Louisiana Voice

Even as the administration pushes back floor debate on Gov. Piyush Jindal’s retirement reform for state workers, the full Senate on Wednesday made sure that its members were protected.

While thousands of state employees faced the uncertainty of their careers and retirement years, 35 members of the upper chamber, led by Sen. Daniel Martiny, a self righteous Metairie Republican, flipped a collective bird at state civil service workers in particular and Louisiana citizens in general.

And worst of all, Martiny had the unmitigated gall to accuse a Senate colleague of grandstanding.

Pot, meet Kettle. Kettle, Pot.

The furor was over Senate Bill 727 by Dan Claitor (R-Baton Rouge), which would have barred a few members of the Senate and a couple of former members from membership in the Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System (LASERS).

The legislature passed a law a few years back prohibiting members of the House and Senate from joining LASERS but the law “grandfathered in” those legislators who were already LASERS members.

Martiny is one of those. The others are Sharon Weston Broome and Yvonne Dorsey-Colomb, both Baton Rouge Democrats, Ed Murray (D-New Orleans) and John Smith (R-Leesville).

Claitor’s bill also would have provided that any legislator who is presently a member of LASERS as of June 30, 2012, may retain accrued service credit but that those members “on and after July 1, 2012, be ineligible to be a member of the system” and that employee and employer contributions would cease as of July 1.

Had the bill passed, it would have adversely affected two formers members of the legislature—former Rep. Noble Ellington (R-Winnsboro) and former Sen. Troy Hebert (D-Jeanerette).

Ellington, the immediate past national president of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), did not seek re-election last fall after 24 years in the legislature. He was promptly hired to the number-two job in the Department of Insurance at $150,000 even though Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said at the time of his hiring that Ellington had virtually no experience in insurance.

Hebert was hired by Jindal to head the Louisiana Alcohol and Tobacco Control Board at $107,800.

Their higher salaries stand to have a significantly positive impact on their retirement incomes—at a time when Jindal is attempting to rip the heart out of state employees’ retirement by making them pay more and to work longer to qualify for fewer benefits.

Claitor said legislative pay ranges from $30,000 to $38,000 per year but now that Ellington’s retirement can be based at least partially on his higher salary, he stands to reap much greater benefits.

Martiny, with a flair for the obvious—and the dramatic—pouted and then ranted in arguing against Claitor’s bill.

In short, he threw a hissy fit.

Of course, being one of the five senators who are still members of LASERS, he had no dog in that hunt; nothing self-serving there by the good senator.

No retirement reform for legislators either—just for state civil service employees. Screw the employees but take care of our own.
Can you say “double standard?”

Ellington and Hebert “are doing the job,” he said of the two former legislators-cum-unclassified fat cats.

How would he know what kind of job Ellington is doing? For that matter, what does he know about Hebert’s job performance? Has he seen their personnel performance evaluations?

Could it possibly be that he would lavish such praise because all three are current or former members of ALEC?

ALEC is a tight fraternity comprised mostly of Republican legislators from across the U.S., but there are a few Democrat members as well, including fellow senators Francis Thompson of Delhi, David Heitmeier of New Orleans, Elbert Guillory of Opelousas, and Ben Nevers of Bogalusa.

In fact, no fewer than 16 of the 39 members of the Louisiana State Senate are members of ALEC.

They include Senate President John Alario (R-Westwego), Robert Adley (R-Benton), Norbert Chabert (R-Houma), A.G. Crowe (R-Pearl River), Heitmeier, Gerald Long (R-Natchitoches), Martiny, Dan Morrish (R-Jennings), Nevers Neil Riser (R-Columbia), Thompson, Mike Walsworth (R-West Monroe), and Mack “Bodi” White (R-Central).

To a person, they were among the 35 senators who effectively defeated Claitor’s bill by returning it to the calendar where bills go to die.

Only two joined Claitor in voting against killing the bill. They were Karen Carter Peterson (D-New Orleans) and Jody Amedee (R-Gonzales).

We would never say that ALEC money may have influenced the vote but consider this: thirteen of the 35 senators who voted to kill the bill received a combined $239,600 from ALEC member corporations and when you add the $65,000 received by Ellington while he was in office, that total jumps to $304,600.

Perhaps there’s no connection between the vote and the ALEC corporations but certainly is peculiar how ALEC beneficiaries all tend to vote together on controversial issues.

Here’s the breakdown on contributions by ALEC:

• Alario—$14,500;

• Adley—$49,900;

• Chabert—$7,000;

• Crowe—$3,000;

• Heitmeier—$8,000;

• Long—$26,000;

• Martiny—$36,000;

• Morrish—$5,500;

• Riser—$7,000;

• Thompson—$8,000;

• Walsworth—$9,000;

• White—$8,500;

• Guillory—$45,200.

“We have a bad reputation in this state as legislators and public officials because we keep filing bills like this and telling people we are crooks,” Martiny said during floor debate. “It’s sad when we have to grandstand on one another.”

Well, Senator, we never said you were a crook. Those are your words.

As for our description of your performance, however, arrogant, idiotic, duplicitous, hypocritical, embarrassing buffoonery does come to mind.

And yes, it indeed is sad when you grandstand.

Because we are watching.