BATON ROUGE — Southwest Louisiana House lawmakers were nearly split on legislation approved Tuesday that would set up limits for students who receive awards from the TOPS scholarship program.

The House voted 65-33 in favor of Senate Bill 48, by Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville. It would require the Legislature to approve any increase in TOPS awards for the 2015-2016 school year. Right now, TOPS increases automatically as tuition rises.

House Speaker Chuck Kleckley, R-Lake Charles, James Armes, D-Leesville, A.B. Franklin, D-Lake Charles, and Frank Howard, R-Many, supported the measure.

Reps. Mike Danahay, D-Sulphur, Brett Geymann, R-Moss Bluff, John Guinn, R-Jennings, Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville, and Dorothy Sue Hill, D-Dry Creek, opposed it. Geymann said he opposed the legislation because capping TOPS while fees go up “is a burden to students and parents.” He said that if the Legislature placed a cap on TOPS, he would want to see some structural changes in the state’s obligation to higher education and “budgeting in general.”

The bill was approved with an amendment that was largely technical, sending it back to the Senate for concurrence. The Senate approved the measure with a 27-9 vote April 29.

Gov. Bobby Jindal has voiced strong opposition to Donahue’s measure, saying it would cap TOPS. Students can earn TOPS if they have a 2.5 grade point average and a score of 20 on the ACT.

Rep. Joe Harrison, R-Gray, proposed an amendment that sought to have students pay back their TOPS award if they didn’t have a full semester class load of 12 credit hours. But he withdrew it after receiving resistance from House lawmakers.

House members also voted 77-17 in favor a measure that would allow a Calcasieu Parish police juror to continue serving on the panel and work at a local casino.

Senate Bill 131 by Sen. Ronnie Johns, R-Sulphur, clarifies legislation approved in 2004 that allowed District 9 Police Juror Kevin Guidry to serve in public office. Guidry was first elected to the Police Jury in September 2004 and is serving his third term.

At the time Guidry was elected, the state Board of Ethics said there was a conflict of interest because of his Isle of Capri Casino job, which was not gambling related. A measure by former Sen. Willie Mount allowed him to serve in public office and work at the casino.

Guidry went to work for L’Auberge Casino Resort in 2010. Johns said during a House committee hearing that Guidry’s job at L’Auberge was the same as the one at the Isle. But the ethics board said the legislation approved in 2004 was not relevant to moving to another employer.

All Southwest Louisiana House lawmakers voted in favor of Johns’ bill. The measure goes back to the Senate for concurrence. The Senate approved the measure with a 33-1 vote May 11.

(MGNonline)