Fed up with Gov. Bobby Jindal and his lack of transparency, a state Senate panel called an unusual vote Wednesday to subpoena information from the Jindal administration concerning proposed privatization of a state health insurance plan. The controversy over the secret financial analysis of the Office of Group Benefits and its $500 million surplus, prepared by New Orleans-based Chaffe & Associates, also has the attention of the national media; The Independent has obtained a public records request from political news site TPM dated June 8:
Custodian of Records
Division of Administration
P.O. Box 94095
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9095
RE: Public Records RequestDear Custodian of Records:
Pursuant to the Louisiana Constitution and to the provision of the Louisiana Public Records Act, I am hereby requesting access to and copies of the following documents:
1. Any and all reports prepared by Chaffe & Associates regarding the Office of Group Benefits.
2. Any and all drafts, preliminary reports, revisions, and working documents associated with any report(s) prepared by Chaffe & Associates regarding the Office of Group Benefits.
3. Any and all communications within the Division of Administration regarding any report(s) prepared by Chaffe & Associates regarding the Office of Group Benefits. 4. Any and all communications between the Division of Administration and Chaffe & Associates regarding any report(s) prepared by Chaffe & Associates regarding the Office of Group Benefits.
5. Any and all communications within the Division of Administration and between the Division of Administration and Chaffe & Associates regarding whether or not to release to the public or any other outside parties any report(s) prepared by Chaffe & Associates regarding the Office of Group Benefits.In accordance with Section 44:32(D) of the Louisiana Public Records Act, I request a response to this request within three business days. If my request is denied in whole or part, I ask that you justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the act.
I agree to pay reasonable duplication fees for the processing of this request.
Thank you for your assistance.
The request is signed by TPM reporter Eric Lach, who today filed a story on the rare legislative subpoena.
“The Chaffe report is precisely the type of information that the public and lawmakers have a right to see under the Louisiana Constitution and state law,” says TPM Managing Editor/Washington Bureau Chief David Kurtz. “With a half billion dollars at stake, this report needs to see the light of day.”
The Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee, which voted 21-0 for the resolution to seek the records, gave the administration 24 hours to comply, believing the report will shed light on how much it will cost to privatize the plan, which insures about 60,000 people. Some 150 state employees could lose their jobs if the plan is privatized.
The Office of Group Benefits provides health and life insurance to about 250,000 current and retired state workers and their families.
The Advocate reported Thursday that drama has surrounded the office since the Jindal administration proposed the privatization.
Some legislators are concerned that the privatization is an attempt to free up the office’s substantial surplus. The Jindal administration contends outsourcing will produce an upfront infusion of cash for the state as well as save money.
Earlier this year, Jindal fired the office’s chief executive officer, Tommy Teague. Teague’s replacement, Scott Kipper, recently tendered his resignation after less than two months on the job following a contentious confirmation hearing that largely focused on the report at the heart of the subpoena.
Read more here.
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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