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Archive for April, 2012

Education Dept. latest agency to receive layoff notification

Posted in Civil Service, Education, Governor's Office, Layoffs, Transparency on April 14, 2012| 11 Comments »

Employees of the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) are concerned, as are most state employees, about proposed radical changes to the state retirement plan that could radically alter the lives of tens of thousands of state workers.

But for some in the department, there is a greater concern: a Notice of Impending Layoff that went out on Tuesday, April 10.

“In accordance with the requirement of Civil Service Rule 17.12(a), notice is hereby given of an impending layoff to be effective no later than June 30, 2012, in the Louisiana Department of Education,” began the memorandum from State Superintendent John White.

“This layoff is being proposed due to elimination of 58 authorized positions (which includes vacancies) from the Table of Organization and a reduction of state funds in the Operating Budget for FY 2013,” White said.

It is not immediately known how many active employees will be affected, but there were indicates that most of the 58 positions to be abolished were unfilled positions.

“Once the layoff plan has been approved by the Director of Civil Service, it will be made available to you via the LDOE Intranet,” white said.

Employees to be impacted by the reduction in force are scheduled to be notified this week, the memorandum said. “Any questions concerning this matter should be directed to Kim Fitch, Human Resources Director,” it said.

Affected employees, among other things, are required to respond to any relocation offer. Failure to comply will be considered a declination of the offer, White said.

“Once an employee accepts or declines a relocation offer, the decision is final,” he said.

Similar notices have gone out to other agencies in past months, including the Office of Risk Management, the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance and the Department of Health and Hospitals.

A similar notice is expected to go out soon to employees of the Office of Group Benefits where about 130 employees are expected to lose their jobs to the privatization of the agency’s Preferred Provider Organization (PPO).

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Did legislators collect from ALEC and from House and Senate for attending legislative planning conferences?

Posted in ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Ethics, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators on April 11, 2012| 8 Comments »

The email memorandum came from Arizona State Rep. Debbie Lesko, the Arizona public sector chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Dated May 12, 2011, at 4:33 p.m., it extended an invitation to ALEC members “to join me in New Orleans at ALEC’s annual meeting from Aug. 3-6. READ ALL DETAILS BELOW:”

What followed could serve as a damning indictment of several members of ALEC who did and/or continue to serve in the Louisiana Legislature.

“ALEC is a nonpartisan membership association for conservative state lawmakers who share a common belief in limited government, free markets, federalism and individual liberty,” the email said.

Then came the zinger—in boldface type, no less:

“If you are an ALEC member, your airfare, hotel, ALEC registration, baggage, travel to/from the airport to the hotel, and airport parking will be reimbursed through an ALEC scholarship up to $1900 per legislator.”

Another paragraph, again in boldface, instructed legislators thusly: “You need to SAVE and SUBMIT copies of all receipts and turn them in to my assistant, Patty Wisner, AFTER the trip. Reimbursement usually takes 2-3 weeks to process AFTER the trip and AFTER you turn in the reimbursement form and receipts. I have attached the reimbursement form.”

The problem with that is that at least 16 Louisiana legislators filed expense reports with the House and Senate for reimbursement of more than $20,750 in expenses related to their attendance at last August’s annual meeting in New Orleans, hosted by ALEC’s then national president, former Rep. Noble Ellington (R-Winnsboro), according to records provided by the House and Senate.

And those figures don’t even include out-of-state ALEC conferences places like San Antonio, Chicago, San Diego and Washington, D.C., and attended by some of the same legislators who attended the New Orleans annual meeting, as well as 19 other members and former members of the House and Senate and which cost taxpayers an additional $56,200.

Assuming the same offer was extended to members who attended the other meetings, it would appear that state lawmakers may have double-dipped in an amount that approaches $70,000 for the ALEC-sponsored events.

Some of their state-paid expenses were for per diem at $152 per day, a cost not paid by ALEC and to which legislators are technically, if not questionably, entitled.

Rep. Jeffrey Arnold (D-New Orleans), for example received $456 in per diem for three days of meetings in his home town, plus the registration fee of $575 for last August’s annual meeting.

Rep. Austin Badon, also of New Orleans, by contrast, submitted expense vouchers totaling $1333 for the same meeting, including $608 for hotel accommodations even though he resides in New Orleans. He submitted a voucher for a registration fee of $610 as opposed to Arnold’s $575 registration fee.

Others, such as Rep. Alan Seabaugh (R-Shreveport), however, claimed more than $2,000 in expenses that included a $475 registration fee for the same meeting.

Besides the $475 registration fee, Seabaugh also submitted vouchers for payment of $346 in mileage from Shreveport and $456 in per diem payments—a total of $1,277, leaving almost $800 in unaccounted for expenses, presumably for hotel accommodations at the New Orleans Marriott which were not itemized on his voucher that was stamp-dated Aug. 15, 2011.

Lesko’s email specifically said that members’ registration fees and hotel accommodations would be paid by ALEC. Seabaugh submitted a $100 payment on June 13, 2011 for two years’ membership, according to his campaign finance records.

ALEC, headquartered in Washington, D.C., professes to be non-partisan and says it is not a lobbyist organization. It is supported by generous donations from hundreds of corporate members such as BP America, Chevron, private prison companies Corrections Corp. of America and G4S (formerly Wackenhut), US Airways, Amazon.com, American Express, Amway, Amoco, Anheuser-Busch, Archer Daniels Midland, AT&T, Bayer Corp., Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Hunt Guillot of Ruston, Bristol-Myers, Chrysler Corp., ConocoPhillips, Dell Computers, Dow Chemical, Eli Lilly, ExxonMobil, FedEx, General Motors, GlaxoSmithKline, Georgia-Pacific, K12, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Koch Industries, McKinsey & Co., Merck, Pfizer, Reynolds American, Shell Oil, State Farm, Time Warner, Gulf States Toyota, UnitedHealthcare, Union Pacific, UPS, Verizon, Visa, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Liberty Mutual and Zurich Insurance.

ALEC even has its logo prominently displayed, along with other national legislative organizations, on the Louisiana Legislature’s web page: http://www.legis.louisiana.gov/

Until recently, Pepsico, Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, Intuit, the Gates Foundation and McDonald’s were members but have since pulled their support in the wake of public backlash over the shooting death in Florida of black teenager Trayvon Martin by community watch volunteer George Zimmerman.

For more than a month, it appeared Zimmerman would escape prosecution under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, legislation enacted with the strong backing of ALEC. It was announced on Wednesday, however, that Zimmerman would be prosecuted for second-degree murder.

The Louisiana Senate, by a 31-6 vote on Monday, approved SB 303 by State Sen. Neil Riser that would strengthen gun rights by allowing firearms at schools, churches and on college campuses.

If approved by both chambers, the proposed constitutional amendment would be decided by Louisiana voters in next November’s elections.

Riser, a member of ALEC and who has filed expense vouchers for attending ALEC conferences, said the bill would give Louisiana “the strongest Second Amendment law in the nation.”

Other current and former members of the Louisiana House and Senate who submitted expense vouchers for ALEC’s August annual meeting in New Orleans include:

• Former State Rep. Elton Aubert (D-Vacherie)—$1354.01;

• Rep. Austin Badon (D-New Orleans)—$1333.36;

• Former Rep. Damon Baldone (D-Houma)—$575 (registration fee);

• Sen. A.G. Crowe (R-Pearl River)—$1351.72 (including registration fee);

• Rep. Jim Fannin (D-Jonesboro)—$649.36 (includes two days’ per diem);

• Rep. Brett Geymann (R-Lake Charles)—$816.64 (includes hotel room);

• Rep. Joseph Harrison (R-Gray)—$1920.97 (includes $947.64 for hotel and $475 for registration fee);

• Rep. Frank Hoffman (R-West Monroe)—$1696.35 ($608 in per diem for four days; $475 registration);

• Former Rep. Nita Hutter (R-Chalmette)—$677.75 (includes $475 registration);

• Rep. H. Bernard LeBas (D-Ville Platte)—$1781.77 ($760 per diem ($841.95 hotel);

• Sen. Gerald Long (R-Natchitoches)—$2178.97 ($894 for six days per diem;

• Sen. Ed Murray (D-New Orleans)—$608 (four days per diem);

• Rep. Scott Simon (R-Abita Springs)—$1319.82 ($456 per diem; $804.99 hotel);

• Sen. Francis Thompson (D-Delhi)—$1745.21;

• Sen. Mike Walsworth (R-West Monroe)—$1486.44 (includes $476.08 hotel, $295 registration and $73.92 parking).

Current and former legislators who submitted vouchers for other ALEC conferences in other cities include:

• Lebas—Phoenix, Nov. 29-Dec 2, 2011 ($596); Washington, D.C., Dec. 1-4, 2009 (1656.83); San Diego, Aug. 4-7, 2010 ($1321.36);

• Long—Atlanta, Dec. 7-12, 2011 ($894);

• Hoffman—Atlanta, July 14-18, 2009 ($1614.40);

• Harrison—Washington, D.C., Dec. 3-5, 2008 ($1896.43); New Orleans, Sept. 30-Oct 2, 2009 ($496), Washington, D.C., Dec. 1-5, 2009 ($1981.24); San Diego, Aug. 4-8, 2010 ($1580.50); Washington, D.C., Nov. 30-Dec 4, 2010 ($2031.14);

• Baldone—Chicago, July 30-Aug. 2, 2008 ($1222.22); San Diego, Aug. 4-8, 2010 ($1645.84);

• Rep. Tim Burns (R-Mandeville)—San Diego, Aug. 4-8, 2010 ($1485.36);

• Rep. Thomas Carmody (R-Shreveport)—San Diego, Aug. 4-8, 2010 ($1403.36);

• Rep. Greg Cromer (R-Slidell)—Washington, D.C., Dec. 3-7, 2008 ($2281.73); Atlanta, July 15-18, 2009 (1486); Washington, D.C., Dec. 2-4, 2009 ($956.50);

• Sen. Yvonne Dorsey (D-Baton Rouge)—San Diego, July 31-Aug. 8, 2010 ($2454.11);

• Former Rep. Noble Ellington (R-Winnsboro)—Chicago, July 28-Aug 2, 2008 ($858); Washington, D.C., Dec. 2-7, 2008 ($870); Atlanta, July 3-9, 2009 ($2068.05); New Orleans, Sept. 30-Oct 1, 2009 ($304); Durham, N.C., Oct. 14-18, 2009 ($795); Washington, D.C., Dec. 1-4, 2009 ($932.56); Dallas, March 2-3, 2010 ($318); Phoenix, Nov. 28-Dec. 3, 2011 ($894);

• Sen. Dale Erdy (R-Livingston)—Atlanta, July 14-18, 2009 ($2058.25); Chicago, July 30-Aug 2, 2008 ($2302.19);

• Former Rep. William Walker Hines (R-New Orleans)—Atlanta, July 15-18, 2009 ($1707.85);

• Rep. Robert Johnson (D-Marksville)—San Diego, Aug. 4-8, 2010 ($1403.36);

• Former Rep. Kay Katz (R-Monroe)—Austin, Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2011 ($1177.05);

• Sen. Bob Kostelka (R-Monroe)—Chicago, July 29-Aug 2, 2008 ($2159.39);

• Former Rep. John LaBruzzo (R-Metairie)—San Diego, Aug. 4-8, 2010 ($1460.36);

• Former Rep. Nickie Monica (R-LaPlace)—Washington, D.C., Dec. 1-5, 2009 ($2095.24);

• Rep. Jerome Richard (I-Thibodaux)—Atlanta, July 15-16, 2009 ($747.70);

• Sen. Neil Riser (R-Columbia)—Washington, D.C., Nov. 30-Dec. 4, 2010 ($2139.52);

• Former Rep. Mert Smiley (R-St. Amant)—Chicago, July 29-Aug. 3, 2008 ($2200.60);

• Former Rep. Gary Smith (D-Norco)—Washington, D.C., Dec. 4-6, 2008 ($1060.26);

• Rep. Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge)—San Diego, Aug. 4-8, 2010 ($2438.56);

• Rep. Thomas Willmott (R-Kenner)—San Diego, Aug. 4-8, 2010 ($1525.76).

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Notable Quotables (In their own words)

Posted in Ethics, Notable Quotables, Transparency on April 10, 2012| 3 Comments »

“Diogenes, what are you doing with that lamp here in Sinope?

“I am looking for an honest man.”

“Diogenes, what are you doing with that lamp here in Athens”

“I am looking for an honest man.”

“Diogenes, what are you doing with that lamp here in Corinth?”

“I am looking for an honest man.”

“Diogenes, what are you doing in the State Capitol in Baton Rouge?”

“Looking for my freaking lamp.”

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Here’s how the Appropriations Committee voted on prison privatization (Hint: Chairman Jim Fannin won’t be Teagued)

Posted in ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Governor's Office, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Prison, Privatization on April 10, 2012| 7 Comments »

As predicted by LouisianaVoice (a prediction any observer with half a brain could have made), HB 850 by Rep. Henry Burns (R-Haughton), otherwise known as the prison sellout bill, passed in the House Appropriations Committee. The close vote (13-11), however, was something of a surprise.

Still, the fix was in all along and few on the committee listened to pleas and protestations against the privatization of Avoyelles Correctional Center in Cottonport.

Even more surprising was four of the committee members who between them, received $64,000 from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), went contrary to ALEC’s—and Jindal’s—wishes and voted against privatizing Avoyelles, closing the J. Levy Dabadie Correctional Center in Pineville and transferring its 330 low-risk offenders to Avoyelles and for closing the Forcht Wade residential substance abuse facility in Caddo Parish and moving its inmates to the David Wade Correctional Center in Homer.

Four of the 11 who voted against the bill, including two Republicans and two Democrats, received $2,500 each from Jindal in campaign contributions but apparently felt that keeping the prisons and their guards employed outweighed the Jindal campaign contributions. They included Democrats Walt Leger and Jared Brossett, both of New Orleans, and Republicans James Morris of Oil City and Brett Geymann of Lake Charles. Morris and Geymann were the only Republicans to vote no.

One has to wonder if Jindal will demand a rebate on his investments since there were no committee chairmanships among the four to take away.

Four of five Democrats on the committee who receive contributions from neither ALEC nor Jindal voted no. They were Patricia Haynes Smith and Edward James of Baton Rouge, Helena Moreno of New Orleans and Roy Burrell of Shreveport. Robert Billiot of Westwego broke ranks with his fellow Democrats and voted in favor of the bill.

Also predictably, Rep. Jim Fannin (D-Jonesboro) held onto his committee chairmanship by metaphorically kissing Jindal’s ring (some may have a lower opinion, anatomically speaking) by voting in favor of the bill. The memory of the removal of Rep. Harold Richie (D-Bogalusa) as vice-chairman of the House Committee on Insurance had to be fresh on Fannin’s mind. Richie, sitting on the House Ways and Means Committee, voted against a proposed tax rebate for those who donate money for scholarships to private and parochial schools and was promptly stripped of his vice chairmanship of the Committee on Insurance.

The only other Democrat besides Fannin to vote for the measure was Robert Billiot of Westwego.

Jindal’s contributions to committee members and each members’ final vote included:

• Rep. Jim Fannin (D-Jonesboro)—$2500 (Y);

• Rep. Cameron Henry (R-Metairie)—$2500 (Y);

• Rep. Simone Champagne (R-Erath)—$2500 (Y);

• Rep. Charles Chaney (R-Rayville)—$2500 (Y);

• Rep. Patrick Connick (R-Marrero)—$2500 (Y);

• Rep. Franklin Foil (R-Baton Rouge)—$2500 (Y);

• Rep. Brett Geymann (R-Lake Charles)—$2500 (N);

• Rep. Joe Harrison (R-Gray)—$2500 (DID NOT VOTE);

• Rep. Bob Hensgens (R-Abbeville)—$2500 (Y);

• Rep. James Morris (R-Oil City)—$2500 (N);

• Rogers Pope (R-Denham Springs)—$2500 (Y);

• Rep. John Schroder (R-Covington)—$2500 (Y);

• Rep. John Berthelot (R-Gonzales)—$5000 (Y);

• Rep. Anthony Ligi (R-Metairie)—$5000 (Y);

• Rep. Henry Burns—$5000 (Y);

• Rep. Jared Brossett (D-New Orleans)—$2500 (N);

• Rep. Walt Leger (D-New Orleans)—$2500 (N).

Those who received contributions from ALEC’s corporate members include:

• Fannin—$6500;

• Rep. James Armes (D-Leesville)—$4500 (N);

• Champagne—$16,000;

• Geymann—$38,000;

• Harrison—$2000;

• Ligi—$20,700;

• Rep. Jack Montoucet (D-Crowley)—$6000 (N);

• Schroder—$2000;

• Rep. Ledricka Thierry (D-Opelousas)—$15,500 (N).

Two corporate members of ALEC are Corrections Corp. of America (CCA) of Nashville, Tenn. and G4S (formerly Wackenhut) of Jupiter, Fla. CCA is presently contracted to run Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield for the state while Global Expertise in Outsourcing, Inc. (GEO Group) of Boca Raton, Fla.

In addition, LaSalle Management Co. of Ruston operates eight facilities in Louisiana.

LaSalle Management, the GEO Group, and Wackenhut each contributed $10,000 to Jindal’s campaigns in 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and CCA gave the governor’s campaign $5000 in 2008 and 2009.

Additionally, GEO Group contributed $1000 to Fannin in 2010 and 2011.

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Notable Quotables (In their own words)

Posted in Civil Service, Governor's Office, Layoffs, Notable Quotables, Prison, Privatization, Transparency on April 10, 2012| 2 Comments »

“Once again, Bobby Jindal intends on ramming a bad bill through the Legislature because he knows that bad policy can’t withstand public scrutiny. This governor doesn’t care anything about public employees or the middle class. He just wants to streamline and privatize on the backs of state employees.”

–Leonal Hardman, president of District Council 17 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), commenting on House Bill 850 by Rep. Henry Burns (R-Haughton), a bill being advocated by Gov. Jindal.

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