GAMBIT WEEKLY: Da Winnas & Da Loozas
by CLANCY DUBOS - Gambit Weekly (excerpt)

This year's legislative session went swimmingly for Gov. Bobby Jindal, but for many others it was a drowning pool. Here's our annual recap of "Da Winnas and Da Loozas" of the annual session:

DA WINNAS

1. Gov. Bobby Jindal — The governor rammed through his "transparency" bill, got the budget more or less as he presented it, killed any and all tax increases and kept lawmakers from raiding his economic development mega-fund. His few losses seem almost insignificant by comparison, such as his failure to secure repeal of the motorcycle helmet requirement. If there was a major setback, it was the failure of a proposed constitutional amendment designed to give legislators and the governor more flexibility to cut budgets in times of fiscal hardship.

2. Saints owner Tom Benson
3. Local School Boards
4. Restaurants
5. Business Interests

DA LOOZAS

1. Higher Education — State colleges and universities convinced lawmakers to restore $100 million of $219 million in proposed cuts, but at the end of the day colleges still found themselves with 7 percent less in state funding. That reduction will be tempered somewhat by a $30 million tuition increase, but the long-term picture looks bleak. That means some entire programs could be on the chopping block next year and the year after.

2. Health Care
3. State Education Superintendent Paul Pastorek
4. LSU
5. New Orleans Developers

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