Sunday, May 11th, 2008

'Sleepers' Take Legislative Center Stage
by Mike Hasten - Shreveport Times (excerpt)

BATON ROUGE — Like most legislative sessions, Louisiana lawmakers say this one has its share of "sleeper" bills. But this time they have sprung into the spotlight, overshadowing what was supposed to be the major focus ­— work force development.

While the House of Representatives and Senate were routinely passing similar versions of the major piece of the Jindal administration's cornerstone topic, Sen. B.L. "Buddy" Shaw's tax bill that was supposed to die peacefully in committee sprang to life and became the hottest topic in the Capitol. When the Senate converted it to a full repeal of income taxes, House members eagerly awaited its arrival.

Rep. Jane Smith, R-Bossier City, who's in her third legislative term, said like every session, "the big issue becomes the budget."

But this year, "even the budget has taken second place to what happens on the income tax," she said, referring to whether the House will keep Shaw's bill as the Senate approved it, repealing the state income tax, or reverting to his original bill, a roll-back of income taxes that rose after passage of a 2002 tax shift known as the Stelly Plan.

Someone told her Shaw's bill "was out of the barn. I say it's not only out of the barn, it's racing toward the finish line."

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Spending Not A Word Game
by MARK BALLARD - Advocate (excerpt)

With the exception of unpublicized visits to church services and well-scripted rallies, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is rarely seen in public.

So it came as a bit of a surprise that on Wednesday morning — as a Lafayette magazine published an article about Jindal’s lack of access entitled “Stonewall Jindal,” — the governor held a press conference.

Jindal gathered his leaders on the fourth floor in the State Capitol to urge lawmakers “to curb spending.”







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Vote A Big Change For Louisiana
by GERARD SHIELDS - Advocate (excerpt)

Though analysts and party leaders tried to make the election about national politics by painting the district as some political civil war battleground, in the end national implications didn’t figure in much on the outcome, some observers said.

“I think Don’s win shows that all politics is local,” said Kyra Jennings, the spokeswoman of the southern region for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Charlie Cook agrees. The Shreveport native who founded and publishes The Cook Political Report said the race was not the national referendum that some insinuated that it would be.



COMMENTARY: Charlie Cook accurately predicted a Cazayoux victory over Jenkins weeks before the actual vote was cast.

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Cazayoux Joins Support Program
Advocate (excerpt)

U.S. Rep. Don Cazayoux, D-Louisiana, is the newest member of Frontline, a program that assists Democratic members of Congress who are running in the toughest districts around the country.

“Congressman Don Cazayoux is already hard at work as an independent voice for middle class Louisianans concerned about risings gas costs, health care and education,” said Chairman Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “The Frontline Program will give Congressman Cazayoux an added boost so he can continue focusing on the issues his constituents care most about.”

According to The Washington Post, “the Frontline designation means Democrats believe (Cazayoux) may be vulnerable in November.”

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Be Careful What You Vote For
by Stephanie Grace - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

Its price tag started out at $300 million per year but now would be a whopping $4 billion per year when its 10-year phaseout is complete.

The amendment's surprise success in the Senate has clearly whet some appetites among legislators looking to make a bold move, amid news of yet another boost in the state's revenue surplus.

Although it's unclear where he really stands, the idea even seems to have gotten under the skin of House Ways and Means chairman Rep. Hunter Greene, whose committee is expected to consider the measure Monday. After years of fruitless talk of big cuts, the bill "almost puts the gun to the head of the members of the Legislature and the administration to do something about spending," he said at a hearing last week. "When you don't have the money, it makes it a little easier to make decisions."

Watching all this nervously from the sidelines is Jindal.

The governor has never been one of the GOP's anti-Stelly commandos. He occasionally talked about income tax rollbacks during his campaign, but unlike in many legislative races, it wasn't a central plank. In fact, when the original constitutional amendment came before voters, he voted for it. Jindal said that he would support Senate Bill 87's original version only if corresponding spending cuts were made.

These days, he'd be lucky if that version crossed his desk instead of a full repeal, which some feel he might be compelled to veto -- something no rising Republican star would ever wants to have on his record.

The way things are going now, simply rolling back the Stelly increases is looking like a modest proposition. And that, in and of itself, tells you how dramatically things have shifted in recent weeks.

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EDITORIAL: Keep Ethics Code Tough
Advocate (excerpt)

Gov. Bobby Jindal is touting his ethics reforms, from the capital of illusion in Hollywood to, well, the other capital of illusion in Washington, D.C. Now, though, there’s a serious question whether enforcement of the shiny new reforms will be an illusion — undermined by decisions of Jindal’s own lieutenants in the Legislature.

The governor appears to be having it two ways: reforms in the media releases, obstacles to enforcement in the legislation.

Both problems arise from the rushed special session on ethics early this year.







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The Carvilles Are Coming
by Bruce Alpert - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

Word that the political odd couple, Democrat James Carville and Republican Mary Matalin, had pulled their Alexandria, Va., home off the real estate listings led one Virginia newspaper to speculate that the couple had canceled their plans to move to New Orleans. Not so, says Matalin, a GOP political consultant who worked for President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

"The house that we're in here we're going to be keeping for a base in Washington, but we are coming to New Orleans," Matalin said in a phone message. Matalin said the house and school for the couple's two daughters have been selected and that plans now call for them to be in their New Orleans digs sometime next month.

She and Carville, a Democratic consultant who was the key adviser to President Bill Clinton's first successful presidential campaign, announced several months ago that they are moving to New Orleans to be closer to Carville's Louisiana relatives.

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(VERY) EARLY MORNING LINE: N.O. MAYOR RACE
Times-Picayune (excerpt)

In what amounts to little more than a gauge of name recognition, the first voter survey before the 2010 mayor's race is out.

Pollster Verne Kennedy, who sampled 400 registered voters for a group of business people he declined to identify, provided a list of mostly familiar names to choose from for a job that no one, as of yet, is officially seeking.

Running at the head of a trial heat with 45 percent was Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, who failed in his bid to unseat Mayor Ray Nagin in 2006. Landrieu, who easily won a second term as the state's No. 2 official last fall, has given no indication that he wants another shot at the City Hall job.

Finishing second with 21 percent was City Council President Arnie Fielkow, who associates say is considering a mayoral bid.

Scoring in single digits in the April 25-26 survey were District C Councilman James Carter, 5 percent; lawyer and 2006 mayoral also-ran Rob Couhig, 4 percent; Roy Glapion, a businessman and son of a former city councilman, 3 percent; and state Sen. Ed Murray, 2 percent.

The poll, which had an error margin of plus or minus 5 percentage points, found that 20 percent of the respondents are undecided.

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State Definition Of Lobbyist Is Deemed To Be Too Broad
by Robert Travis Scott - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

BATON ROUGE -- State lawmakers are grappling with a complicated question that hangs over a major portion of the state's ethics laws: What exactly is a lobbyist?

For some time, a number of capital observers have been saying Louisiana's current definition includes many people -- some who see themselves as ordinary citizens simply expressing an opinion about legislation -- who don't realize they should be registering as lobbyists and filing regular disclosure forms with the Board of Ethics.

"A lot of folks are lobbyists who don't know it," said Barry Erwin, president of the Council for a Better Louisiana, a government monitoring group. In particular, leaders of small businesses and nonprofit groups have reason for concern, he said.


The council, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and other groups have been scrutinizing the law with an aim to suggest new definitions that could be written into bills this week in the Legislature.

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First Step Toward Making Louisiana's Prekindergarten Program Universal
Times-Picayune (excerpt)

The Senate Education Committee took the first step last week toward making Louisiana's prekindergarten program universal. The state currently provides enough money for any public school system to offer at least a handful of early education classes for 4-year-olds from low-income households.

Senate Bill 286 by Sen. Ann Duplessis, D-New Orleans, calls for a five-year plan to raise the income cap for eligibility until the fall of 2013, when the program would have open admission regardless of income.

The bill, a priority of the business and civic coalition Blueprint Louisiana, also would open participation in the program to private providers of early childhood education, including nonprofit and for-profit child-care providers and Head Start programs.

Legislative fiscal analysts estimate a $10.5 million cost in fiscal year 2009-10, the first year of the expanded eligibility, with the estimated cost rising each year as more students become eligible.
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LA. System Of Judicial Oversight One Of The Most Secretive In The Country
by Bruce Alpert - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

A legal watchdog group has rated Louisiana 47th among the 50 states in terms of how states hold judges accountable.

"Louisiana's system of judicial oversight is one of the most secretive in the country," said Suzanne Blonder, senior counsel at Help Abolish Legal Tyranny. "In an era that embraces principles of sunshine and transparency, it's shameful that the state's system for monitoring our most powerful governmental officials is designed to shut out the public."

The group says that Louisiana courts don't release information about ethics complaints against judges until the state Judiciary Commission files a recommendation for discipline with the state's Supreme Court. Court spokeswoman Valerie Willard said the court system wants to ensure that due process is followed and that a judge isn't tarred by false charges, but declined comment on the low grade assigned by the group.

The court is now drawing up financial disclosure rules for judges under an agreement it reached after the state Legislature decided not to include the courts in the new ethics rules adopted in a special session called this year by Gov. Bobby Jindal.

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Louisiana Ranks Among Worst In Litter
by Abbey Brown - The Town Talk (excerpt)

Louisiana is one of the 10 worst in every category of litter and debris ranking in a new study called "The American Litter Scorecard," authored by Washington-based government analyst Steve Spacek.

The state ranked second worst overall in the subjective portion and fifth from the bottom in the subjective category, taking into consideration existing litter taxation, beverage containers and recycling; a recycling slogan; per-capita waste disposal; and per-capita environmental spending. The score also considered the state's "livability" score determined by economic, educational, health, public safety and environmental statistics.

Keep Cenla Beautiful Director Bettye Jones wasn't surprised at Louisiana's spot on the scorecard.


"A tolerance for litter and the behavior of littering itself seems to be part of our culture," said Jones, a Louisiana native. "People who grew up here don't seem to see it as a problem. And that attitude can be discouraging."

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U.S. SENATE POLL

The final results of the poll we have had up for months with the question "If the election were held today who would you vote for Senator Mary Landrieu or someone else" received over 40,000 cast votes:

Someone Else received 75.8% to Senator Landrieu's 24.2%.

As we explained previously, the results reflect the views of a readership that is whiter, generally better educated, more conservative and more politically active than the average Louisiana voter.

The results from the statewide polls we conducted during the elections last fall showed clearly all of the incumbent candidates who polled below 30% support (with the same wording of the question) were defeated (i.e. Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom and Attorney General Charles Foti).

Interestingly, over the course of the past three months, Mary Landrieu's support in our poll climbed from 19.4% to the final 24.2%. Lately she is seeing a consistent surge in momentum.

To add a new angle we have changed the question a bit to make it more interesting for our readers.


(To cast your vote for U.S. Senate look under polls in the right hand column of this site.)

For the lastest national poll results click the story title link above to RealClearPolitics.com.

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Saturday, May 10th, 2008

Expert: Drop Tax, Stop Flight
by JEREMY HARPER - Advocate (excerpt)

Eliminating the state income tax would help reverse the out-migration of Louisiana residents, Shreveport demographer and political analyst Elliott Stonecipher said Friday.

But for it to truly work, the tax cut would have to be enacted quickly, permanently written into the state constitution and heavily marketed, Stonecipher told a group of real estate professionals at a Baton Rouge conference.

“It would be the marquee that you could hang out that says Louisiana is a good place to move to,” he said.



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State Income Boosted By $824 Million
by Jeremy Alford - Daily Report (excerpt)

Natural resources continue to keep Louisiana afloat, according to the Revenue Estimating Conference. The panel, which is charged with identifying money for the state, recognized an additional $462 million for the current budget year and another $362 million for Fiscal Year 2009.

It’s a "conservative" estimate, according to Greg Albrecht, chief economist for the Legislative Fiscal Office, buoyed chiefly by soaring oil and natural gas prices. "I've been in meetings and said this looks like the late 1970s," Albrecht says, "but this is a different world."

Tax collections are in varied conditions as Louisiana remains in a post-hurricane economy, he added, but mineral money is solid -- even though the dollars swim in an unpredictable sector. Still, there were reasons for many lawmakers, eager to spend the newfound cash, to rub their collective hands together.

The estimated price for a barrel of oil was increased by more than $10 for the coming year, up to $84.23. Even with the increase, that's still a conservative estimate -- oil is trading at more than $125 a barrel right now and there are no indications the price will go down significantly. As for natural gas prices, a hike of $1.46 is also projected for 2009, up to $8.72/mmbtu. "It's an increasing reliance on oil and gas," Albrecht says, framing a budget picture that a few on the panel didn't relish.

Senate President Joel Chaisson, a Destrehan Democrat, and Commissioner of Administration Angele Davis sought to soften the projection by manipulating oil and gas prices in a more conservative manner. But in a move that shows a widening split in Gov. Bobby Jindal’s leadership team, GOP House Speaker Jim Tucker of Terrytown opposed the change, arguing that the panel has traditionally accepted the forecast prepared by the LFO. "We have to protect that process," Tucker says.

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EDITORIAL: Legislators' Pay Should Not Be Quadrupled
The Daily Advertiser (excerpt)

Fortunately, state Sen. Ann Duplessis of New Orleans has little chance of success in her move to give legislators a pay raise of more than $50,000. The senator's bid to quadruple legislators' pay from $16,800 per year to $70,000 per year is absurd. It would - and should - generate outrage on the part of the state's taxpayers.

There may still be intense anger on the part of citizens. The Senate Finance Committee, probably believing it was being fiscally responsible, lowered Duplessis' salary proposal to $50,700. That again is absurd.

Our lawmakers do well in comparison with those from other Southern states. The $16,800 salary they receive is above that of the $14,364 average for Southern legislatures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Only two other states in the Southern Region -Florida and Georgia - are higher paid.

Going from the Duplessis proposal of $70,000 to the $50,700 now proposed would still put the lawmakers in an income bracket that is far above Louisiana's median household income.

According to The Times-Picayune, it would make Louisiana lawmakers the ninth-best paid in the country. There are very few positive categories in which Louisiana ranks in the top 10.

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Are State Legislators Underpaid?
by Robert Morgan - The Town Talk (excerpt)

A perennial issue facing the Legislature is a bill to raise lawmakers' pay.

For an 85-day session, per diem can amount to $12,155. Critics would say that makes the total base salary $28,955 (less for 60-day sessions) every other year.

It could be more if a legislator attends a large number of committee meetings between sessions, for which they are also paid $143 per diem.

With Senate Bill 672, Sen. Ann Duplessis, D-New Orleans, wants to tie legislative pay hikes to congressional pay hikes, with legislators starting at $50,700 plus $12,000 for expenses annually.

That certainly could be enough for full-time work.

On the other side of the issue, Sen. Joe McPherson, D-Woodworth, says public service should be just that, service without particular regard to payment.

"It should be a sacrifice from people who seek the office and do it and want to do it," McPherson said.

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Money, Mailers Big Part Of Election
by SARAH CHACKO - Advocate (excerpt)

“It was a very extraordinary effort,” (Woody) Jenkins said. “I’m not suggesting anything illegal happened. I just think it was decisive in the election.”

One of the mailers sent by the DCCC focused on Jenkins’ vote to allow former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke a seat in the Legislature after Duke won a House district election in 1989. Several other legislators also voted to allow Duke to be seated.

Cazayoux did not respond to four requests for an interview and state Democratic Party Chairman Chris Whittington did not respond to three requests for comment on Friday.



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Lawmakers Hop Aboard Disclosure Bandwagon
by Bill Barrow - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

BATON ROUGE -- Legislators wrestled vigorously in February before tweaking and then adopting Gov. Bobby Jindal's proposals to impose extensive new personal financial disclosure requirements on public officials.

Months later, with the dam already broken, lawmakers appear eager to add to the list of elected politicians, political appointees and public employees who will have to begin next year making public more information about their sources of income, assets and liabilities.

"For all of us to enjoy the benefits of having some of the nation's best ethics laws, we've all got to be equal partners in this effort," said Rep. Rick Gallot, D-Monroe, who as chairman of the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs has shepherded many of the disclosure proposals.

The House of Representatives this week passed four bills adding various posts to the list of those who will have comply with one of the three tiers of disclosure -- each requiring varying details -- lawmakers set up in the February special session.

House Bill 340 by Rep. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, would put the wardens of Louisiana's 11 adult prisons in the second tier of reporting requirements, meaning that Angola's Burl Cain and his colleagues would annually file statements noting personal income and most property holdings.

Rep. Hunter Greene, R-Baton Rouge, won approval for House Bill 635 to expand the second tier requirements to the state inspector general, the legislative auditor, the head of the governor's transition team, members of the State Civil Service Commission and members of the Superdome Commission.

Gallot's measures -- House Bills 648 and 842 -- would bring members of all levee boards into the second reporting tier, as well as members of local boards and commissions that spend at least $1 million in public money each year. The February laws included only state boards and commissions.

All four proposals now move to the Senate, where Gallot said he has not heard of any problems.

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House to debate guns on campus Monday
by Mike Hasten and Icess Fernandez - Shreveport Times (excerpt)

The House of Representatives will debate one of the more controversial issues of the session Monday, allowing concealed handguns on college campuses.

HB199 by Rep. Ernest Wooton, R-Belle Chasse, was approved by the House Criminal Justice Committee, chaired by Wooton, over the objections of higher education officials, campus police chiefs and other law enforcement officers.

Proponents of the bill say armed students and faculty members possibly could have cut short shooting sprees on campuses. The bill comes after shootings at universities such as Virginia Tech and most recently Grambling State University, where the campus was locked down after students reported hearing gunfire on campus.

Opponents of the proposal say having guns on campus could lead to more violence or accidental shootings.

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Jefferson Seeks To Honor Dad Of Ex-Aide (Gets Flak)
by Bruce Alpert - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

WASHINGTON -- Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, has proposed legislation to name a Marrero post office in honor of the late father of his former chief of staff, who is a likely witness in his upcoming criminal corruption trial.

Jefferson's bill, introduced April 30, would name the post office at 5351 Lapalco Blvd. for Lionel R. Collins, a judge and lawyer in Jefferson Parish who brought several major civil rights cases in the 1950s and 1960s. His son, Lionel Collins Jr., worked as Jefferson's chief of staff and is now a lobbyist for the Jones Walker law firm.

Ashley Wilson, a Jefferson spokesman, said that the elder Collins, who died in 1988, is clearly deserving of the recognition as a pioneering lawyer and judge. In 1957, Collins and former Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Revius Ortique represented African-American clients in overturning "white only jobs" at the Celotex Corp. and, in 1963, led the effort to integrate West Jefferson Hospital.

Lionel Collins Jr. said that Jefferson knew his father and wanted to recognize him and his contributions on the 20th anniversary of his death. He said that introduction of the legislation would have no effect on his testimony, should be called as a witness in the congressman's trial.

But Craig Holman, who handles ethics issues for the advocacy group Public Citizen, said the introduction of the legislation raises serious questions.

"It's not as brazen as an exchange of cash, but it is certainly a gesture on the part of Jefferson to bestow an honor, and it suggests sentiment that 'you are a friend of mine so try not to hurt me.' "

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Top FBI Agent In N.O. Retires (Says He Will Not Run For Mayor)
by Gordon Russell - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

Jim Bernazzani, the tough-talking face of the FBI in Louisiana, retired from the bureau Friday, two weeks after he was ordered back to the agency's Washington headquarters for publicly flirting with a run for mayor of New Orleans.

Bernazzani's decision to stay in New Orleans -- and end a 24-year career with the FBI rather than return to Washington -- does not signal a continuing interest in running for mayor, however.

"I will not run for political office," he said Friday afternoon. "Absolutely not."

Two weeks ago, the FBI announced it had removed Bernazzani from his post as special agent in charge of the New Orleans office and offered him a transfer to Washington. The ouster came swiftly in response to Bernazzani's two television interviews several days earlier, in which he said he was considering a run for mayor.








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Council President's Adult Son Charged With Drug Possession
The Town Talk (excerpt)

Alexandria Police on Wednesday arrested David Fitzgerald Marshall, 40, and charged him with possession of cocaine.

Marshall, the son of Alexandria City Council President Louis Marshall, was released Thursday from the Rapides Parish Jail on $5,000 bond.

David Marshall is Louis Marshall's second adult son to face misdemeanor charges in the past year. In early June, Kelvin Marshall, 30 at the time, was arrested and charged with solicitation of a prostitute. He was one of 40 arrested by Alexandria Police during a prostitution sting. He later pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $215.

Louis Marshall on Friday declined to comment about the arrest, saying only that his son is a grown man.


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Friday, May 9th, 2008

Panel Expected To Vote On ("Massive Tax-Cut") Plan Monday
by Jan Moller - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

BATON ROUGE -- Members of a House tax-writing panel expressed support Thursday for a massive tax-cut bill, but they remained divided on what form it should take.

The House Ways and Means Committee is reviewing Senate Bill 87, which would phase out the state's income tax over 10 years at an eventual cost to the treasury of $4 billion a year. In its original form, the bill by Sen. B.L. "Buddy" Shaw, R-Shreveport, would have rolled back the 2002 Stelly plan income-tax increases, saving single filers as much as $500 a year and joint filers a potential $1,000.

Shaw is pushing to have his bill restored to its original form, but some members of the committee said they would like to eliminate the income tax altogether.

The bill has grabbed the spotlight this session because of its steep price tag and the political potency of the income-tax issue, particularly to Republicans who campaigned on reducing the Stelly plan tax swap.

It presents a dilemma for Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has said he philosophically favors tax cuts but whose administration opposed the bill when it came up in a Senate committee. Jindal has said he will sign any tax cut that is matched by corresponding spending cuts, even if it means sacrificing some of the priorities he outlined in his $30 billion budget.

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Roemer Considers Running for Congress
by JOHN MAGINNIS - LAPolitics (excerpt)

Board of Elementary and Secondary Education member Chas Roemer, 38-year-old son of former Gov. Buddy Roemer, said he will decide about running in the next two weeks.

"I am tempted by the opportunity to talk about issues critical to our district and our state and our country," he said.

Rep. Hunter Greene, R-Baton Rouge, is not running, sticking to the decision he made for the special election.

Roemer was elected to BESE without opposition last year. If a candidate, he would have a strong connection to the top of the ticket, because his father is a top campaign adviser to nominee-to-be Sen. John McCain. "It's a very interesting time for me," he said.


(Maginnis is an outstanding author and longtime observer of Louisiana politics. He publishes a highly respected weekly newsletter on the subject. To find out how to subscribe click on the story title link above.)


COMMENTARY: A Roemer candidacy would fill the major fundraising deficiency and south Baton Rouge vote getting inability of the Jenkins campaign.

Roemer is quickly emerging as the consensus Republican candidate. If he decides to run in the sixth district he will be the National Democratic Party and Don Cazayoux's worst nightmare.

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MSNBC: "Cazayoux got the only Republican opponent he could have beaten"
(excerpt)

MSNBC

The New York Times: "Party officials said the victory by Don Cazayoux in a Baton Rouge-area district over the Republican candidate, Woody Jenkins, showed that the economy and other concerns remained more important to voters than whether Mr. Cazayoux (pronounced KAZH-oo) would be an ally of Senator Barack Obama or Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker. The election marked the second time this year that Democrats have taken over a seat in a Republican stronghold.”

“Even as Democrats rejoiced Sunday at having snatched a Louisiana congressional seat long held by Republicans, observers warned it doesn't necessarily mean voters are spurning the GOP. And the victor's hold on the seat could be shaky, one analyst said” of Don Cazayoux’s victory in Louisiana.

"Democrats have a hard time winning in Louisiana, except when Woody runs," said Bernie Pinsonat of Southern Media and Opinion Research. "I think Cazayoux got the only Republican opponent he could have beaten."

Woody Jenkins, whom Cazayoux defeated, is a “solid Christian conservative,” but “is a polarizing figure."


Picture: Bernie Pinsonat of Southern Media and Opinion Research.

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Three Black Lawmakers Consider Break With Democratic Party
Associated Press (LA)

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To read this Associated Press wire story (Lafayette 'Advertiser' version) click on the story title link above.

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For Taxpayers, A Threat Of Wasted Money
by James Gill - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

From time immemorial legislators have been handing out gobs of our money to their friends back home with little, if any, explanation.

This year legislators have added more than $75 million to the budget in earmarks for pet causes, worthy and otherwise, but the gravy train is about to pull into the terminus.

Gov. Bobby Jindal, in a letter to the heads of legislative committees, declares that, in order to receive subsidies, "non-governmental" projects "must have statewide or substantial regional impact; must have been presented/openly discussed during the legislative session; must be a state agency priority; and must have the proper disclosure form published online prior to consideration."

Any appropriations that do not meet those requirements, which is to say pretty much all of them, will be vetoed, Jindal promises.

Rep. Ernest Wooton, R-Belle Chasse, says he regards Jindal's letter as a "threat" -- there are clearly no flies on Wooton -- and says he finds it "offensive" that "if we don't follow his stipulations, then we pay the price."

Taxpayers won't be the least bit offended. Jindal is forcing legislators to do what they should have done by themselves long ago. They should not need to be told that worthwhile fiduciaries do not squander money on the down-low but justify and account for expenditures in the light of day.

The current system requires taxpayers to trust their legislators. That clearly has not worked.

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Cutting Spending, Not Raising Taxes, Is Way To Grow
by David Read - The Daily Advertiser (excerpt)

Louisiana politicians, faced with a budget surplus, rapidly and gleefully convened to determine which rat-holes to stuff that would buy them the most political capital.

Those states that have cut taxes have witnessed an increased migration of citizens, businesses and capital; those that have raised taxes have conversely seen a negative influx of citizens, reductions in business expansion and an outflow of capital.

It should come as no surprise that tax reductions light the way for sustainable growth. Tax increases or frivolous expenditures of state revenues by big-government advocates are a classic path to further fiscal irresponsibility and declining opportunities.

The answer lies in cutting expenditures, reducing tax rates and imposing user fees on those who use state services.

Government is a nonproductive entity. It produces no revenue-producing product. It exists only as a parasite on its host taxpayers. Eventually, the parasite will kill its host.

"The power to tax is the power to destroy," Thurgood Marshall said.

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EDITORIAL: Take It Easy On Spending
Advocate (excerpt)

Getting out ahead of the Legislature when it has money to spend is a good way to get run over.

Gov. Bobby Jindal tried to do the former Wednesday, ahead of today’s decision by budget forecasters that likely will add hundreds of millions in anticipated state revenue in this year’s budget.

Is the governor going to get run over by the spending locomotive? Or is he more powerful than an oncoming train? Hard to say.







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State Roads Chief Says Program Bankrupt
by WILL SENTELL - Advocate (excerpt)

Louisiana’s road-building agenda will suffer because a special program for 16 projects has gone bankrupt, state Transportation Secretary William Ankner said Thursday.

The chief problem stems from a series of 16 projects approved by voters in 1989, including construction of a $406 million bridge over the Mississippi River between New Roads and St. Francisville. It will be called the John James Audubon Bridge.

The package is known in government circles as TIMED, which stands for Transportation Infrastructure Model for Economic Development.





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Jindal VP Buzz Continues
by JOHN MAGINNIS - LAPolitics (excerpt)

Despite his own disclaimers and experts' arguments of why it won't happen, speculation persists that Gov. Bobby Jindal will be Sen. John McCain's running mate this fall.

Now McCain's staff is putting Jindal's name out there, according to New York Times columnist William Kristol. He wrote this week that in separate conversations four McCain staffers and advisers mentioned Jindal as a possible vice-presidential pick.

Those comments came after McCain and Jindal spent time together in New Orleans recently, with observers noting the chemistry between the two.








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Robert Wooley's Appearance Before Ethics Board Postponed
WAFB Channel 9 (CBS) (excerpt)

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - Former Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Robert Wooley's date before the state ethics board won't happen Thursday, as originally scheduled.

The board's agenda listed the item as a public hearing to explore charges against Robert Wooley and others.

However, at the meeting Thursday morning, ethics board staffers informed 9NEWS the issue had been postponed.

There's no word on when the board will hear the charges against Wooley.








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House Wants Open Book On Wardens
Shreveport Times (excerpt)

BATON ROUGE -- Wardens of Louisiana's 13 state prisons should be forced to disclose their sources of income and other personal financial information, the state House of Representatives decided Thursday.

Lawmakers discussed but didn't act on the idea of including prison wardens in a bill that would toughen financial disclosure laws for state and local officials during the year's first special session.

Rep. J.P. Morrell said he sponsored a bill this session on the topic because wardens have budgets that can run into the millions of dollars, and forcing them to disclose their sources of personal income would reveal any possible conflicts of interest.

"This is an attempt to add more transparency to these very, very hardworking individuals who have responsibility for very large amounts of money," said Morrell, D-New Orleans.

Wardens have no financial disclosure requirements. Morrell's bill would force them to disclose their incomes, real estate holdings and the identities of the people or firms to whom they owe more than $10,000.
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Ethics Panel Opposes Changes
by MARK BALLARD - Advocate (excerpt)

The administrative committee of the state Board of Ethics voted Thursday to oppose nine bills lawmakers have offered in the Louisiana Legislature to change the newly enacted laws on how government officials can act.

The Louisiana Legislature, which convened on March 31, submitted 91 measures that would change the ethics laws, which govern what government officials can do and what behaviors they are forbidden.

Many of the bills tweak what was passed during a 17-day special session in February.

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EDITORIAL: Welcome, All, To The Next Silicon Valley
The Town Talk (excerpt)

It's a familiar theme for Jindal, who espoused all of that while on the campaign trail, through the two special legislative sessions he called in the first months of his first year of his first term, and to national audiences everywhere -- whether at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., or on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno.

Here's the central message, as told by Jindal this month at the press club:

"At one time, our state was the commercial envy of the entire nation. Thomas Jefferson once said that 'the position of New Orleans certainly destines it to be the greatest city the world has ever seen.' And in the decades after the Louisiana Purchase, it was.

"Our banks were larger than New York's. Our port was larger than Philadelphia's. Our population dwarfed St. Louis and Chicago and every other city west of the Allegheny Mountains.

"New Orleans was the place people came from all over the world to make their fortune. If you had a good idea and a willingness to work hard and take a risk, New Orleans welcomed you with open arms. That approach made us the Silicon Valley of the 1800s.

"My partners and I are here today to tell you that Louisiana will be the center of commerce and innovation again in this country. The Silicon Valley of the next century."

Powerful stuff, delivered with extraordinary passion by someone who is equipped with the talent, desire and skills needed to deliver.

He also know he needs lots of help.

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U.S. Senate Ethics Panel Dismisses Vitter Complaint
by Thomas Ferraro (excerpt)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate Ethics Committee on Thursday dismissed a complaint against Sen. David Vitter, a suspected patron of a prostitution ring headed by a woman who killed herself last month.

In a letter to the Louisiana Republican, the panel said the conduct at issue allegedly occurred before his Senate candidacy and time in office. In addition, it did not result in his being charged criminally, the committee said.

As a result, the panel said it did not have jurisdiction, dismissing "without prejudice" the complaint filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, a private watchdog group.


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Bill To Rein In Local Governments' Taxing Power Defeated In House
Times-Picayune (excerpt)

The House rejected Rep. Jeff Arnold's proposal to rein in local governments' power to increase their property tax revenue without voters' approval.

Current law requires that taxing bodies decrease their property tax rate so that the revenue they collect is equal to the previous year's amount. However, they are allowed to restore the rate, or "roll it forward" -- thus getting more revenue when property assessments go up -- without approval from voters.

Arnold's House Bill 436 would impose a new time limit on governments intending to roll rates forward: three months from the time the rate is reduced. The government body would lose the power to roll forward the rate after that period passes, unless it wins voter approval for the change.

Current law has no time limit but requires the government to publicize the vote in local newspapers. Arnold, D-Algiers, said he wanted to prevent governments from voting on millage rates after a significant time has passed and voters' attentions have moved elsewhere. Arnold won approval for an amendment that also would allow the taxing authority to adopt a resolution at a public meeting, within three months, saying it intends to increase the millage in the future.

As a proposed constitutional amendment, the measure required support of two-thirds of House members, but it failed on a vote of 48-48.

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Odom Trial Rescheduled
by Barbara Leader - News Star (excerpt)

SHREVEPORT — A hearing in Caddo District Court for Phillip Odom, the former Ouachita Parish School Board member accused of indecent behavior with a juvenile, has been reset until Wednesday.

Court officials said Odom's attorney, Marty Stroud of Shreveport, is ill.

Odom was accused last May in connection with an Internet sting that originated in northwestern Louisiana.

Court documents say Odom believed he was conversing with a 15-year-old girl online, but actually was communicating with a Caddo investigator who was working the sting.

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State Closes Storm Drills To Media
by AMY WOLD - Advocate (excerpt)

Three days of hurricane preparedness drills by local, state and federal representatives were closed to the media this week in Baton Rouge.

The hurricane preparedness drills, which end today, are held to cover hypothetical situations and to promote discussions about issues such as contraflow traffic plans, public information efforts, shelters and more.

Mark Cooper, director of the state Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said the number of new people involved in the process year was a factor in the decision to exclude the media. He said the drills are meant to foster a “learning environment” for participants and officials didn’t want the disruption by allowing media observers.




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DA Office Staffers Fired Over Pay Advances
by Laura Maggi - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

Two supervisors in the Orleans Parish district attorney's child support enforcement division were fired Thursday for giving employees in the division "salary advances," said Val Solino, the office's first assistant.

Solino said the advances, which ranged from a couple hundred dollars to $2,000, have been repaid to the office. Most had been repaid by the time independent auditors, conducting a required annual audit for 2007, uncovered the suspicious checks, he said.

Still, the use of public money to advance employees their pay is "improper," Solino said.

Michelle Beaty-Gullage, the head of the division, was fired, along with Keely Robinson, the office manager.

Contacted about the terminations, Beaty-Gullage said advances were typically given to the lowest-paid workers in the division, collection specialists, when they needed help buying groceries or making rent.

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Museum System Changes Cleared By Senate Panel
by Bill Barrow - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

BATON ROUGE -- Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu cleared the first step Thursday to gaining more control over the Louisiana museum system, but not without museum supporters renewing accusations that he is attempting a misguided power grab that would harm properties such as the Cabildo and the Presbytere.

Senate Bill 724, which cleared the Senate Education Committee without opposition, would allow Landrieu to appoint the state museum board of directors and hold hiring and firing authority over the museum director, powers that now rest with the governor and the board, respectively.

Landrieu, a Democrat, did nothing during his testimony to dispute that he is at odds with State Museum Director David Kahn. Yet Landrieu attempted to put into a larger context the bill by Sen. Francis Thompson, D-Delhi, telling senators that the good management principles dictate that he be given direct power over a system that is a division of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, which he already leads according to state law.

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Election Dates Set (To Replace New Congressmen In Legislature)
Times-Picayune (excerpt)

Special elections will be held Oct. 4 in two legislative districts whose lawmakers have moved on to Congress. U.S. Reps. Don Cazayoux, D-New Roads, and Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, resigned their state seats this week before being sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Cazayoux won the 6th Congressional District race to replace Richard Baker, and Scalise won the 1st Congressional District race to replace Bobby Jindal in the U.S. House. House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers, called the October primary, and a possible runoff on Nov. 4 -- the date of the presidential election -- for Cazayoux's 18th House District. The district includes parts of West Baton Rouge, West Feliciana and Pointe Coupee parishes.


Senate President Joel Chaisson II, D-Destrehan, is expected to set the same election dates for Scalise's 9th District seat. The 9th District covers part of Jefferson Parish. Qualifying for the races will be July 9-11.

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Investigation Uncovers Untrackable City Agencies
by Travers Mackel - WDSU Channel 6 (NBC) (excerpt)

NEW ORLEANS -- There are more than 100 organizations under the jurisdiction of the city of New Orleans that have escaped the eyes of city auditors, discovered during an investigation by WDSU.

In New Orleans East, one of the city's hardest hit areas after Hurricane Katrina hit almost three years ago, Joe Brown Park, is still in bad shape. The Judith Freeman Planetarium inside the park is still shut down. So, New Orleans Inspector General Robert Cerasoli said he wants to know why a New Orleans Planetarium Commission still exists if there is no planetarium.

"It exists with the ability to accept gifts, money, to establish a planetarium, but I don't know where it is now," said Cerasoli.

Cerasoli said the planetarium commission has the ability to receive and spend money, but it's not included in the city's central audit.

"No one is watching them," said Cerasoli.

Cerasoli said it's not the only city agency, commission or taxing district that is not being audited by the city.

"To this date there are 142 we have found that exist outside the central city government," Cerasoli said.

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