Regular session was a win for Iberia Parish, legislators say

Published 4:30 am Sunday, July 17, 2022

Every state legislator for Iberia Parish seemed to agree about one thing, Iberia Parish had many successes during this year’s legislative session.

Sitting at the front of the Magnolia Square event center Thursday morning, State Reps. Beau Beaullieu, Blake Miguez and Marcus Bryant along with State Sen. Brett Allain all testified to the tangible results of this year’s session that will lead to Iberia Parish getting millions of dollars in state money for a variety of infrastructure.

“There’s been more fighting for our population than anywhere else in the state,” Bryant said.

The speakers were present for the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce’s Eggs and Issues recap of the legislative session, with local public officials and business leaders heading to the event center early Thursday morning to get the perspective of the Iberia delegation.

Several of the representatives agreed that the reason for the success largely had to do with the amount of responsibility given to Acadiana legislators during this year. Alllain served as chairman for the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee while State Rep. Stuart Bishop, R-Lafayette, served on the Capital Outlay Committee.

“Both are from Jeanerette so it’s no wonder Iberia Parish did so well,” Beaullieu said with a laugh.

With the large amount of federal dollars floating through the Louisiana economy, Miguez said the possibility to focus on years of overlooked infrastructure finally became a possibility during this year’s session.

“The legislature and governor’s office had something we could agree on, to use this one-time money to invest in infrastructure and paying down our debt,” Miguez said. “We did a lot of great things.

A few of those projects for Iberia Parish included the Acadiana Gulf Of Mexico Access Channel, an $84 million project that has been approved for $58 million in state funding as a result of the delegation.

Upgrades to local law enforcement equipment in the amount of $400,00, $100,000 to design a new city hall for the village of Loreauville, $1.4 million in upgrades to Iberia Sewerage District No. 1, funding to design an evacuation center in Iberia Parish, funding for a new crime laboratory in Iberia Parish and millions of dollars for infrastructure improvement at the Acadiana Regional Airport were some of the bills that moved forward during the session.

“About 100 percent of al ofl our mayors and parish presidents were met in some form or fashion,” Bryant said. “Those were all things we were fighting for and it’s very easy when you have the voices in place to get them signed.”