Overview

Title

An Act To expand the boundaries of the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area to include Lafourche Parish, Louisiana.

ELI5 AI

The bill wants to make a special area in Louisiana bigger by adding a place called Lafourche Parish, which means 15 areas will be part of it instead of 14. This helps protect and celebrate the cool things about these places, like nature and culture.

Summary AI

H. R. 6843 aims to expand the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area by including Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, in its boundaries. It amends the existing Atchafalaya National Heritage Area Act by updating the list of included parishes and changing the number of areas covered from 14 to 15. The bill has passed the House of Representatives and is currently being reviewed by the Senate.

Published

2024-12-04
Congress: 118
Session: 2
Chamber: SENATE
Status: Received in Senate
Date: 2024-12-04
Package ID: BILLS-118hr6843rds

Keywords AI

atchafalaya national heritage area lafourche parish boundary expansion h. r. 6843 118th congress geographic amendments heritage area legislation senate review ascension parish environmental impact

Sources

Bill Statistics

Size

Sections:
1
Words:
159
Pages:
2
Sentences:
5

Language

Nouns: 52
Verbs: 11
Adjectives: 1
Adverbs: 0
Numbers: 12
Entities: 23

Complexity

Average Token Length:
4.04
Average Sentence Length:
31.80
Token Entropy:
4.14
Readability (ARI):
16.48

AnalysisAI

Overview of the Bill

The proposed legislation, known as H.R. 6843, aims to modify the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area's boundaries. Specifically, it seeks to incorporate Lafourche Parish into this federally recognized area, alongside the already included Ascension Parish. This means that the geographical scope of the heritage area would be expanded by one parish. Additionally, the bill amends a numeric value within the legal text, changing a particular reference from "14" to "15," likely to reflect the increase in the number of included regions.

Key Issues

One major issue with the bill is its use of technical and legal language, which may hamper understanding by the general public. The amendments referenced in the bill are specific and legalistic, involving adjustments to existing legislation. However, the bill does not provide context or explain the reasons behind these changes. This lack of clarity can prevent readers from grasping why Lafourche Parish's inclusion is necessary or beneficial.

Another issue is tied to the bill's numeric changes, altering references from "14" to "15." While this likely corresponds to the addition of Lafourche Parish, the bill does not explain the significance of this number, nor does it provide details on how this adjustment affects the overall management or oversight of the heritage area.

Potential Public Impact

Expanding the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area to include Lafourche Parish may have broad implications for tourism and local economies. The designation as a National Heritage Area can help to attract visitors interested in the area's natural, historical, and cultural attractions. This, in turn, could boost local businesses and create job opportunities within the parish.

However, without additional information regarding the specific impacts of such an expansion, it's challenging to assess how the change might alter federal funding allocations or management strategies within the heritage area. Increased oversight and integration into national tourism efforts could lead to more investment in infrastructure and conservation projects, which might positively affect the environment and community resources.

Stakeholder Implications

For local stakeholders, such as residents and business owners in Lafourche Parish, the amendment could have positive economic outcomes. The inclusion in the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area might increase visibility and brand recognition, drawing more tourists and potentially leading to increased revenue for local enterprises.

Conversely, there may also be concerns about the environmental impact of increased foot traffic and tourism, which could strain local resources and affect natural habitats. Stakeholders such as conservation groups might call for careful planning and sustainable management practices to ensure that expansion does not lead to negative ecological consequences.

Overall, while the bill has the potential to bring economic benefits and enhance the region's recognition, the lack of detailed explanation in the bill complicates efforts to predict its full range of impacts. Stakeholders would benefit from clarifications on these matters to make informed decisions and prepare adequately for potential changes.

Issues

  • The language in Section 1 is technical, referring to specific legal amendments without providing context or explanation, making it challenging for the general public to understand the necessity and implications of the expansion.

  • Section 1 involves amendments to numeric values relating to geographic boundaries, specifically changing the list of parishes from 'Ascension Parish' to 'Ascension, and Lafourche Parish' and altering subsection (c)(2) from '14' to '15', but lacks an explanation for these specific changes.

  • There is no information in Section 1 about the potential impacts, positive or negative, of expanding the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area to include Lafourche Parish, leaving stakeholders without clarity on environmental, economic, or cultural consequences.

Sections

Sections are presented as they are annotated in the original legislative text. Any missing headers, numbers, or non-consecutive order is due to the original text.

1. Atchafalaya National Heritage Area expansion Read Opens in new tab

Summary AI

The Atchafalaya National Heritage Area Act was amended to expand its coverage by adding Lafourche Parish to the list of regions included, and to increase the number in a specific subsection from 14 to 15.