any state department or agency to carry out his duties, functions, and responsibilities as provided in this Part or otherwise provided by law. He shall manage his personnel as provided by law and shall manage his budget, office, and related functions as provided by law.
(4) Repealed by Acts 2012, No. 604, §5, eff. June 7, 2012.
B. Functions and responsibilities
(1) The governor, through the executive assistant, shall:
(a) Coordinate all state departmental budget requests for programs and projects pertaining to integrated coastal protection as well as all requests for funds to be appropriated from the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund.
(b) Coordinate and focus the functions of all state agencies as they relate to integrated coastal protection, including infrastructure, hurricane protection and wetlands conservation and restoration, and mitigation projects related to wetlands in the coastal area.
(c) Review and reconcile state agency comments on federally sponsored integrated coastal protection, including infrastructure, hurricane protection, water resource development projects or permitted conservation and restoration activities to establish and present the official state position which shall be consistent with the policies of the authority.
(d) Represent the policy and consensus viewpoint of the state at the federal, regional, state, and local levels with respect to integrated coastal protection, including infrastructure, hurricane protection and wetlands conservation and restoration, and mitigation projects related to wetlands in the coastal area.
(e) Appraise the adequacy of statutory and administrative mechanisms for coordinating the state’s policies and programs at both the intrastate and interstate levels with respect to integrated coastal protection, including infrastructure, hurricane protection and wetlands conservation and restoration, and mitigation projects related to wetlands in the coastal area.
(f) Appraise the adequacy of federal, regional, state, and local programs to achieve the policies and meet the goals of the state with respect to integrated coastal protection, including infrastructure, hurricane protection and wetlands conservation and restoration.
(g) Oversee and coordinate federal and state-funded research related to integrated coastal protection, including coastal land loss and subsidence, and the effects of storm surge.
(h) Coordinate and focus federal involvement in Louisiana with respect to integrated coastal protection, including infrastructure, hurricane protection and coastal wetlands conservation and restoration.
(i) Provide the official state recommendations to the legislature and congress with respect to policies, programs, and coordinating mechanisms relative to integrated coastal protection, including infrastructure, hurricane protection and wetlands conservation and restoration, or wetlands loss and storm surge research.
(j) Monitor and seek available federal and private funds consistent with the purposes of this Part.
(k) Take such other actions not inconsistent with law as are necessary to perform the duties, functions, and responsibilities of the executive assistant.
(2) The governor, through the executive assistant, may, in an effort to advance the plan or purposes of this Part, within any department, agency, board, or commission:
(a) Review and modify policies, procedures, or programs not established or approved by the legislature or pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act that may affect the design, construction, operation, management, and monitoring and more particularly to require expeditious permitting of integrated coastal protection projects or expenditures from the fund.
(b) Review and request modifications of state departmental policies, procedures, programs, rules, and regulations that are established by law or pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act that may affect the design, construction, operation, management, and monitoring of integrated coastal protection projects or expenditures from the fund. Such rule changes shall be initiated by the appropriate department.
(c) Appoint advisory panels.
(d) Review and modify proposed coastal use permits prior to issuance to the extent that such permits would authorize activities which significantly affect integrated coastal protection projects or which significantly diminish the benefits of projects intended to protect, conserve or enhance coastal areas and to require the issuance of permits for public or private integrated coastal protection projects or plans.
Acts 2009, No. 523, §3, eff. July 10, 2009; Acts 2012, No. 604, §§3, 5, eff. June 7, 2012.