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AT THE CAPITOL

"At the Capitol" provides you with in-depth news on lawmakers and legislation from the Louisiana State Capitol. Entries in this blog are selected news stories from the staff of the American Press.

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• Jim Beam's Politics and People Blog
• Contacting Your SW La. Lawmakers

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Commissions study government

Posted July 8, 2009 at 3:23 pm
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BATON ROUGE (AP) — Faced with years of projected budget deficits, Louisiana’s lawmakers in the just-ended legislative session created two sweeping commissions to consider how best to restructure government operations and trim spending.

The panels — one to look at state government agencies and the other to review public colleges — have tight timelines for getting started and pulling together recommendations, under the bills sent to Gov. Bobby Jindal, who supported them.

Supporters of the commissions said they would provide guidance to create efficiencies and ratchet down spending as the state’s budget woes are expected to worsen in the next three years.

Critics noted Louisiana governors have convened streamlining commissions under various names over the past few decades, but the recommendations often hit political roadblocks that stymied attempts to shrink government bureaucracy.

“These commissions likely are mechanisms to provide political cover for ideas and recommendations that have already been developed but would be too controversial for the current players to propose,” the nonpartisan Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana said.

Jindal proposed the Commission on Streamlining Government to suggest ways to revamp state agencies to save money, like consolidating offices, doing away with some entirely and paying private contractors rather than government employees for certain work.

As approved by lawmakers, the 10-member panel must hold its fist meeting by July 30 and pull together an initial report with recommendations by Dec. 15. The joint House and Senate governmental affairs committees will consider the proposals by Feb. 1 and any restructuring would go before lawmakers in the 2010 regular session.

The commission is packed with government insiders: the governor’s top budget adviser Angele Davis, state Treasurer John Kennedy, the House speaker, the Senate president and two legislative budget committee chairmen. The four other appointees include three from “private enterprise,” picked by Jindal and the House speaker, and a Senate appointee chosen from AFL/CIO nominees.

Sen. Jack Donahue, RCovington, who sponsored the bill creating the panel, said he was committed to ensuring its report doesn’t sit on a shelf with the reports of past similar groups.

“We don’t need another commission that’s not going to do anything,” he said.

Meanwhile, a nine-member higher education review commission must meet by Aug. 15 and must report to lawmakers 45 days before the regular session begins in March 2010. The panel, created in a bill by House Speaker Jim Tucker, includes lawmakers, Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education Sally Clausen and national education experts.

The higher education landscape is a tricky one, with four public university systems run independently of each other. Louisiana has several examples of four-year colleges within only miles of each other, and government watchdog groups have suggested some of the campuses should be considered for consolidation or downsizing, suggestions that have prompted fierce opposition from the communities where the campuses are housed.

Jindal signs bills

Posted June 28, 2009 at 1:42 pm
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BATON ROUGE — Gov. Bobby Jindal announced Friday that he signed 22 bills passed by the legislature into law and on Thursday signed 26 bills into law, bringing the total to 151 bills signed into law to date. He also announced bills which became law without his signature in accordance with the 10-day rule following bill passage by the legislature. The following bills were signed into law Friday:

SB 146 – Sen. Ann Duplessis

This bill strengthens our state’s charter school laws to promote quality, facilitate community-led school conversions, and promote community partnerships. This is a Governor’s Package Bill.

HB 44 – Rep. Juan LaFonta

This bill creates the crime of discharging a firearm at a parade or demonstration.

HB 50 – Rep. Simone Champagne

This bill prohibits workrelease facilities from locating within 1,000 feet of elementary or secondary schools and day care centers.

HB 58 – Rep. Billy R. Chandler

This bill amends the criminal penalty for the disposal of movable property with fraudulent or malicious intent.

HB 69 – Rep. Joseph Lopinto

This bill adds certain drugs to Schedule I classification.

HB 82 – Rep. Robert E. Billiot

This bill defines a firearm for purposes of the crime of illegally carrying or possession of a firearm by certain convicted felons.

HB 132 – Rep. Brett Geymann

This bill amends provisions of law regarding second-degree murder.

HB 147 – Rep. Juan LaFonta

This bill provides criminal penalties for certain actions committed by an unlicensed contractor.

HB 157 – Rep. Austin Badon Jr.

This bill adds definitions applicable to the crime of false personation of a peace officer.

HB 221 – Rep. Thibaut

This bill provides for the maintenance of juvenile fingerprints.

HB 225 – Rep. Major Neil Lopinto

This bill amends provisions authorizing courts to sentence a defendant to home incarceration.

HB 312 – Rep. Neil Abramson

This bill adds an additional crime that would prohibit certain felons from possessing firearms.

HB 353 – Rep. Nickie Monica

This bill increases the contract limit for public works projects undertaken by the public entity’s own employees.

HB 368 – Rep. Roy Burrell

This bill relates to tobacco and tobacco products sold from self-service displays.

HB 372 – Rep. Nickie Monica

This bill requires a 10-year lithium battery smoke detector in certain residential dwellings.

HB 391 – Rep. Richard Gallot Jr.

This bill provides for procedures when probation and parole fees are not timely paid.

HB 399 Rep. Brett Geymann

This bill makes Soma a controlled dangerous substance.

HB 499 – Rep. Nickie Monica

This bill requires all passengers in a vehicle to wear a seat belt.

HB 559 – Rep. J.H. Smith

This bill provides for veteran and service-connected disabled veteran-owned entrepreneurships.

HB 707 – Rep. R. Jones

This bill amends provisions of law regarding the intensive incarceration program.

HB 710 – Rep. Gregory Ernst

This bill provides for various changes to laws governing the administration of the Military Department.

HB 894 – Rep. Karen Peterson

This bill creates a pilot program for juveniles based upon a functional family therapy model of intervention. The following bills were signed into law on Thursday:

HB 55 – Rep. Juan LaFonta

This bill prohibits installation of car amplification systems on the exterior of a vehicle chassis.

HB 148 – Rep. Charmaine Stiaes

This bill consolidates the offices of the criminal sheriff and the civil sheriff of Orleans Parish in 2010.

HB 159 – Rep. H. Burns

This bill creates the option of obtaining a one-year drilling permit.

HB 160 – Rep. Mike Danahay

This bill authorizes the mayor of DeQuincy to appoint an attorney to preside over the mayor’s court and also provides for the Village of Ida to have a mayor’s court.

HB 168 – Rep. Mickey Guillory

This bill provides relative to the definition of local housing authorities.

HB 207 – Rep. H. Bernard LeBas

This bill authorizes the state Board of Pharmacy to exempt certain dispensers from the prescription monitoring program.

HB 228 – Rep. Karen St. Germain

This bill provides for changes to the powers and duties of the state fire marshal.

HB 233 – Rep. Richard Gallot Jr.

This bill moves the state Seafood Marketing and Promotion Board from under the office of the secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to the office of fisheries.

HB 282 – Rep. Simone Champagne

This bill makes the early intervention pilot program in the parishes of Iberia, St. Mary, and St. Martin permanent.

HB 309 – Rep. Richard Gallot Jr.

This bill divides the second district in the Second Circuit Court of Appeal into two election sections.

HB 333 – Rep. Chuck Kleckley

This bill lessens the impact on a policyholder when multiple storms cause damage to property during a single storm season by allowing for a single-storm deductible when a policy includes a separate named-storm, hurricane or wind and hail deductible. This is a Governor’s Package Bill.

HB 359 – Rep. Joseph Lopinto

This bill provides for the payment of group health insurance premiums out of the district attorney’s general fund.

HB 334 – Rep. Greg Cromer

This bill authorizes the sale of certain state land to the St. Tammany Parish School Board.

HB 408 – Rep. Andy Anders

This bill revises the duties and powers of forestry officers.

HB 442 – Rep. M.J. Smiley Jr.

This bill transfers the Motorcycle Safety, Awareness, and Operator Training Program to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

HB 468 – Rep. Michael Jackson

This bill creates the Melrose East Crime Prevention District in East Baton Rouge Parish.

HB 490 – Rep. Karen Peterson

This bill provides for the Delta Sigma Theta special prestige license plate.

HB 524 – Rep. Juan Lafonta

This bill creates an advisory council to propose ways to eliminate obstacles to the effective delivery of governmental services to Latin Americans.

HB 545 – Rep. Harold Ritchie

This bill requires school principals to provide for the transfer of certain education records.

HB 576 – Rep. Robert Johnson

This bill authorizes the state superintendent of education to set rates for the Cecil J. Picard Educational and Recreational Center in Bunkie.

HB 586 – Rep. Jean Doerge

This bill increases the pensions of retirees receiving less than $1,200 a month (below poverty line); expected to benefit about 1,400 current retirees.

HB 609 – Rep. R. Jones

This bill authorizes and provides the procedures for the private sale of residential and commercial property adjudicated to the city of Monroe.

HB 602 – Rep. H. Berbard LeBas

This bill permits public school students to carry and selfadminister life-saving medications.

HB 725 – Rep. M. Jackson

This bill requires motor vehicle operators to leave a safe distance between vehicles and bicycles when passing and provides for signage, publications, and a public awareness campaign.

HB 766 – Rep. Neil Abramson

This bill relates to the Upper Huntsville Security District in Orleans Parish.

HB 892 – Rep. M. Jackson

This bill relates to claims for unemployment benefits.

The following bills became law without the Governor’s signature in accordance with the 10-day rule following bill passage by the legislature:

HB 115 – Rep. John E. Guinn

This bill relates to Jefferson Davis Parish Fire District 2.

HB 116 – Rep. John E. Guinn

This bill relates to per diem paid to commissioners of waterworks district 4 in Jefferson Davis Parish.

HB 136 – Rep. Rep. John E. Guinn

This bill relates to court costs in criminal cases for the 31st Judicial District Court.

SB 70 – Sen. Edwin Murray

This bill relates to notarial archives records in Orleans Parish.

Budget dominates session

Posted June 28, 2009 at 1:33 pm
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BATON ROUGE — Lawmakers spent most of their nine weeks at the Capitol talking about money — or the lack of it.A $1.3 billion budget shortfall left lawmakers divided on how best to ease proposed cuts.Lawmakers had to come up with creative solutions to fill money gaps.Also on the table this session was legislation dealing with taxes, education, guns, sex offenders and drug laws, to name a few.Most everyone described this session as “tough.”Lawmakers spent their last minutes this week in Baton Rouge, cobbling together the state’s budget.Here’s a notebook of the 2009 session with some of its highlights:Monday, April 27:Session opensThe Legislative session on fiscal matters opens in Baton Rouge.Dwindling state revenues have forced millions in healthcare and higher education on the chopping block, but every agency of government is facing reductions.The state general fund is expected to be short by at least $1.3 billion.Gov. Bobby Jindal appeals for unity amongst lawmakers.“It’s important that we come back together to do what is best for Louisiana,” the governor says. “The solutions won’t be Republican or Democratic solutions. They won’t be administration solutions. They won’t be legislative solutions. They need to be Louisiana solutions.”Tuesday, April 28:Tax delay proposed, but later failsThe Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, nonpartisan government watchdog group, says state lawmakers should consider delaying or repealing planned tax breaks for middle- and upper-income residents that take effect this year to ease proposed budget cuts.The tax delay, which was opposed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, is defeated by lawmakers later in the session, but tax credits and other breaks do eventually ease their way through the process.According to a preliminary tally, lawmakers approved a minimum of $137 million in breaks over the next five years.Wednesday, April 29:Cigarette tax increase snuffed outRep. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans, the No. 2 person in the House, pushes a $1-per pack increase in the cigarette tax. The tax idea was shot down in a committee, and a 50 cent increase died later on the House floor.Rep. Hollis Downs, R-Ruston, withdraws his bill amid a lack of support that tied the state’s gasoline taxes to the Consumer Price Index. He says those taxes haven’t kept pace with inflation and that is why the state has a $14 billion highway improvement backlog.Thursday, April 30: Saints deal sealedThe deal to keep the Saints in New Orleans through 2025 moves to public debate in the Legislature.Lawmakers later greenlight legislation that allows the state to lease space in a New Orleans building to be owned by Saints owner Tom Benson. Lawmakers this session also approve an $85 million appropriation for improvements to the Superdome.Sunday, May 3: Sex offender laws toughenedThe Associated Press reports that Gov. Bobby Jindal scaled back plans for toughening sex offender laws after House Speaker Jim Tucker and another lawmaker sent him an unusually blunt letter questioning whether the proposals were constitutional and how they would be paid for in a tight budget year.Lawmakers, however, go on to approve legislation that tightens existing law on sexual contact between students and teachers, among other updates in the law.Lawmakers also ban offenders from owning and operating daycares or group homes.Monday, May 4:Agencies face cutsThe House Appropriations Committee hears pleas from a long list of nongovernmental organizations for funding in this year’s operating budget.Some of the agencies who appeal to the panel include councils on aging, healthcare organizations, food banks and museums.Some of the proposed cuts to the agencies would go on to be restored in the waning days of the session in a supplemental spending bill, but not all were.Rep. Jim Fannin, D-Jonesboro, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said nothing has been made whole, but that lawmakers did the best they could with what they had.Tuesday, May 5:Megafund tappedLegislation that would allow the state to dip into its economic development “megafund” for state projects, including saving a north Louisiana chicken plant and to further develop a Shaw Group facility in Lake Charles was favored by a House committee.The chicken plant deal, which was eventually favored by lawmakers, reportedly saved 1,300 jobs in north Louisiana and the 300 chicken farms linked to the plant.Wednesday, May 6:Shaw shuns state aidThe Shaw Group announces that it will not accept any additional incentive dollars from the state’s economic development “megafund.”Shaw, which still plans to build its Lake Charles plant, says it will return all incentive funds it received for the Shaw Modular Solutions project and corporate growth and headquarters retention commitment.J.M. Bernhard Jr., company CEO, says Shaw wants the state to instead use the money on higher education.Thursday, May 7: Curriculum change OK’dA Senate panel approves a bill that allows some students to get credit for studying trades if they don’t want to go to a four-year college after graduation. Students who choose the curriculum track would get a diploma to get them into a technical or community college.The plan made it out this session and awaits action on the governor’s desk.Tuesday, May 12: College gun bill debatedA House committee advances a bill that would allow concealed weapon permit holders to carry handguns on college campuses.Rep. Ernest Wooten, R-Belle Chasse, had unsuccessfully attempted his bill in the 2008 session.It would force public and private universities to repeal current rules that make their campuses so-called “gun free zones.”The bill dies later in the session amid a lack of support. It was widely opposed by colleges, campus police and student organizations.Wednesday, May 13:Equal pay arguedA bill that would mandate businesses to give equal pay to men and women performing the same jobs was favored in a House committee, but would later lose steam on the House floor.The “Equal Pay for Women Act” has been attempted by various lawmakers in past years, but has always died amid a lack of support.Opponents — including the Louisiana Chemical Association and the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry — said the bill was vague and would open employers up to numerous lawsuits.Supporters of the legislation argue that Louisiana has one of the largest wage gaps in the nation, with a woman 25 years or older earning, on average, 65 cents for every dollar a man makes.Monday, May 18: Budget hearings openSenators questioned Housebacked plans to strip pay raises from government employees and cut more than 3,400 government jobs, as the Senate’s budget-crafting committee opened its hearings on next year’s $27.9 billion budget proposal.Members of the Senate Finance Committee also worried about deep cuts proposed to public colleges, as the state’s higher education chief warned the cuts could devastate campuses and would be more severe than cuts in nearly every other public college system in the country.“It is shortsighted and too simplistic to say, ‘Fix yourselves and downsize’ and think that everything will be OK. It is not going to be OK,” said Commissioner of Higher Education Sally Clausen.Higher education cuts were eased in the last days of the session, but most lawmakers agree state college and universities will have to scale back their operation.Tuesday, May 19: Stimulus rejection overrideThe House unanimously agrees to override Gov. Bobby Jindal’s rejection of $98 million in federal stimulus dollars to expand unemployment benefits, but most say it’s unlikely representatives knew what they were voting for.Rep. Avon Honey, D-Baton Rouge, slipped the language to sidestep Jindal’s refusal of the stimulus dollars into a worker’s compensation bill on the House floor a day earlier in the final minutes of House work for the day. There was little discussion about what the changes did.The effort later died in a Senate committee.Wednesday, May 20:Smoking ban debatedThe Senate Health and Welfare Committee agreed without objection to a proposal by Sen. Rob Marionneaux, DLivonia, that would require bars, casinos, off-track betting facilities and other gambling spots to become smoke-free.The House would go onto kill the ban, however.Thursday, May 21:Revenue forecast shrinksLouisiana’s income estimates for next year’s budget grew a bit grimmer after the state’s revenue forecasting panel dropped the projections another $30 million.The revision, by the Revenue Estimating Conference, for the new fiscal year starting July 1 was a slight adjustment compared to the $1.3 billion decrease in the state general fund that already had been forecast for next year.But the change means lawmakers will have to cut even more from next year’s $27.9 billion budget proposal, unless they can agree on some other source of money to plug the hole.Economists said the $30 million reduction was prompted by worse-than-expected business and sales tax collections.Tuesday, May 26: Helmet repeal mulledA bill calling for a repeal on the state’s helmet law for certain motorcycle riders is full speed ahead.House Bill 639 by Rep. Jim Morris, R-Oil City, sailed through the House Transportation Committee.The repeal effort has a controversial past at the Capitol and has been attempted several times in various forms and by various lawmakers.The Morris bill would repeal the requirement that riders age 21 or older must wear a helmet. It heads to the House floor.The bill later died in a Senate committee, despite its support from Gov. Bobby Jindal.Wednesday, May 27:Cell phone ban weighedThe House favors a bill to ban the use of hand-held cell phones and electronic communications devices by drivers.Sponsor Rep. Austin Badon, D-New Orleans, said his measure, House Bill 146, is an attempt to address the growing problem of people driving while talking on hand-held cell phones.“It’s getting to the point where it’s starting to affect someone we know. Let’s get real. We all know it’s a problem,” Badon said.The ban effort ends in a Senate committee when it’s rejected.Thursday, May 28:Dental clinic bill derailedA ban on mobile dental clinics in schools stalls in the House, even after lawmakers stripped parts of the bill and grandfathered in many of the existing clinics.The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Kevin Pearson, pulls it from a vote after lawmakers continued to register complaints.The measure, House Bill 687, already had failed passage once in the House.The bill is later reworked to direct the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry to come up with new regulations for the clinics.Monday, June 1: Bills flounderThe Associated Press reports that bills that would impose term limits on school boards and cut members’ pay appear dead.Legislation aimed at curbing local school boards’ power doesn’t fare well this legislative session, despite its support from “good government” groups.Also on June 1, a divisive proposal to mandate drug testing for certain welfare recipients is rejected by the House Appropriations Committee, dooming the bill.Opponents raised concerns about the costs of the bill and the limitation of the drug testing to only one group of people who receive money from the state. Others said current law already provides for drug screening.Tuesday, June 2: Lawmakers tackle tuitionA Senate bill aiming to remove the Legislature’s authority to approve higher education tuition and fee increases of 5 percent or less gets unanimous approval from a House committee.The bill takes hits, but makes it to the last days of the session only to die on the last day, when it is heavily amended and there’s no more time.Friday, June 5:Senate bucks JindalThe Louisiana Senate unanimously approves a $28.7 billion budget proposal that contains far fewer cuts to public colleges and health services than the spending plan previously backed by the House.To shrink the cuts, senators seek to tap into the state’s “rainy day” fund and delay a scheduled income tax break largely slated for middle- and upper-income taxpayers.The budget bill approved by the Senate for the new fiscal year that begins July 1 sets up a negotiating tug-of-war with Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration and the House, both of which oppose financing plans contained in the budget bill. Wednesday, June 10:State blog criticizedA vehicle for transparency has become a state-supported political blog, says a Benton senator.Republican Sen. Robert Adley told fellow lawmakers that he has problems with “The Ledger,” a blog on the Division of Administration’s official Web site.Adley — a sponsor of legislation on public records and the governor’s office — spent several minutes on the Senate floor on Wednesday criticizing the blog.He said it violates state law, which prohibits the use of taxpayer money to express political views. “They have no right to print editorials on a legislative Web site,” he said.Adley would reference the blog again throughout the last days of the session.Thursday, June 11:Governors meet withJindal, budget advancesFour former state governors sat down with Gov. Bobby Jindal during a private meeting in an effort, the former leaders said, to help slow a train that they believe could bump higher education off its tracks.Buddy Roemer, who prompted the roundtable, said the governors — himself, Dave Treen, Mike Foster and Kathleen Blanco — were not asking that higher education escape all budget cuts, but that they did not want funds to the state’s colleges and universities to be “slashed.”The governors, who spoke to reporters at a news conference after the meeting, want Jindal to eliminate some of the cuts.Some in Baton Rouge said the meeting was intended to “pressure” Jindal.Also on June 11, the House approves final passage of the state’s operating budget bill, speeding it to the desk of Gov. Bobby Jindal with two weeks remaining in the session.Some lawmakers had expected to go to a conference committee.Friday, June 12: Pork caught upThe Girl Scouts, the Awesome Ladies of Distinction and the Special Olympics are caught in a state Capitol tug-ofwar.Those projects are among hundreds of favored add-ons that lawmakers inserted in next year’s budget bill and that are caught in a financing dispute between the state House and Senate.So, while budget negotiations continue over big-ticket items like higher education and health care funding, lawmakers also are haggling over projects that many consider pork.Monday, June 15: Budget war wagedThe state budget battle was waged on three fronts, with everyone involved trying to win the public opinion war.Gov. Bobby Jindal said at a 10 a.m. news conference that he would veto $278 million in the $28.7 billion budget that is tied to other legislation. One measure would delay a $118 million annual state income tax break for three years.Another proposes to withdraw $258 million from the state’s “rainy day” fund.House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Terrytown, followed that up with an 11 a.m. news conference to say the House acted responsibly during its budget deliberations. He said money will be found to fund the $278 million tied to other legislation.Sen. Lydia Jackson, D-Shreveport, the author of the income tax break delay, defended her legislation at a noon meeting of the Press Club of Baton Rouge. Senate Bill 335 sought to delay a 100 percent deduction on excess federal itemized deductions claimed on state income tax forms for three years.The Senate approved her legislation 29-9, but Tucker ruled that vote was unconstitutional because revenue measures are supposed to start in the House. Jackson’s bill wasn’t referred to a House committee.Tuesday, June 16:Records bill favoredA House committee approves a controversial Senate bill involving public release of the records of the governor’s office.Senate Bill 278, by Sen. Jody Amedee, D-Gonzales, gained final passage in the last week of the session.The legislation limits the public records exemption enjoyed by the governor’s office to those records used when the governor and his internal staff are involved in deliberations, intra-office communications between the governor and his internal staff, and the governor’s security and schedule.Some lawmakers oppose it, saying it is “the governor’s bill” and it does little to aid transparency.Friday, June 19:Clock tickingTime appears to be making up for the absence of enough give-and-take during the Louisiana Legislature’s current fiscal session.The House and Senate have been at loggerheads for most of the session, but there appears to be some signs of progress as lawmakers approach a 6 p.m. June 25 adjournment.Money continues to dominate the negotiations that only now seem to be bringing the two sides closer together.Gov. Bobby Jindal said from the start he would veto any tax increases because it’s time for state government to operate more efficiently with a reduced payroll. House members have generally followed his lead.Monday, June 22: “Rainy day” fund use OK’dThe House backs a limited use of the state’s “rainy day” fund Monday to help stave off some budget cuts, as the House and Senate edged closer to a final compromise on state spending.The Senate agrees to the fund use on the final day of the session in a conference committee.Tuesday, June 23: Tax tactic failsThe House refuses to accept a bill that would have delayed a $118 million annual state income tax break for three years to provide funds for higher education.Senators refused to do so and asked that the House vote on the concurrence with their amendments.The House vote was 34-69 against.The bill would die in the session, pending in conference committee.Wednesday, June 24: Jindal issues vetoesWhile the budget negotiations continued, Gov. Bobby Jindal issued his line-item vetoes to House Bill 1, the budget bill, sent to his office by lawmakers. As promised, Jindal stripped out any money tied to the tax break delay that won’t pass and other items connected to the ongoing debate about the rainy day fund and insurance dollars. He also removed a few projects added by lawmakers. The bulk of the bill was left intact.Thursday, June 25:Lawmakers compromiseLawmakers spend the last moments of the legislative session hammering out the state’s $28.7 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.Lawmakers, in a compromise, put back some of the money Gov. Bobby Jindal proposed cutting and restored projects vetoed in House Bill 1.Lawmakers have been scrambling to find other funding sources to restore some of the cut money.Budget bills were passed minutes ahead of the lawmakers’ 6 p.m. deadline Thursday.Most of the restorations were made in two spending bills, agreed on in a conference committee.The session wraps at 6 p.m.•Original reporting from the American Press and material from the Associated Press was used for this piece.

Shaky session wraps up

Posted June 28, 2009 at 1:23 pm
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BY ELONA WESTON
AMERICAN PRESS

BATON ROUGE — Lawmakers ended their last week of the 2009 Legislative session, tying up some loose ends and mitigating a strapped budget for the fiscal year that begins within days.

Lawmakers reached a compromise in the last hours of the session on the state’s $28.7 billion budget after a lot of political maneuvers in recent weeks.

Some said the budget talk this session was divisive.

The House on Thursday took a scolding from some House leaders who said they wanted to see better “conduct” and “communication” amongst members.

Rep. Jane Smith, R-Bossier City, flanked by Reps. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, and Karen St. Germain, D-Plaquemine, said she wanted lawmakers to sort out their differences before the next legislative session.

Smith is the leader of the GOP caucus; Barrow is the leader of the black caucus; and St. Germain heads the Democratic caucus.

Smith said she wanted lawmakers to have meetings in the interim — before the next session and “across party lines” — to help hammer out differences.

Rep. Ernest Wooten, R-Belle Chasse, weighed in on the leaders’ thoughts and said he felt there was a “lack of trust” among lawmakers and from “all directions.”

Wooten said there is also distance between the House and Gov. Bobby Jindal, who announced this week that the state topped the nation in ethics reform.

“I really appeal to the governor to involve the Legislature in the business of the state of Louisiana. Our primary purpose is to make laws, to do studies for the people of Louisiana. Let us do our job — involve us. We want to do it, we want to work with you. We want to justify this No. 1,” Wooten said.

Despite the bickering this week, lawmakers managed to agree upon and determine a number of issues — not all money-related.

Louisiana will have a new diploma for public school students, who will face less-stringent requirements for English and math, if Jindal approves an education bill approved by the full Legislature.

An unanimous vote on Tuesday sent the bill by Sen. Robert Kostelka, R-Monroe, to the governor, whose staff has said he’s supportive.

According to proponents, the legislation is intended to reduce the number of high school and middle school dropouts.

The new curriculum would be less geared toward college preparation, and more toward teaching students technical skills for blue-collar jobs.

The Senate on Wednesday agreed to House amendments on a bill involving the public release of gubernatorial records, sending it to Jindal’s desk.

Senate Bill 278, by Sen. Jody Amedee, D-Gonzales, would open up some records, but would restrict access to those dealing with the state budget for six months — a point of contention for some lawmakers, who sought to shorten the privilege period.

Amedee’s bill has been touted by some as a means to make the governor’s office more transparent, but Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton, said that instead of sunshine, it makes “moonshine.”

He said that under the bill, the governor’s office could shield more records.

Also this week, Jindal’s deal to keep the New Orleans Saints in Louisiana through 2025 gained final legislative approval.

Two pieces of the deal gained the needed votes in the House and Senate: a plan for the state to lease office space from Saints owner Tom Benson and $85 million in surplus spending on Superdome improvements. The surplus spending was passed Thursday, and the leasing proposal was approved earlier this week.

One more step remains before everything is complete. The terms of the lease between Benson and the state will require approval from the Legislature’s joint budget committee.

Also sent to Jindal this week:

• A bill by Rep. A.B. Franklin, D-Lake Charles, that would create the Lake Charles North Redevelopment Authority.

House Bill 904 does not outline taxing authority, and under the measure, the board would consist of five members, who would serve four-year terms after some initial terms are staggered.

Sen. Willie Mount, D-Lake Charles, who presented Franklin’s bill on the Senate floor on Monday, said committee amendments included ones that would outline “more accountability” for the authority, as well as changes to the board’s makeup.

• Rep. Brett Geymann’s House Bill 43, one of a trio of bills in a drug package he sponsored at the request of area district attorneys.

House Bill 43 says people who claim to have a valid prescription for a drug must produce it within 15 days of their arraignment on charges of illegal possession.

An amendment added in a Senate committee says production of the original prescription bottle with the defendant’s name, the pharmacist’s name and the prescription number is sufficient proof.

The two remaining bills in the package have been signed into law.

• A bill that would add penalties to home improvement fraud.

House Bill 76, by Rep. Tom Willmott, R-Kenner, had been sent to a conference committee, but House members on Thursday agreed with the minor changes made by the panel.

Willmott said his new bill would allow authorities to better handle the crime and extradite offenders.

•

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Hospital funding restored

Posted June 28, 2009 at 1:21 pm
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BATON ROUGE — The money needed for the residency training program at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital was restored in the state’s budget on Thursday.

The $500,000 needed for the program was among the projects outlined in House Bill 881, a supplemental spending bill.

Sen. Willie Mount, D-Lake Charles, told the American Press that the $500,000 will be recurring in the budget.

The LSU medical residency program provides health care for uninsured patients.

Program funding had been cut, but lawmakers, including Mount and Sen. Dan “Blade” Morrish, R-Jennings, worked in the waning days of the session, which ended Thursday, to restore the money.

ELONA WESTON

Analysts check tax breaks

Posted June 28, 2009 at 1:19 pm
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BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana lawmakers have approved a minimum of $137 million in tax breaks over the next five years, according to a preliminary tally, but budget analysts are still combing through legislation to pin down the total projected loss of government revenue.

Paper mills, crawfishermen and movie makers are among the beneficiaries of the tax credits, some supported by Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has said he might veto others to balance the budget. Much of the legislation went to the governor on Thursday, the legislative session’s final day, and budget analysts were still unsure a day later what exactly lawmakers had approved in the session’s final hours.

“There was a whole slew of them passed, and it’s going to take a while to sort through, that’s for sure,” said Jim Brandt, head of the Louisiana Public Affairs Research Council, a nonpartisan government observer.

Considered over a five-year span, here are a few of the tax breaks, their cost and beneficiaries:

• An existing program of granting transferable “investor tax credits” to movie producers would be expanded, under a bill by Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton, and supported by the governor. The change would cost the state an estimated $100 million in tax revenue, according to the Legislative Fiscal Office.

• Timber, oil drilling and other industries would get a tax credit for qualified purchases to modernize their facilities. The state would lose $12 million if the bill by Sen. Mike Walsworth, R-West Monroe, becomes law.

• An expansion of existing tax credits for the recording industry, supported by the governor, that would cost the state $12 million.

• Among the smaller tax breaks are one totaling an estimated $500,000 to help community theaters, and a tax credit for crawfishermen’s bait and feed, worth less than $500,000 over five years.

Brandt was critical of the push to slash taxes on businesses, a year after lawmakers granted hundreds of millions of dollars of large tax breaks for individual filers. This year’s tax cutting might be good politics for lawmakers, but Brandt called it unwise.

“Generally I think it makes no fiscal sense whatsoever.”

Lawmakers who defend the bills argued that they’re highly targeted tax breaks for industries the state wants to preserve or promote — thus creating jobs and generating more tax revenue in the long run. A bill giving paper mills a tax credit for upgrading outdated equipment, they argue, will prevent mills in north and central Louisiana from shutting down and moving operations to other states.

The debate over tax cuts in this fiscal environment was summed up in a conversation between Reps. Cedric Richmond and Cameron Henry, as they debated Adley’s bill to expand the movie producers’ tax break. The bill would go into effect in 2010, reducing state revenue by $20 million that year.

Henry, R-Metairie, the bill’s House backer, argued that Louisiana needs to increase the financial incentives to keep movie makers from moving to other states, such as Georgia, that are starting to compete for the business. He said the existing tax breaks lured the industry to the state and sweetening those rewards would help keep it here.

“So, the year we’re going to have the budget tsunami, this bill’s going to cost us $20 million,” said Richmond, D-New Orleans.

SW La. projects restored

Posted June 28, 2009 at 1:15 pm
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BY ELONA WESTON
AMERICAN PRESS

BATON ROUGE — A list of Southwest Louisiana projects was among the appropriations restored by lawmakers to the state budget for fiscal year 2009-10.

The projects were tacked on to House Bill 881, a supplemental spending bill, on Thursday.

They were among the items that Gov. Bobby Jindal had vetoed in House Bill 1, the state’s operating budget.

Lawmakers in the final days of the session scrambled to hammer out the state’s $28.7 billion budget and find other funding sources to restore some of the cut money.

H.B. 881, with total spending of $210 million, also includes money for health care, local projects, the LSU AgCenter, state Agriculture Department and councils on aging.

The bill is primarily funded with $86 million from the “rainy day” fund, $76 million in insurance incentives and state “megafund” money.

Area projects included the measure:

Allen Correctional Center — inflation increase for 1,461 beds, $100,000.

Allen Parish Recreational District 2 — $76,000. Anacoco — $15,505.

Beauregard Parish Ward 5 District 2 — water system, $23,255.

Beauregard Association for Retarded Citizens — $19,380.

DeRidder Area Ministerial Alliance — God’s Food Box, renovations and maintenance, $19,380.

Beauregard Parish Police Jury — maintenance of coveredarena equipment and general operations, $15,505.

Beauregard Parish Police Jury District 4A — firefighter gear and equipment, $53,255.

Beauregard Parish Police Jury District 4A — sign and projector screen for library program, $12,000.

Beauregard Parish Police Jury District 4A — site improvements for South Beauregard Recreation District, $49,630.

Beauregard Council on Aging — $7,760.

Beauregard Parish Police Jury — Buddy Ball, $7,755.

Beauregard Parish Police Jury — Shady Grove Community Building, $7,755.

Calcasieu Parish School Board — cross-generational community project for infrastructure and drainage, $120,000.

Calcasieu Parish School Board — lights at Barbe High School, $25,000.

Calcasieu Parish School Board — infrastructure and drainage project, $257,500.

Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, Ward 1 Gravity Drainage District 8 — $60,000.

Calcasieu Community Clinic — $87,500.

Calcasieu Police Jury, Ward 1 Recreation District 1 — center for the elderly, $25,000.

Calcasieu Police Jury, Ward 1 — roof for office, $20,000.

DeQuincy — downtown development, $15,505.

East Central Vernon Parish water system — $23,255. Elton — generator, $10,000.

Jennings — fire hydrants, $25,000.

Lake Charles — lighting on the I-10 bridge, $100,000.

Merryville — $15,505. McNeese State University — track field house, $75,000.

McNeese State University — capital improvements, $450,000 from the Calcasieu Parish Higher Education Improvement Fund.

New Llano — downtown development, $15,505.

Office of Rural Health — medical residency program in Lake Charles, $500,000.

Rosepine — $15,505. Simpson — $15,505.

South Beauregard water system — $23,255.

Sowela Technical Community College — capital improvements, $375,000 from the state’s general fund, and $150,000 from the Calcasieu Parish Higher Education Improvement Fund.

Starks Mayhaw Festival — $7,755. Vernon Council on Aging — $7,760.

Vernon Parish Police Jury — West Central Louisiana Communications for Disaster, $7,755.

Vernon Parish Police Jury — youth development activities, $7,755.

Vernon Parish Community Improvement Fund 2 — $178,255.

Vinton — downtown development, $15,505.

Welsh — sidewalks, $15,000.

Westlake — purchase of police vehicles, uniforms and vehicle accessories, $40,000.

Westlake — sidewalks, $10,000.

Westlake — firefighter gear, $30,000.

Governor signs more bills

Posted June 28, 2009 at 1:08 pm
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BATON ROUGE — Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed the following bills into law:

House Bill 59 — revises the composition of the Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission and relates to its use of funds.

H.B. 64 — relates to inmates who participate in certain programs or who are certified academic tutors.

H.B. 65 — adds cashier’s checks, teller’s checks and other official bank-issued checks to the types of unclaimed checks that are subject to the custody of the state when they are presumed abandoned under the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act.

H.B. 175 — redefines “standard reference compendia” for purposes of specifying offlabel cancer drugs.

H.B. 197 — relates to the marshals of the city courts of Minden and Springhill.

H.B. 199 — prohibits the retail sale and distribution of novelty lighters.

H.B. 266 — amends the crime of domestic abuse battery.

H.B. 297 — amends the criminal penalty for racketeering.

H.B. 361 — amends provisions of law regarding designated representatives.

H.B. 385 — defines a “small employer” for the purposes of rate-limitation provisions for health benefit plans providing small employer coverage.

H.B. 386 — allows surplus lines brokers to pay renewal fees every two years instead of every year.

H.B. 394 — standardizes the registration broker fee for securities dealers and securities salesmen.

H.B. 405 — clarifies the definition of home and community-based service providers.

H.B. 532 — adds full-time security personnel of the state Supreme Court to the definition of “peace officer.”

H.B. 598 — requires that mechanical breakdown and property residual value insurers file an audited financial statement annually with the commissioner of insurance.

H.B. 669 — describes procedures related to the licensure and regulation of third-party administrators by the commissioner of insurance.

H.B. 701 — provides for the establishment and maintenance of juvenile justice programs and services.

H.B. 704 — provides for the regulation of home service contract providers by the Insurance Department.

H.B. 716 — relates to the distribution of alcoholic beverages.

H.B. 822 — relates to the Louisiana Risk Review Panel.

Senate Bill 4 — authorizes 23rd Judicial District Court to transfer all excess funds by Dec. 31 of each year to the criminal court fund.

S.B. 18 — reauthorizes the Treasury Department and its agencies.

S.B. 56 — relates to the Florida Parishes Juvenile Justice District.

S.B. 110 — corrects technical language with regard to the oversight and administration of the Credit Repair Services Organizations Act.

S.B. 116 — provides for an indigent transcript fund for the 24th Judicial District.

S.B. 120 — authorizes the Livingston Parish School Board to create school districts.

S.B. 132 — relates to the crime of first-degree murder.

S.B. 151 — relates to notary instructor registration and reporting requirements.

S.B. 184 — increases the amount of a small succession from $50,000 or less to $75,000 or less.

S.B. 211 — establishes the Louisiana Innovation Council within the Economic Development Department.

S.B. 260 — relates to the jurisdiction of East Baton Rouge Parish Family Court.

H.B. 299 — addresses permitting and time periods relating to the taking of bait shrimp.

H.B. 588 — authorizes a person to obtain a certified paper copy of his criminal history.

H.B. 539 — makes provisions relative to the handling of sulfur.

S.B. 24 — adds two at-large members to the Louisiana Real Estate Commission.

S.B. 31 — increases the penalty for the unnecessary, unjustified causing of physical pain, suffering or death to an animal.

S.B. 60 — increases the prescriptive period for certain actions for the harvesting and the sale of timber.

S.B. 115 — prohibits humananimal hybrids.

S.B. 188 — expands the use of revenues produced from the riverboat gambling fees collected by Jefferson Parish.

S.B. 189 — authorizes golf carts to cross La. 1 within the town of Grand Isle.

S.B. 244 — relates to the duties of the assistant secretary of the office of public works, hurricane flood protection and intermodal transportation in the Department of Transportation and Development.

The following bills became law without the governor’s signature:

H.B. 170 — creates the Caldwell Parish Tourist Commission.

H.B. 581 — relates to the per diem of supervisors for Columbia Heights Sewerage District 1.

H.B. 583 — relates to the per diem of supervisors for the Columbia Heights Water District.

Governor gets fraud bill

Posted June 28, 2009 at 12:45 pm
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BY ELONA WESTON
AMERICAN PRESS

BATON ROUGE — A bill that would add penalties to home improvement fraud is heading to its final stop in the Legislative process.

House Bill 76, by Rep. Tom Willmott, R-Kenner, had been sent to a conference committee, but House members on Thursday agreed with the minor changes made by the panel. It now heads to the governor’s desk.

Willmott successfully sponsored legislation last year that outlined the crime of home improvement fraud. The law targets contractors and subcontractors who do shoddy, fraudulent work.

Willmott now wants to amend some of the penalties. He said his new bill would allow authorities to better handle the crime and extradite offenders.

Current penalties include fines of up to $1,000 and six months imprisonment for a first offense and stiffer penalties for people who defraud victims who are older than 60 or are disabled.

The amended penalties include fines of up to $10,000 and up to five years in prison — the same ones outlined in the current law for second offenses or when the victim is elderly or disabled. Willmott’s bill would increase the prison time to 10 years and allow for restitution.

Willmott told lawmakers last year that his effort was fueled by hundreds of reports of fraudulent home improvement work that followed the passage of hurricanes.

At the session

Posted June 28, 2009 at 12:42 pm
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BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Measure to regulate clinics

New regulations will be written to govern the mobile dental clinics at Louisiana’s public schools, if Gov. Bobby Jindal agrees to a bill that received final legislative passage Thursday.

The proposal, House Bill 687, started as a bid to ban the clinics outright but couldn’t gain passage.

The final version of the measure by Rep. Kevin Pearson, R-Slidell, directs the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry to come up with new regulations for the mobile units.

Those regulations must include practice standards, parental consent forms, parental consultation, equipment standards, inspection plans and guidelines for disposing of infectious waste.

The House and Senate health care committees would be able to reject those regulations if they find them insufficient or objectionable.

Session may start earlier

The state’s legislative session will start earlier, if voters agree to a constitutional change approved by both the House and Senate.

Currently, the regular sessions in even-numbered years begin on the last Monday in March and in odd-numbered years start on the last Monday in April.

The proposal, Senate Bill 5, by Sen. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, would change the opening date in evennumbered years to the second Monday in March and the second Monday in April for odd-numbered years.

The proposal goes to voters on the October 2010 ballot and would take effect in 2012 if approved.

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