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NEW ORLEANS POLICY  |  OPINION & ANALYSIS

New Orleans Needs HB 573. Here’s Why You Should Contact Your Legislator Today.

A bill in the 2026 Louisiana Legislative Session would give New Orleans the legal authority to govern its own water and sewer system. After years of boil water advisories, billing crises, and pump failures, the city finally has a path to real accountability. But only if it passes.

By Kim M. Braud, CEO, The Couvent Collective PBC  |  Evans Cutchmore

Published March 2026  |  New Orleans

If you live in New Orleans, you already know the story. A main breaks. Water pressure drops. The boil water advisory goes out - sometimes for days. You call SWBNO and get a bill you don’t recognize. You contest it and wait. Meanwhile, no one seems to be in charge.

That accountability gap has a legal explanation, and it has a legislative fix.

House Bill 573, filed this session by Representative Nancy Landry Hilferty, would give the New Orleans City Council the authority to govern SWBNO the way a city council should be able to govern a city utility - directly, locally, and accountably. Right now, state law largely dictates how SWBNO is structured, how rates are set, and how billing disputes are handled. The City Council can pass ordinances, but the moment they conflict with state statute, state law wins. HB 573 flips that. Under the proposed law, a City Council ordinance that conflicts with state provisions would supersede state law - as long as the ordinance is newer.

That is not a minor procedural change. That is local control.

What the bill actually does

HB 573 makes three substantive changes to how SWBNO is governed:

First, it gives the New Orleans City Council the authority to pass ordinances that override existing state law on board composition, officer selection, and board powers. If the Council determines the board needs to be structured differently to serve the city better, they can do that without waiting on the legislature in Baton Rouge to agree.

Second, it gives the Council the power to establish alternative rate approval procedures. Currently, rate changes must clear a process rooted in state statute. Under HB 573, the Council could establish a process more directly accountable to the ratepayers it represents - the residents and businesses of New Orleans.

Third, it streamlines the billing oversight working group by removing the requirement for state legislative members to sit on it. Billing policy for a New Orleans utility would be handled by New Orleans officials, not Baton Rouge ones.

Why this matters right now

Governor Landry’s own SWBNO Task Force, convened in 2024, identified fractured governance as one of the central problems with the utility. The task force found that SWBNO answers to the Mayor, the City Council, and the Legislature - but functionally answers to none of them. The result is a system where responsibility is diffuse, accountability is minimal, and residents pay the price.

HB 573 is a direct response to that diagnosis. It does not abolish state oversight. It does not hand the keys to any single official. It gives the city’s elected body - the Council, the people you vote for - the legal tools to actually govern this utility. When something goes wrong, you will know exactly who to hold accountable.

New Orleans has experienced multiple citywide boil water advisories in the past two years alone. The billing crisis has squeezed households and driven businesses out. The infrastructure is aging and underfunded. None of that gets fixed by a governance structure that diffuses responsibility across three levels of government. It gets fixed when one accountable body has the authority and the mandate to act.

What you can do right now

HB 573 needs support. Bills like this do not pass on merit alone - they pass when constituents make clear that they are watching and that they care.

Find your legislator and contact them today. You can find your state representative and state senator using the Louisiana Legislature’s district finder at legis.la.gov/legis/FindMyLegislators.aspx. Enter your address, and it will show you exactly who represents you in both chambers.

When you reach out, keep it simple. Tell them you support HB 573 by Rep. Hilferty. Tell them New Orleans residents deserve a water and sewer board that is accountable to the city it serves. Tell them you are watching this session.

You do not need to be a policy expert. You do not need to cite the statute. You just need to show up - and right now, showing up means a phone call, an email, or a visit to a district office.

The bigger picture

Every session, bills that would make a real difference for New Orleans residents move through the legislature quietly, without public pressure, and die in committee or on the floor because no one outside the Capitol was paying attention.

HB 573 deserves better than that. It is grounded in the recommendations of a task force the Governor himself convened. It is sponsored by a legislator who understands the governance problem firsthand. And it would give New Orleans something it has not had in a long time: a clear line of accountability between the people who run the water system and the people who use it.

The 2026 session runs through June 1. There is still time. But only if you act.

HOW TO CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR

Find your representative: legis.la.gov/legis/FindMyLegislators.aspx

Reference: HB 573 by Rep. Hilferty - Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans

Your ask: “I support HB 573 and urge you to vote yes. New Orleans residents deserve local accountability over their water system.”

Kim M. Braud is CEO of The Couvent Collective PBC, a public benefit corporation. This piece represents her analysis and opinion as a New Orleans-based strategist and community advocate.

Evans Cutchmore  |  publisher@evanscutchmore.com  |  evanscutchmore.com