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Archive for the ‘Ethics’ Category

Hidden legislative perk: Pentagon Barracks housing

Posted in Ethics, Governor's Office, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Transparency on November 29, 2010| 5 Comments »

By Tom Aswell

Here’s a sound business plan that’s sure to attract shrewd investors in today’s competitive real estate market: Construct four apartment buildings containing 39 one- and two-bedroom units of an average size of 800-900 square feet each.

Throw in about $74,136.46 in free furniture and locate the $4.4 million apartment complex on prime property with scenic views of the Mississippi River on one side and the majestic Louisiana State Capitol building on the other. As a final inducement, offer the units for an average monthly rent of about $310, utilities included (sorry, no cable TV). Add two units assigned to a special VIP who pays $3,268 per month for 2,964 square feet, and the average monthly rent balloons to a whopping $368 per occupant.

Think you’d have any trouble attracting tenants at that price and with those amenities?

Probably not.

At those bargain basement rates and provided there were no maintenance costs, no new furniture to purchase, no remodeling needed, and if there were no increase in utilities along the way, and given a mortgage interest rate of 6%, the combined annual rental income would fall short of servicing the principal and interest on the debt, meaning owners would never break even on their investments. A 40-year mortgage at 6%, for example, would require a monthly payment of $24,209.40 against total monthly rental income of only $18,778. Think you’d get many takers with a can’t-miss opportunity like that?

Again, probably not.

Yet, that’s what’s happening, thanks to a long-standing practice by state elected officials in Baton Rouge. Most Louisiana taxpayers are unaware of their own generosity in funding this arrangement during one of the worst economic recessions in decades.

And just who are the beneficiaries of such big-hearted largesse? Who are the lucky tenants? That would be those same elected officials, more specifically, a select handful of legislators from the House and Senate who, even in the face of a looming $1.6 billion state budget deficit next year nevertheless show no reluctance in taking advantage of the cheap rentals even as hundreds of their constituents and state workers alike are losing their jobs and struggling to keep their homes.

The apartment complex in question? The historic Pentagon Barracks that served as part of the LSU campus from 1886 to 1926. Before that, in 1816, the fort at Baton Rouge was selected as an ordnance depot and a contract awarded for the construction of four barracks buildings and a combination commissary-warehouse building. The barracks are now on the National Historic Register.

Early on, the barracks played host to such dignitaries as presidents Zachary Taylor, Abraham Lincoln, U.S. Grant, Warren Harding, and William Taft; Jefferson Davis; Gens. Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, James Longstreet, Nathan Bedford Forrest, George Armstrong Custer, George B. McClellan, P.G.T. Beauregard, and William Tecumseh Sherman, the first president of the military academy that would become LSU.

Today, there are 39 units occupied by 50 legislators—25 from each house. (The Louisiana Legislature is comprised of 144 members—39 senators and 105 representatives.) Two other units are occupied by the lieutenant governor, even though recently-elected Jay Dardenne is a resident of Baton Rouge. Two others, Rep. Karen Gaudet St. Germain (D-Plaquemine) and Sen. Rob Marionneaux (D-Livonia) live only 15 and 24 miles, respectively, from Baton Rouge which could leave some wondering why those three need special housing accommodations in Baton Rouge.

Occupancy of the Pentagon Barracks apartments appears to be more a matter of status than seniority or party affiliation, since several tenants are in their first term in the legislature and there are nearly as many Republicans as Democrat tenants from each house. A request by Capitol News Service for an explanation of criteria used in assigning apartments was not answered by either the House Clerk’s office or the Division of Administration.

Rent charged the legislators (other than for the House speaker and Senate president) ranges from $185 per month each for six senators sharing three apartments to $400 for each of eight representatives who are the sole occupants of their units. Speaker of the House Jim Tucker (R-Terrytown) decides which House members will get apartments. He pays $500 and $125, respectively, for two separate apartments he assigned to himself.

On the Senate side, Senate President Joel T. Chaisson (D-Destrehan) assigns the 21 apartments to 25 senators. Chaisson pays $565 per month for his 1,764 square-foot apartment, which is double the size of the next in size—10 units that are 882 square feet each.

But that arrangement apparently was not good enough for Tucker. During this year’s regular legislative session, almost immediately after the election of former Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu as mayor of New Orleans, Tucker pushed through HB-1172 that would have moved the lieutenant governor’s quarters to a smaller apartment and allowed the speaker to take over the lieutenant governor’s two apartments which total 2,964-square-feet. The $3,268 monthly rental on the lieutenant governor’s apartments currently is paid by the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism. The two units underwent $187,000 in extensive renovations in 2004 at the behest of Landrieu, then newly-elected as lieutenant governor.

HB-1172 was approved 86-0 by the House with 17 either absent or not voting. Among those 17 were six Pentagon Barracks tenants: Andy Anders (D-Vidalia), Roy Burrell (D-Shreveport), Noble Ellington (D-Winnsboro), Rick Gallot (D-Ruston), Cedric Richmond (D-New Orleans), and Ernest Wooten (I-Belle Chase). The bill also passed unanimously in the Senate but died as one of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s few vetoes of the session.

Three neighboring states—Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi—were contacted to learn if those states provided discounted housing for legislators. Only one, Arkansas, did and there apparently is some controversy about that policy, mostly because of several legislators who are chronically late in paying their rent. The state-owned apartment building is across the street from the Arkansas State Capitol and contains 48 apartments that are assigned to representatives and senators at rentals of $300 and $350 per month, according to Cathy Bradshaw, deputy secretary of state.

Arkansas pays its lawmakers a flat salary of $15,362 per year, plus $136 per diem and mileage expenses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

NCSL also reports that Texas pays its legislators $7,200 per year and $168 per diem for days that the legislature is in session, compared to Louisiana, which pays legislators $16,800 per year and $159 per diem. Mississippi lawmakers receive $10,000 per year plus $123 per diem during legislative sessions. Additionally, Alabama pays its lawmakers a base salary of $3,650 per year, plus $3,958 per month during legislative sessions only and $50 per diem only for the three days per week that the legislature actually meets.

Louisiana legislators are paid $16,800 per year and $159 per diem. That per diem amount is paid for each of the 85 calendar days of the even-year legislative sessions and 60 days of odd-year sessions even though the legislature meets on fewer than half of those days. The same $159 per diem is also paid to the 50 Pentagon Barracks tenants despite their favored housing status.

State records for the four Pentagon Barracks buildings show that their combined appraised value is slightly more than $4.4 million for 41 units comprising 43,424 square feet.

A sampling of the items of furniture purchased for legislative tenants include:

• Entertainment center, $3,200;
• Sofas, $1,520 and $1,304;
• Chairs, $1,100 and $849;
• Eighteen dining room chairs for Speaker Tucker, $64 each;
• Loveseat, $798;
• Dresser, $969;
• Chair with Ottoman, $1,103;

In all, $31,670 was spent on furnishings for House tenants and another $42,466.46 for senators’ apartments.

Tucker, a Republican, and Democrat Chaisson apparently play no particular party favorites in assigning tenants to the Pentagon Barracks apartments. Of the 25 House tenants, 15 are Democrats, nine are Republicans and one is an Independent. Chaisson’s tenant assignments include 11 Republicans, 13 Democrats, and one Independent. If, however, Sen. John Alario follows through on his recent statement that he is leaning toward switching to Republican, the Senate tenants will be evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.

House members lucky enough to secure apartments in the Pentagon Barracks, the parishes they represent and the rent they pay include:

• Andy Anders (D-Vidalia): Concordia, East Carroll, Madison, Tensas ($250);
• Jeff Arnold (D-New Orleans): Orleans ($250);
• Harold Richie (D-Bogalusa): Washington and St. Tammany ($250);
• Tim Burns (R-Mandeville): St. Tammany ($259);
• Rick Gallot (D-Ruston): Lincoln, Bienville, Claiborne ($250);
• Cedric Richmond (D-New Orleans): Orleans ($250);
• Brett Geymann (R-Lake Charles): Beauregard, Calcasieu ($250);
• James H. Morris (R-Oil City): Caddo and Bossier ($250);
• Damon J. Baldone (D-Houma): Lafourche and Terrebonne ($250);
• Gary L. Smith, Jr. (D-Norco): St. Charles and St. John the Baptist ($250);
• Dorothy Sue Hill (D-Dry Creek): Allen, Beauregard and Vernon) ($250);
• Karen Gaudet St. Germain (D-Plaquemine): Ascension, Assumption, Iberville, and West Baton Rouge ($250);
• Gordon E. Dove, Sr. (R-Houma): Lafourche and Terrebonne ($250);
• Joe Harrison (R-Gray): Assumption, St. Mary, and Terrebonne ($250);
• Nita Hutter (R-Chalmette): St. Bernard ($400);
• Jim Tucker (R-Terrytown): Jefferson and Orleans ($500 and $125);
• Ernest Wooton (I-Belle Chase): Jefferson, Plaquemines, and St. Charles ($400);
• Kay Katz (R-Monroe): Ouachita ($400);
• Roy Burrell (D-Shreveport): Bossier and Caddo ($400);
• Jean M. Doerge (D-Minden): Webster ($400);
• Jane H. Smith (R- Bossier City): Bossier ($400);
• Jim Fannin (D-Jonesboro): Bienville, Jackson, Ouachita, and Winn ($400);
• Noble Ellington (D-Winnsboro): Caldwell, Catahoula, Franklin, and Tensas ($400);
• Rosalind D. Jones (D-Monroe): Ouachita ($250);
• Charmaine M. Stiaes (D-New Orleans): Orleans ($250).

The 25 Senate members assigned to Pentagon Barracks apartments and the parishes they represent include:

• John Alario (D-Westwego): Jefferson ($375);
• Daniel Martiny (R-Metairie): Jefferson ($300);
• Lydia P. Jackson (D-Shreveport): Caddo ($300);
• Mike Michot (R-Lafayette): Lafayette ($300);
• John R. Smith (D-Leesville): Vernon, Beauregard, and Calcasieu ($300);
• Gerald Long (R-Winnfield): Natchitoches, Sabine, Winn, Grant, Rapides, and Red River ($300);
• Francis Thompson (D-Delhi): Concordia, Richland, East Carroll, Madison, Tensas, and Ouachita ($300);
• Conrad Appel (R-Metairie): Jefferson ($345);
• D.A. “Butch” Gautreaux (D-Morgan City): Assumption and St. Mary ($300);
• Joe McPherson (D-Woodworth): Rapides ($300);
• B.L. “Buddy” Shaw (R-Shreveport): Caddo and Bossier ($300);
• David R. Heitmeier (D-Algiers): Orleans, Jefferson, and Plaquemines ($370);
• Julie Quinn (R-Metairie): Tangipahoa, St. Tammany, Jefferson, and Orleans ($370);
• Troy Hebert (I-Jeanerette) ($185): Iberia and St. Martin (Hebert resigned his senate seat last week to assume the position of Commissioner of the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, succeeding Murphy Painter who resigned under pressure last August. Hebert announced last June that he would not seek re-election to the senate after almost 16 years in the legislature as first a three-term representative and less than a full term as senator.);
• Rob Marionneaux, Jr. (D-Livonia): East Feliciana, East and West Baton Rouge, Pointe Coupee, and Iberville ($185);
• Eric LaFleur (D-Ville Platte): Evangeline, Avoyelles, Allen, and St. Landry ($185);
• Jean-Paul J. Morrell (D-New Orleans): Orleans ($185);
• Edwin R. Murray (D-New Orleans): Orleans ($370);
• Neil Riser (R-Columbia): Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia, Franklin, LaSalle, West Feliciana, Avoyelles, Ouachita, Rapides, and Richland ($185);
• Mike Walsworth (R-West Monroe): Ouachita, Morehouse, West Carroll, Union, and Claiborne ($185);
• Sherri Smith Cheek (R-Keithville): Caddo ($370);
• Willie L. Mount (D-Lake Charles): Calcasieu ($370);
• Dan “Blade” Morrish (R-Jennings): Acadia, Jefferson Davis, Cameron, and Calcasieu ($370);
• A.G. Crowe (R-Slidell): St. Tammany, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines ($370);
• Joel T. Chaisson, II (D-Destrehan): St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, and Lafourche ($565).

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My platform for the 2011 governor’s election

Posted in Campaign Contributions, Contract, Contracts, Ethics, Golf Courses, Governor's Office, House, Senate, Layoffs, Legislature, Legislators, Lobbyist, Taxes on November 11, 2010| 8 Comments »

Okay, after much deliberation, soul-searching, and with encouragement from family and friends (and co-workers who just want me go somewhere, anywhere else), it is with tongue planted firmly in cheek that I announce my candidacy for governor of the gret stet of looziana.

I am offering my services with a fairly simple no-frills platform. Some of the individual planks in my platform are certain to offend some very influential people—and that’s a good thing. So, without fanfare, frills or equivocation, and with the promise of no compromise, here is that platform:

No out-of-state campaigning for any Democrat or Republican candidate. My first responsibility will be to the citizens of Louisiana, not some two-faced, lying parasite who has never held a real job. Besides, I’m an independent. Plus, I don’t trust any politician. And no out-of-state travel for book signings, either;

Merge several universities and junior colleges throughout the state and convert some four-year schools to junior college status. Failing that, at least merge some of the programs—such as the law schools at Southern University and LSU in Baton Rouge. With the help of a reluctant legislature, this will cut duplication in athletic scholarships, salaries of coaches and university administrators, and in replicated programs;

Turn over all operations of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security (otherwise known as the Governor’s Patronage Department) to the State Police where it was originally and should be again. If you recall, the administration pushed through a constitutional amendment in October that changed the Office of Homeland Security from classified (civil service) to non-classified (appointive) so that Homeland Security employees may receive any size pay raise the administration deems appropriate. Civil service employees, meanwhile, have their merit raises frozen indefinitely;

Eliminate the lieutenant governor’s office and assign the duties of that office to the secretary of state. Hey, it worked with the elections commission;

Have the Office of Contractual Review do its job by reviewing ALL contracts, including consulting contracts, to determine need;

Use the governor’s line-item veto to cut wasteful spending and to balance the state budget instead of laying off employees who have families to support, college tuition and home mortgages to pay, and who need health insurance;

In lieu of layoffs, offer state employees the option of accepting a pay cut of 7.5 to 10% for those making $50,000 to $100,000; 15% for those making up to $200,000; 20% for salaries of $200,000 to $300,000, and 25% for anyone making more than $300,000. Most employees would opt for a pay cut if it meant saving their jobs but sadly, the present administration has never even considered this option. Legislators would also be required to take a 25% cut. In fact, cut cabinet level salaries altogether;

Sell off all state golf courses. No additional explanation necessary;

Revisit the sacred Homestead Exemption (see? It’s even capitalized.);

Increase tobacco and alcohol taxes to at least the national average. If people are going to kill themselves with their indulgences, at least make ‘em pay for the privilege and make ‘em pay for the use of our charity hospital system when they develop catastrophic illnesses related to their vices;

Pass a constitutional amendment that future budget cuts, when necessary, won’t affect education or health care (someone needs to do this.);

Block computer games and internet access to legislators on Senate and House floors during legislative sessions;

Require all lobbyists to register with the Secretary of State (they already register with the House Speaker, but that’s too close to the center of power) and assess a hefty registration fee for all lobbyists except for non-profits;

Discontinue publishing legislative acts and other legal news in the Baton Rouge newspaper. This practice is cost prohibitive now that we have the free internet;

Enact a tough ethics code with real teeth. Bar any gifts to legislators, including meals, drinks, parties, etc. Any lobbyist violating said act shall be subject to severe fines and shall be barred from all future legislative sessions. Any legislator violating said act shall be subject to heavy fines and forfeiture of legislative pay for duration of his/her term of office.

Consolidate investigative agencies. Louisiana currently has five investigative agencies: the attorney general’s office, the ethics commission, the inspector general, the state police investigation program and the legislative auditor. Total budget for the five agencies: $55 million. Because the present administration has already gutted, stripped, and otherwise neutered the ethics commission. I suggest the state police absorb the auditor’s office, the inspector general, and ethics commission and that any investigations now pending with the latter three agencies be turned over to the state police. You may have noticed that the attorney general was left out of the loop. That’s because the AG is elected and as such, is a politician and not to be trusted with any investigation of state officials.

There you have it: my complete platform. Oh, wait. There is one more: No campaign contributions shall be accepted from any person, organization, foundation, PAC, or lobbyist.

I guess I should go ahead and write my concession speech now.

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Jindal: State economy is great but layoffs coming: Merry Christmas

Posted in Civil Service, Economy, Ethics, Governor's Office, Layoffs, Politics on November 11, 2010| 1 Comment »

Even as Gov. Bobby Jindal insists that Louisiana’s economy is improving, another round of state layoffs, this one in the Division of Administration, has been announced in Baton Rouge. Scheduled to take effect only two weeks after Christmas, the latest round will impact positions in the Office of Information Technology, Office of Information Services, Office of Computing Services, and Office of Telecommunications Management.

The announcement was made by a Nov. 5 e-mail from Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater through appointing authority Steven Procopio and was sent to managers and supervisors in the Division of Administration. It was the second e-mail notification of layoffs to state employees. Two weeks ago, employees of the Department of Health and Hospitals received similar notification. DHH layoffs, like those in the DOA, are scheduled for early January.

The latest email was sent to department heads with instructions to distribute copies of the notice to employees by e-mail and to post copies on office bulletin boards. It contained the disclaimer that the message was “only for the specified individual or organization,” and that any unauthorized dissemination or copying of the e-mail “is strictly prohibited.”

“These layoffs are being proposed due to $4.1 million in budget cuts facing the Division of Administration and the need for cost savings for Fiscal Year 2010-2011,” it said.

The state is presently facing a budget deficit of $106 million for the current fiscal year and projections are for a $1.6 billion shortfall for FY 2011-2012, according to Jindal.

Jindal announced last month that as many as one-third of the Louisiana Board of Ethics staff would be laid off in efforts to draw down the current budget deficit. On Nov. 4 Jindal said on his web blog that Louisiana had one of the top 10 business climates in the nation and that Louisiana “was the most improved state in the country.” He said his Department of Economic Development “has certainly been able to do more with less.”

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Chaos & absenteeism define Jindal administration

Posted in Economy, Ethics, Governor's Office, Health Care, Higher Education, House, Senate, Jobs, Legislature, Legislators, Taxes, Transparency, tagged , , , , , on November 6, 2010| Leave a Comment »

If there’s a single word that could describe both the political and fiscal plight of Louisiana, that word would be chaotic. Absentee governor also comes to mind.

Gov. Bobby Jindal, when he’s not flying off to any of a growing number of other states to campaign for Republican candidates, is telling cabinet members and department heads to lead and to stop “whining” about proposed budget cuts that threaten to further stymie the state’s already stagnant economy and to gut higher education.

College presidents from one end of the state to the other are grappling with ways to keep from shutting down academic programs and laying off professors and teachers. The college presidents challenged Jindal’s Facebook criticism of the state’s colleges and universities for “underperforming” and for their “inefficiency.”

Professors also are entering the fray, openly criticizing the governor for everything from chronic absenteeism to insensitivity toward higher education as manifested by the administration’s deep budgetary cuts.

One legislator, perhaps with some measure of justification, or perhaps with an eye on the governor’s office in next year’s election, likewise accused Jindal of being absent from the state in a time of crisis.

Rep. John Bel Edwards of Amite described Jindal as absent without leave during “the most serious budget crisis in our history.” Edwards, a Democrat, said that Jindal “is not minding the store” and has been less than honest with Louisiana’s citizens about problems facing the state.

Edwards isn’t alone among legislators in offering criticism of the governor’s repeated optimistic proclamations on his statewide “Building a Better Louisiana for Our Children” tour. Press releases from the governor’s office quote Jindal as saying his administration is “doing more with less” and has “significantly cut government spending and reduced the size of government—while pursuing innovative programs that are more effective at providing services for our people.”

Several state senators, however, have called Jindal to task for what they feel is a lack of candor. The said he should be more straightforward about the types of severe budget cuts that will be necessary in order to balance next year’s budget. They said Jindal has been misleading the public in talking up cost savings and office consolidations while refusing to acknowledge the far-reaching budget cuts that will be needed to close the budget gap.

The president of the LSU student body gained national publicity recently when he wrote to a newspaper in New Hampshire where Jindal was campaigning. The letter asked the governor to return home and address the budgetary problems facing higher education. Only when J. Ryan Hudson’s letter got national attention did Jindal finally agree to meet with students to discuss cuts to higher education.

More recently, an LSU professor voiced similar sentiments, saying Jindal should do his job and “stop playing games.” A.R.P. Rau added that the governor, while critical of university sabbatical policies, failed to appreciate the irony that he is often “absent without leave from the state, neglecting it for his personal national aspirations.”

Perhaps the most significant criticism, however, came from Ed Steimel, retired president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI). Steimel, calling himself a longtime supporter of Jindal, now describes the governor as “a major disappointment” and said he no longer supports him. Steimel-perhaps with tongue in cheek, but perhaps not-even suggested that Hudson and Jindal swap jobs.

State Treasurer John Kennedy, sounding more and more like a potential 2011 challenger to his fellow Republican, has offered his own plan to balance the state budget now estimated to be more than $100 million in the red. Kennedy said his 16-point plan would produce an overall savings of $2.6 billion.

The governor’s office, even as it was responding to the college presidents, launched a web page dedicated to criticizing Kennedy’s proposals, with Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater saying that the state treasurer’s ideas were “unworkable.” Kennedy angrily responded to Rainwater, saying, “Tell me you don’t want to do it. Tell me you don’t have the political courage to do it. But don’t tell me it can’t be done.”

When he became governor, Jindal increased the size of the Louisiana Board of Ethics by more than two-thirds, from 23 to 39 staff positions but now has directed the agency to cut staff by 35 percent. Ethics Board Chairman Frank Simoneaux said personnel cuts would be “particularly egregious to us.” He said the board already in understaffed for it to perform the duties it is charged by law to do.

Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein sent an Oct. 22 agency-wide email in which he said Jindal was “committed to providing the core health-care services and programs that our residents need.” At the same time, however, Greenstein announced a reorganization that “will lead to a reduction in staff.”

Even as Greenstein was parroting Jindal’s commitment to needed health-care services, physicians and legislators alike leveled stinging criticism of Jindal’s decision last week to scrap CommunityCare, a program which mainly serves children in providing primary-care physicians for Medicaid patients throughout Louisiana. By eliminating the extra $3 per patient per month paid physicians to coordinate care of individual Medicaid patients, Jindal said he hopes to cut spending by $16 million.

Nor is the governor the only one to incur the wrath of some observers. The same growing feeling of general frustration was also directed at the legislature.

A Baton Rouge retiree offered a proposal which isn’t likely to get many takers. He suggested that whenever cuts are necessary, legislators should be first in line to sacrifice. Bill Fontaine of the Baton Rouge suburb of Central said that would mean that salaries, staff, perks, and any other costs of making the legislature run must be cut proportionate to any cuts to higher education. “….imagine the legislators working for free when there is no budget to pay them…..” he said.

“But you see,” he added, “I’m a pessimist about legislative courage. I don’t think they have the courage to forgo some pay and/or benefits for the good of the people. They are just cowards and greedy grabbers….”

Even the Associated Press is beginning to call attention to Jindal’s growing propensity to speak of Louisiana’s economy in more glowing terms than its citizens back home can see.

Saying that the governor seems more focused on his own political future than on problems back home, AP points out that Jindal conveniently leaves out the bad news about the state’s finances when describing his administration’s accomplishments during appearances in other states.

The latest example of Jindal’s apparent propensity to embellish his image of the state came as recently as Oct. 27 in Wisconsin.

Appearing on behalf of eventual winning gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker, Jindal and Governors Bob McDonnell of Virginia and Haley Barbour of Mississippi told Wisconsin voters that their strategies of cutting taxes and shrinking government worked in their states. Their pronouncements prompted Walker to call the three his inspiration when he is asked how he will create jobs and make government smaller. Calling them “great leaders,” Walker said, “They did it and we’re going to do it.”

Jindal boasted that Louisiana’s economy improved when he cut or repealed tax increases passed under his Democratic predecessor Kathleen Blanco, adding that Americans need leaders who can balance budgets, create jobs, and cut taxes. (Actually, the Stelly Plan to which he was apparently alluding, was passed in 2002, the final year of Republican Gov. Mike Foster’s administration.)

The “improved” economy of Louisiana is wrestling with the current budget deficit of $106 million. As if that were not sufficiently severe, next year’s deficit is pegged—by the Jindal administration itself—at $1.6 billion while others project an even bigger budgetary shortfall.

Back home in Louisiana, however, Jindal said it will be necessary for cabinet members and department heads to deliver better value with fewer dollars. “We don’t need whining. We do need leadership,” he said at a Capitol press conference. Then, apparently satisfied to leave the leadership to others, he immediately left for Pittsburgh to attend a fundraiser for the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Pennsylvania.

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Did Jindal and Caldwell cut a deal on health care litigation?

Posted in Attorney General, Ethics, Governor's Office, Health Care, Layoffs, Politicians, Transparency, tagged on September 1, 2010| 2 Comments »

The following story was first reported by Capitol News Service, which is affiliated with this web blog, in June and though vehemently denied by Gov. Jindal’s office, we felt it was worth posting here.

Politics do indeed make strange bedfellows, especially when one of the partners is in denial.

When Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell entered the fray in challenging the recently passed federal health care law, he stood alone as the only Democrat among 14 state attorneys general doing so. The litigation, if successful, could also ultimately cost the state.

It also turns out that Caldwell may have been reluctant to become what he described as the “token Democrat” in the litigation, but was backed into a corner by Gov. Bobby Jindal. Jindal’s press secretary Kyle Plotkin, however, vehemently denied that.

Caldwell and 12 Republican attorneys general joined in the lawsuit filed in Pensacola by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, who is taking the lead in the litigation filed only minutes after President Barack Obama signed it into law. Virginia’s attorney general, also a Republican, filed a separate suit challenging the constitutionality of the law.

Caldwell initially declined to comment on Louisiana’s participation in the lawsuit, saying that he anticipated a spokesperson would be appointed by the litigation group to address media inquiries. “It would not be appropriate for me to comment in the interim,” he said.

Three days later, however, he did issue a brief statement and his office said, “No other statements will be made.”

“As Attorney General, I am duty bound by my oath of office to pursue a request by the Governor of the state of Louisiana for legal assistance, so long as it has substantial legal merit.”

Democratic attorneys generals in three other states apparently do not feel so duty bound. Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, a Democrat, refused Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty’s request to join in the suit. Democratic attorneys general in Georgia and Nevada also have balked at demands by Republican governors of those states to challenge the health care law.

Some legal experts, according to the Associated Press, feel the lawsuit has dim prospects of success because, under the U.S. Constitution, federal laws prevail over state laws.

Caldwell said it was his decision to sign onto what he called Florida’s “well-drafted action” at the least cost to Louisiana in order to accomplish the same objective.

But his decision may not have been as willing as he attempted to make it appear.

In a subsequent address to employees of his office, the Attorney General said the decision was made more out of the necessity of saving jobs in his agency than any real hope—or desire—of overturning the health care law.

Four separate employees said Caldwell, in a candid admission, claimed that a deal was made with Jindal. Under terms of that agreement, the governor would not make additional cuts in the attorney general’s budget if Caldwell joined in the litigation. Caldwell agreed to be the “token Democrat,” they said, so that he might save additional job cuts by an administration whose stated goal is to reduce the number of state employees by as much as 5,000 per year over three years.

A spokesman for the Division of Administration said Jindal could not cut the attorney general’s budget at this late date even if he wanted to because the budget has already been submitted and is “set in stone.”

A side effect of the lawsuit, one source said, could be the jeopardizing of $300 million in Medicaid funding, negotiated by Sen. Mary Landrieu in return for her support of the bill.

Because of the heavy influx of millions of dollars in insurance payments, aid, and money for new construction following Hurricane Katrina, the federal government calculated on paper that state income increased by 40 percent. That resulted in a drastic cut in Medicaid funding, prompting Landrieu to do some 11th-hour horse-trading to restore the lost funding to the state.

The $300 million recovery, however, would be offset by the costs of the health care bill, according to Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine. Levine said the bill, because it was passed as an unfunded mandate, would mean a minimum additional cost to Louisiana of about $350 million per year to implement. “Unfunded mandates have been successfully challenged in court before,” Caldwell said in his written statement.

“As Attorney General I will not engage in political opportunism or partisan politics nor file any claim that does not have substantial legal merit,” he said.

Both Caldwell and Jindal were unavailable for comment on the reports of the agreement to spare Caldwell’s office further budget cuts in exchange for joining the lawsuit.

Plotkin demanded to know the source of the information but was told only that the information came from within the attorney general’s office and was corroborated by no fewer than four employees of Caldwell’s office.

“Your story (first published earlier this week in the Eunice News) is preposterous,” Plotkin told a reporter. “Moreover, you said you tried to call the governor and he and the attorney general were unavailable for comment. We have no record of any inquiry made to the governor’s office.”

The initial report, however, never said the governor’s office was called since at the time the story was being filed late last Thursday, Jindal was in Winnsboro. An attempt was made to call Caldwell but because it was the day before Good Friday, Jindal had sent his employees home early and closed the attorney general’s offices.

Plotkin then demanded that the reporter add a sentence to the initial story “saying that you never called the governor’s office.” The reporter refused, saying it was never claimed that the governor’s office was called so there was no reason to correct an error that was never made.

Plotkin, when asked for the governor’s version of what happened, insisted that Caldwell joined the suit “on his own volition.”

“You’ve caused a lot of problems for this office,” he said. “This story has been all over the internet and national television. Why don’t you call the attorney general and let him tell you what happened?” He was told that no fewer than four employees of the attorney general’s office had already related details of Caldwell’s address to his employees.

Plotkin, who had first contacted the reporter by email, was asked to reduce Jindal’s version of events to writing and to submit them to the reporter via email “so there would be no chance of any misunderstanding.”

Plotkin refused, suggesting again that the reporter call Caldwell.

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