The House Transportation Committee on an item-filled day moved forward a package of bills to reorganize the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and create a new office to speed delivery of state-only highway projects.

Chairman Boriak led debate on House Bill 556, saying the measure and companion bills aim to push more Transportation Trust Fund money into construction, improve project delivery and institute performance measures. "What we are attempting to do is have the budgets ... the transportation fund actually be utilized for construction projects," Chairman Boriak said during an introduction of the bill.

Why it matters: Committee members and DOTD leaders said lawmakers have long worried that trust-fund dollars intended for roads and bridges have been used for administrative and operating costs. The package seeks to (1) create an assistant secretary for project delivery and an "office of transformation" charged with key performance indicators, (2) require new data and asset-management systems, and (3) establish an Office of Louisiana Highway Construction with authority to pursue cooperative agreements and cost-sharing on non‑federal-aid state highways.

Major provisions and debate
- Project delivery and governance: HB 556 would create an assistant secretary role to lead project delivery and consolidate planning and engineering functions under that office. Chairman Boriak said the change is intended to put a "change agent" in the department to identify and remove delivery bottlenecks.

- Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) use: The bills include a timeline for removing certain personnel and operating costs from the TTF, with language setting a target date referenced in amendments as June 30, 2026. Boriak said the committee’s intent is to have staff and administrative expenditures moved off the TTF so more of the fund can go to construction projects.

- Office of Louisiana Highway Construction: House Bill 621 (substitute) would establish an office, with an executive director appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate, focused on the study, planning, design, construction and maintenance of non‑federal‑aid state highways. Boriak said the office would be able to pursue cooperative endeavor agreements and cost-sharing arrangements with local governments and private partners to accelerate projects.

- Amendments and oversight: Committee members asked for clearer staffing, procurement and civil-service details. At several points Representative Walters and Representative Phelps pushed for requiring a licensed civil engineer for the assistant secretary project‑delivery position; Boriak said he would work with staff to draft language for the floor. DOTD Secretary Joe Donahue told the committee he supports many elements but warned some provisions could raise legal issues and that detailed fiscal work remains.

Quotations
- "What we are attempting to do is have the budgets ... the transportation fund actually be utilized for construction projects," Chairman Boriak said in introducing HB 556.
- "This was at the request of the legislature to find a funding source for those costs whenever they could not find it in the general fund," DOTD Secretary Joe Donahue said when explaining how TTF payments for salaries and benefits developed historically.
- Representative Walters urged that the assistant secretary for project delivery be a licensed civil engineer: "The person is required to have a civil engineering degree."

Votes and formal actions
- Amendments: The committee took up large amendment packages for the measures (the HB 556 set was described as 90+ amendments during the hearing) and adopted sets of technical and policy changes during the session.
- HB 621 (Office of Louisiana Highway Construction substitute): The committee voted to report the substitute bill to the floor (roll-call reported in committee; substitute reported favorably).
- HB 528 (statutory reorganization aligning DOTD offices) — amendments adopted and bill reported with amendments.
- HB 428 (sunset bill) — the committee moved to extend the Department of Transportation and Development’s statutory termination date for another year as part of oversight planning.

What remains unresolved
Committee members repeatedly flagged civil-service, procurement and employee-transfer questions that were not finalized in the bills as drafted. Secretary Donahue and members asked for additional legal review to avoid constitutional problems and to confirm how any transferred duties and employees would be handled under civil-service law.

Next steps
Chairman Boriak said staff would draft clarified language for the floor and that the committee will continue oversight work, including KPI development and fiscal detail, before final votes on the House floor. DOTD officials and members signaled willingness to continue negotiations on engineer qualifications, civil-service concerns and budget impacts.

Ending
Committee leaders described the package as the first step in a broader reform effort they said is intended to accelerate construction and improve accountability. Several members urged continued hearings and written fiscal and legal details before final passage.