ACECL's 'Bottom Line' Priorities for 2026-2027

Earlier this month, ACEC Louisiana’s Board of Governors and committee chairs gathered for our annual Priority Planning Board Retreat, one of the most important working meetings we hold each year. The purpose of Priority Planning is pretty simple: determine where we are going to spend our time, energy and resources over the next nine months.

In advance of the retreat, each committee was tasked with developing a set of goals and objectives for the coming year. Those recommendations were then presented to the Board for discussion, refinement and, ultimately, approval. Just as importantly, we challenged our committees to look at their priorities through a business-first lens. Our mission is to represent the business of engineering, and our work should ultimately help our member firms increase revenue, decrease expenses, improve the business environment, or remove unnecessary obstacles to doing business in Louisiana.

Following a productive discussion, the Board approved an ambitious but focused work plan for the year ahead.

Legislative Committee

The Legislative Committee will head into the 2027 Regular Session with two major legislative initiatives. The first will seek to reform the administration of non-state capital outlay projects by limiting the Division of Administration and Office of Facility Planning and Control to a financial-administration role. The second will address contractual duty-to-defend provisions by clarifying that the duty is not triggered until liability has actually been established. The committee will also work with the ACECL State PAC Board of Trustees on a strategic legislative contribution plan and prepare ACECL positions ahead of and during the legislative session.

Transportation Committee

Transportation continues to be one of ACECL’s busiest policy areas. The committee will continue our partnership with LADOTD, the Office of Louisiana Highway Construction and the Legislature on implementation of the T4LA initiatives, including accelerated project delivery and competitive procurement. A major focus this year will also be improving consultant invoice processing and working with LADOTD to establish a fair and consistent policy for reimbursement of direct expenses, particularly for CE&I services.

Facilities Committee

Our Facilities Committee will continue its push for fair and equitable compensation for firms performing state work. That includes advocating for increases to the Facility Planning and Control State Fee Curve, comparing Louisiana's compensation structure with neighboring states and providing data to support necessary adjustments.

The committee will also work closely with the State Fire Marshal on implementation and enforcement of recent changes involving incidental engineering and professional scope-of-practice laws. Additionally, the committee will continue pursuing reforms to FP&C's administration of non-state projects, with an emphasis on eliminating unnecessary review, reducing bottlenecks and making project delivery more efficient and predictable.

Water Resources Committee

Louisiana’s water resources market continues to represent an enormous opportunity for our member firms, and the Water Resources Committee will remain focused on protecting and expanding that work. Priorities include advocating for sustainable federal, state and local funding for stormwater infrastructure, flood-risk reduction and restoration projects while protecting the investments already made through the Louisiana Watershed Initiative.

The committee will also continue building relationships with DOTD, DC&E, OCD and CPRA to advance water resources, permitting, mitigation, disaster recovery and coastal programs. Recognizing that we cannot deliver these projects without people, the committee has also made growing and retaining Louisiana’s engineering workforce a priority for the coming year.

Time to Get to Work

Priority Planning isn't about producing another document that sits on a shelf. These are the priorities our Board has charged our staff and committee leadership with accomplishing over the next ten months.

Some are legislative. Some require changing agency policies or long-standing practices. Others are about strengthening relationships and creating a better dialogue between our member firms and our public-sector partners. But they all come back to the same question: Does this make it easier and more profitable to do business as an engineering firm in Louisiana? That is the filter we intend to keep applying.

We have an aggressive agenda ahead of us, and we won't accomplish it through staff or committee leadership alone. We need our members engaged, bringing us problems, sharing real-world examples, providing data and, most importantly, helping us develop solutions. The priorities are set. Now it's time to get to work.