BATON ROUGE, La. – Mr. Edmond J. Preau, Jr., Assistant Secretary, Public Works, Hurricane Flood Protection and Intermodal Transportation announced today that the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development in conjunction with the Association of Levee Boards of Louisiana will conduct the 22nd Annual Workshop Conference for the Levee Board Commissioners and Staff in accordance with R.S. 38:330.2(I)(1) at the Holiday Inn Select Hotel in Baton Rouge, May 3-4, 2007.

In 1985 the State Legislature enacted legislation that required the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to provide training for all Levee Board Commissioners, Police Officers, and Inspectors.  The training sessions have included subjects that are directly related to the Levee Board responsibilities.  They are Ethics, Public Bid Laws, Open meeting laws, Purchasing, By-Laws, Safety, Civil Service rules and regulations, Equal Opportunity Laws, Retirement, Hospitalization, Weather Services, Floodplain Management, Family Leave Act, etc. These subjects are repeated as necessary when laws are changed or revised and for newly appointed commissioners. 

Separate sessions are held for the Levee Board Attorneys.  The workshop is approved by the Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board for Professional Engineering Credit.  The sessions for the Lawyers are also approved by the State Bar Association for Continuing Education Credit

This year’s workshop will include reports from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as to the status of their projects in Louisiana.  Other sessions will include subjects on Ethics, Safety, Coastal Issues, Public Records and Open Meetings Laws plus panel discussions on Emergency Operations and Operation and Maintenance.

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