Rep. Dee Richard of Thibodaux, who has no party affiliation, is among those who believe the Louisiana Legislature could come to the rescue. For example, lawmakers failed to advance legislation during this year’s regular session allowing higher ed to charge students more money based on credit hours, but 2011 could be an entirely new ball game.
That’s why Richard is resurrecting his own bill next year granting the additional authority. This year, his bill failed to get out of committee. “But now the universities are pushing it as one of the answers to their continuing problems,” Richard notes.
The original version of his legislation, found in House Bill 270, would have permitted the LSU System, Southern University System and University of Louisiana System to impose additional per credit hour tuition charges on students enrolled in more than 12 hours per semester.
The bill provided for certain waivers, a provision that will certainly be in any sequel. If such a bill passes the House and Senate, it would then need approval of the governor.
Earlier this year, Richard said there were discussions about capping the number of eligible course hours at 15 — meaning the special charges wouldn’t be applied to 16 hours or more — but he wouldn’t include a cap in his 2011 legislation. “There’s support for this. A lot of people are protesting, and the community is getting involved,” Richard says. “This is something that should have happened two years ago.”
MAY 22 This post was written the day after the second line shooting in NOLA, by Brentin Mock. Mock is a friend of Deb "Big Red" Cotton, a blogger who was shot in the back and was seriously injured. It is a raw, emotional piece of writing, something the writer obviously felt he needed to get off his chest. But it raises questions that can't be easily dismissed, and might give some insight into where the source of these events truly is.
MAY 22 In this Baton Rouge Business Report post, Rolfe McCollister considers the privatization of bus service in Baton Rouge. After decades of under-funding, it is a mess, and although a tax (partially) passed last year, improvement hasn't happened yet. McCollister apparently feels it is time to let private business get in on the transit business.
MAY 22 This post on Bayou Buzz by Jeff Crouere urges the defeat of a bill that would grant modest pay increases over the next several years to the state's judges and clerks of court. The state is in no position to fund pay hikes, Crouere argues, with the pay increases costing a total of $9 million over several years. It sends the wrong message to the (proverbial) hard-working people of Louisiana, he says.
MAY 22 The Advocate reports here that State Treasurer John Kennedy is complaining about a meeting of the corporation that oversees the state's tobacco settlement. The Governor wanted it restructured, and he has some support, but not a lot. The corporation agreed with his plan, but Kennedy didn't, and it appears that the meeting was noticed in a manner completely different than that of all previous meetings. Kennedy's given to hyperbole, but in this case the fish don't smell too fresh.
MAY 22 In this Advocate story, Carencro Police Chief Carlos Stout says the recent federal indictment of a strip club owner is all wrong. The indictment alleges that drugs and prostitution went on with impunity because club staff made arrangements with "local" police. Stout says it never happened, and while his cops do work security in the parking lot, they're not allowed inside.
MAY 22 This amusing post in DIG Baton Rouge recounts an ad that ran on Craig's List recently; the advertiser was seeking tenants for a Beauregard Town house. He knew his market, and wrote an ad that the most ironical hipster couldn't resist. Apparently, he really did know his market, because the ad worked like a charm.
MAY 22 In this post in The Lens, Mark Moseley comments on the rhetoric Gov. Jindal employed in trying to save his tax "reform" package. One interesting point concerns Jindal's use of his brother, Nikesh, in a little story. Nikesh left Louisiana because of his inability to get a decent job, the story goes, but the story won't hold water: Nikesh lives in DC, which has an income tax level comparable to Louisiana, Moseley says. If income taxes caused the dismal situation, it should exist in DC too. Right?
MAY 22 This post by columnist John Maginnis traces the trajectory of the bill that would fund construction at community and technical colleges -- and bypass the Board of Regents and traditional higher ed funding mechanisms. Sure, it will bust the legislature's self-imposed debt limit, but some leges feel that there's more need (because there is more growth) in the community and technical college area than in the university area, he says.
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And my wife would like to point out that many students go to college for free on the TOPS program regardless of need.
Perhaps we should ask students to foot more, or all, of the bill for their college education since they will reap the rewards of it.