Legislators continue to whistle past the fiscal graveyard as the state’s highways and bridges are crumbling, public education is starving, state workers are looking at yet another year without a raise, the unfunded liabilities of the state’s retirement systems continue to grow and colleges and universities are looking at the hopeless abyss of $1.7 billion in deferred maintenance of physical plant. (A school-by-school breakdown of that deferred maintenance at the state’s higher education institutions can be found HERE in the latest post of ulyankee.)
Like a spoiled child who refuses to listen to parents who are equally reluctant to discipline him, the Legislature continues to play the artful dodger in meeting its fiduciary responsibilities. As pitiful a governor as Bobby Jindal was, he only did what the House and Senate allowed him to do. And while all those corporate tax breaks looked great to LABI, ALEC, lobbyists, and the generous corporate campaign contributors, they did little to prop up the economic structure of the state or to meet the responsibilities for education, roads, services for the mentally ill, children’s services, state employees, teachers, the sick and the state’s low-income citizens.
And now, with a real opportunity to do something about the myriad of problems, it appears legislators will again punt by categorically rejecting any progressive legislation while rolling over for their corporate donors.
It would be one thing to resist the administration’s less than confidence-inspiring proposals if an alternative, workable plan were offered up. But when is the last time anyone has seen that coming from either chamber? (Hint: Never.)
When a baseball or football team performs as miserably, it’s always the coach who’s fired—because it’s impractical to fire the entire team. When the legislature fails to do its job, it’s the governor who’s thrown under the bus for the failure to accomplish anything toward solving the problems.
But that’s not to say the legislature has been standing idly by. For from it. The 2017 legislative session has thus far turned in a bona fide commend performance for Louisiana’s senators and representatives who apparently never saw someone or something to commend they didn’t like or, lacking that, to seize the opportunity to designate some special day.
Here’s a partial example of what your elected representatives and senators have accomplished 17 days into the 60-day session:
- SB 29 (ALARIO): Recognizes April 19, 2017, as University of Louisiana System Day at the Louisiana Legislature.
- SB 23 (ALARIO): Designates the new bridge across Goose Bayou on LA 45 in Jefferson Parish as the “Jules Nunez Bridge”
- HCR 44 (AMADEE): Commends the Louisiana State University at Alexandria men’s basketball team for its outstanding achievements in its first three seasons
- HR 32 (BARRAS): Designates Tuesday, April 18, 2017, as LSU Day at the state capitol
- HR 48 (BARRAS): Recognizes Wednesday, April 19, 2017, as University of Louisiana System day at the state capitol (Sorry, dude, Alario beat you to it.)
- HR 60 (BARRAS): Designates Wednesday, April 26, 2017, as Liquefied Natural Gas Day at the state capitol (We already have too much hot air at the Capitol, why do we need gas, too?)
- SCR 6 (BARROW): Designates Tuesday, April 11, 2017, as AKA Day at the capitol.
- SR 11 (BARROW): Commends Tiffany Dickerson on her reign as Mrs. Baton Rouge 2016.
- SR 12 (BARROW): Commends Tanya Crowe on her reign as Miss Baton Rouge USA 2016
- SR 13 (BARROW): Commends Kimberly Maria Ducote on her reign as Miss Teen Baton Rouge USA 2016.
- SR 14 (BARROW): Commends Brittany Arbor Shipp on winning the 2016 Mrs. Louisiana America Pageant.
- SR 16 (BARROW): Commends Stacey Richard on her accomplishments and contributions as executive director of the Mrs. Louisiana Pageant, the Miss Baton Rouge Pageant, and the Miss Capital City Pageant.
- HCR 39 (BERTHELOT): Designates Wednesday, May 3, 2017, as LMA Municipal Day at the state capitol
- SR 47 (WESLEY BISHIP): Commends XS Martial Arts Dojo and Save One Now for presenting the 10th Annual Crescent City Kumite being held on May 20, 2017. (Whatever.)
- SCRs 21-24 (BOUDREAUX): Commends Marion Overton White, Clifton Lemelle Sr., Gloria Nye, PhD, and Patrick Fontenot for their induction into the St. Landry Parish Democratic Party Hall of Fame.
- HR 22 (BROADWATER): Commends the Louisiana Athletic Trainers Association and designates Wednesday, April 19, 2017, as LATA Day at the state capitol
- HCR 50 (CARMODY): Recognizes May 2017 as Building Safety Month
- HR 29, 30 (CARPENTER): Recognizes Tuesday, April 18, 2017, asPhi Beta Sigma & Zeta Phi Beta Day at the state capitol
- HCR 41 (GARY CARTER): Commends several Tulane University students upon winning NASA’s BIG Idea Challenge competition (is that the way the commendation reads: “several Tulane students”?)
- HB 297 (ROBBY CARTER): Provides relative to membership on the Sweet Potato Advertising and Development Commission (More proof we have too damn many board and commissions.)
- SR 26 (TROY CARTER): Recognizes April 23, 2017, as International Children’s Day.
- SR 59 (CHABERT): Recognizes April 27, 2017, as Louisiana Society of Professional Surveyors Day at the Louisiana State Capitol.
- SR 9 (CLAITOR): Designates April 17, 2017, as Kappa Beta Delta Day.
- SCR 44 (COLOMB): Commends the Public Administration Institute Student Association (PAISA) at Louisiana State University and recognizes April 13, 2017, as the 19th annual PAISA Day at the Louisiana Legislature.
- HCR 22 (COUSSAN): Commends the St. Thomas More Catholic High School football team on winning the 2016 Division II state championship
- HR 37 (COX): Commends William Hymes on his significant accomplishments
- HR 33 (DAVIS): Commends LSU Physicist Gabriela Gonzalez for her work in a groundbreaking scientific discovery (again: does the commendation say simply for “a groundbreaking scientific discovery”?)
- HR 31 (DEVILLIER): Commends Louisiana State University Eunice for its efforts to offer more educational opportunities for the state’s residents (Isn’t that why it exists? So we commend institutions for doing their job now?)
- HCR 23 (DWIGHT): Commends the South Beauregard girls’ basketball team upon winning the 2017 Class 3A state championship
- HCR 5 (EMERSON): Amends and repeals administrative licensing requirements relative to alternative hair and alternative hair design (Your guess is as good as ours).
- HR 27 (FOIL): Designates Monday, April 17, 2017, as DASH Diet Day at the state capitol (If this will help rid the capitol of all those fat cats down there, I’m all for it.)
- HR 34 (FRANKLIN): Commends Shelton Dunaway for his musical achievements and recognizes him as a southwest La. cultural treasure (For those who might not know, he was a member of Cookie and the Cupcakes that had the wonder song Matilda.)
- HB 612 (GLOVER): Provides for compensation for wrongful conviction and imprisonment (This from a man who, while mayor of Shreveport, told a person that once an officer pulls him over, he has no rights.)
- HB 191 (GUINN): Changes the name of the “Quail Unlimited” prestige license plate to the “Quail Forever” prestige license plate (Sigh.)
- HB 243 (HALL): Changes “school bus driver” to “school bus operator” in Title 17 (Please tell us this is a joke.)
- HCR 40 (HALL): Commends Peabody Magnet High School boys’ basketball team upon winning the 2017 Class 3A state championship
- HCR 20 (HENSGENS): Commends the Gueydan High School girls’ basketball team upon winning the 2017 Class A state championship
- SCR 17 (HEWITT): Commends the Slidell Republican Women’s Club on its 50th anniversary.
- SCR 20 (HEWITT): Designates the first week of December as Shop Local Artists Week in Louisiana.
- SR 37 (HEWITT): Recognizes the Junior Auxiliary of Slidell and designates April 2-8, 2017, as “Junior Auxiliary Week” at the Louisiana Senate.
- HR 4 (HOFFMAN): Recognizes April 11, 2017, as Louisiana Society of Anesthesiologists Day at the state capitol
- HB 214 (HORTON): Prohibits the roadside sale of domestic rabbits (Seriously?)
- HR 56 (HUNTER): Recognizes Wednesday, May 3, 2017, as Omega Psi Phi Day at the state capitol
- HR 21 (HUVAL): Recognizes Monday, May 15, 2017, as I-49 South Day at the state capitol
- HR 67 (HUVAL): Commends the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival and designates Thursday, April 27, 2017, as Crawfish Festival Day at the state capitol
- HR 9 (JAMES): Commends Kimberly Maria Ducote of Mansura on being named Miss Teen Baton Rouge USA
- HR 10 (JAMES): Commends Tanya Crowe of Amite on being named Miss Baton Rouge USA
- HR 11 (JAMES): Commends Tiffany Dickerson on being named Mrs. Baton Rouge
- HR 12 (JAMES): Commends Brittany Arbor Shipp on being named Mrs. Louisiana America of Baton Rouge
- HR 13 (JAMES): Commends Stacey Richard, executive director for the Miss Baton Rouge and the Mrs. Louisiana America pageant organizations
- HR 44 (JEFFERSON): Commends Coach Eric Dooley of Grambling State University for being named the American Football Coaches Association Football Championship Subdivision Assistant Coach of the Year
- HR 52 (JEFFERSON): Commends Grambling State University for winning the 2016 Southwestern Athletic Conference Football Championship and the 2016 Historically Black College and University National Football Championship
- HCR 33 (JENKINS): Commends Dr. G. E. Ghali for his leadership as chancellor of LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport
- SCR 10 (JOHNS): Recognizes May 3, 2017, as Purple and Teal Day in the state of Louisiana.
- SR 44 (JOHNS): Recognizes Wednesday, April 26, 2017, as the fifth annual Liquefied Natural Gas Day at the state capitol
- HR 28 (JORDAN): Commends ExxonMobil and recognizes April 17, 2017, as ExxonMobil Day at the Louisiana State Capitol
- SR 42 (LAFLEUR): Designates Monday, April 24, 2017, as Tourism Day at the state capitol.
- HCR 42 (TERRY LANDRY): Commends Mt. Calvary Baptist Church of New Iberia on its one hundred forty-second anniversary
- HR 36 (LEBAS): Commends the Louisiana Physical Therapy Association and designates Tuesday, April 18, 2017, as Louisiana Physical Therapy Association Day at the state capitol
- HCR 25 (LEGER): Recognizes Wednesday, April 19, 2017, as Louisiana A+ Schools Day at the state capitol
- HCR 29 (LEGER): Designates Wednesday, April 19, 2017, as New Orleans Day at the legislature
- HR 17 (LEOPOLD): Designates Wednesday, April 19, 2017, as Plaquemines Parish Day at the state capitol
- HR 50 (LEOPOLD): Commends the organizers and volunteers of the 2017 Plaquemines Parish Fair and Orange Festival, Orange Queen, and Teen Orange Queen
- HR 51 (LEOPOLD): Commends the organizers and volunteers of the 2017 Plaquemines Parish Heritage and Seafood Festival and its Seafood Queen (Oranges and seafood; what a combination!)
- HR 61 (MAGEE): Designates Thursday, April 27, 2017, as Louisiana Society of Professional Surveyors Day at the state capitol
- HCR 43 (DUSTIN MILLER): Recognizes the week of May 6 through 12, 2017, as National Nurses Week in Louisiana
- SR 4 (MILLS): Recognizes April 11, 2017, as Louisiana Society of Anesthesiologists Day at the state capitol. (Didn’t Hoffman already that, too? You guys really should communicate more.)
- SR 25 (MILLS): Commends the Louisiana Physical Therapy Association for its outstanding achievements and recognizes Tuesday, April 18, 2017, as Louisiana Physical Therapy Association Day.
- SCR 23 (MIZELL): Declares May 26, 2017, as John Wayne Day at the Legislature. (Well, pilgrim…..I’m mighty obliged to ya.)
- SR 19 (MIZELL): Commends the Loranger High School cheerleading team on winning the National Championship.
- HR 58 (MORENO): Designates Monday, April 24, 2017, as Tourism Day at the state capitol
- HR 71 (JIM MORRIS): Commends Vivian United Methodist Church upon the celebration of its one hundred thirteenth anniversary (and next year, we’ll commend it on its 114th.)
- SR 10 (MORRISH): Designates November 2017 as School Psychologist Awareness Month.
- SCR 7 (PEACOCK): Commends Fairfield Elementary Magnet School of Shreveport on receipt of the 2016-2018 National Parent Teacher Association School of Excellence Award.
- SCR 33 (PEACOCK): Designates May 17, 2017, as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) Awareness Day. (If ANYONE knows what DIPG is….don’t tell us. We’ll wait until May 17.)
- HR 66 (PRICE): Commends the White Castle High School boys’ basketball team upon winning the Class 1A State Championship
- HR 20 (PUGH): Designates Tuesday, May 23, 2017, as Elmer’s Candy Day
- HR 8 (SCHEXNAYDER): Commends the athletes and coaches of the Lutcher High School girls’ powerlifting team upon winning the 2017 Division III state championship
- HR 42 (SCHEXNAYDER): Commends the Riverside Academy football team upon winning the 2016 Division III state championship
- HR 49 (SCHEXNAYDER): Commends the Lutcher High School Bulldogs football team upon winning the 2016 Class 3A state championship
- SCR 28 (GARY SMITH): Commends Cara Ursin on winning the Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year award for Girls’ Basketball three times.
- SCR 29 (GARY SMITH): Commends the Destrehan High School Lady Cats on winning the LHSAA Class 5A state girls’ basketball championship.
- HR 2 (PATRICIA SMITH HAYNES): Designates Tuesday, April 11, 2017, as AKA day at the state capitol
- SR 18 (THOMPSON): Designates April 27, 2017, as FFA Day at the Louisiana State Capitol and commends the state officers of the Louisiana FFA Association.
- SR 6 (WALSWORTH): Designates April 12, 2017, as Y Day in Louisiana. (Why Y?)
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Reading the list of commend-ations wore me out. No wonder the leges have no time to get to any real, meaningful legislation that might actually benefit the state. So happy to know we send all those folks to Baton Rouge to legislate, and they can manage to recognize everyone and everything, except of course, the real need to actually manage the people’s business.
Maybe we can sweet talk one of the more progressive legislators to sponsor a res(v)olution designating Louisiana Sunshine Day in honor of Tom Aswell’s LouisianaVoice. Look for that commemoration to be set for July 32.
HR 4 (HOFFMAN): Recognizes April 11, 2017, as Louisiana Society of Anesthesiologists Day at the state capitol
Okay Anesthesiologists, now it’s time to wake up the legislators and have them get down to making serious deliberations to try (hopelessly as it probably is) to raise Louisiana from the bottom of the list of effectively managed states.
Excellent!
What is “Y” day?
Not what, why Y?
Should I have bought a card for someone on “Y” day? Is it now a state holiday?
This suppose to be governing? This list should be published in every state wide newspaper, organization newsletter, posted in the grocery stores and gas stations….however, a lot of Louisiana voters that I know will not even pause to read the first line….a dis-interested populace allows this kind of wasteful drivel to pass as governing. I am going to present this to my Representative and ask him “where’s the meat?’ Thank you for publishing!
This is like a Kafka novel. Darkly bizarre! Especially the many bills and resolutions lauding universities while their buildings crumble, their professors leave just to get a 10% raise in another state, and Louisiana’s high school students decide more and more that they will go to other states to get their degrees. They should pass a law requiring an IQ test before allowing anyone to run for the state house or senate. And make it retroactive!
I hereby commend our legislators as Worst State Legislature in the country on the day, or decade, of your choice. I’m sure all the polls that rank states already show that anyhow.
While reading all of these proposed bills, I’m reminded of all of the campaign commercials that I was bombarded with on local media prior to the elections (pick one). Every candidate promised that they would go to Baton Rouge to “fight for me.” If this is what they call “fighting for their constituents” to earn their pay, we the citizens of Louisiana aren’t going to get our biggest problems solved by these people any time soon. The actions of this governing body are not encouraging me to give up drinking any time soon – assuming that I have any spare change at the end of the day to purchase any.
Great article, as always. It’s comforting to know that there are still good people out there that we can count on to do good work!
Exactly my thoughts!! What a slap in the face they are to all the good citizens of Louisiana!! They are enough to make us all want to drink – and I do not even drink! Reality is we get the same lack of performance and negligence every year for decades – SOS – Same Ole Sh*t!! It really doesn’t take a rocket scientist or college degrees to see all the reasons why Louisiana continues to rank low on all the national studies regarding quality of life! Last one out of Louisiana, please turn off the lights!!
Thank you, Mr. Aswell for another eye-opening article!!
I enjoy your articles and analysis. It would be nice if we Louisianians could get our stuff together and make a state that we can be proud to leave to our children. Right now, our children are just leaving.
I wonder what the Roman senators were doing while Nero fiddled?
I don’t think these are a big deal. They take a minute to sign and are basically sent to Alario for approval. Keep the constituents happy. In the meantime, there are several meaningful bills making their way through the Senate. Senate bills 75 and 205 are seeking to bring meaningful reform to the board adjudication process, something that the last 4 governors have failed to address. And Johnson and Hoffman let you know that they are once again on the wrong side of history with HB521.
That’s a red herring. The point is not the amount of time it takes but the hypocrisy. Especially the many bills and resolutions lauding universities and their sports teams while their buildings crumble, their professors leave just to get a 10% raise in another state, and Louisiana’s high school students decide more and more that they will go to other states to get their degrees.
Lots of commending going on….
Don’t sell those rabbits on the shoulder or roadside. Heck, you can’t even give them away. Also, what is the “roadside”? Greenwell Springs Road, here in EBR Parish, is a state road or highway. The only thing that separates the road from private property, on long stretches of this road, is a ditch. So, if I am sitting on my property, right on the other side of the ditch, giving away rabbits, am I in violation of Subsection A in HB 214?
Tom, your list includes some duplicate instruments. The reason being, that each house introduced a simple resolution. A simple resolution does hot have to be concurred in by the other house. So if, your are designating a special day at the capitol, for instance, both houses have to resolve to do so. Therefore, when they go the simple resolution route, there has to be a duplicate in the other house. One concurrent resolution, introduced in either house, is the most common way. But, doing it the other way gives both, the lead house author and the lead senate author the honor of introducing the resolution. A waste of paper and time.
Surprised there wasn’t a Mike Edmonson Commendation in there somewhere. They all owe him something right?
You are right about that one. I hope someone gives it to him real soon, preferably someone with three real important initials in front of their names.
I can’t think of anyone who would be more deserving of it!
All communication plays to fear, ignorance and prejudice, personal attributes we all have. The “red” legislature and red Congress means we gotta keep learning and elect a real leader like Trump get us a “deal” . not me because I-love always ron thompson
Once again…this has nothing to do with Trump. Disingenuous much?