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Archive for the ‘ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council’ Category

First it was corporations bailing out; now the parade of Louisiana Legislators exiting ALEC membership begins

Posted in ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Governor's Office, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Taxes on April 18, 2012| 13 Comments »

At least one member of the Louisiana Legislature has seen enough of the inner workings of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Even as ALEC Executive Director Ron Scheberle bemoans what he calls a “coordinated and well-funded intimidation campaign against corporate members of the organization,” State Rep. Greg Cromer (R-Slidell) has announced that he is resigning from the organization after serving as its State Chairman since 2010.

Cromer emailed his resignation on Tuesday to Laura Elliott, ALEC’s director of state programs

ALEC, by the way, has now officially abandoned social issues in favor of stressing economic programs as a result of national criticism of the “Stand Your Ground” law following national backlash over the shooting death of Travon Martin by a community watch volunteer.

ALEC, that crowning citadel of corporatocracy, extends its tentacles much further into the bowels of state legislatures than just the “Stand Your Ground” law in Florida that led to Martin’s shooting death.

More recently, it marshaled its forces behind the chairmen of the House and Senate retirement committees to plan an all-out assault on state employees’ retirement plans that opponents insist are unconstitutional.

A secret meeting with the two chairmen prompted Cromer to resign from ALEC in protest to being left out of the discussions.

The organization, comprised of some 300 major corporations and about a third of all state legislators in the U.S., writes legislation covering a multitude of issues. Those bills are then spoon-fed to the legislators to take back home and to push through their respective legislatures and state assemblies.

State Sen. Neil Riser (R-Columbia) for example, is pushing his bill to make it legal to carry firearms to school, to churches and on college campuses. That could be one of the last ALEC-sponsored social issues to be considered anywhere in the U.S.

As we have said here on numerous occasions, ALEC writes legislation to promote privatization of state programs such as health care, prisons, schools and other agencies. It also pushes the approval of school charters, school vouchers and a general reduction in the size of government.

ALEC also bestowed its coveted Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award for “outstanding public service” upon Gov. Bobby Jindal at last August’s annual meeting in New Orleans.

But one of its premier programs is its concerted effort to offer generous tax breaks to its corporate members which in turn creates budget crises like that being faced by the State of Louisiana today.

Tax breaks in Louisiana over the past five years have combined to cost the state $18.7 billion, according to figures provided by the Louisiana Department of Revenue.

That’s $400 million more than the $18.3 unfunded accrued liability (UAL) of the state’s four retirement systems.

The primary complaint of ALEC members is the high tax rate to which businesses are subjected—a tax rate that ALEC says drives many U.S. corporations overseas in search of friendlier business climates (read: cheap, sweatshop labor).

But just how severe is the tax burden to corporate America? Really?

To answer that, let’s restrict the results to ALEC members as we take a look at three things: profits and taxes from 2008-2010, and political contributions from 1989-2012. A minus sign under the column headed taxes signifies a tax return as opposed to taxes paid.

And just for fun, we’ll also throw in total tax subsidies enjoyed by a few cureent or immediate past members of ALEC

To borrow a phrase from a beer commercial, here we go:

• General Electric—$44 billion income, $4.7 billion tax refund (-11%), $8.4 billion in tax breaks, $21.2 million in campaign contributions;

• Eli Lilly—$10.6 billion income, $214 million paid in taxes (2%), $10 million in campaign contributions;

• Verizon—$27.8billion income, $951 million tax refund (-3%), $12.3 billion in tax breaks, $21 million in campaign contributions;

• AT&T—$32.2 billion income, $4.3 billion in taxes (13%), $14.5 billion in tax breaks, $48.2 million in campaign contributions;

• Boeing—$10.2 billion income, $75 million tax refund (-1%), $3.6 billion in tax breaks, $17.2 million in campaign contributions;

• Coca-Cola—$30.7 billion income, $1.7 billion in taxes (5%), $2.5 billion in tax breaks;

• Merck—$26.9 billion income, $1.4 billion in taxes (5%), $2.9 billion in tax breaks;

• Wal-Mart—$63.1 billion income, $15.7 billion in taxes (25%), $2.5 billion in tax breaks, $11 million in campaign contributions;

• Chevron—$93.6 billion income, $4.5 billion in taxes (5%), $12.2 million in campaign contributions;

• IBM—$54.6 billion income, $1 billion in taxes (3%), $8.3 billion in tax breaks;

• Altria Group—$15.4 billion income, $4.4 billion in taxes (29%), $25.8 million in campaign contributions;

• Dow Chemical—$4.5 billion income, $508 million tax refund (-11%).

Of the 12 corporations listed here, nine had tax rates of 5 percent or less. Only two, Altria and Wal-Mart had tax rates comparable to individual wage earners in America.

Even in the face of these figures, Scheberle insists on wringing his hands over the “coordinated and well-funded intimidation campaign” against corporate members of the organization.

“ALEC is an organization that supports pro-growth, pro-jobs policies and the vigorous exchange of ideas between the public and private sector to develop state-based solutions,” he said. “Today, we find ourselves the focus of a well-funded, expertly-coordinated intimidation campaign.

“Our members join ALEC because we connect state legislators with other state legislators and with job creators in their states,” he said. “They join because we support pro-business policies that promote innovation and spur local and national competitiveness. They’re ALEC members because they’re more interested in solutions than rhetoric.”

Apparently, they resign from ALEC for that same reason.

Cromer announced on Tuesday that he is resigning from the organization after learning that he was left out of the loop in a pre-session meeting between ALEC staff members and House Retirement Chairman Kevin Pearson (R-Slidell) and Senate Retirement Chairman Elbert Guillory (D-Opelousas).

“It has been brought to my attention that there have been meetings and/or activities with ALEC staff members within the state of Louisiana that I have not been privy to,” Cromer wrote in his resignation letter that went out as an email to key lawmakers and staffers.

Jeremy Alford, a Baton Rouge writer, said in New Orleans’ Gambit and The Independent of Lafayette:

“Representatives from ALEC and State Budget Solutions, a conservative-leaning non-profit, urged them (Pearson and Guillory) to model their attack plan after the successful (retirement) reform efforts launched in Utah in 2010. Legislators there moved the Utah system closer to defined contribution and hybrid plans. They also passed laws that changed how retirees can return to work.”

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Piyush up to political chicanery as SB51 omitted from Senate calendar on Tuesday; are contents being hidden from public?

Posted in ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Governor's Office, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Retirement, Transparency on April 17, 2012| 14 Comments »

Andy Griffith as Sheriff Andy Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show once drawled, “Ohhh, there’s mischief afoot. Yeah, mischief afoot.”

That well may be the case with Senate Bill 51 that raises the state employee retirement age.

First, a little background.

The Senate Retirement Committee was originally scheduled to meet Monday at 9:30 a.m. As opponents gathered in the committee room and overflowed into the hallway, however, word came down that the meeting would be delayed because of a lack of a quorum.

In contemporary American Politic, that normally translates to the administration does not have the necessary votes to get the bill out of committee.

But this committee was wrapped and packaged by Gov. Bobby Jindal, so that explanation wouldn’t seem to hold water. After all, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and Jindal had combined to contribute more than $102,000 to five of the seven committee members.

That fact alone should offer sufficient evidence that the fix was in. It’s already been shown to work for education bills and prison sales.

So, why the delay?

Apparently, there were some glitches with the bill despite assurances from the administration that provisions of the bill—and companion bills that change the final average compensation (SB47) and SB52 that increases most rank and file contributions by 3 percent—are constitutional.

For two hours committee members met with administrative officials to tweak SB51, coordinating retirement ages with time of service ostensibly so as to adversely affect as few state employees as possible.

In reality, the administration was drafting a more palatable substitute bill so as to neutralize criticism of Jindal’s retirement package by the Legislative Auditor and Gary Lawson of Strasburger Law Firm of Dallas. State Auditor Daryl Purpera retained the firm to conduct an analysis of the proposed retirement bills.

The Strasburger 38-page report opined that most of the retirement package would be ruled unconstitutional if subjected to a legal challenge.

Publicly, the administration pooh-poohed the Strasburger report but the two-hour delay Monday said proponents were having second thoughts.

Lawson, contacted as he prepared to return to Dallas, said he had no opportunity to review the substitute bill and the amendments before being called to testify in opposition to the bill.

“Nobody knows what’s in the bill,” he said, “least of all the committee members themselves.”

That didn’t stop committee members, heavily indebted to ALEC and Jindal for generous campaign contributions from one or both, from rubber-stamping their approval of the bill.

Then on Tuesday things began to take a strange turn on the Senate floor.

The Senate divides daily proceedings into the “Morning Hour,” and “Regular Order.” It is during the “Morning Hour” that Senate Secretary Glenn Koepp reads into the record the reports from each committee meeting of the day before.

This is the official report on which bills have been amended and moved favorably by the respective committees. Koepp also reads reports from several committees.

This is an important technical step in the process because it officially gets the bill out of committee and back on the Senate calendar. When this is done, the amendments are posted online. The amendments remained “proposed” until the following day when they are adopted by the body (in this case, the full Senate) and the bill is passed to Second Reading.

The report from the Retirement Committee, however, was not included during Tuesday’s “Morning Hour.”

Then, on Tuesday evening, after the Senate completed its calendar for the day, the body “reverted” to the “Morning Hour,” a normal procedure that allows Koepp to read communications from the House or from the governor.

It was at this point that Koepp suddenly read into the record the report from the Senate Retirement Committee from Monday. He reported SB33, SB47, SB52 and SB740, all “favorably as amended.”

SB51, the most controversial of the lot, the one that raises the retirement age to 67, was not among those reported by Koepp.

That means that the bill is technically still in committee and more importantly (and more ominously), it means that the substitute bill and its mystery amendments are still unavailable to the public.

More than 24 hours after the committee voted out a bill that not one member of the committee had read, the public still has no idea what the substitute bill is, what it says or what it does.

Frank Jobert, executive director of the Louisiana Retired Employees Association, expressed his puzzlement at the omission of SB51 in Koepp’s report.

“Perhaps they (the administration) don’t have the votes on the (Senate) floor,” he said. “I believe even the committee members don’t know what they voted for and are hesitant to go further down this road until they know what they passed out of committee merely to please the governor.”

Jobert added that he had heard that the 3 percent employee contribution increase might yet be ruled a tax or a fee by the Senate leadership “which could cause them to start over in the House or stymie the measure because it is a non-fiscal session. This remains to be seen.”

The Louisiana Constitution prohibits consideration of taxes in even-numbered years and last year, when Jindal attempted a similar move, then-House Speaker Jim Tucker said any increase in contributions imposed on state employees would constitute a tax.

Jindal has consistently rejected efforts to increase taxes—at least on his corporate supporters. He had no problem with forcing college tuition increases and apparently has no compunctions about imposing the 3 percent increase on employees’ contributions.

While the reasons for omitting SB51 from the report remain unclear, one thing is for certain: the action was intentional on the part of the administration.

The bill has to be made public at some point in time, so why the parliamentary chicanery? The only possible explanation is to keep the contents of the bill away from public scrutiny for another day or so in order to allow less time for opponents to react.

Jindal Communications Director Kyle Plotkin earlier Tuesday issued a statement about a fake Facebook posting in which someone impersonated the governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff Kristy Nichols as telling state employees, “We are watching you.”

In that statement, Plotkin said, “We have big challenges and need to have a substantive debate about the issues. These underhanded attacks distract from the issues. It’s unfortunate and surprising that someone would stoop this low to try and win.”

Substitute “tactics” for “attacks” and we couldn’t agree more.

Just another day in the Piyush transparent, ethical and accountable administration.

Michief afoot, indeed.

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Piyush Push continues with Senate Retirement Committee hearings today; will legislators man up to this governor?

Posted in ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Governor's Office, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Retirement on April 16, 2012| 11 Comments »

Now that Piyush Jindal has shoved the education reform bills down our throats with minimal time for debate and even less attempt at actually reading the bills, he is ready to turn his attention to his state retirement reform package.

First up are three bills by Sen. Elbert Guillory (D-Opelousas). Senate bills 51, 52 and 740 are scheduled to be heard by the Senate Retirement Committee, which Guillory chairs, beginning at 9 a.m. on Monday.

The bills may have Guillory’s name on them but make no mistake: they were written by corporate members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and spoon-fed to Guillory to introduce at Jindal’s behest.

SB 51 would require rank and file state employees who are members of the Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System (LASERS) to work until age 67 before being able to realize full retirement benefits. Those retiring before that age would receive sharply reduced benefits under terms of the bill.

SB 52 would require members of LASERS, who have not had a pay raise for three years, to contribute an additional 3 percent of their salaries. Originally, that increase was to have been offset by a corresponding reduction in the amount the state contributes. The money saved by the state would have gone into the state General Fund to help Jindal fill in a big hole anticipated in the state budget.

That would have meant that employees would not have realized any advantage either toward reducing the LASERS unfunded accrued liability (UAL) or in providing increased retirement benefits, thereby defining the increase as a tax—illegal during an even-number year’s legislative session.

Now, though Jindal, in his usual method of smoke and mirrors economics, says the 3 percent additional will go to pay down the UAL.

The really curious thing about Jindal’s incessant barking about the UAL is that LASERS presently has a UAL of $6.3 billion, only about a third of the total UAL of the four retirement systems–teachers ($10.8 billion), school employees ($863 million) and state police ($313 million), yet he continuously blathers as if the entire amount is the liability of LASERS alone.

Smoke and mirrors.

The governor soldiers on with his ALEC-inspired bills despite a report by the Dallas law firm Strasburger & Price which says that virtually all components of the retirement bills would be ruled unconstitutional if subjected to legal challenges—as they will most surely will be.

The report was commissioned by Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera.

Jindal dismissed the Strasburger report through his press lackeys, saying the analysis was conducted without a thorough read of the bills and that the 38-page analysis was done with no examination of case law.

It appears that the Strasburger report was the document that did not receive a thorough read—from the governor and his “brown shirts,” to borrow a term from Rep. Sam Jones (D-Franklin)—because the report specifically cited case law from 18 other states and a handful from right here in Louisiana as legal precedents.

Smoke and mirrors.

If Jindal’s bills are passed and somehow survive legal challenges (highly unlikely), we might brace ourselves for an attempt in his three-plus years left as governor (He is not going to be Romney’s veep, though there is a chance he may run for the U.S. Senate against Mary Landrieu) to reduce benefits for already retired state employees. We certainly would not put it past him.

Regardless of the legal outcome of the retirement bills, he will probably make another run at abolishing Civil Service as he did through Rep. John Schroeder (R-Covington) two years ago.

In contrast to Jindal’s slash and burn tactic of benevolent governance, the words of former Gov. Edwin Edwards come to mind. Quoted in the book Bad Bet on the Bayou by Tyler Bridges, Edwards, who grew up the son of a sharecropper, said, “I remember when government made it possible for electricity to be brought to my house.”

He was referring to President Franklin Roosevelt’s Rural Electrification Act of 1936, when Edwards was just nine.

“I remember when the government made it possible for a (school) bus to pick me up and drive me eight miles into town,” he continued. “I remember when government made it possible for me to eat a free hot lunch at school. I remember when government made books available to me that I otherwise would not have been able to have.”

If the governor pushes his retirement bills through, then the sins of Edwin Edwards will pale by comparison to the cumulative harmful effects of Jindal’s privatization of the Office of Risk Management, the Office of Group Benefits, Medicaid, his “reforms” to education and state employee retirement, his cutting of higher education, thereby forcing tuition increases, his granting of tax cuts to favored corporations, his allowing friendly former legislators to settle into do-nothing jobs at six-figure salaries (jobs for which they are woefully unqualified), and the sale of state prisons.

No matter what the shortcomings of Edwin W. Edwards, he never shafted teachers or state workers. For that matter, he never turned his back on Louisiana’s working citizens. Nor did he ever dodge a reporter’s questions or refuse an interview—claims Jindal could never make. When a reporter left a message for Gov. Edwards to return his or her call, it was Edwards, not some flunky, who personally returned the call.

But enough with the reminiscing; let’s turn our attention to the makeup of the respective House and Senate retirement committees and the key campaign contributions of the members of those two committees.

The heavy hand of ALEC is ever-present, as is that of Jindal himself.

Following are members of the Senate Retirement Committee and the contributions received from corporate members of ALEC and from Jindal’s own campaign fund:

• Guillory—$45,200 from Alec, $7500 from Jindal;

• Page Cortez (R-Lafayette), vice chairman—$2500 from Jindal;

• Conrad Appel (R-Metairie)—$2500 from Jindal;

• A.G. Crowe (R-Pearl River)—$4500 from ALEC, $2500 from Jindal;

• Gerald Long (R-Natchitoches)—$35,000 from ALEC, $2500 from Jindal;

• Barrow Peacock (R-Bossier City)—No contributions;

• Jonathan Perry (R-Kaplan)—No contributions.

Both Crowe and Long are members of ALEC.

Following are members of the House Retirement Committee and the contributions received from corporate members of ALEC and from Jindal’s campaign:

• Kevin Pearson (R-Slidell), chairman—$2500 from Jindal;

• Nick Lorusso (R-New Orleans), vice chairman—$6500 from ALEC;

• Anthony Ligi (R-Metairie)—$20,500 from ALEC, $5000 from Jindal;

• Jack Montoucet (D-Crowley)—$6000 from ALEC;

• Alan Seabaugh (R-Shreveport)—$11,750 from ALEC, $2500 from Jindal;

• Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge)—$5000 from Jindal;

• Jeff Thompson (R-Bossier City)—No contributions;

• Paul Hollis (R-Covington)—No contributions;

• Sam Jones (D-Franklin)—No contributions;

• Edward Price (D-Gonzales)—No contributions;

• Eugene Reynolds (D-Minden)—No contributions.

Lorusso, Ligi, Montoucet, Seabaugh and Talbot are ALEC members.

One state employee said in a recent email to LouisianaVoice that Jindal’s proposed comprises on his retirement bills “are in no way acceptable.” The compromises, he said, “are still breaking a contract with state employees.”

Here is the rest of that email:

“Sometimes people forget that pensions are the sole source of retirement planning for many state employees. We receive no match on any IRAs we may be able to afford on our relative low salaries and we are not allowed to contribute to Social Security.

“I think some legislators need to be reminded that they do not answer to a political party, to a governor, or to their largest campaign contributors. They answer to the people, the taxpayers and the voters of this state. And contrary to what many legislators believe, state employees are, in fact, people, taxpayers and voters. We have the same financial obligations that private sector employees have, yet we are ‘solely’ asked to bear the burden of a historically irresponsible legislature.

The true measure of a society is how it treats the weakest among it. State employees are the weakest among all civil servants; therefore, we have been intentionally targeted. Our hands are tied by ridiculous civil service regulations that do not afford us the same opportunity as teachers or law enforcement officers to speak on issues that directly impact us. In addition, many state employees have been intimidated into thinking that they cannot speak out against these reforms for fear of retribution.

“This targeted approach is both abusive and discriminatory towards state workers. In my opinion, (legislators’) true character will be especially clear after this vote. While many of us are afraid to speak out, we can vote. We can sign a recall petition. So, please do not play unnecessary politics with the livelihoods of your constituents.”

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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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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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