A bill to abolish the West Feliciana Parish Port Commission advanced through a House committee on Tuesday, May 6.
The move to delete the panel has been championed by Parish President Kenny Havard.
The House Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works recommended House Bill 94 for consideration by the full House without objection. The bill was authored by Rep. Jeremy LaCombe and Sen. Glen Womack, who represent West Feliciana Parish.
The Port Commission has been inactive for a number of years, although some members, including some appointed last year, have attempted to revive it to consider projects on the Mississippi River.
Havard has clashed with Lauren Field and other commission members in recent months over the proposal to abolish the commission, which is a subdivision of the state.
The port board voted in 2023 to ask the Legislature to abolish the commission, but Field and several other members have attempted to reverse that vote.
However, no one appeared at the hearing to protest the bill’s passage.
Havard and commission members Paul Lambert and Andrew Grezaffi were on hand to speak in favor of the bill during the committee hearing, but only one representative posed a question about the reason for abolishing the agency.
LaCombe told Rep. Joy Walters the bill was proposed because the commission had asked for it, and Walters had no further questions.
If approved by the full House and Senate, the authority for port activities on the river would revert to the West Feliciana Parish government.
