Committee clears a slate of highway and bridge naming bills

On April 27 the House Transportation Committee reported a cluster of naming bills favorably. Measures included designations for Interstate 49 as the Senator J. Bennett Johnston Jr. Memorial Highway (SB 24), several parish‑level highway and bridge dedications (including SB 50, SB 70, SB 104, SB 101, SB 160, SB 412, SB 418, SB 2, SB 103, SB 159 and others), and multiple memorials honoring local officials and community figures.

Charmaine Cacioppi, who said she served 21 years on Senator Johnston’s staff and now serves as executive vice president and chief operating officer for United Way of Southeast Louisiana, urged the committee to honor Johnston’s longstanding focus on a north‑south transportation corridor: "Naming Interstate 49 to honor Senator Johnson is particularly meaningful because the North‑South Highway … was one of the defining priorities of his entire public career," she said.

Most naming bills were handled as routine, with short sponsor remarks and cards in support noted for the record. The committee moved each bill and reported them favorably; where members chose to speak they offered tributes and local context. The bills will proceed to the House floor with the committee’s recommendations.

What it means: These are largely honorary designations that memorialize public figures and do not themselves create new state obligations; however, they carry symbolic importance to districts and families and occasionally coincide with signage and minor DOTD implementation costs.