Louisiana Economic Development to undergo major restructure under new law
The department will work with a new advisory committee to develop a long-range economic development plan. The Louisiana Department of Economic Development (LED) is undergoing major changes under a new law signed by Gov. Jeff Landry, which includes the elimination of two top department positions and establishment of an advisory committee charged with developing a long-term economic development plan for Louisiana. The agency, now named Louisiana Economic Development, will also be restructured to operate at the speed of business rather than government. The new law also allows the department to institute its own information technology and procurement processes. New executive positions include Paige Carter, Ileana Ledet, Joshua Fleig, and Paige Carter. The changes allow for the agency to better attract new business and support businesses already invested in the state. The law also includes changes to appointments to the board of directors of the Louisiana Electric Development Corporation, allowing the governor to select individuals with certain qualifications such as startups, regional economic development, or community or commercial banking.
Published : 10 months ago by Alyse Pfeil in Politics
The Louisiana Department of Economic Development is getting a makeover after Gov. Jeff Landry on Tuesday signed into law a measure that makes major changes to the state’s economic development arm. The legislation eliminates two top department posts, establishes an advisory committee charged with developing a long-term economic development plan for Louisiana, directs the department to seek federal and private grants, loosens the parameters for Louisiana Economic Development Corporation board member appointments, and authorizes the department to institute its own information technology and procurement processes. "(It) modernizes the organizational structure of Louisiana Economic Development so it can better attract new business and more effectively support the businesses already invested in our state," according to a department news release.
The agency, which now has the formal title Louisiana Economic Development, is nixing the positions of undersecretary and assistant secretary. At the bill-signing event, LED Secretary Susan Bourgeois also revealed who is stepping into newly created executive-level positions within the agency: Paige Carter will be chief business development officer; Ileana Ledet will serve as chief economic competitiveness officer; and Joshua Fleig will be chief information officer. The changes allow for “a way to position the leadership of the department to react to the opportunities before us,” Bourgeois told The Advocate. Landry appointed Bourgeois to the top post at LED in January. She previously served as Greater New Orleans Inc. board chair for one year and president and CEO of the Covington-based Northshore Community Foundation for 16 years.
Bourgeois also formally announced her full executive team saying, “In the words of my dear friend and highly respected economic developer Michael Hecht, ‘That’s a team I’d go to war with.’ And, governor, we’re going to war. We are going to win for Louisiana.” The legislation signed on Tuesday, Senate Bill 494, includes a slew of changes. "It restructures LED to operate at the speed of business as opposed to the speed of government," said Rep. Daryl Deshotel, R-Marksville, who carried the bill during the legislative session. The new advisory committee, called Louisiana Economic Development Partnership, will “advise the department on matters relating to economic development policies, strategies, programs, and initiatives to promote economic growth in the state.”
The 11-member committee consists of nine governor appointees — one from each economic development region and one at-large member — along with two appointees from the House speaker and Senate president. The department is looking for committee nominations, and the governor will make appointments “in the coming weeks,” Bourgeois said. She added that her goal is to hold the first partnership board meeting in July. The duties of the LED secretary will expand under the new law. The secretary must work with the advisory committee to “develop a comprehensive strategic plan and long-range economic development plan.” “We are asking our regional economic development organizations to drive (the plan). This will not be a Baton Rouge-down conversation,” Bourgeois said.
The secretary will also have to “develop and implement a plan to actively seek federal, private, and other grants” to advance economic growth. How appointments are made to the 10-member board of directors of the Louisiana Economic Development Corporation, which administers state financial assistance programs, is also changing. The governor will now be able to handpick any private sector individual with certain qualifications, such as experience with startups, regional economic development, or community or commercial banking. Previously, the governor was required by law to select board members from slates of candidates put forward by Louisiana AFL-CIO, Louisiana Retailers Association, Louisiana Bankers Association, Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants and Louisiana Workforce Investment Council Board.
“It cleans things up,” Bourgeois said. “(The statute) names organizations that might have been relevant to the state’s economy 12 or 15 years ago that might not be now, and there was really no reason to have specific nominating organizations delineated in the statute.” In addition, LED will be cut loose from the processes other state agencies are required to follow for IT and procurement. The department will set up its own rules, which will be subject to approval by legislative committees and the state’s commissioner of administration. The Committee of 100 for Economic Development, a coalition of Louisiana business leaders, was the key architect of the changes to LED. "There's no more urgent time than now to fix our economic development challenge," said Adam Knapp, CEO of Committee of 100.
Knapp told The Advocate the business roundtable hired two firms — McGuireWoods and Ernst & Young — to help craft the changes, which came together over the course of roughly two months early this year. That team studied in-depth economic development in five states: Georgia, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. “The bill is really pulling elements out of a lot of those different state statutes,” Knapp said. Landry asked the Committee of 100 in January to spearhead the legislative effort. “They gave us a game plan, and then that game plan, that report, became Senate Bill 494,” Landry said. “I know that some in the media like to criticize me for moving too fast, but I can tell you I move too fast because there’s folks like the Committee of 100 and others that are pushing us,” Landry said.