Louisiana Voice

The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget (JLCB) Tuesday voted 37-3 (16-0 by Senate members and 21-3 by the House members) to name former legislative staffer John Carpenter to the position of interim Legislative Fiscal Officer pending the naming of a permanent replacement for retired Gordon Monk by next January.

Carpenter recently resigned as Chief Administrative Officer to Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden. Before joining Holden’s administration, he spent 25 years working for the state House of Representatives.

Early reports speculated that Jindal Deputy Chief of Staff Kristy Nichols would be named to the post and even though her name was not mentioned, a former employee of Gov. Piyush Jindal’s administration was named to the post. Carpenter spent a year with Jindal’s Division of Administration.

Carpenter is widely regarded as an able replacement for Monk because of his past experience in working with legislators and administration officials alike. He is considered as both knowledgeable and professional by both camps.

Jindal’s rumored effort to place Nichols in the position would have stirred even more resentment among legislators who have seen all semblance of independence steadily erode during Jindal’s tenure. Unlike any other governor, Jindal was able to name both the Speaker of the House and the Senate President and a compliant Legislature has acquiesced in every instance.

Monk, after 33 years in state government, finally became fed up earlier this month and announced his retirement citing increased workload, pressure, stress and infighting among legislators. He said the session, which began on March 12 with 18-hour days and ended on June 4 with budget battles, convinced him to walk away.

He announced on Aug. 3 that his last day would be Aug. 8 and the JLCB was originally scheduled to name his interim replacement on Aug. 6 but that announcement was delayed twice.
Though the position of Legislative Fiscal Officer is one of the more low-profile positions in state government, the Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO) is one of the more important agencies in state government.

The LFO, a counterpart to the State Budget Office, is responsible for analyzing the governor’s revenue and spending proposals for the Legislature and is charged with generating fiscal notes on every bill filed in order to provide legislators with its analysis of the potential financial impact of proposed laws. In theory, the LFO is independent but in reality, it answers to the House Speaker and Senate Presidents.
Fiscal notes that reflect potential financial impact considered too high have been known to kill bills in the past.

It is those fiscal notes that have generated considerable consternation in the governor’s office as more than once its projected financial impact has clashed with Jindal’s and word around the Capitol is that the governor wants to control the LFO so that he can also control the all-important fiscal notes.

Employees are required to be present during the session, often working to midnight, to address questions about bills from legislators. The pace was stepped up this year when Jindal pushed through the majority of his education package before Easter.

Senate President John Alario (R-Westwego) indicated last week that the interim appointee will not be one of the existing employees—including Staff Director Evan Brasseaux and Chief Economist Greg Albrecht. Albrecht, however, recently crossed Jindal by contradicting the governor’s rose economic outlook by depicting the state as still struggling to recover from the recession. That flash of independence probably doomed his chances—even if Jindal had not already decided on Nichols.

Alario also said it was his intention that the interim appointee not be a candidate for the permanent position and Carpenter, who will earn $153,000 per year—the same as Monk—in his temporary position, confirmed he would not apply when asked by committee members.

Alario resisted efforts by several committee members, mostly from among House members, to set a firm date by which a permanent fiscal officer would be named though he did intimate that he hoped it would be by Jan. 15.

Reps. Jim Fannin (D-Jonesboro), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Patricia Smith (D-Baton Rouge) and Edward James (D-Baton Rouge) pushed for a deadline of Oct. 1 for the issuance of a request for proposals (RFP) in order to begin receiving applications but Oct. 15 was the deadline chosen for the RFP.

Alario said that it would require a majority vote of both the Senate and House for the naming of a permanent Legislative Fiscal Officer but only after candidates are interviewed by both the JLCB and the House Appropriations Committee.

The three committee members who voted against Carpenter’s interim appointment included Reps. John Schroder (R-Covington), James Morris (R-Oil City), and Brett Geymann (R-Lake Charles).

Voting yes were Sens. Jack Donahue (R-Mandeville), chairman, Bret Allain (R-Franklin), Sherri Smith Buffington (R-Keithville), Norby Chabert (R-Houma), Dan Claitor (R-Baton Rouge), Ronnie Johns (R-Lake Charles), Gerald Long (R-Natchitoches), Fred Mills, Jr., (R-New Iberia), Dan “Blade” Morrish (R-Jennings), Ed Murray (D-New Orleans), Neil Riser (R-Columbia), Greg Tarver (D-Shreveport), Francis Thompson (D-Delhi), Michael Walsworth (R-West Monroe), Mack “Bodi” White (R-Central), and Sharon Weston Broome (D-Baton Rouge).

House members voting in favor of Carpenter’s appointment were Speaker Chuck Kleckley (R-Lake Charles), James Armes, III (D-Leesville), John Berthelot (R-Gonzales), Robert Billiot (D-Westwego), Rep. Patrick Williams (D-Shreveport), Henry Burns (R-Haughton), Roy Burrell (D-Shreveport), Simone Champagne (R-Erath), Charles Chaney (R-Rayville), Patrick Connick (R-Marrero), Fannin, Franklin Foil (R-Baton Rouge), Lance Harris (R-Alexandria), Cameron Henry (R-Metairie), Walt Leger, III (D-New Orleans), Anthony Ligi (R-Metairie), Jr., Jack Montoucet (D-Crowley), J. Rogers Pope (R-Denham Springs), Smith, and Ledricka Johnson Thierry (D-Opelousas).

Members absent from the meeting were Reps. Jared Brosset (D-New Orleans), Joseph Harrison (R-Gray), Bob Hensgens (R-Abbeville), Katrina Jackson (D-Monroe), Helena Moreno (D-New Orleans) and Joel Robideaux (R-Lafayette).