Louisiana jobs, culture and lifestyle are all affected by the Louisiana coastline, which continues to recede.
“Committed to our coast” was the opening statement of the Senate Select Committee on Coastal Restoration and Flood Control.
$20 billion have been secured for coastal restoration, and the plan continues to transform as new ideas come to the table.
“But if they’re not totally sustainable, I think it’s very important that we have to respond to the needs of our communities,” Senator Dan Morrish, R-Jennings, said. 
The main question answered by this meeting was: What is the master plan for conserving Louisiana’s coast?
According to Bren Haase of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, the master plan is updated every five years, it articulates an integrated and comprehensive vision, provides a list of projects, and is resource constrained.
Despite the amount of information presented, Senator Sharon Hewitt, R-Chalmette, wanted to know about what the people are going to have to give up in order to get the highest protection results, and she advised them to invest in data collection.
“And you can measure the success that you’ve had. It makes it a lot easier in my way of thinking to be able to lobby for additional dollars,” Sen. Hewitt said. 
Over $150 billion worth of projects were considered as the master plan was developed; however, Louisiana’s inability to fund all of those projects forced the creators of the master plan to look to experts to determine which ones would best suit the state in its current needs.
Part of the decision was also handed to the public as the creators looked to the people for feedback, which lead to changes to the draft plan. 
With funding coming into the state, the planners know they must take care to ensure the money is used in a way that will benefit Louisiana the most. 
Louisiana’s coastal authority voted on the master plan Wednesday morning, and it passed unanimously. The plan will now go before the legislature, where legislators will vote on whether or not to approve the plan.