Louisiana Voice

Friday traditionally is a slow news day around the State Capitol and observers know that most controversial announcements or bad news releases by the administration of Gov. Bobby Jindal will be issued late on Fridays in the hope that most reporters have gone home for the day.

The timing of the mundane and not-so-good news releases also is such that people just don’t follow events as closely over the weekend.

Accordingly, LouisianaVoice has pulled together some of the stories that are not likely to make the local six o’clock news or cause much stir in the state’s daily newspapers. But they are, nevertheless, stories that we feel deserve at least some attention, so here we go:

Mike Edmonson Retirement Redux

Regular readers will remember our story of last July 11 which launched the major controversy coming out of last year’s legislative session. That was the story about Senate Bill 294 (SB 294) by State Sen. Neil Riser that was signed into law by Gov. Bobby Jindal as Act 859 which gave State Police Superintendent Mike Edmondson that otherwise illegal hefty retirement boost of about $55,000.

The LouisianaVoice story created quite an uproar and culminated with a judicial ruling on a lawsuit by State Sen. Dan Claitor (R-Baton Rouge) that the requirement increase was unconstitutional, which seemed at the time to end the matter.

But not so fast. Claitor, not altogether trusting the system to prevail, has pre-filed a bill which he hopes will tie up any remaining loose ends.

Senate Bill 2 (SB 2) by Sens. Claitor and Barrow Peacock (R-Bossier City) have pre-filed the bill which “repeals provisions for payment to certain DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Plan) participants of a retirement benefit calculated as if the person had not participated in DROP.”

The very title of the bill puts Edmonson—along with one other state trooper who by sheer coincidence qualified for the increase under the Riser bill amendment that was snuck through an unsuspecting legislature on the last day of the 2014 session—squarely in the crosshairs of the Claitor-Peacock bill.

The Riser amendment created one of the uglier moments of the entire legislative session as slowly details leaked out of how Riser, acting on the directions of Gov. Bobby Jindal, attached the amendment to the bill that ostensibly dealt with police disciplinary procedures and once passed, was quickly signed into law by Jindal.

Had the amendment gone undetected, it would have bumped Edmonson’s retirement from $79,000 per year to $134,000 yearly.

Here is the link to the Claitor-Peacock bill by title, followed by a link to the actual bill:

https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=226443

STATE POLICE BILL

Exceptional Jindal profile by Tyler Bridges

And speaking of Jindal, it appears that the national media are beginning to catch on to the Jindal Traveling Road Show, prompted it seems, by his hysterical claim of Islamic enclaves of “no-go” zones in Europe, followed in quick fashion by a silly response to the mention by blogger Lamar White that the governor’s official portrait in his fourth floor office gives the appearance of something like 50 shades of white. It turns out that portrait is a loaner and not the “official” portrait. The “official” portrait gives of a decidedly pinkish hue, making it appear that the white one got a bit too much sun.

Be that as it may, Tyler Bridges, a New Orleans writer, has penned an excellent piece on Jindal’s failed fiscal policies (much more important in the long run than his skin tones) for Politico, a Washington, D.C. news service widely read by political junkies—especially in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, where Jindal hopes (almost to the point of desperation, it seems) to make early headway in his clumsy efforts to grab the GOP presidential nomination. Here is the link to that superb piece by Bridges:

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/02/bobby-jindal-campaigning-114948.html?ml=m_t1_2h#.VNTyL005Ccy

LR3 Contract with Economic Development

Last February we dissected the events surrounding the awarding of a $717,000 no-bid contract awarded to LR3 Consulting LLC of Baton Rouge by the Louisiana Office of Economic Development (LED).

That contract, which runs through Sept. 30 of this year, calls for the “development, establishment and/or delivery of a database of potential trainees for continued pre-hire training using a customized assessment instrument to determine skills proficiencies based on individual company requirements.”

We are not altogether sure why a $717,000 contract needed to be awarded to a firm to perform the same duties already being done by the Louisiana Workforce Commission but hey, who are we to question good government?

The contract was broken down into three yearly amounts—$169,999 for the first year (Oct. 12, 2012 through Sept. 30, 2013) and $249,999 for each of the ensuing two years. This was done, according to an LED spokesman, so as to avoid the necessity of issuing a request for proposals (RFP) and thus avoid “competitive bidding or competitive negotiation.”

The issuing of service contracts is permissible so long as the “total contract amount is less than $250,000 per twelve-month period,” according to Title 39, Section 1494.1 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes which then goes on to say, “Service requirements shall not be artificially divided so as to exempt contracts from the request for proposal process.” Hmmm. Seems to us a real proponent of good government would want competitive bidding.

Nevertheless, it has come to our attention that LR3 may well not be a viable entity and thus, ineligible to contract with the state.

A check of the Secretary of State’s corporate web page reveals that LR3 Consulting LLC is “not in good standing for failure to file (an) annual report.”

With nearly eight months left on the LR3 contract, the loss of standing with the Secretary of State should be a concern to Lionel Rainey, III, the agent and sole officer of LR3:

The term “not in good standing” means that a limited liability company is delinquent in filing the annual report required by R.S. 12:1308.1.

The statute goes on to say that each limited liability company which is not in good standing “shall be prohibited from engaging in commercial business operations with the state or its boards, agencies, departments, or commissions.  Any contract between the state or its boards, agencies, departments, or commissions and a limited liability company which is not in good standing may be declared null and void by the board, agency, department, commission, or the division of administration.”

Here is the link to the Secretary of State’s corporate records page which shows that LR3 is not in good standing:

https://coraweb.sos.la.gov/CommercialSearch/CommercialSearchDetails.aspx?CharterID=1001456_F5D52

Our favorite news blog, too?

And speaking of corporate records, one of our favorite political web blogs also turns up as “inactive,” according to the Secretary of State.

We particularly enjoy The Hayride, a Jindal support group blog run by Scott McKay for the off the wall advertisements that are featured daily on his blog. Recently, we’ve seen ads for products that feature a cure baldness almost immediately, a cure for cancer through a Biblical verse, a cure for Alzheimer’s, and even tips on how to invest in gold “form the former director of the U.S. mint,” for a military grade “steroid alternative,” and of course, secret weight loss measures.

But alas, the Secretary of State now tells us that Hayride Media, LLC is no longer active as a corporate entity.

That won’t change the flow of wonderful material coming from the blog, but it does remove any legal protection from litigation that might be lurking in the bushes, ready to pounce on any actual error by The Hayride. We’re just sayin’…

Here is The Hayride’s corporate record entry on the Secretary of State’s web page:

https://coraweb.sos.la.gov/CommercialSearch/CommercialSearchDetails.aspx?CharterID=878951_J6D52