Louisiana Voice

If one thinks Gov. Bobby Jindal, that paradigm of virtue, is not capable of vindictive reprisals in order to advance his political agenda, one need look no further than the 2009 standoff between Jindal and the State Civil Service Commission.

The short version of this story reveals Jindal to be as capable of no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners dirty fighting as any politician anywhere, at any level.

The story actually begins in 2006 in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and about two years before Jindal took office.

That is when the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) was created to deal with emergencies like hurricanes and oil spills, among other things.

Initially, GOHSEP’s staff was assigned to the governor’s office but then the legislature decided that current and future GOHSEP employees would be unclassified civil servants. They previously were unclassified as part of the state’s Military Department (National Guard).

Barry Erwin, president of the Council for a Better Louisiana (CABL), pointed out that unclassified employees work at the pleasure of the hiring authority, meaning an entire agency of unclassified workers would be subject to a governor’s patronage.

While unclassified employees don’t enjoy the job protection that classified employees do, neither are they bound by the same pay classifications. That means their salaries can—and are—set at considerably higher pay levels.

On average, unclassified employees make about $20,000 per year than their classified counterparts.

Moreover, unclassified employees are not required to meet strict earning guidelines, job qualifications or rules for promotion as do classified workers.

The Civil Service Commission attempted to learn what some of those GOHSEP salaries were and promptly met with claims of executive privilege. The commission, concerned at the proposal to change 425 GOHSEP employees from classified to unclassified and offended at Jindal’s resistance to transparency, filed suit to block the move.

While the lawsuit was pending, Jindal’s forces went into action. Sen. Mike Walsworth (R-West Monroe) promptly filed SB-209 calling for a constitutional amendment to provide “that the director, deputy director and all employees of (GOHSEP) are included in the unclassified service of the state civil service.”

The Civil Service Commission’s concerns notwithstanding, the bill passed the Senate by a unanimous 39-0 vote. The House likewise approved the measure by a 72-11 vote with 21 members not voting.

Jindal signed the bill as Act 538 and the matter was placed on the ballot for Oct. 2, 2010. Voters subsequently approved the measure by the narrowest of margins: 306,106—283,185 (51.9 percent to 48.1 percent) and the controversy appeared settled in favor of increased power for the governor.

But not so fast.

Not to be trifled with, Jindal went on the offensive against the Civil Service Commission and about 62,000 state classified employees. His attack dog this time was Rep. John Schroder (R-Abita Springs).

Schroder filed five separate bills in the 2010 session each of which had civil service directly in its crosshairs.

The crown jewel of those five bills was HB-753 which would have called for a constitutional amendment to abolish the State Civil Service Commission and the Department of Civil Service, effective Jan. 9, 2012.

The other bills included:

• HB-752, which called for a constitutional amendment to grant the legislature sole authority to provide for pay increases for persons in state service;

• HB-754, which called for a constitutional amendment to prohibit pay increases to persons in state service when there is a budget deficit;

• HB-755, which called for a constitutional amendment to require the legislature to determine prior to each fiscal year if a pay increase may be granted to persons in state service and if so, the manner and amount of the increase;

• HB-757, which would have required reports regarding employees of the Department of Civil Service and that copies of those reports be sent to the Senate President and Speaker of the House.

Neither of the bills made it out of committee but that doesn’t mean that they won’t be back on the legislature’s calendar next spring.

With another major budget deficit looming in the not so distant future, it’s probable that state employees will be denied pay raises for a third consecutive year.

But of more concern should be a resurrection of efforts to abolish Civil Service, a move, if successful, would leave state employees with no job security and subject to political pressure in order to keep their jobs, just like the old days of Huey Long, the spoils system and the deduct box.

And don’t dismiss the possibility; Jindal has a long memory.