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Archive for the ‘Revenue’ Category

Who needs emergency funds when we got pork?

Posted in Budget, Golf Courses, Governor's Office, Health Care, Higher Education, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Lobbyist, Politicians, Revenue, Transparency on July 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »

            After all the hoopla in the State Capitol over legislators’ piling spending projects into HB-76, Gov. Bobby Jindal ended up vetoing only 32 of those projects, according to the eight-page veto message released by the governor’s office. That represents only 7.3 percent of the 438 individual spending projects.

            Legislators went on their annual spending spree, pouring $33 million in appropriations for local projects that included museums, sidewalks, water and sewer systems, automobile purchases, fire districts, recreational facilities, and even maintenance for a privately-owned cemetery. Jindal, who has consistently advocated restraint in reckless spending, however, could bring himself to slash only $1.8 million, or 5.5 percent, from the bill.

            Several legislators complained that Jindal was being vindictive in cutting expenditures in the districts of legislators who opposed parts of his legislative agenda this year, including an effort to open records in the governor’s office to public scrutiny. The governor’s vetoes, however, were no different than in other years with other governors. Some, however, felt the cuts could—and should—have been even deeper given the state’s dire economic forecasts.

            Appropriations that survived Jindal’s veto pen that may seem questionable included:

  • $150,000 for the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame and Museum in Winnfield;
  • $25,000 for economic development studies for an airport for Livingston Parish (the northern part of Livingston is only about 10 miles from Baton Rouge’s Ryan Airport);
  • $20,000 for fairground cattle fences in Vernon Parish;
  • $30,000 for rehabilitation of the privately owned J.S. Clark Cemetery in Ouachita Parish;
  • $250,000 for construction of an animal shelter in St. Charles Parish;
  • $250,000 to the city of Westwego for the Performing Arts Center;
  • $200,000 for Phase I of converting a high school gym to a community center in Marksville.

Jindal’s vetoes included the following projects:

  • $20,000 for the Eddie Robinson Museum in Grambling;
  • $75,000 for the Southern Forest Heritage Museum in Forest Hill;
  • $100,000 for the Louisiana Council on the Social Status of Black Boys and Men in New Orleans;
  • $40,000 for a grants program for festivals and cultural activities;
  • $50,000 for Kent House Historical Site;
  • $50,000 for Kent Plantation House;
  • $21,560 to add a left turn lane on Sharp Road in Baton Rouge;
  • $100,000 for the purchase of 1,461 beds at Winn Correctional Center;
  • $100,000 for the purchase of 1,461 beds at Allen Correctional Center
  • $75,000 for a nurse and a substance abuse counselor at J. Levy Dabadie Correctional Center;
  • $20,000 for the Rapides Children’s Advocacy Center;
  • $50,000 for repairs to the Lake End Park and Swamp Gardens in Morgan City;
  • $15,000 for the East Baton Rouge Parish School system;
  • $50,000 to install air filling equipment at a fire station in Algiers;
  • $10,000 each to the towns of Homer and Haynesville;
  • $300,000 to fund the Algiers Development District;
  • $45,000 for the Terrytown Volunteer Fire Department;
  • $300,000 for the City of New Orleans Westbank Redevelopment;
  • $82,000 for the City of Baton Rouge;
  • $6,000 for the Odyssey House of Louisiana, Inc. in New Orleans;
  • $50,000 for Camp Minden;
  • $30,000 for the City of Springhill for a portable generator;
  • $20,000 for street and water equipment for the Town of Cullen;
  • $20,000 to purchase a police car for the Town of Sarepta;
  • $15,000 each for Main Street Programs for the towns of Minden and Springhill;
  • $45,000 for infrastructure improvements for the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office;
  • $50,000 for cultural programs for the City of Alexandria;
  • $35,000 for sickle cell health care services for the City of Alexandria;
  • $7,500 for Kingsley House in LaPlace;
  • $25,000 for a walking track for the City of Cankton.

 

So, as the state continues down the slippery slope toward next year’s deficit projected to be $2 billion or $3 billion by this time next year, the legislature continues to earmark money already in short supply to fund charities, municipalities and parishes and other non-governmental organizations.

            The casual observer might wonder why lawmakers continue to spend like a drunken sailor while others could point out the difference is that a drunken sailor quits spending when he runs out of money.

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Gross Ignorance and the Louisiana Legislature

Posted in Budget, Civil Service, Education, Ethics, Golf Courses, Governor's Office, Health Care, Higher Education, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Lobbyist, Politicians, Revenue, Transparency on July 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Gross Ignorance and the Louisiana Legislature

            In keeping with the imminent opening of the 2010 Louisiana legislative session on March 29, today’s civics lesson will consider the origins of the term gross ignorance.

            Anyone in commercial shipping, purchasing, or inventory knows that a gross is a dozen dozen, or 144. So how does that translate to gross ignorance and what could it possibly have to do with the approaching session?

            Simple. There are 144 members of the Louisiana Legislature. Next question.

            As of close of business on March 19, more than 1200 bills had been pre-filed for consideration in this year’s session. There likely will be hundreds more before the opening gavel. Many of these same bills pop up every year and are summarily killed in committee.

There are also many bills that overlap or which are redundant. And even as legislators deplore overcrowded conditions in the state’s prisons, each successive year finds a glut of bills by pro-law-and-order legislators seeking to impose stricter penalties on a wide range of crimes which, if passed, would—you guessed it—add to prison overcrowding.

Then there are the bills that are self-serving at best and inane at worst. But even the occasional bill that has merit might be misunderstood if one goes only by the summary provided by the House in the list of bills pre-filed so far. These are the ones we will look at today. Here are the verbatim summaries in italics, followed by my comments. You are free to write your own.

HB8: Provides for the disposal of noncontraband unclaimed property seized in certain criminal investigations. “You take the Rolex; I’ll take the BMW….”

            HB16: Provides for the certification of concealed handgun permit instructors. Why would we want to certify a concealed instructor?

            HB22: Deletes the requirement that all witnesses to the execution of a death sentence shall be Louisiana citizens. We believe Texans could learn from us.

            HB26: Creates the crime of simple battery during a parade. As opposed to, say, during an opera?

            HB101: Provides term limits for judges, district attorneys, and sheriffs. Some of those should be limited to zero terms.

            HB103: Creates the crime of unlawfully wearing clothing which exposes undergarments or certain body parts. About time someone criminalized bad taste. But you still can’t fix stupid.

            HB112: Creates the crime of obstructing a law enforcement officer. Obviously, this legislator has never watched COPS.

            HB133: Provides relative to the authority of members of the legislature to attend meetings of public bodies. Like maybe legislative committee meetings and floor sessions?

            HB135: Provides sanctions for frivolous appeals and writ applications. How about filing frivolous bills?

            HB149: Authorizes per diem for the members of the St. Helena Parish Tourist Commission. Has any tourist ever set foot in St. Helena Parish? On purpose?

            HB155: Allows a ticket to an athletic contest of an institution of higher education to be sold for more than face value in certain situations. Like when a legislator has a schedule conflict and wants to unload his primo tickets.

            HB159: Prohibits governing authorities from imposing civil fines for traffic violations without a vote of the people. This bill was withdrawn before its author was totally embarrassed.

            HB211: Allows off-road vehicles to be operated on state college and university streets. This would be right after the keg party at the frat house.

            HB212: Authorizes a federal judge to perform a marriage ceremony for a specified limited time period. Marriage ceremonies have always been too long anyway.

            HB256: Prohibits the Port of New Orleans from expanding its territorial jurisdiction. Like to, say, Dry Prong.

            HB257: Provides relative to academic tutoring for certain student athletes in public elementary and secondary schools. Elementary schools? Really?

            HB261: Re-creates the Department of State. Hillary will be happy to know this.

            HB270: Provides for additional tuition charges on a per-hour basis. Would a student get a rebate for cutting class?

            HB271: Creates the crime of illegally selling urine or adulterants to circumvent screening tests. A guy would hate do this only to learn that tests showed he was pregnant.

            HB296: Allows a public servant to accept certain gifts for customary social occasions. This would put civil servants on an equal footing with legislators who never gave up the gifts.

            HB298: Allows persons riding bicycles upon a roadway, which includes an improved shoulder, the option of riding on the improved shoulder. As opposed to the ditch?

            HB301: Grants the Louisiana Tax Commission the authority to manage its own budget, procurement, and general management and operational functions. Finally! The agency that takes our tax money is going to be trusted with handling its own finances. Beautiful.

            HB312: Allows minors at least 16 years of age to donate blood with parental consent. In our day, that was called discipline.

            HB320: Provides for the confiscation and destruction of a criminal instrument. That should take care of my neighbor’s guitar.

            HB348: Amends penalties imposed for a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Be careful, he’s armed.

HB350: Increases fine for seat belt violations. Just how does one go about violating a seat belt?

            HB356: Designates an overpass. Okay, it’s an overpass.

            HB361: Creates the crime of battery of a health care provider. See HB 26 above.

            HB364: Provides relative to the Horsemen’s Workers’ Compensation Program. Wait. What?

            HB369: Authorizes DOTD (Department of Transportation and Development) to use monies from the Transportation Trust Fund to fund ferries that are not connected to state roads. Everybody knows that in Louisiana, you have to be connected to get funded.

            HB372: Repeals provisions relative to speed limits on I-10 in St. Tammany Parish. What, are they also going to rename it Autobahn II?

            HB374: Limits fines imposed for traffic offenses captured by automated traffic enforcement systems. Guess who got busted?

            HB380: Provides for the definition of “rural hospital.” That would be a facility where Jethro Bodine is the brain surgeon and they use a real live Labrador for lab tests and a real live cat for CAT scans.

            HB396: Provides for changes to the Louisiana Underground Utilities and Facilities Damage Prevention Law. For starters, make the name shorter.

            HB419: Requires law enforcement officials to undergo training on the use of tasers. Aren’t they proficient enough already?

            HB421: Provides relative to the authority of a local school board to deny admission or readmission to school of certain students.

            HB422: Provides relative to children exempted from the compulsory school attendance law. That would be the students from HB421 above.

            HB469: Provides for additional processing fees relative to the expungement of arrest records. Okay, we’re gonna clear your record on that false arrest but it’s gonna cost you.

            HB470: Prohibits a person 70 years old or older from qualifying for elective office. You may want to take a hard look at those under 70 as well.

            HB496: Merges the Fertilizer Commission and the Louisiana Feed Commission. If there’s anything the legislature should know about, it’s fertilizer.

            HB529: Requires instruction with respect to sex education in public schools. Let’s not go there.

            HB566: Requires disclosure by certain officials of information relative to employment and appointment of campaign contributors. This could be a real sticky wicket.

            HB574: Prohibits certain pest control operators from providing services.

            HB609: Provides with respect to the crime of home invasion. Would this be the pest or the pest control operator from HB574?

            HB594: Provides for traffic regulation of intersection when traffic control signal is inoperative. There’s a law for that already; it’s called a four-way stop.

            HB606: Provides for the prohibition of swine running at large. There’s a joke there but it’s better left unsaid.

            HB636: Authorizes free and unhampered passage on the Tomey J. Doucet Bridge for certain emergency vehicles of the Town of Grand Isle. Have they actually been charging ambulances a fee? Must be where they got the idea for that toll booth scene in Blazing Saddles.

            HB647: Allows publicly owned fire trucks with fire apparatuses to use blue lights. Deep down, those guys have always wanted to be cops.

            HB689: Provides for fraudulent practices during an auction. If anyone would know how to provide for fraudulent practices, it would be the legislature.

            HB700: Exempts church camps from enforcement of building code standards. I see a problem with this. Seriously.

            HB705: Requires public entities to give preference to state banks. Are there any left?

            HB731: Provides a public records exception for certain confidential reports made to the Board of Ethics. Uh, wouldn’t that be unethical?

            HB770: Requires each public college and university to readmit its graduates, without charging tuition and fees, if such a graduate cannot find or looses employment because his degree did not prepare him for employment in a profession related to his degree. How about free tuition to legislators who don’t know the difference between the proper usages of looses and loses?

            HB779: Provides relative to the Horsemen’s Benevolent Program Association. Just what in the name of Beelzebub is the Horsemen’s Benevolent Program Association?

            HB827: Provides for changes for the disbursement of monies collected for the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. Them again? And this time it’s a protective association.

            HB859: Prohibits certain traffic cameras on highways that receive public funding. Someone else got busted.

            HB867: Provides for the reduction of a defendant’s sentence for substantial assistance in an investigation or prosecution. I’ll talk if you let me walk. What’s wrong with this picture?

            HB969: Provides relative to qualifications for election as a member on a school board. A high school diploma would be a good start.

            HB1010: Provides for alternate means of proof that paper is manufactured in the state. Say what?

            HB1086: Provides relative to an organ donation opt-out program. I want my Kidney back.

            HB1124: Requires notices of deficiencies. Uh, can you be just a bit vaguer?

            HB1130: Creates the Louisiana Performance Horse Promotion Act. Again with the horses already?

            HB1147: Prohibits a policyholder from allowing any person excluded from liability coverage to drive the covered vehicle.

            HB1148: Prohibits the exclusion of any person from coverage under a motor vehicle liability policy. The last two bills were authored by the same legislator.

            Now you understand the meaning and the origins of the term gross ignorance.

            We hope to offer lessons in political rationale and progressive legislative in the future, but that prospect remains in doubt.

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Louisiana Legislative Salaries

Posted in Budget, Civil Service, Economy, Ethics, Governor's Office, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Politicians, Public Records, Revenue, Transparency on June 12, 2010| 1 Comment »

There’s a dirty little secret your legislators don’t want you to know.

Hiding behind the misnomer “automatic,” they were quick to agree to freeze state classified employee pay raises, but considerably more reluctant to take action adverse to their own part-time legislative income. But first, let us debunk what lawmakers prefer to disparingly refer to as “automatic” 4 percent annual raises for state civil service employees. The increases attacked by the Gang of 144 are merit increases and they are neither automatic nor annual. There comes a time when an employee maxes out on his or her raises and unless the employee is promoted or takes another job in state government, the raises, no matter how well the employee performs, stop. Period.

Of course, that’s not the case with legislators. Just last October, a true “automatic” increase from $145 to $159 in legislative per diem kicked in, giving legislators an automatic–and secret–increase of 9.5 percent. That’s $159 per day for every day of the 85-day session (60 days in odd-numbered years–$13,515 and $9,540 per session, respectively) despite the fact that neither the House nor the Senate meets on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays. Neither do they meet on Memorial Day. That’s as many as 37 days during the 85-day session and 24 days in odd-numbered years during which they do not convene but for which they are paid nonetheless. That’s $847,152 during the 85-day sessions and $549,504 during 60-day sessions that is paid to members in abstention. Pro-rate that over 10 years and you can see how members of the legislature have ripped the state of to the tune of nearly $7 million–and that doesn’t even include special sessions that may arise.

But wait! There’s more!

Legislators draw a flat salary of $16,800 per year. Per diem for an 85-day session adds another $13,515 (60-day session per diem payments come to $9,540). Each legislator also receives an un-vouchered expense allowance of $6,000, plus up to $1,500 per month in other vouchered expenses. That comes to $50,340 to $54,315, depending on odd- or even-year sessions but not counting special sessions, for a part-time job. Either figure is considerably more than the average civil service employee makes for his or her full-time service. Moreover, each legislator receives a laptop computer for the Capitol, a desktop computer with high-speed internet service, up to three telephone lines for his or her district office, and up to $3,000 per month for the salary of a legislative aide. Finally, legislators serving on or before Jan. 1, 1997, or who were already participating in a public retirement system at that time, are eligible for retirement benefits of 3.5 percent of the member’s annual salary for each year of service. State civil service employees, by comparison, receive 2.5 percent of their annual salaries in retirement benefits.

Other Southern States.

Georgia legislators, make $49,000 a year which is comparable to Louisiana if you don’t count the perks provided their counterparts in Louisiana. In Alabama, lawmakers make about $33,110 per year and in Mississippi, the Senate took the unique step this year of voting 39-2 to lower legislators’ salaries by 10 percent. The measure, however, died in the House. Still Mississippi legislators make only $10,000 per year and in Arkansas, legislators draw a whopping $12,796 per year. Before you praise Mississippi too much, however, it should be noted that the legislature cut social welfare by 23.16 percent this year and hospitals and hospital schools by 16.68 percent. The smallest budget cut, however, was that of the legislature, which slashed its own budget by a measley 1.06 percent. Public education in Mississippi was cut by 5.73 percent and higher education’s cut was 3.42 percent and even as teachers across the state were facing layoffs, SB 2610 authorized increases of up to $8,300 per year to district attorneys in Mississippi.

Louisiana doesn’t seem to be unique when it comes to questionable legislation. Still, state civil service employees were caught off-guard when Rep. John M. Schroder (R-Abita Springs) attempted to push through legislation that would have forced them to take unpaid leave on legal holidays. As the controversy swirled around his proposed bill, he was asked to respond yes or no to a number of questions, one of which was “Have you accepted the $14 per day increase in per diem payments that automatically went into effect last October?” his response was a somewhat non-committal, “God bless you.” His bill to strip paid leave for holidays from employees failed.

Another bill that calls the courage of some 21 House members into question was HB 1390 by Rep. Jerome “Dee” Richard (I-Thibodaux).

Richard, apparently recognizing the double standard of legislators’ accepting a 9.6% increase in per diem while denying 4% merit increases for classified employees, proposed freezing the per diem rate at $159 for two years, until July 2, 2012.

Richard’s bill, when brought brfore the full House, received 51 votes with 31 voting against HB 1390–just two votes shy of the majority needed for passage.

Those voting in favor of the bill: Damone Baldone, Taylor Barras, Robert Billiot, Jared Brossett, Richard Burford, Henry Burns, Tim Burns, Stephen Carter, Simone Champagne, Charles Chaney, Patrick Connick, Patrick Cortez, George Cromer, Michael Danahay, Herbert Dixon, Franklin Foil, Richard Gallot, Brett Geymann, Jerry Gisclair, Rickey Hardy, Lowell Hazel, Cameron Henry, Dorothy Hill, Frank Hoffmann, Nita Hutter, Robert Johnson, Sam Jones, Chuck Kleckley, John LaBruzzo, Nancy Landry, Walt Leger, Anthony Ligi, Samuel Little, Nick Lorusso, Rickey Nowlin, Kevin Pearson, Jonathan Perry, Rogers Pope, Jerome Richard, Clifton Richardson, Cedric Richmond, Christopher Roy, John Schroder, Gary Smith, Jane Smith, Karen St. Germain, Charmaine Stiaes, Kirk Talbot, Major Thibaut, Wayne Waddell, and Thomas Willmott.

Voting against the bill: House Speaker Jim Tucker, John Anders, James Armes, Jerrery Arnold, Elton Aubert, Austin Badon, Bobby Badon, Thomas Carmody, Billy Chandler, Jean Doerge, John Edwards, Hunter Greene, Joe Harrison, Reed Henderson, Frank Howard, Girod Jackson, Michael Jackson, Kay Katz, Eddie Lambert, Bernard LeBas, Joseph Lopinto, Tom McVea, Nickie Montica, Jack Montoucet, Barbara Norton, Stephen Pugh, Harold Ritchie, Joel Robideaux, Scott Simon, Patricia Smith, and Ernest Wooton.

Considering the financial plight of the state as a whole and the denial of merit raises for deserving employees in particular, we’re not at all pleased with those who voted to keep their own automatic increases but those who took a walk during the vote are particularly worthy of our disdain. A vote this important demands that each member display a modicum of courage and vote his or her convictions. To do otherwise is cowardly and demands an explanation.

So, here are those who did not vote on a key issue that failed by only two votes: Neil Abramson, Regina Barrow, Roy Burrell, Gordon Dove, Hollis Downs, Noble Ellington, James Fannin, A.B. Franklin, Mickey Guillory, John Guinn, Walker Hines, Rosalind Jones, Juan LaFonta, Fred Mills, James Morris, Erich Ponti, M.J. Smiley, Rickey Templet, Ledricka Thierry, Mack White, and Patrick Williams.

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