Lawmakers, lobbyists and other Capitolites from cities like New Orleans, Houma, Mamou and New Roads don't like the prospects. For some, it may sound ludicrous, but Carnival is big business and ingrained tradition in many areas of south Louisiana, and it's a scheduling problem the Republican governor-elect will have to face.
That's the sweet thing about regular sessions of the Legislature ' in many ways, they're predictable. For instance, come hell or high water, we know the gavel drops on March 31 and must be put away no later than 6 p.m. on June 23. And already there are indications of what to expect.
An unprecedented and historic $30 billion state budget, for starters, is hard to miss. How the money is spent or saved under a new administration promising change and accountability will be watched closely. Creating more transparency regarding the budget is also necessary to reform the state's image and improve voter confidence.
For example, The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry is eyeing something in the current budget called the "2004 Overcollections Fund." In short, it's a special piggy-bank that LABI contends the governor and Joint Legislative Budget Committee traditionally spend however they want.
The governor-elect has vowed to eliminate such funds ' and it probably won't stop there. Whatever else Jindal and his government reformers might find and expose during the session should make for an interesting few months this spring.
While the January special session will be dedicated to ethics, the regular session could be anchored by far-reaching education proposals. Education lobbyists are already expecting Jindal to stand behind legislation that would provide some sort of financial aid, whether through tax credits or another mechanism, to parents who send their children to private or parochial schools. Many lawmakers campaigned behind the voucher concept this year.
It isn't surprising considering the amount of money special interests have been dumping into the state. Particularly, All Children Matter, a Virginia-based 527 organization, bankrolled part of Jindal's radio efforts and also got involved in several other races around the state. Almost exclusively, the 527 group funds and supports candidates who will promote school vouchers in their state.
The group has serious backers. Just before the primary, ACM's Louisiana team received $100,000 from Wal-Mart tycoon Jim Walton of Bentonville, Ark. Additionally, Brooklyn-born neoconservative Bruce Kovner, founder of Caxton Associates, also put $100,000 into the pelican chapter's account during the same time period.
Merit-based pay for public school teachers is also likely to come up again, but the highest-profile issue could be Jindal's push to create more charter schools in Louisiana. On the horizon, there's chatter about reformulating the way Louisiana colleges are funded by implementing a performance-based system. Furthermore, a closer look at dual-enrollment programs, where students earn college and high school credits concurrently, may be on tap.
On the election front, Republican Secretary of State Jay Dardenne will be pushing a legislative package next year that changes the way voters carry out their democratic duty. For starters, Dardenne wants to eliminate the traditional July election, which is set aside to handle tax and bond issues, or anything else not involving a real candidate. The turnout for the summer ballot this year was a depressing 4.5 percent. Dardenne will also ask lawmakers to make early voting at satellite sites a permanent program and to expand it past the two locations that were in operation during the most recent election cycles.
Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon will have a legislative package as well, which ' in part ' extends a $100 million incentive program that actually pays private companies, in taxpayer dollars, to sell insurance in Louisiana. While the program is popular among most lawmakers, especially those below I-10, supporters are waiting for Jindal's blessing before declaring victory.
If a band of south Louisiana lawmakers has its way, it could be weighing in as one on issues like Donelon and Dardenne's initiatives. There's a caucus for black members, women, lawmakers from rural areas, Democrats, Republicans and even independents. There are also delegations for major metro areas like Orleans and Jefferson, as well as one for Acadiana officials. But there's nothing out there for the districts that hug the Gulf of Mexico.
That's why a band of legislators is hoping to file a resolution in 2008 to create an official Coastal Caucus. In recent years, the House and Senate have both created special committees for coastal restoration and hurricane protection, so supporters see this as the next logical step.
If nothing else, the concept could morph into a reliable voting bloc, although its potential for impact is debatable.
State District Judge Wilford Carter of Lake Charles handed down a ruling last month that will certainly be addressed by lawmakers in the regular session. In short, he ruled Louisiana's online sex solicitation stings were unconstitutional, siding with a defendant who was allegedly busted two years ago for soliciting a minor. The case is being appealed to the Louisiana Supreme Court, but that hasn't stopped the Legislature in the past.
The ruling basically stated that the defendant's "constitutional right to equal protection" was violated by the state law because it did not allow him to use a "consent defense," arguing that the person he was chatting with online was a police officer. There are likewise legal arguments being made that the online solicitation law infringes upon free speech.
Another hot-button freedom of speech issue is inevitable on the heels of 2007's Jena Six controversy; there will undoubtedly be a resolution or bill that addresses how and where people might display a hanging noose. While Congress, due to measures introduced by U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, a New Orleans Democrat, and others, has addressed the issue in its own way, the Louisiana Legislature will get its first crack in March.
There's even a recent case study to point to in Jefferson Parish, where a local government employee is accused of displaying a noose in his office. Seven supervisors in the line of authority are also on the hook, as a black sewerage worker is pursuing official action.
A far less important measure sure to make headlines is the resurrection of the so-called baggy pants law, meaning a statute stipulating how low an individual can wear his jeans or slacks. Sen. Derrick Shepherd, a Marrero Democrat, unsuccessfully brought the issue up when he was a member of the House, drawing laughs from his colleagues and an embarrassing spot on Comedy Central's Daily Show. The difference between now and then is a slew of local ordinances ' Port Allen, Lafourche Parish, New Iberia, Alexandria and others ' that could serve as a mandate of sorts for a lawmaker seeking statewide press attention. With all the other pressing issues facing Louisiana, more time spent on debating the height of one's pants could be a low point.
MAY 17 Here's a column from James Gill, this time in the Advocate. Gill, who has jumped ship from the Picayune, writes about the absurdity of dueling polls in this post. The numbers are so wildly different, it is obvious that both sides are "cooking the books," he writes. In particular, he looks at Sen. Mary Landrieu, and how her recent actions in DC have been received by those polled. Gill's acerbic, amusing prose is a welcome addition to a paper so conservative as to be occasionally lacking in personality.
MAY 17 Blogger Tom Aswell continues delivering bombshells about the state education department and Gov. Jindal's education "reform" efforts. In this post, he reports that students in the Shreveport area have been signed up for a charter school without their knowledge or consent. Most interesting to Aswell is how this Texas-based charter (with ties to GOP types) got the personal student information it has, if the students didn't give it.
MAY 17 This post by JR Ball in the Baton Rouge Business Report is an interesting tongue-in-cheek look at recent Baton Rouge economic development efforts. Among the items he examines is the idea that gaining a Costco makes BR a "world-class city." (Really? All you need is a different brand of Sam's? MK!) This effort, and other recent ones, are all built on the taxpayer's back, with tax zones, tax incentives and tax rebates, Ball writes.
MAY 17 Blogger CB Forgotston is critical of the legislature's reliance on a revenue-estimating committee's decision to include projected tax amnesty income in this year's forecast. That's a problem, CB posts, because the deadline for these people to pay their taxes is June 30, 2014. So when do you think these people who haven't paid taxes in years are going to pay their taxes? Surely not before June 30, and that means the money won't be there for this year's budget, he argues.
MAY 17 Here's an interesting blog out of California by a Hollywood writer, attorney and academic named Brian Alan Lane. He blogs about higher ed, and was a whistle-blower in a scandal over false credentials. In this post, he takes aim at LSU's new top dog, King Alexander. It's convoluted and a little confusing, but it sure makes Alexander a lot more interesting than he was yesterday.
MAY 17 Blogger Robert Mann writes about the LSU Board's refusal to allow Dr. Fred Cerise to testify before the legislature about Gov. Jindal's plan to close down all the state's charity hospitals and dump the poor on the private system. It's hard to imagine anyone more qualified than Cerise to testify about that, so why would anyone try to prevent him doing so? Mann thinks it is because the powers that be aren't interested in hearing any truth about the plan.
MAY 17 This post on the Louisiana Sinkhole Bugle, a blog that notes developments in the Bayou Corne and Jefferson Island salt domes, talks about a proposed expansion of the salt dome storage under Lake Peigneur in Iberia Parish. Residents are working against it for several reasons, including two biggies: the sinkhole disaster in Bayou Corne and the continuing, unexplained bubbling on the surface of the Lake.
MAY 17 NOLA police arrested more people Thursday accused of either being involved in the Mother's Day shooting or hiding the suspect afterward, this Gambit story reports. The NOLA police chief said he suspects the whole thing was gang-related and throws out a challenge to the gangs: he's got informants now, he says, and he knows a lot more than the gangs want him to know. The people who live in the neighborhoods terrorized by gangs are ready to talk, he says.
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