Amid all the political theater that has surrounded this year's state budget, CABL says, some good things have happened. The Revenue Estimating Conference found an extra $155 million to spend next year, and the House protected higher education from having to rely so heavily on contingent dollars. The budget is "in decent enough shape for everyone to find some way to compromise," but there will be plenty of opportunities to screw it up and force lawmakers to come back for a costly special session. "If the Senate restores non-recurring revenues to the budget, will the House compromise?" the council wonders. "Will the governor see a reduction of tax exemptions or credits as a tax increase and veto the budget as he has promised?" Then there's the question of what to do about vouchers, now that the original funding mechanism has been ruled unconstitutional by the Louisiana Supreme Court. "Spending...
The burning question in the Capitol is, where will Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration find the estimated $40 million needed to fund 8,000 voucher slots, after the Supreme Court ruled the money cannot come from the Minimum Foundation Program? One theory is that a new student count, minus the voucher students, would allow BESE to back that funding out of the MFP and enable the Legislature to insert the same amount of money into a supplemental appropriations bill, resulting in a wash. To do so not only would invite opposition from the usual pack of legislators but, if the budget passed with the funding, would likely prompt another lawsuit from parish school boards and teachers unions, according to Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan.
As hundreds of voucher students rallied on the Capitol steps, the Senate Education Committee decided to ask BESE to rewrite the school funding formula in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling. The validity of the current Minimum Foundation Program formula has been in doubt since the state high court ruled last month that MFP funds cannot be used for the scholarship program. After conferring with Senate lawyers, committee Chairman Conrad Appel, R-Metairie, determined that simply severing the voucher and Course Choice language from the current MFP resolution would not resolve conflicts with the court ruling. That differs from the opinion of BESE Chairman Chas Roemer, expressed earlier this week, that the current resolution still could be used by the Legislature. The question hanging over the MFP is where the administration will find the estimated $50 million to fund 8,000 voucher slots and a still-unknown cost of the new Course Choice program. One theory is that a new student count,...
The effective tax rate in Louisiana is actually lower than it is in Texas, but it's just too complicated for out-of-state employers to realize it, a Republican lawmaker says. Rep. Alan Seabaugh of Shreveport says the Lone Star State is "whipping everybody's butt" in job creation and growth. "The fact of the matter is, four of the nine fastest-growing cities in America are in Texas," he says. "Businesses go where the tax structure is favorable, and the people follow the businesses." But that's a battle Louisiana should be winning, he says. "The problem with our income tax is it's confusing," he says. "We have a high rate of 6 and 8 percent. It's really not real because of all of the exemptions and credits; the effective rate of taxation is about a third of that. But when businesses in Delaware are looking to relocate, they see a 6 and 8 percent top rate and they say, 'Nope, we're out.' " Seabaugh says a lower tax rate with fewer exemptions, similar to the failed plan floated by Gov.
Through the Republican Governors Association he leads, Gov. Bobby Jindal is calling on President Barack Obama to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the IRS's targeting of conservative groups, Politico reports. "To be blunt, this is Big Brother come to life and a witch hunt to prevent Americans from exercising their First Amendment rights," Jindal, RGA chair, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, RGA vice chair, wrote in a letter to Obama. "The actions of the IRS are an attempt to gag the voices of Americans who may disagree with the policies and left-leaning ideology of your administration. Quite frankly, this is un-American." The RGA leaders are demanding the president fire all employees involved in the targeting and say he should appoint a special prosecutor to discover if any laws were broken. The IRS apologized Friday for having targeted for additional questioning some conservative groups' applications for nonprofit status, which delayed the processing of those...
Through the last five years of ongoing, agonizing budget deficits and midyear cuts, Louisiana politicians could at least console themselves knowing that other states were grappling with the same financial woes brought on by the national recession. But not anymore.
Through the last five years of ongoing, agonizing budget deficits and midyear cuts, Louisiana politicians could at least console themselves knowing that other states were grappling with the same financial woes brought on by the national recession. But not anymore. While action by the Legislature is still needed to end the current fiscal year in the black, a growing number of other states, recently mired in deficits, are now piling up big surpluses. A story in The Daily Beast credits growing revenues and reduced spending for enabling governors and legislators to tackle deficits, cut taxes and raise teacher pay. Texas, which had a budget deficit two years ago, projects an $8.8 billion surplus for its coming two-year cycle. Florida, forced to make deep spending cuts in recent years, projects a $437 million surplus. Beyond the Sun Belt, Ohio is looking forward to a surplus of $1 billion and Iowa one of $484 million, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers.
It's not often that an industry agrees to the proposition of paying more in taxes, but the movie industry has backed a bill, which cleared House committee today, that would reduce the movie tax credit for out-of-state investors to 25% from 30%. Speaker Pro Tem Walt Leger, D-New Orleans, introduced this bill as a back-up to a similar bill passed on Friday, in case the other bill runs into trouble in the Senate. Leger negotiated with the film industry to address potential for abuse of the program. "This is a big step forward," says Leger, in that it cracks down on out-of-state vendors trying to operate as in-state vendors. It also requires that all salaries claimed under credits have state income taxes withheld. Leger notes that his bill could be linked to others that would reduce other taxes, in order to satisfy Gov. Bobby Jindal's opposition to any bill that causes a net tax increase.
The Louisiana Legislature should have greater oversight of state privatization efforts, says Rep. Kenneth Havard, R-Jackson. He says the private sector often is more efficient than government, and hopes his House Bill 240, rather than blocking privatization, allows legislators to tell their constituents that they've vetted a contract and concluded it's the best option for the state. "Right now, we don't know," Havard says. He suggests the contract debacle that led to DHH Secretary Bruce Greenstein's resignation and a lawsuit being filed against the state might have been avoided with better oversight. Havard says his bill would require contractors to at least consider hiring qualified state workers who would lose their jobs through privatization. The Jindal administration has raised concerns about Havard's bill and a similar one,
The House of Representatives followed through today on its bipartisan budget accord, replacing $490 million in one-time money from the governor’s proposed budget with a mix of spending cuts, targeted tax-break reductions and a new tax amnesty program. It is taking up the appropriations bill itself later today. The biggest piece of the revenue package, the tax amnesty program, took the least time to pass. Rep. Joel Robideaux, R-Lafayette, estimated that the 30-month program would net $200 million for the state in first year, with another $200 million spread over the next two years. “There are no questions on the bill,” said Speaker Chuck Kleckley, R-Lake Charles. It passed, 87-8. Before that and with only a few questions raised, the House approved a series of revenue raisers, which face an uncertain future in the Senate and the threat of the governor’s veto if they are not balanced by equal tax cuts, which they won’t be.
It took two tries in four days, but House members have approved a fiscal plan different from the governor's and are ready to debate the budget bill this morning. With the scaled-back plan that omits across-the-board reduction of business tax breaks, LABI lifted its objection to advancing the revenue bills so that they can be heard on the same day as the appropriations bill. Still, some conservative Republicans considered the plan only a minor improvement. "They are doing exactly what they accused the governor of doing," says Rep. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport.
After being stung by attacks from the governor, business and farm interests, and the state Republican Party, the House passed another revamped revenue-raising plan in a series of unanimous votes this afternoon. The new proposal eliminates the across-the-board reduction of tax exemptions that had generated so much opposition and had Republicans backing away from it. The major piece to make the new deal work is a new tax amnesty program estimated to bring in $200 million in past-due taxes during the next fiscal year, with an equal amount split over the following two years. It also tightened up movie production, Enterprise Zone and solar energy tax credit programs. The plan maintains the $106 million in spending cuts that were agreed to by House Democrats. With those revenue bills amended, they can be brought up Friday along with the budget, which the House looks to approve and send to the Senate.
With Republicans split over a bipartisan budget plan that is being attacked by Gov. Bobby Jindal and the business community, a showdown vote on the issue could be held today. The budget plan written by a group of Democrats and the so-called fiscal hawks relied on hearing a host of revenue-raising bills on the same day as the appropriations bill, which is scheduled for debate Thursday. But to bring up those revenue bills out of regular order would require a two-thirds vote for each. Representatives are not sure the support is there to advance the plan. The plan circulated on Monday included $329 million to be raised by cutting or delaying a number of tax exemptions and credits and making across-the-board 15% reductions in many more. That ignited strong opposition from the governor and business lobbyists, who labeled the plan a giant tax increase. As a result, an untold number of Republicans distanced themselves from the plan, which also contained about $100 million in spending cuts.
Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration has been busy this week voicing its opposition to a bipartisan budget proposal that contains $329 million in cuts to tax breaks that largely benefit businesses. A day after Louisiana Department of Revenue Executive Counsel Tim Barfield penned a guest column blasting lawmakers for trying to pass the proposal without coming clean with the public about what's in it, today the governor himself has a guest column that says the proposal "would result in job-killing tax increases to businesses and individuals across Louisiana." The deal, proposed for House floor debate Thursday, would rework the $24.8 billion budget submitted by Jindal for the fiscal year that begins July 1. As currently discussed, it would cut a number of tax credit programs by 15% each, including those for filmmaking, digital media, angel investing, and research and development,...
LABI President Dan Juneau and BRAC are among those expressing opposition today to a bipartisan budget proposal that contains $329 million in cuts to tax breaks that largely benefit businesses. The deal, proposed for House floor debate Thursday, would rework the $24.8 billion budget submitted by Gov. Bobby Jindal for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The plan being discussed would cut a number of tax credit programs by 15% each, including those for filmmaking, digital media, angel investing, and research and development, among others. "The move would be severely detrimental to economic development efforts and eliminate the factors that have made the Baton Rouge area, and the whole state, competitive while the rest of the U.S. and much of the world struggled through the recent recession," reads a release from BRAC. Juneau, meanwhile, says in a
Supporters of private school vouchers say they'll look for new ways to pay for the program, now that the Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled the funding mechanism unconstitutional. "We are committed to making sure this program continues, and we will fund it through the budget," says Gov. Bobby Jindal in a prepared statement. "Hopefully, we can find some dollars," says Rep. Steve Carter, R-Baton Rouge and chairman of the House Education Committee. "But the budget is tight. There's just not an awful lot of dollars floating around." Like Carter, Sen. Conrad Appel, R-Metairie and head of the Senate Education Committee, says he hasn't yet had a chance to discuss the next steps with his colleagues. "We're going to be fighting to find a way to make it work that adheres to the constitution," Appel says. "That's the big question of the day: What would work?" says BESE member Holly Boffy. Beyond the funding question—lawmakers say about $25 million is needed—opponents likely will try...
Gov. Bobby Jindal steps up his counteroffensive today against a bipartisan effort in the House to rewrite his proposed budget. The House plan being discussed by both Democrats and the Republican fiscal hawks would reportedly raise over $300 million by trimming a broad range of tax exemptions and credits by 15% across the board. The motion picture investor tax credit plan would be among those affected. Today, one of those so-called hawks, Rep. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport, broke ranks with his colleagues by opposing the plan to reduce exemptions, which he labeled a tax increase. In a statement, he says he still supports the hawks' position against using one-time money in the budget, but he wants to achieve the goal by cutting spending instead. On Monday Jindal criticized the plan for its secrecy and labeled the tax break reduction a tax increase. The Republican Party, meanwhile, is turning up the heat on GOP House members to get them to not make a deal with Democrats to raise revenue.
The Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled that the funding method for the state's school voucher program is unconstitutional. In a 6-1 ruling today, the court upheld a district court ruling that the state constitution forbids using money earmarked for public schools in the state's Minimum Foundation Program to pay for private school tuition. The voucher program was one of the hallmarks of Gov. Bobby Jindal's Act 2 education reform package, passed by the state Legislature in 2012. Read more in Daily Report this afternoon.
The bipartisan plan by legislators to raise revenue to replace one-time money in the governor's budget took off from a House committee today. The House Ways & Means Committee began rolling through a series of bills to reduce tax credits, exemptions and exclusions and to increase sales taxes, some of which were part of Gov. Bobby Jindal's parked tax swap plan. Committee Chairman Joel Robideaux signaled the intention of a new coalition of Democrats and Republican fiscal hawks to amend the bills on the House floor to form part of their undisclosed plan to raise revenue and cut spending in order to replace up to $490 million of non-recurring revenue now in the appropriations bill. For instance, Robideaux mentioned that the 108-page House Bill 653, the much-opposed sales tax on services, would be used to reduce or eliminate vendors' compensation for collecting sales taxes. Because the bills are set to be amended on the floor, the committee used the unconventional parliamentary maneuver of...
When it was first announced that I would lead Gov. Bobby Jindal's tax reform efforts, I was bombarded with concerns from many stakeholders about the "process." Statements such as "The end does not justify the means" and "Do not ramrod these reforms through the Legislature" were common. I heard these concerns from editorial board members, policy organizations like PAR, industry organizations, and taxpayer advocates. Members of the Legislature, however, were among the first to warn me that such actions would not be well received by them.
When it was first announced that Louisiana Department of Revenue Executive Counsel Tim Barfield would lead Gov. Bobby Jindal's tax reform efforts, Barfield says he was "bombarded with concerns from many stakeholders about the 'process.' " In a new guest column, Barfield says he met with many editorial board members, policy organizations, industry organizations, and taxpayer advocates, and commonly heard comments such as: "The end does not justify the means" and "Do not ramrod these reforms through the Legislature." "Members of the Legislature, however, were among the first to warn me that such actions would not be well received by them," Barfield says. Now, citing recent news reports, Barfield says, "A significant majority of members of the House of Representatives are poised to follow the leadership of an unlikely alliance of the Legislative Black Caucus and the 'fiscal hawks' (purportedly conservative Republicans)" to "finalize a tax increase of an estimated $500 million." And, in...
Colleges and universities ought to be able to decide how much to charge in tuition, argues CABL in a commentary released Thursday. "CABL doesn't like the notion of raising tuition any more than anyone else," the piece reads. "But … we don't want to have a postsecondary education system that doesn't meet our needs. That could be where we're headed." Louisiana is the only state that requires a two-thirds vote from the Legislature to raise tuition, which helps explain why average tuition at LSU, for example, is 30% less than that of peer institutions around the nation, despite recent hikes. Higher education funding from the state has declined more than 30% over the past five years, and CABL sees no reason to believe the next few years will be any different. State policy is driving higher education into more of a market-driven model, the council observes, so institutions ought to have the flexibility...
The bipartisan budget proposal in the works in the Louisiana House is said by sources to include spending cuts and the suspension of some tax credits and exemptions. Members are considering either targeted suspensions or an across-the-board reduction of 15% of exemptions. The governor can veto the repeal or reduction of an exemption or credit, but not a one-year suspension. Also, House members look to use up to $100 million more in projected revenues that are expected to be recognized when the Revenue Estimating Committee meets next week, but new revenue from a cigarette tax or other mechanism still isn't on the table, lawmakers say.
Two measures aimed at regulating the operations of salt domes were approved unanimously today by the Louisiana House in response to a 13-acre sinkhole in Assumption Parish, The Associated Press reports. The measures by Rep. Karen St. Germain, D-Pierre Part, and Sen. Rick Ward, D-Port Allen, would require stricter guidelines for monitoring and assessing areas around salt domes. Among other things, one measure would call for surveying salt dome formations every five years. The other bill would require legal notification of the location of underground caverns to prospective property owners. A massive sinkhole in Assumption Parish that opened up in August has forced the evacuation of 150 homes near Bayou Corne. The proposals head next to the Senate for debate.
Speaker of the House Chuck Kleckley told representatives today not to bend to pressure from "outside groups" that will try to get them to defeat a bipartisan budget plan in the works. "Let's stick together, and don't commit to anybody trying to get you to not support the plan," he told representatives. He did not identify who is applying the pressure, but the state Republican party this week urged GOP lawmakers not to negotiate with Democrats on a budget plan that would raise taxes or remove tax exemptions or credits. Democrats and Republicans say ongoing discussions involve a mix of spending cuts and exemption removals. Gov. Bobby Jindal has said he will oppose any revenue-raising measures that are not balanced by tax cuts.
Louisiana has the highest percentage of native-born residents of any state in the country, with about 80% its population having been born here, notes Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister—a Louisiana native. "Louisiana folks are a proud people who are deeply rooted in family, tradition and geography," writes McCollister in his latest column. While this can be a very special asset for our state, he says, Louisiana's large native population and long-lived traditions also have their downside. "And when change or reforms are advanced, they often run into a fierce monster named 'STATUS QUO'—especially in politics," he says. "In visiting with ex-pats from Louisiana in Austin, Texas, while a group of us were on BRAC's first canvass trip, we were told that new ideas were met in Baton Rouge with, 'Well, that's not the way we used to do it.' And that is often the problem." But McCollister says the status quo is changing in health care, higher education, K-12 education,...
A day after closing on the purchase of the Digestive and Liver Disease Clinic at 6615 Perkins Road for $2,650,000, Baton Rouge General today opened a new Gastroenterology Center in the facility. Dr. Shabon Faruqui sold the clinic to Baton Rouge General, according to records from the East Baton Rouge Clerk of Court. Faruqui is now among the physicians leading the Gastroenterology Center, along with Drs. Karen Diamond, Paul McNeely, Alan Sonsky and Elizabeth Alonso-Rubiano. Baton Rouge General is partnering with its private physicians network, Baton Rouge General Physicians, at the new facility. Baton Rouge General Interim President and CEO Evelyn Hayes says the new center "combines the very best that the General is known for—dedicated physician experts and compassionate staff committed to clinical quality excellence—to serve patients' GI and digestive health needs within the hospital's comprehensive care community." Baton Rouge General has more details on the services the...
A Vermilion Parish lawmaker's repeated attempt to put term limits on all statewide elected officials has again failed to gain support in the Louisiana Legislature, The Associated Press reports. The House and Governmental Affairs Committee today voted 6-2 against Rep. Simone Champagne's proposal. Champagne wants to limit statewide elected officials to three consecutive four-year terms. The bill would have applied to the lieutenant governor, attorney general, agriculture commissioner, insurance commissioner, secretary of state and treasurer. Louisiana's governor already is limited to two consecutive terms. Champagne has tried the idea for several years, but it has never won passage in the House. If the term limit proposal got the backing of lawmakers, it would also have needed approval from voters in a statewide election.
On the day after the so-called fiscal hawks won a victory in the House over handling the budget, two of its leaders lost a bid in district court to declare the current state budget unconstitutional. District Judge Tim Kelley threw out a lawsuit brought by Republican Reps. Kirk Talbot and Cameron Henry that alleged the state's use of one-time money for recurring expenses was unconstitutional. Kelley declared that the suit, if successful, would create a budget deficit, which would violate state law that prevents a judge from issuing a ruling that would create a deficit in a state agency. While getting no relief from the judicial branch, House members made a stand that will set up a debate over using one-time money in the next budget. In essence, a coalition of GOP fiscal hawks and Democrats blocked a committee amendment that would remove one-time money from the budget, which would set it up to move to the Senate, where the one-time money would be restored, with no input from the House.
Gov. Bobby Jindal is just one of a number of Republican governors across the nation who are struggling with political or ethical problems that might crimp any national ambitions they have in 2016, according to The Associated Press. "Two governors eyeing possible White House bids—Bob McDonnell of Virginia and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana—suddenly find themselves fending off critics and trying to shore up legacies they hope will withstand national scrutiny," reads the analysis. "Other high-profile governors run the gamut from maintaining solid popularity to being in danger of losing re-election next year." The 2016 presidential election is far away, the AP notes, and the GOP has plenty of possible contenders. They include current and former governors, such as Chris Christie of New Jersey and Jeb Bush of Florida. "Still, McDonnell's and Jindal's...
Baton Rouge could soon join a growing list of communities that ban dog owners from chaining their pets. An ordinance up for a vote at next week's Metro Council meeting would ban dog chaining for more than an hour. Under the ordinance, violators could be fined a maximum of $500 and could face up to 180 days in jail. Councilman Buddy Amoroso says he co-authored the measure as a public safety effort and to combat dog fighting. He says chaining is used by dog fighters as a way to keep the animals "in a constant state of aggression." Chained or tethered dogs also can pose a public safety hazard once they're freed, he says. The Humane Society has worked to promote prohibitions on dog chaining, claiming that chaining dogs is inhumane and dangerous to humans. As part of an anti-chaining campaign, the Humane Society outlines the dangers, saying: "A chained dog, unable to take flight, often feels forced to fight, attacking any unfamiliar animal or person who unwittingly wanders into his or her...
Lawmakers on the House ethics committee backed Gov. Bobby Jindal's effort to keep most of his records shielded from public view. The House and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 6-3 today against a measure that would have opened more of the governor's office to scrutiny, The Associated Press reports. Jindal opposed the bill. Under existing law, most of the documents and emails in the governor's office are shielded with a broad exemption that hides anything considered part of the governor's "deliberative process." The argument is that internal decision-making is protected to allow for the free flow of ideas. Thibodaux Rep. Jerome "Dee" Richard wanted to limit the governor's public records exemption to internal communication between the governor, his chief of staff and his executive counsel.
Consideration of the state budget moves from the Capitol to a Baton Rouge courtroom Wednesday. District Judge Tim Kelley will hear a constitutional challenge brought by Rep. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, to the governor's proposed spending plan. The House Appropriations Committee took nearly $500 million in one-time money out of the budget before sending it to the House floor on Monday, but the Senate is expected to put that money back when the budget reaches the upper chamber.
Even before Gov. Bobby Jindal scrapped his tax swap plan, the chatter about the Capitol was that the inevitable lame-duck phase of his second term was starting early. He went on for a week calling for an income tax repeal, though without a plan to pay for it, until all such bills were buried in committee without even a hearing.
Even before Gov. Bobby Jindal scrapped his tax swap plan, the chatter about the Capitol was that the inevitable lame-duck phase of his second term was starting early. He went on for a week calling for an income tax repeal, though without a plan to pay for it, until all such bills were buried in committee without even a hearing. A day later feisty House members actually passed a tax—albeit only 2 cents a month on cell phones to aid the hearing impaired—despite furious texting from the governor's staffers that they cease and desist. The major achievement of his second term, broad changes in public education from vouchers to tenure, remains mired in court, the constitutionality of its legislation in question. Jindal is not standing in the way of efforts to delay his new teacher evaluation system and changes in pension benefits for new state employees. His slumping approval ratings, caused by his incessant budget cuts and out-of-state politicking, limit his ability to put...
On the heels of a failed tax swap proposal—which was to be his top priority this legislative session—and facing some of his lowest approval ratings since taking office, Gov. Bobby Jindal has perhaps never been a more popular target for his critics. Along with encountering resistance while taking on big issues at home, Jindal's frequent trips out of state to promote the GOP are increasingly under fire. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican, is sympathetic to Jindal, suggesting the governor is paying a political price for taking risks. "You can be popular and not do much, or you can invest your political capital in significant policy changes," Bush says. "[Jindal has] been bold and a little controversial. He's probably wearing people out a little bit. He fits into the category of a risk taker, and that may yield lower popularity." Even high-profile Democratic political strategist James Carville cautions the governor's growing flock of critics against writing his...
Louisiana folks are a proud people who are deeply rooted in family, tradition and geography. I am one of those born and raised here, and I have enjoyed our state for more than five decades. In fact, we have the highest percentage of native population in the country, with about 80% of our residents born in Louisiana. That produces strong traditions and a culture passed down generation after generation.
The Baton Rouge offices of CNSI, in a nondescript, two-story building behind a beauty salon on Florida Boulevard, look like a neutron bomb went off there. Room after room of neat rows of desks sit ready and waiting for 100 or so employees, who likely won't be coming back. The place bustled with activity until a month ago, when it emptied with the cancellation of the firm's huge state Medicaid claims processing contract, after it attracted the interest of a federal grand jury.
Gov. Bobby Jindal passed through the double doors leading into the Louisiana House of Representatives and began to walk slowly down the center aisle. He knew the drill, having done it five times before. He stopped to greet some lawmakers and waved to others. But by the time Jindal had reached the well in the House to address the full Legislature, longtime observers could tell that times had changed for the governor. In previous years he had received a thunderous welcome. But on April 8 this year, polite applause greeted him and died down even before he reached his seat.
In a maneuver not expected to be permanent, the House Appropriations Committee today took out all of the one-time money, nearly $500 million, from the governor's budget and sent the amended budget to the full House. "This is to remove all the one-time money so the bill can be heard on the floor," said Chairman Jim Fannin, D-Jonesboro. The reduction is meant to get around a recent House rule that would require a two-thirds vote before the budget could be heard if it contains more than $200 million in non-recurring funds. The cuts fall most heavily on higher education and health care, which make up most of general fund spending. Fannin's move is designed to get the budget bill to the Senate, where those deep cuts are expected to be restored. If the Senate does what it did last year, it will restructure the bill to match up one-time funds to one-time expenses, which will conform to the House rule when it returns to the lower chamber. When the strategy was first reported last week in...
A bipartisan bill by Republican Sen. David Vitter and Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown that aims at ensuring banks are not "too big to fail" is one that "changes everything," says Simon Johnson, who served as chief economist at the International Monetary Fund in 2007 and 2008, in a Bloomberg column. "The news isn't that Brown wants to make the financial system safer," says Johnson, noting that the senator has long made it a top priority. Rather, Brown says, the big news is that a conservative such as Vitter is now pressing the proposal, which would, among other things, require all banks with more than $500 billion in assets to hold a safety cushion of at least $15 in equity capital for every $100 in assets. The bipartisan push makes it all the more likely that the bill will be passed and the financial system will be strengthened, he says. "Intellectually, the tide has turned," Johnson writes. "The dangers of reckless behavior by global megabanks are now understood much...
Louisiana lawmakers are making their first changes to Gov. Bobby Jindal's $24.7 billion budget proposal today for the next fiscal year in the House Appropriations Committee. Among the largest points of contention facing those at the committee hearing is whether to use piecemeal financing from land sales, legal settlements and fund sweeps to pay for ongoing programs and services. The Associated Press reports conservative House Republicans say the patchwork budgeting causes repeated cycles of financial problems, leaving lawmakers to scramble to fill gaps when the dollars fall away. Supporters of the one-time funding, including the Jindal administration, say without those dollars, health care and higher education budgets would undergo unnecessary slashing. House leaders want to strip the patchwork funding in today's committee, to get the budget through the House—and to then reinstate some of the money in the Senate.
The House Appropriations Committee will take up the budget bill next week, but its first move will prove unsettling to higher education officials and health care providers. Speaker Pro Tem Walt Leger, D-New Orleans, confirms that he is working with Appropriations Chairman Rep. Jim Fannin, D-Jonesboro, on an amendment to remove all non-recurring revenues, about $500 million, from the governor's proposed budget. The result will be to get a bill to the House floor next week that would be under the threshold for one-time money that, under House rule, would allow the appropriations bill to be heard without first getting a two-thirds vote. Once the bill gets to the Senate, the cuts could be restored.
East Baton Rouge Parish Attorney Mary Roper says her office is planning to file an appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court on a ruling handed down Wednesday by 19th Judicial District Court Judge Janice Clark that found the city-parish's definition of "family" in its Unified Development Code to be unconstitutional and unenforceable. "We're already starting to prepare that to file," says Roper, adding her office will be asking for a stay on the ruling's effect until the matter is addressed by the state Supreme Court. The ruling is the result of a lawsuit the city-parish brought against landlord, attorney and one-time mayoral candidate Stephen Myers, in which the city-parish alleged Myers was not compliant with the UDC by renting a home to unrelated tenants in a neighborhood zoned A1 single family. Section 2.8 of the UDC defines "family," in part, as "two or more persons who are related by blood, marriage or legal adoption." In her ruling, Clark says: "there is no rational basis for the...
House Speaker Chuck Kleckley says he doesn't believe any proposal to tap into the federal Medicaid expansion money will win passage in the Louisiana Legislature this year. Kleckley, a Republican from Lake Charles, says lawmakers are interested in differing models that could access money from the Affordable Care Act. He tells The Associated Press today that too many analyses disagree about whether the expansion would cost or save Louisiana money. The House speaker's comments came a day after the House health care committee rejected an expansion proposal. But senators are still considering the idea, and the Senate health care committee is expected to vote on an expansion bill next week. Gov. Bobby Jindal opposes the expansion. The House committee's vote fell along party lines.
Bills to allow three more Baton Rouge neighborhoods to form crime prevention and neighborhood improvement districts cleared their first legislative hurdles today. Goodwood Homesites and Sherwood Forest won approval in House committee, while Southern Heights got the green light in Senate committee. The bills would authorize the Metro Council, with voter approval, to assess parcel fees that could go toward "an increase in the presence of law enforcement personnel in the district."
House Education Committee members have backed a proposal requiring BESE to delay using new methods for calculating school performance letter grades. The Associated Press reports the new grading formula would include ACT test scores at high schools. It is set to apply to school and district performance scores to be released later this year. But the bill by Rep. Kenny Havard, R-Jackson, would require the state to use the formula and accountability policies applied in the 2011-12 school year until the House and Senate Education committees approve any change to the grading system. Supporters say that postponing the new standards would give school systems time to implement curriculum changes. The proposal now heads to the House.
A bid to effectively require the state to accept the expansion of Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act failed in House Health Committee today. After nearly five hours of testimony, the panel, with a Republican majority, voted 11–8 to defer House Bill 110 by Rep. Barbara Norton, D-Shreveport. Proponents argued that the expansion would save the state money in the short run and provide greater care to the uninsured, improving health care outcomes. They were grilled by Republicans on the committee about the number of people currently insured by private plans who would move to Medicaid. Department of Health and Hospitals officials faulted the Legislative Fiscal Office cost estimates for not factoring in future rate increases for providers, to be mandated by Congress or the courts, to satisfy the provision-of-care standards set in the Affordable Care Act. Rep. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, countered the opponents' arguments of uncertainties in the expansion by pointing to...
My more serious partners in the media have done a pretty good job of covering the legion of major items on tonight's Metro Council agenda. With that said, I figured it would be nice to have a convenient, easily referenced post to consolidate it all. So, here you go!
The FuturEBR Implementation Team sent a list of recommendations to Mayor Kip Holden's office this morning, including a request that the city's unified development code structure be revised to align with FuturEBR initiatives within the next 12 months. The panel also asked the mayor's office to implement congestion relief projects as it works to identify potential funding sources. "We're going to make the prioritization of each of those projects and have that brought back to the FIT team with regard to identifying potential funding sources to implement congestion relief, capacity and connectivity," says John Price, newly appointed FIT chairman and assistant chief administrative officer for Mayor Kip Holden. FIT listed as possible funding sources to address congestion on as many as 30 streets: an extension of the Green Light Plan tax, a parishwide infrastructure bond issue, and tax increment financing. —April Castro
An effort to centralize and toughen Louisiana's efforts to collect hundreds of millions of dollars owed to state agencies in delinquent accounts began advancing today in the state Legislature. House Bill 629 by Rep. Chris Broadwater, R-Hammond, would create a new debt recovery office in the Department of Revenue and give it the authority to revoke and suspend state-issued licenses for back debts. Broadwater says the state writes off as much as $125 million or more in debts each year as uncollectible because they have been delinquent for three years or more, adding that a centralized and focused collection effort could capture some of those dollars. The Associated Press reports the state has 174 agencies—and no unified collection system to handle all state government debts. The attorney general's office collects back-owed debt for a few agencies that have contracts with them directly. But such contracts aren't required. The House Ways and Means Committee approved the proposal...
A proposed increase to the cigarette tax, which seemed almost a certainty a month ago, failed again in committee today, likely for the last time this session. House Bill 537 by Rep. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe, to increase the tax by 32 cents per pack, was voted down in the House Ways and Means Committee. That follows the defeat of a $1.05-per-pack increase Monday. Joining the usual opponents of tobacco and convenience store interests was the American Cancer Society, whose communications director, Andrew Muhl, said that the increase in Jackson's bill was not enough to affect behavior. He said cigarette companies could easily diminish the effects on smokers through coupons and rebates. Jackson, whose bill would dedicate revenue to Medicaid and medical training, said of the Cancer Society's opposition, "It is unconscionable that they would testify against this bill." Hanging over HB 537 was a promised veto by Gov. Bobby Jindal for any tax increase that was not offset by tax cuts.
More fourth- and eighth-grade students in Louisiana demonstrated "basic"-level academic skills in 2012 compared to 2000, and graduation rates recently have improved at both high schools and universities. However, nearly a third of Louisiana students scored below grade level in 2012, and the state still lags the nation in the number of associate and bachelor's degrees conferred. That's according to the Report Card on Major Education Indicators released by CABL today. A thread of good-news/bad-news runs throughout the report. The state's high school graduation rate reached an all-time high of 72.3% in 2011-12. However, by 2018, the report says 51% of all jobs in Louisiana are expected to require more than a high school education, while only 29% of adults in the state have earned an associate's degree or higher. College graduation rates should continue to improve, thanks to higher...
Besides the governor and the wealthy, the group most disappointed that the legislative debate over income tax repeal ended before it began were contract lobbyists. Many were signed up by businesses and trade groups to try to protect various exemptions or to avoid sales taxes on services. But after the whole matter was junked so early, many governmental consultants feared for a session lacking clients with issues.
Besides the governor and the wealthy, the group most disappointed that the legislative debate over income tax repeal ended before it began were contract lobbyists. Many were signed up by businesses and trade groups to try to protect various exemptions or to avoid sales taxes on services. But after the whole matter was junked so early, many governmental consultants feared for a session lacking clients with issues. Then along came the eye doctors. An all-out legislative battle over optometrists wanting to do some procedures that only ophthalmologists are now allowed to do has both sides lobbying up for a showdown in the House of Representatives. Scheduled for debate on Wednesday is House Bill 527, which would allow optometrists to perform certain surgical procedures on eyes and eyelids—at times using scalpels or needles—and to prescribe many drugs, including painkillers. Licensed optometrists go through four years of postgraduate optometry school, not medical school, before...
Jim Bernhard sounded more like a politician than a businessman this week, as he urged bipartisanship, railed against underfunding higher education and outlined antiquated exemptions in the state tax code. Still, the avid donor to Democratic candidates—including a $30,400 donation last year to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and two donations to President Barack Obama's re-election campaign—skirted questions about his own political ambitions. Asked about his future plans, Bernhard says he needs to take a breath and get his new company, Shaw Capital Partners, off the ground. "It only ended eight weeks ago," he says, referring to the February sale of the company he founded and led, The Shaw Group—Baton Rouge’s only Fortune 500 firm. In a 45-minute speech Monday to the Press Club of Baton Rouge, Bernhard praised New Jersey Gov.
Among a number of notable items on the Metro Council agenda for the regular meeting Wednesday is a resolution to support a bill pending in the Legislature that would shrink the number of members on the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport Commission. There are currently 13 members on the board overseeing the airport and Greater Baton Rouge Airport District, a political subdivision that has authority to levy taxes across the parish, incur debt and issue bonds, among other things. The Metro Council appoints nine members to the commission, all with five-year terms, while members of the Legislature appoint the other four members. The positions of those four members—who do not have term limits and serve strictly at the pleasure of the legislators appointing them—would be eliminated from the board under Senate Bill 123 by Sen. Bodi White, R-Central, says Metro Councilman Trae Welch, who put the...
With the Legislature set to begin debating the proposed expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act this week, Gov. Bobby Jindal has laid out seven reasons why he believes the expansion would be bad for the state in a new guest column. "The expansion of Medicaid will move up to 171,000 Louisianians off of private insurance and stop another 77,000 people from going into private insurance," Jindal gives as one reason. Another, he says, is "Medicaid expansion could cost taxpayers in Louisiana $1.7 billion over the first 10 years of implementation, and the cost will continue to rise." Jindal also says there's too much uncertainty in President Barack Obama's health care law, and that funding for the law is unstable, "which could encourage cost shifting to states." The issue is sure to spur spirited debate this week at the State Capitol. Democrats accuse the governor of putting his political ambitions ahead of citizens' health care. Several Republican lawmakers—particularly...
Proposed cigarette tax increases—just a question of by how much a week ago—stand to be snuffed out in committee on Monday, where income tax repeal bills were buried earlier this week. By themselves, they face opposition from GOP legislators and a guaranteed veto by Gov. Bobby Jindal, which he confirmed Thursday. The House Ways and Means Committee has scheduled for debate three bills to increase the tax on a pack of cigarettes by 24 cents, 36 cents and $1.05.
Gov. Bobby Jindal says he'll veto any cigarette tax increase that wins passage from lawmakers, unless it's coupled with a corresponding cut in taxes somewhere else. He reiterated today that he will oppose anything he considers a net increase in state tax revenue, The Associated Press reports. A few weeks ago, the Republican governor was pushing for a $1.05-per-pack increase in Louisiana's 36-cent cigarette tax; however, he proposed the idea within a list of possible tax hikes he wanted to offset the cost of repealing the state income tax. The tax repeal appears dead for the session, and Jindal has abandoned his complex tax swap plan. Nevertheless, lawmakers are still considering a series of tobacco tax hikes. The House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to review proposals Monday.
Gov. Bobby Jindal says he won't seek legislative approval of his administration's LSU hospital privatization agreements, though both the House and Senate have voted that they want such decision-making authority. Jindal announced today that he believes the legislative resolutions that have received support in the House and Senate requiring budget committee backing of the lease agreements don't carry the force of law, reports The Associated Press. He says lawmakers would need to change state statute to get such approval authority. The Republican governor is pushing to privatize all but one of the university-run hospitals that care for the poor and uninsured. He attributes the legislative approval efforts to people trying to slow down the privatization. He says if lawmakers want to delay, they also need to offer an alternate plan to shrink hospital spending.
One of the most contentious bills of last session began its encore today as the Senate Education Committee approved a bill to create a new public school district in the southeast part of East Baton Rouge Parish. Senate Bill 199 by Sen. Bodi White, R-Central, needs two-thirds legislative approval and passage of a constitutional amendment in 2014. Last year, it passed the Senate but fell four votes short in the House. Proponents have argued that residents in the southeast part of the parish want to have the same opportunity as residents in high-performing Zachary and Central schools, which have their own districts within the parish. They cite discipline as a serious problem within the current school district. Opponents have warned that creation of a fifth school district in the parish would further balkanize public education in the parish. Parents of children enrolled in magnet schools and gifted programs warned that they would be damaged if the 10 schools in the proposed district were...
Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister had the honor of meeting former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher when she was in Baton Rouge to deliver an LSU commencement speech. "I was a fan of this charming woman and principled, conservative leader. She was passionate, fearless and embraced change," McCollister writes in his latest column. "She battled the opposition and critics constantly and fiercely. And I see we have needed the same here in Louisiana for the past 25 years of battling for reform. There will always be those who want to 'turn back the clock.' I see it today in some legislators and The Advocate editorials." Along with honoring the legacy of the Iron Lady in his new column, McCollister discusses changes taking place at BREC. In an attempt to raise revenues, BREC recently convinced the Metro Council to allow it to sell alcohol at select facilities, such as golf courses and rental halls. He notes that BREC is reportedly losing $1 million a year on...
A spokesman for Tommy Spinosa says the cooperative endeavor agreement the developer has been negotiating with the city-parish over construction of the long-awaited Rouzan branch library is completed in principal, though details are still being finalized. But as of this morning, the head of the Library Board of Control, which meets this afternoon, says he won't be satisfied until the documents are signed and the infrastructure surrounding the facility is under construction. "I am disappointed it has not been resolved yet," board Chairman Travis Woodard tells Daily Report. "I would love to be surprised this afternoon to hear the deal is all done, but that is not my appreciation at this point." After years of delays, the library board finally gave Spinosa—who is donating to the city-parish the property within his development off Perkins Road for the library and is also agreeing to do the surrounding infrastructure work—a February deadline to either post a performance...
Gov. Bobby Jindal refused to declare an income tax repeal dead today, even though House leaders say such a measure has no chance of passing during the current legislative session. Asked repeatedly if plans to repeal the state's income tax were dead, Jindal repeated that the next step was up to lawmakers. "I continue to strongly encourage them to get rid of the income tax, send me that bill so I can sign it into law," was Jindal's response to reporters' questions on the issue, which came shortly after he addressed education leaders at the Leadership for Change conference. Earlier this week, state lawmakers declined to take up tax repeal legislation and the leader of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Joel Robideaux, R-Lafayette, announced the panel doesn't intend to hear them this session. The decision appeared to kill any chance for Jindal to get passage of his signature legislative agenda item. "If (lawmakers) decide not to act, I think it's a missed opportunity …...
You probably wouldn’t give attorney and former Louisiana Supreme Court candidate Jeff Sanford much chance to win Mary Landrieu’s U.S. Senate seat in next year’s election. Right now, neither would he. "At this stage of the game, I don’t see how I can give myself much of a shot," he says. But he’s running anyway, and the election isn’t until November 2014, so who knows? Sanford describes himself as an independent libertarian who doesn’t see much meaningful difference between Republicans and Democrats. He says he wants to force the other candidates, who will include Landrieu, a Democrat, and current Baton Rouge Congressman Bill Cassidy, a Republican, to address certain issues, including how America’s foreign interventions impact the national debt and the "Monsanto protection act," which is how critics describe a provision of a recent law that they say allows large agribusinesses to plant genetically engineered crops even if a court orders...
The U.S. government has dropped its efforts to obtain personal information about every registered voter in the state, as well as all those who receive public assistance or disability services. Federal authorities were seeking databases containing identifying and demographic information for their lawsuit against the state of Louisiana over alleged violations of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act. The 2011 complaint claims that state officials have not routinely offered voter registration forms, assistance and services to the state's eligible citizens who interact with its agencies that provide public assistance or disability services. Initially, the information being sought from Louisiana included current and past home addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, drivers' license numbers, mothers' maiden names, telephone numbers, email addresses and digitized signatures. In a notice that it was dropping its request for the documents, Bradley Heard of the U.S. Department...
Included in Gov. Bobby Jindal's capital outlay funding proposal for the next fiscal year, released today, is $50 million for a renovation of Patrick F. Taylor Hall at LSU and $11.25 million for the Automotive Training Facility at Baton Rouge Community College. Another $14 million is allocated for additional widening of Interstate 12 in East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes. Other local projects included in the plan are: • $11 million for planning, utilities, right of way and construction of Essen Lane widening project from Interstate 10 to Perkins Road • $1 million each for renovations to the Old Engineering Shops Art Department at LSU as well as French House renovations on campus • $2.5 million for planning and construction of Nicholson Gateway infrastructure improvements at LSU • $350,000 for sewer and street improvements near the intersection of Jesse Stone Avenue and E.C. Harrison Drive at Southern University
The state's contractors are supporting a bill that would double their annual licensing fee to $200 from $100, and dedicate the $1.7 million raised by the increase to the state's certified schools of construction management and technology. "Since higher education funding is so hard to come by in this state, we thought it would be a good way for the schools to fund their construction programs," says Ken Naquin, CEO of the Louisiana Association of General Contractors, whose membership is about 22,000. "We've got $60 billion worth of industrial construction coming to this state in the next few years, and we need our workforce to be ready." Rep. Erich Ponti, R-Baton Rouge, is sponsoring the bill, which would use a formula to allocate the money generated among the three eligible schools—LSU, ULM and Louisiana Tech. Half the funds would be evenly divided among the schools; the other half would be split based on the number of graduates from each school from the previous year. Naquin...
Greater use of the state's myriad tax exemptions over the past several years has been a major cause of budget cuts to higher education, says LED Secretary Stephen Moret. Almost half of the recent decline in state revenues (which impacts higher education funding) is attributable to greater utilization of programs such as the inventory tax credit and the film incentive program, he says. "While obviously we haven't gotten a lot of traction with tax reform, one of the opportunities in the long term is to reduce the number of exemptions, which would enable us to have a more stable funding base for all of state government and avoid the situation we've faced the last few years," Moret says. However, Moret expects the state's revenue picture to improve, thanks in part to major industrial projects. "We're going to have a much more favorable overall budget environment," says Moret, who addressed LSU's Transition Advisory Team today. Interim LSU President William Jenkins remarked that incoming...
Three people have applied to become the Legislature's chief financial adviser, and the House and Senate budget committees interviewed the candidates today in closed-door meetings. At later meetings the committees will make their selection of who to recommend for the job of legislative fiscal officer. The full House and Senate must approve the person selected for the position. All three contenders for the job advertisement, which was posted nationally six months ago, come from inside the Louisiana Capitol. The applicants are: Greg Albrecht, chief economist for the Legislative Fiscal Office; Shawn Hotstream, senior fiscal analyst and section director for the Legislative Fiscal Office; and Chris Keaton, budget analyst for the House Fiscal Division. When the job was last open, in 2005, 30 people submitted applications. The fiscal officer leads an agency that advises lawmakers on financial decisions and that estimates the costs of spending and tax break proposals. The post is open because...
Treasurer John Kennedy told senators today that he might move to try to block the administration's plan to set up a new payment system for state vendors. The Jindal administration is planning to contract with the Bank of America to replace payments by check with a program it calls ePayables that would make payments to vendors by depositing funds into merchant accounts. The vendors would pay Bank of America to get their funds. "The only winner in this will be Bank of America," Kennedy told the Senate Finance Committee during a budget review of his department. He said the arrangement could violate the state constitution, which places authority to disburse funds with the treasurer. "If we can't work it out, I will have to seek a declaratory judgment," he said. The administration has built $1.5 million in savings into the proposed budget, but Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols said annual savings could reach $3.6 million. LSU has been using a similar system since 2010. "What's...
The Baton Rouge offices of CNSI, in a nondescript, two-story building behind a beauty salon on Florida Boulevard, look like a neutron bomb went off there. Room after room of neat rows of desks sit ready and waiting for 100 or so employees, who likely won't be coming back. The place bustled with activity until a month ago, when it emptied with the cancellation of the firm's huge state Medicaid claims processing contract, after it attracted the interest of a federal grand jury.
The Baton Rouge offices of CNSI, in a nondescript, two-story building behind a beauty salon on Florida Boulevard, look like a neutron bomb went off there. Room after room of neat rows of desks sit ready and waiting for 100 or so employees, who likely won't be coming back. The place bustled with activity until a month ago, when it emptied with the cancellation of the firm's huge state Medicaid claims processing contract, after it attracted the interest of a federal grand jury. The laid-off employees, many of whom had uprooted their lives and moved to Louisiana to work on setting up the new online system, are the first victims of a federal investigation that could claim more, both within CNSI and state government. The only other casualty so far is Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein, himself a former CNSI executive, who announced his resignation the week after a federal subpoena was made public. The subpoena ordered the Division of Administration to hand over...
A day after a House committee declined to review several bills that called for phasing out Louisiana's income taxes, Rep. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe and chairwoman of the Legislative Black Caucus, is pulling caucus-backed bills that would have cut both personal and corporate tax rates. In a statement released late Monday, Jackson says the fiscal impact of the tax cuts, as calculated by the Legislative Fiscal Office, "are drastically different from the unofficial numbers previously discussed with us," jeopardizing a commitment to caucus constituents "to only offer legislation which positively enhances the state's budget." However, the caucus will continue to back "a unified tax court, a unified e-filing system," and an "internet sales collection structure," as well as House Bill 623, which raises taxes on cigars and cigarettes. The higher tobacco tax is expected to raise $64 million the first year and $129 million in subsequent years; 40% would be dedicated to the Medicaid Trust Fund,...
Gov. Bobby Jindal has given plenty of dense, lengthy speeches that might have lasted for hours if not for his rapid-fire delivery. His April 8 session-opening address to the Louisiana Legislature was, by contrast, a model of efficiency, clocking in under 15 minutes and focusing on a single topic: taxes.
I was saddened to learn of Margaret Thatcher's death April 8. My wife and I had the honor of meeting “Lady Thatcher” when she came to LSU to deliver a commencement speech, and I was a fan of this charming woman and principled, conservative leader.
When the Great Recession bore down on south Louisiana four years ago, hairdresser Nona Robillard absorbed the loss of business as people began to cut back on manicures, facials and hair color. As co-owner of the business, she took a cut in pay. Her salon lost about 12%, or $120,000, in income as a result of the economic downturn.
The fundraisers leading up to it and the big parties kicking it off haven’t changed, but the first days of this legislative session could hardly be more different from last year’s. At this point in the 2012 session, Gov. Bobby Jindal had lawmakers in lockstep on a forced march toward passing his major education bills in an unheard-of three weeks.
CATS and its remarkably maladroit management team have wasted little time in making the case for why it's stupid to give unfettered tax-proposing authority to a government entity in which exactly zero folks running the agency ever—repeat, ever—have to stand before voters on election day and ask to keep their jobs.
For most people, trying to calculate what part of an upcoming hospital stay their insurance will cover is akin to rolling the dice. Maybe your doctor and hospital are among your insurance company's “preferred” providers, so their services are covered by your policy. But who knows how many services you will receive in the hospital from people who are not in the insurer's provider network?
Lawmakers will get an earful over eye care later this week, when the House Health and Welfare Committee takes up a bill that would broaden the scope of medical procedures optometrists are allowed to perform on their patients. Optometrists—who are primary eye care specialists but not medical doctors—are pushing the legislation. They argue it would improve access to eye care in poor and rural areas of the state by giving them the right to perform a wide spectrum of basic ophthalmic procedures using a scalpel, allowing them to give injections, and also allowing them to prescribe all drugs except Schedules I and II. "This will increase access to improved eye care for the people of Louisiana," says James Sandefur, executive director of the Optometry Association of Louisiana, which has 400 practitioners. "These are very minor, very safe procedures." But the Louisiana Ophthalmology Association, which represents medical doctors who specialize in eye care, says the bill amounts to...
A new audit says Louisiana may be on the hook to the federal government for more than $115 million in disaster relief aid that was misspent or awarded to ineligible recipients. The money was designed to help property owners recover from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The legislative auditor's review of the Office of Community Development was released today. The Office of Community Development oversees the Road Home program, the Small Rental Property Loan Program and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. In a response letter, OCD Executive Director Patrick Forbes says his department is being aggressive in recovering money from suspected fraud cases or duplicated benefits, but homeowner recovery is prioritized over "recapture" in other instances. He says federal officials support the strategy.
State lawmakers this morning declared Gov. Bobby Jindal's push to repeal Louisiana's income taxes dead for the session after the House tax committee refused to discuss the proposals. The Associated Press reports the House Ways and Means Committee deferred on all tax repeal bills, with the committee chairman, Rep. Joel Robideaux, saying the panel doesn't intend to hear them this session. The decision appeared to kill any chance for Jindal to get passage of his signature legislative agenda item. Robideaux, a Republican from Lafayette, says the House doesn't support a repeal because of the state's ongoing budget problems and because of difficulties coming up with new tax revenue to offset the lost income tax money.
Total state tax collections in the United States approached nearly $800 billion in fiscal year 2012, a record high and the first total since the economic collapse to surpass pre-recession fiscal year 2008, reports Governing magazine, citing new Census Bureau figures. In all, 23 states recorded increases exceeding 5% on the year. Louisiana was not among them, though it did post a 1.2% increase from fiscal year 2011. The report also says Louisiana's total state tax collections in fiscal year 2012, at approximately $9 billion, were 18% lower than the $11 billion collected in fiscal year 2008. That decrease is largely due to reduced collections in individual and corporate income taxes, as well as lower sales tax collections. From 2008 to 2012, Louisiana individual income taxes declined from $3.2 billion to $2.5 billion, corporate income taxes fell from $703 million to $290 million, and sales taxes fell from $3.5 billion to $2.8 billion. You can read the full story and access a...
Due to the complexity of the U.S. tax code and inconsistencies within it, about one-quarter of small-business owners in the country say they spend 120 hours or more each year doing their taxes. That's one of many findings from the National Small Business Association's 2013 Small Business Taxation Survey, which concludes that most small-business owners favor a streamlining of the federal tax code. Also of note is that 14% of respondents said they spend 80 to 119 hours on their taxes, and 19% said they spend 40 to 79 hours. To cut down on the time they spend doing taxes each year, 84% of small-business owners say they pay an external tax practitioner or accountant for assistance. The NSBA says 66% of survey respondents say they support federal tax reform that would reduce corporate and individual tax rates, coupled with a reduction in business and individual deductions. "Our tax system punishes work, investment, risk taking and entrepreneurship, and is unquestionably broken," says NSBA...
Gov. Bobby Jindal has restated that he will not let the lack of revenue neutrality get in the way of backing an income tax repeal bill this session. "We are open to any and all ideas," Jindal told reporters on Thursday. "We're not putting any barriers in the way of getting rid of the income tax." House Speaker Chuck Kleckley, R-Lake Charles, is not so open. He tells LaPolitics that he doubts the House will pass a bill phasing out the income tax without including a way to replace lost revenues. "If we eliminate income taxes, we're going to have to replace [them] with something," he says.
After 28 years of overseeing virtually all clerical matters related to the Metro Council, Brian Mayers will retire on July 19 as Metro Council administrator/treasurer. The council Wednesday approved Casey Cashio to replace him. Mayers says Cashio has been working alongside him for about 18 years. Cashio will be the new council administrator/treasurer effective July 6, meaning he'll have a few weeks working in the position alongside Mayers. Day to day, the council administrator/treasurer handles everything from Metro Council agendas, resolutions and minutes to issuing checks and conducting banking transactions. The position also requires attendance at council meetings, often serving as a reference for the Metro Council members. Upon his retirement, Mayers, 56, says, "I really don't have a lot of plans, I'm just going to try to enjoy my retirement." Mayers says he's enjoyed his role "in the background" of the council proceedings for nearly three decades, adding: "if we're in the...
Gov. Bobby Jindal's plans to privatize the LSU-run public hospitals that care for the poor and uninsured don't require legislative approval, the attorney general's office says. The opinion from Attorney General Buddy Caldwell's office was released today to Rep. Jared Brossett, D-New Orleans, who asked for the legal guidance. Jindal health care officials have said they didn't intend to seek a legislative vote for the individual privatization agreements because the law doesn't require approval. Assistant attorney general Jessica Thornhill, author of the opinion, wrote that before 2003, the LSU Board of Supervisors was required to get legislative approval for a hospital lease. But lawmakers amended the statute that year, "and in doing so specifically removed that requirement." Brossett responded today by saying he's pleased with a portion of the opinion that says the hospital leases must include a provision that assures the leased facilities continue to provide the same level of health...
State senators are home already, having adjourned for the week on Wednesday, and House members will be following early this afternoon, after sitting through their annual one-hour ethics briefing. Action resumes in earnest on Monday when the House Ways and Means Committee begins hearing members' bills to tax changes, including some to phase out the income tax over 10 years.
Phasing out the state income tax could cost Louisiana government nearly $24 billion over the next 10 years, according to Legislative Fiscal Office projections. Analysts created the fiscal note for House Bill 271, by Rep. Hunter Greene, R-Baton Rouge. Of the several bills filed this session that seek to gradually eliminate the income tax, Greene's bill is the first to be analyzed by the fiscal office. The total includes a $78 million loss for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. In a commentary released today, CABL questions whether getting rid of the income tax is a smart move for a "low-tax state" that already "has cut spending by $2 billion since 2009." CABL doubts that there's much "bloat" left to cut, adding that polls don't seem to show a huge groundswell of public demand to...
Four former governors will make a rare joint appearance for a panel discussion next week on changes in state and local government over the last 40 years. Kathleen Blanco, Edwin Edwards, Mike Foster and Buddy Roemer will address the LSU Public Administration Institute Student Association for its PAISA Day on Wednesday at LSU, says PAI Director Jim Richardson. Jim Engster, host of 89.3 WRKF's The Jim Engster Show, will moderate the panel, titled "The Evolution of State and Local Government: A discussion about the last 40 years." Richardson says the day will be "an opportunity to hear from four people who have keen insight on the highest of state levels to talk about not only the past four decades, but where they see our state and local governments operating in the future." The panel discussion, which is open to the public, begins at 1 p.m. in the Business Education Complex on campus. —April Castro
Discussion among the five-member committee that's looking into options for consolidating the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office veered away from full unification at a meeting Wednesday and tilted toward the creation of "metro squads." But Metro Councilman Joel Boé—who spearheaded the effort to form the committee and is one of the members—says that in no way means full consolidation is no longer being pursued. "Unification is still on the table," he says, adding that a local media report saying the committee threw out the idea of consolidation "is not correct." The establishment of "metro squads" was raised by Baker Police Chief Mike Knaps. While discussion of the idea—which essentially would involve various departments throughout the city-parish inking memorandums of understanding to work closer together and share more information in specific areas—took up much of the committee's second meeting, Boé maintains it's just...
With just five days to go before Earl K. Long Hospital in Baton Rouge becomes the first state hospital to close, legislators were still making changes and asking questions today on the transfer of services to Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center across town. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee approved an amendment to its agreement with OLOL by which it will take over operations of the LSU-run clinics as well as treat current EKL patients at the hospital. LSU doctors will still staff the clinics, but OLOL will manage the facilities. Legislators from across the state are paying attention to this public-private partnership because it is expected to serve as a template for partnerships in other communities. In the amendment, the state agreed to set a $60 million cap for reimbursing OLOL for treating uninsured patients at the clinics. This year, the operation of the clinics costs $48 million, but LSU officials explained that OLOL will operate a new 24-hour urgent care facility...
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu urged a Baton Rouge audience today to take a global view of the state and nation, and not forsake the good of other cities and regions when tackling major public issues like tax reform. Landrieu says it was a lesson he learned while serving as Louisiana's lieutenant governor. "We really are one state, and what happens in one part of the state affects the other parts of the state," says Landrieu, who was the featured speaker at a Rotary Club of Baton Rouge luncheon. Ongoing discussions about tax reform, he says, have been too narrow, forgoing consideration of the impact on the state as a whole. "You can't just talk about tax reform in light of, is it going to be income versus sale versus property that's important? But you also have to say, what impact is it going to have on the federal, local and state entities that are partners with delivering a service," he says. "What you're funding can't be divorced from the impact that it has on the ground."...
Still embroiled in a feud with a politically connected engineering firm, the Livingston Parish Council on Thursday will consider two proposals designed to prevent future conflicts. The first is a recommendation to hire a special legal counsel to represent the council in its pending lawsuits involving Alvin Fairburn & Associates. Councilman Chance Parent, who is proposing the measure, says he has concerns that in his role as parish attorney, Chris Moody also represents Livingston Parish President Layton Ricks, who was employed by Alvin Fairburn & Associates until taking office. "Chris Moody is a great attorney; don't get me wrong," Parent says. "But we're in a situation where the attorney we have is also representing the parish president, and the parish president is also involved in that litigation because he previously worked for that firm. I think it's a conflict of interest, and I don't feel the taxpayers are getting a fair shake." Moody, however, contends there is no conflict,...
The Metro Council will consider today a proposal from Mayor Kip Holden's office to begin the process of creating a special "economic development district"—that is, set the boundaries for a tax increment financing zone—for the land on which a Costco superstore is planned. City-parish Finance Director Marsha Hanlon says specifics of the potential TIF structure have not yet been determined. However, while some TIF structures allow developments to charge additional sales tax on purchases made within to offset construction costs, Hanlon says, "As I understand it, this would be a rebate" for Costco. The city-parish could opt to rebate part or all of its 2% local sales tax to Costco, which is planning to build a $12 million, 148,000-square-foot superstore on Dawnadele Avenue, near the intersection of Airline Highway and Interstate 12. Plans also call for an adjoining gas station with 16 pumps. "The first step is to create the district and hold a public hearing on it," says...
CABL: Compromise on the budget
Amid all the political theater that has surrounded this year's state budget, CABL says, some good things have happened. The Revenue Estimating Conference found an extra $155 million to spend next year, and the House protected higher education from having to rely so heavily on contingent dollars. The budget is "in decent enough shape for everyone to find some way to compromise," but there will be plenty of opportunities to screw it up and force lawmakers to come back for a costly special session. "If the Senate restores non-recurring revenues to the budget, will the House compromise?" the council wonders. "Will the governor see a reduction of tax exemptions or credits as a tax increase and veto the budget as he has promised?" Then there's the question of what to do about vouchers, now that the original funding mechanism has been ruled unconstitutional by the Louisiana Supreme Court. "Spending...
LaPolitics by Maginnis: Potential money move to fund vouchers
The burning question in the Capitol is, where will Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration find the estimated $40 million needed to fund 8,000 voucher slots, after the Supreme Court ruled the money cannot come from the Minimum Foundation Program? One theory is that a new student count, minus the voucher students, would allow BESE to back that funding out of the MFP and enable the Legislature to insert the same amount of money into a supplemental appropriations bill, resulting in a wash. To do so not only would invite opposition from the usual pack of legislators but, if the budget passed with the funding, would likely prompt another lawsuit from parish school boards and teachers unions, according to Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan.
Capitol Views: BESE asked to redo MFP
As hundreds of voucher students rallied on the Capitol steps, the Senate Education Committee decided to ask BESE to rewrite the school funding formula in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling. The validity of the current Minimum Foundation Program formula has been in doubt since the state high court ruled last month that MFP funds cannot be used for the scholarship program. After conferring with Senate lawyers, committee Chairman Conrad Appel, R-Metairie, determined that simply severing the voucher and Course Choice language from the current MFP resolution would not resolve conflicts with the court ruling. That differs from the opinion of BESE Chairman Chas Roemer, expressed earlier this week, that the current resolution still could be used by the Legislature. The question hanging over the MFP is where the administration will find the estimated $50 million to fund 8,000 voucher slots and a still-unknown cost of the new Course Choice program. One theory is that a new student count,...
Confusing tax code hindering La. competitiveness
The effective tax rate in Louisiana is actually lower than it is in Texas, but it's just too complicated for out-of-state employers to realize it, a Republican lawmaker says. Rep. Alan Seabaugh of Shreveport says the Lone Star State is "whipping everybody's butt" in job creation and growth. "The fact of the matter is, four of the nine fastest-growing cities in America are in Texas," he says. "Businesses go where the tax structure is favorable, and the people follow the businesses." But that's a battle Louisiana should be winning, he says. "The problem with our income tax is it's confusing," he says. "We have a high rate of 6 and 8 percent. It's really not real because of all of the exemptions and credits; the effective rate of taxation is about a third of that. But when businesses in Delaware are looking to relocate, they see a 6 and 8 percent top rate and they say, 'Nope, we're out.' " Seabaugh says a lower tax rate with fewer exemptions, similar to the failed plan floated by Gov.
Jindal calls on Obama to name a special prosecutor to investigate IRS
Through the Republican Governors Association he leads, Gov. Bobby Jindal is calling on President Barack Obama to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the IRS's targeting of conservative groups, Politico reports. "To be blunt, this is Big Brother come to life and a witch hunt to prevent Americans from exercising their First Amendment rights," Jindal, RGA chair, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, RGA vice chair, wrote in a letter to Obama. "The actions of the IRS are an attempt to gag the voices of Americans who may disagree with the policies and left-leaning ideology of your administration. Quite frankly, this is un-American." The RGA leaders are demanding the president fire all employees involved in the targeting and say he should appoint a special prosecutor to discover if any laws were broken. The IRS apologized Friday for having targeted for additional questioning some conservative groups' applications for nonprofit status, which delayed the processing of those...
Surplus envy creeps in as other states do better
Through the last five years of ongoing, agonizing budget deficits and midyear cuts, Louisiana politicians could at least console themselves knowing that other states were grappling with the same financial woes brought on by the national recession. But not anymore.
Maginnis: Surplus envy creeps in as other states do better
Through the last five years of ongoing, agonizing budget deficits and midyear cuts, Louisiana politicians could at least console themselves knowing that other states were grappling with the same financial woes brought on by the national recession. But not anymore. While action by the Legislature is still needed to end the current fiscal year in the black, a growing number of other states, recently mired in deficits, are now piling up big surpluses. A story in The Daily Beast credits growing revenues and reduced spending for enabling governors and legislators to tackle deficits, cut taxes and raise teacher pay. Texas, which had a budget deficit two years ago, projects an $8.8 billion surplus for its coming two-year cycle. Florida, forced to make deep spending cuts in recent years, projects a $437 million surplus. Beyond the Sun Belt, Ohio is looking forward to a surplus of $1 billion and Iowa one of $484 million, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers.
Capitol Views: Movie industry supports tax increase
It's not often that an industry agrees to the proposition of paying more in taxes, but the movie industry has backed a bill, which cleared House committee today, that would reduce the movie tax credit for out-of-state investors to 25% from 30%. Speaker Pro Tem Walt Leger, D-New Orleans, introduced this bill as a back-up to a similar bill passed on Friday, in case the other bill runs into trouble in the Senate. Leger negotiated with the film industry to address potential for abuse of the program. "This is a big step forward," says Leger, in that it cracks down on out-of-state vendors trying to operate as in-state vendors. It also requires that all salaries claimed under credits have state income taxes withheld. Leger notes that his bill could be linked to others that would reduce other taxes, in order to satisfy Gov. Bobby Jindal's opposition to any bill that causes a net tax increase.
Bills seek legislative oversight of privatization
The Louisiana Legislature should have greater oversight of state privatization efforts, says Rep. Kenneth Havard, R-Jackson. He says the private sector often is more efficient than government, and hopes his House Bill 240, rather than blocking privatization, allows legislators to tell their constituents that they've vetted a contract and concluded it's the best option for the state. "Right now, we don't know," Havard says. He suggests the contract debacle that led to DHH Secretary Bruce Greenstein's resignation and a lawsuit being filed against the state might have been avoided with better oversight. Havard says his bill would require contractors to at least consider hiring qualified state workers who would lose their jobs through privatization. The Jindal administration has raised concerns about Havard's bill and a similar one,
Capitol Views: House agrees on changes to funding budget
The House of Representatives followed through today on its bipartisan budget accord, replacing $490 million in one-time money from the governor’s proposed budget with a mix of spending cuts, targeted tax-break reductions and a new tax amnesty program. It is taking up the appropriations bill itself later today. The biggest piece of the revenue package, the tax amnesty program, took the least time to pass. Rep. Joel Robideaux, R-Lafayette, estimated that the 30-month program would net $200 million for the state in first year, with another $200 million spread over the next two years. “There are no questions on the bill,” said Speaker Chuck Kleckley, R-Lake Charles. It passed, 87-8. Before that and with only a few questions raised, the House approved a series of revenue raisers, which face an uncertain future in the Senate and the threat of the governor’s veto if they are not balanced by equal tax cuts, which they won’t be.
LaPolitics by Maginnis: House to rework budget today
It took two tries in four days, but House members have approved a fiscal plan different from the governor's and are ready to debate the budget bill this morning. With the scaled-back plan that omits across-the-board reduction of business tax breaks, LABI lifted its objection to advancing the revenue bills so that they can be heard on the same day as the appropriations bill. Still, some conservative Republicans considered the plan only a minor improvement. "They are doing exactly what they accused the governor of doing," says Rep. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport.
Capitol Views: House approves new revenue plan
After being stung by attacks from the governor, business and farm interests, and the state Republican Party, the House passed another revamped revenue-raising plan in a series of unanimous votes this afternoon. The new proposal eliminates the across-the-board reduction of tax exemptions that had generated so much opposition and had Republicans backing away from it. The major piece to make the new deal work is a new tax amnesty program estimated to bring in $200 million in past-due taxes during the next fiscal year, with an equal amount split over the following two years. It also tightened up movie production, Enterprise Zone and solar energy tax credit programs. The plan maintains the $106 million in spending cuts that were agreed to by House Democrats. With those revenue bills amended, they can be brought up Friday along with the budget, which the House looks to approve and send to the Senate.
Capitol Views: First big vote could come today on controversial budget plan
With Republicans split over a bipartisan budget plan that is being attacked by Gov. Bobby Jindal and the business community, a showdown vote on the issue could be held today. The budget plan written by a group of Democrats and the so-called fiscal hawks relied on hearing a host of revenue-raising bills on the same day as the appropriations bill, which is scheduled for debate Thursday. But to bring up those revenue bills out of regular order would require a two-thirds vote for each. Representatives are not sure the support is there to advance the plan. The plan circulated on Monday included $329 million to be raised by cutting or delaying a number of tax exemptions and credits and making across-the-board 15% reductions in many more. That ignited strong opposition from the governor and business lobbyists, who labeled the plan a giant tax increase. As a result, an untold number of Republicans distanced themselves from the plan, which also contained about $100 million in spending cuts.
Administration turns up heat on budget proposal
Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration has been busy this week voicing its opposition to a bipartisan budget proposal that contains $329 million in cuts to tax breaks that largely benefit businesses. A day after Louisiana Department of Revenue Executive Counsel Tim Barfield penned a guest column blasting lawmakers for trying to pass the proposal without coming clean with the public about what's in it, today the governor himself has a guest column that says the proposal "would result in job-killing tax increases to businesses and individuals across Louisiana." The deal, proposed for House floor debate Thursday, would rework the $24.8 billion budget submitted by Jindal for the fiscal year that begins July 1. As currently discussed, it would cut a number of tax credit programs by 15% each, including those for filmmaking, digital media, angel investing, and research and development,...
"Last One Out, Turn Out The Light."
Editor's note: This is a guest column provided to Daily Report by the Office of Governor Bobby Jindal.
Business groups oppose cuts to tax credits
LABI President Dan Juneau and BRAC are among those expressing opposition today to a bipartisan budget proposal that contains $329 million in cuts to tax breaks that largely benefit businesses. The deal, proposed for House floor debate Thursday, would rework the $24.8 billion budget submitted by Gov. Bobby Jindal for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The plan being discussed would cut a number of tax credit programs by 15% each, including those for filmmaking, digital media, angel investing, and research and development, among others. "The move would be severely detrimental to economic development efforts and eliminate the factors that have made the Baton Rouge area, and the whole state, competitive while the rest of the U.S. and much of the world struggled through the recent recession," reads a release from BRAC. Juneau, meanwhile, says in a
Voucher proponents hope to maintain program
Supporters of private school vouchers say they'll look for new ways to pay for the program, now that the Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled the funding mechanism unconstitutional. "We are committed to making sure this program continues, and we will fund it through the budget," says Gov. Bobby Jindal in a prepared statement. "Hopefully, we can find some dollars," says Rep. Steve Carter, R-Baton Rouge and chairman of the House Education Committee. "But the budget is tight. There's just not an awful lot of dollars floating around." Like Carter, Sen. Conrad Appel, R-Metairie and head of the Senate Education Committee, says he hasn't yet had a chance to discuss the next steps with his colleagues. "We're going to be fighting to find a way to make it work that adheres to the constitution," Appel says. "That's the big question of the day: What would work?" says BESE member Holly Boffy. Beyond the funding question—lawmakers say about $25 million is needed—opponents likely will try...
Capitol Views: Are there cracks in the budget coalition?
Gov. Bobby Jindal steps up his counteroffensive today against a bipartisan effort in the House to rewrite his proposed budget. The House plan being discussed by both Democrats and the Republican fiscal hawks would reportedly raise over $300 million by trimming a broad range of tax exemptions and credits by 15% across the board. The motion picture investor tax credit plan would be among those affected. Today, one of those so-called hawks, Rep. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport, broke ranks with his colleagues by opposing the plan to reduce exemptions, which he labeled a tax increase. In a statement, he says he still supports the hawks' position against using one-time money in the budget, but he wants to achieve the goal by cutting spending instead. On Monday Jindal criticized the plan for its secrecy and labeled the tax break reduction a tax increase. The Republican Party, meanwhile, is turning up the heat on GOP House members to get them to not make a deal with Democrats to raise revenue.
News alert: Supreme Court strikes down voucher law
The Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled that the funding method for the state's school voucher program is unconstitutional. In a 6-1 ruling today, the court upheld a district court ruling that the state constitution forbids using money earmarked for public schools in the state's Minimum Foundation Program to pay for private school tuition. The voucher program was one of the hallmarks of Gov. Bobby Jindal's Act 2 education reform package, passed by the state Legislature in 2012. Read more in Daily Report this afternoon.
Capitol Views: Revenue-raising bills head to house floor
The bipartisan plan by legislators to raise revenue to replace one-time money in the governor's budget took off from a House committee today. The House Ways & Means Committee began rolling through a series of bills to reduce tax credits, exemptions and exclusions and to increase sales taxes, some of which were part of Gov. Bobby Jindal's parked tax swap plan. Committee Chairman Joel Robideaux signaled the intention of a new coalition of Democrats and Republican fiscal hawks to amend the bills on the House floor to form part of their undisclosed plan to raise revenue and cut spending in order to replace up to $490 million of non-recurring revenue now in the appropriations bill. For instance, Robideaux mentioned that the 108-page House Bill 653, the much-opposed sales tax on services, would be used to reduce or eliminate vendors' compensation for collecting sales taxes. Because the bills are set to be amended on the floor, the committee used the unconventional parliamentary maneuver of...
Irony of ironies
When it was first announced that I would lead Gov. Bobby Jindal's tax reform efforts, I was bombarded with concerns from many stakeholders about the "process." Statements such as "The end does not justify the means" and "Do not ramrod these reforms through the Legislature" were common. I heard these concerns from editorial board members, policy organizations like PAR, industry organizations, and taxpayer advocates. Members of the Legislature, however, were among the first to warn me that such actions would not be well received by them.
Barfield: House needs to give the public details on tax plan
When it was first announced that Louisiana Department of Revenue Executive Counsel Tim Barfield would lead Gov. Bobby Jindal's tax reform efforts, Barfield says he was "bombarded with concerns from many stakeholders about the 'process.' " In a new guest column, Barfield says he met with many editorial board members, policy organizations, industry organizations, and taxpayer advocates, and commonly heard comments such as: "The end does not justify the means" and "Do not ramrod these reforms through the Legislature." "Members of the Legislature, however, were among the first to warn me that such actions would not be well received by them," Barfield says. Now, citing recent news reports, Barfield says, "A significant majority of members of the House of Representatives are poised to follow the leadership of an unlikely alliance of the Legislative Black Caucus and the 'fiscal hawks' (purportedly conservative Republicans)" to "finalize a tax increase of an estimated $500 million." And, in...
CABL urges college tuition flexibility
Colleges and universities ought to be able to decide how much to charge in tuition, argues CABL in a commentary released Thursday. "CABL doesn't like the notion of raising tuition any more than anyone else," the piece reads. "But … we don't want to have a postsecondary education system that doesn't meet our needs. That could be where we're headed." Louisiana is the only state that requires a two-thirds vote from the Legislature to raise tuition, which helps explain why average tuition at LSU, for example, is 30% less than that of peer institutions around the nation, despite recent hikes. Higher education funding from the state has declined more than 30% over the past five years, and CABL sees no reason to believe the next few years will be any different. State policy is driving higher education into more of a market-driven model, the council observes, so institutions ought to have the flexibility...
LaPolitics by Maginnis: House plans to cut spending and exemptions
The bipartisan budget proposal in the works in the Louisiana House is said by sources to include spending cuts and the suspension of some tax credits and exemptions. Members are considering either targeted suspensions or an across-the-board reduction of 15% of exemptions. The governor can veto the repeal or reduction of an exemption or credit, but not a one-year suspension. Also, House members look to use up to $100 million more in projected revenues that are expected to be recognized when the Revenue Estimating Committee meets next week, but new revenue from a cigarette tax or other mechanism still isn't on the table, lawmakers say.
La. House members pass bills regulating salt mines
Two measures aimed at regulating the operations of salt domes were approved unanimously today by the Louisiana House in response to a 13-acre sinkhole in Assumption Parish, The Associated Press reports. The measures by Rep. Karen St. Germain, D-Pierre Part, and Sen. Rick Ward, D-Port Allen, would require stricter guidelines for monitoring and assessing areas around salt domes. Among other things, one measure would call for surveying salt dome formations every five years. The other bill would require legal notification of the location of underground caverns to prospective property owners. A massive sinkhole in Assumption Parish that opened up in August has forced the evacuation of 150 homes near Bayou Corne. The proposals head next to the Senate for debate.
Capitol Views: Speaker urges unity for budget deal
Speaker of the House Chuck Kleckley told representatives today not to bend to pressure from "outside groups" that will try to get them to defeat a bipartisan budget plan in the works. "Let's stick together, and don't commit to anybody trying to get you to not support the plan," he told representatives. He did not identify who is applying the pressure, but the state Republican party this week urged GOP lawmakers not to negotiate with Democrats on a budget plan that would raise taxes or remove tax exemptions or credits. Democrats and Republicans say ongoing discussions involve a mix of spending cuts and exemption removals. Gov. Bobby Jindal has said he will oppose any revenue-raising measures that are not balanced by tax cuts.
Publisher: It's time for Louisiana to let go of the status quo
Louisiana has the highest percentage of native-born residents of any state in the country, with about 80% its population having been born here, notes Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister—a Louisiana native. "Louisiana folks are a proud people who are deeply rooted in family, tradition and geography," writes McCollister in his latest column. While this can be a very special asset for our state, he says, Louisiana's large native population and long-lived traditions also have their downside. "And when change or reforms are advanced, they often run into a fierce monster named 'STATUS QUO'—especially in politics," he says. "In visiting with ex-pats from Louisiana in Austin, Texas, while a group of us were on BRAC's first canvass trip, we were told that new ideas were met in Baton Rouge with, 'Well, that's not the way we used to do it.' And that is often the problem." But McCollister says the status quo is changing in health care, higher education, K-12 education,...
B.R. General buys Perkins Road clinic for Gastroenterology Center
A day after closing on the purchase of the Digestive and Liver Disease Clinic at 6615 Perkins Road for $2,650,000, Baton Rouge General today opened a new Gastroenterology Center in the facility. Dr. Shabon Faruqui sold the clinic to Baton Rouge General, according to records from the East Baton Rouge Clerk of Court. Faruqui is now among the physicians leading the Gastroenterology Center, along with Drs. Karen Diamond, Paul McNeely, Alan Sonsky and Elizabeth Alonso-Rubiano. Baton Rouge General is partnering with its private physicians network, Baton Rouge General Physicians, at the new facility. Baton Rouge General Interim President and CEO Evelyn Hayes says the new center "combines the very best that the General is known for—dedicated physician experts and compassionate staff committed to clinical quality excellence—to serve patients' GI and digestive health needs within the hospital's comprehensive care community." Baton Rouge General has more details on the services the...
Measure killed to place term limits on statewide officials
A Vermilion Parish lawmaker's repeated attempt to put term limits on all statewide elected officials has again failed to gain support in the Louisiana Legislature, The Associated Press reports. The House and Governmental Affairs Committee today voted 6-2 against Rep. Simone Champagne's proposal. Champagne wants to limit statewide elected officials to three consecutive four-year terms. The bill would have applied to the lieutenant governor, attorney general, agriculture commissioner, insurance commissioner, secretary of state and treasurer. Louisiana's governor already is limited to two consecutive terms. Champagne has tried the idea for several years, but it has never won passage in the House. If the term limit proposal got the backing of lawmakers, it would also have needed approval from voters in a statewide election.
Capitol Views: Jindal grounds fiscal hawks in court
On the day after the so-called fiscal hawks won a victory in the House over handling the budget, two of its leaders lost a bid in district court to declare the current state budget unconstitutional. District Judge Tim Kelley threw out a lawsuit brought by Republican Reps. Kirk Talbot and Cameron Henry that alleged the state's use of one-time money for recurring expenses was unconstitutional. Kelley declared that the suit, if successful, would create a budget deficit, which would violate state law that prevents a judge from issuing a ruling that would create a deficit in a state agency. While getting no relief from the judicial branch, House members made a stand that will set up a debate over using one-time money in the next budget. In essence, a coalition of GOP fiscal hawks and Democrats blocked a committee amendment that would remove one-time money from the budget, which would set it up to move to the Senate, where the one-time money would be restored, with no input from the House.
Jindal, other GOP governors trying to shake off setbacks
Gov. Bobby Jindal is just one of a number of Republican governors across the nation who are struggling with political or ethical problems that might crimp any national ambitions they have in 2016, according to The Associated Press. "Two governors eyeing possible White House bids—Bob McDonnell of Virginia and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana—suddenly find themselves fending off critics and trying to shore up legacies they hope will withstand national scrutiny," reads the analysis. "Other high-profile governors run the gamut from maintaining solid popularity to being in danger of losing re-election next year." The 2016 presidential election is far away, the AP notes, and the GOP has plenty of possible contenders. They include current and former governors, such as Chris Christie of New Jersey and Jeb Bush of Florida. "Still, McDonnell's and Jindal's...
Councilman says chaining restriction aimed at dog fighters
Baton Rouge could soon join a growing list of communities that ban dog owners from chaining their pets. An ordinance up for a vote at next week's Metro Council meeting would ban dog chaining for more than an hour. Under the ordinance, violators could be fined a maximum of $500 and could face up to 180 days in jail. Councilman Buddy Amoroso says he co-authored the measure as a public safety effort and to combat dog fighting. He says chaining is used by dog fighters as a way to keep the animals "in a constant state of aggression." Chained or tethered dogs also can pose a public safety hazard once they're freed, he says. The Humane Society has worked to promote prohibitions on dog chaining, claiming that chaining dogs is inhumane and dangerous to humans. As part of an anti-chaining campaign, the Humane Society outlines the dangers, saying: "A chained dog, unable to take flight, often feels forced to fight, attacking any unfamiliar animal or person who unwittingly wanders into his or her...
Lawmakers refuse to expand public records access
Lawmakers on the House ethics committee backed Gov. Bobby Jindal's effort to keep most of his records shielded from public view. The House and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 6-3 today against a measure that would have opened more of the governor's office to scrutiny, The Associated Press reports. Jindal opposed the bill. Under existing law, most of the documents and emails in the governor's office are shielded with a broad exemption that hides anything considered part of the governor's "deliberative process." The argument is that internal decision-making is protected to allow for the free flow of ideas. Thibodaux Rep. Jerome "Dee" Richard wanted to limit the governor's public records exemption to internal communication between the governor, his chief of staff and his executive counsel.
Capitol Views: Legislators take Jindal administration to court Wednesday
Consideration of the state budget moves from the Capitol to a Baton Rouge courtroom Wednesday. District Judge Tim Kelley will hear a constitutional challenge brought by Rep. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, to the governor's proposed spending plan. The House Appropriations Committee took nearly $500 million in one-time money out of the budget before sending it to the House floor on Monday, but the Senate is expected to put that money back when the budget reaches the upper chamber.
How lame of a duck is Gov. Jindal?
Even before Gov. Bobby Jindal scrapped his tax swap plan, the chatter about the Capitol was that the inevitable lame-duck phase of his second term was starting early. He went on for a week calling for an income tax repeal, though without a plan to pay for it, until all such bills were buried in committee without even a hearing.
LaPolitics by Maginnis: How lame of a duck is Gov. Jindal?
Even before Gov. Bobby Jindal scrapped his tax swap plan, the chatter about the Capitol was that the inevitable lame-duck phase of his second term was starting early. He went on for a week calling for an income tax repeal, though without a plan to pay for it, until all such bills were buried in committee without even a hearing. A day later feisty House members actually passed a tax—albeit only 2 cents a month on cell phones to aid the hearing impaired—despite furious texting from the governor's staffers that they cease and desist. The major achievement of his second term, broad changes in public education from vouchers to tenure, remains mired in court, the constitutionality of its legislation in question. Jindal is not standing in the way of efforts to delay his new teacher evaluation system and changes in pension benefits for new state employees. His slumping approval ratings, caused by his incessant budget cuts and out-of-state politicking, limit his ability to put...
'Business Report': Jindal paying political price for flirting with national politics, tackling big issues at home
On the heels of a failed tax swap proposal—which was to be his top priority this legislative session—and facing some of his lowest approval ratings since taking office, Gov. Bobby Jindal has perhaps never been a more popular target for his critics. Along with encountering resistance while taking on big issues at home, Jindal's frequent trips out of state to promote the GOP are increasingly under fire. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican, is sympathetic to Jindal, suggesting the governor is paying a political price for taking risks. "You can be popular and not do much, or you can invest your political capital in significant policy changes," Bush says. "[Jindal has] been bold and a little controversial. He's probably wearing people out a little bit. He fits into the category of a risk taker, and that may yield lower popularity." Even high-profile Democratic political strategist James Carville cautions the governor's growing flock of critics against writing his...
Sorry, no chicken for the pot
Louisiana folks are a proud people who are deeply rooted in family, tradition and geography. I am one of those born and raised here, and I have enjoyed our state for more than five decades. In fact, we have the highest percentage of native population in the country, with about 80% of our residents born in Louisiana. That produces strong traditions and a culture passed down generation after generation.
A big scandal?
The Baton Rouge offices of CNSI, in a nondescript, two-story building behind a beauty salon on Florida Boulevard, look like a neutron bomb went off there. Room after room of neat rows of desks sit ready and waiting for 100 or so employees, who likely won't be coming back. The place bustled with activity until a month ago, when it emptied with the cancellation of the firm's huge state Medicaid claims processing contract, after it attracted the interest of a federal grand jury.
Hurricane politics
It's official. Congressman Bill Cassidy is giving Sen. Mary Landrieu a run for her U.S. Senate seat.
Where does Jindal go from here?
Gov. Bobby Jindal passed through the double doors leading into the Louisiana House of Representatives and began to walk slowly down the center aisle. He knew the drill, having done it five times before. He stopped to greet some lawmakers and waved to others. But by the time Jindal had reached the well in the House to address the full Legislature, longtime observers could tell that times had changed for the governor. In previous years he had received a thunderous welcome. But on April 8 this year, polite applause greeted him and died down even before he reached his seat.
Capitol Views: Committee cuts and passes governor's budget
In a maneuver not expected to be permanent, the House Appropriations Committee today took out all of the one-time money, nearly $500 million, from the governor's budget and sent the amended budget to the full House. "This is to remove all the one-time money so the bill can be heard on the floor," said Chairman Jim Fannin, D-Jonesboro. The reduction is meant to get around a recent House rule that would require a two-thirds vote before the budget could be heard if it contains more than $200 million in non-recurring funds. The cuts fall most heavily on higher education and health care, which make up most of general fund spending. Fannin's move is designed to get the budget bill to the Senate, where those deep cuts are expected to be restored. If the Senate does what it did last year, it will restructure the bill to match up one-time funds to one-time expenses, which will conform to the House rule when it returns to the lower chamber. When the strategy was first reported last week in...
Brown-Vitter banking bill 'changes everything,' former IMF economist says
A bipartisan bill by Republican Sen. David Vitter and Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown that aims at ensuring banks are not "too big to fail" is one that "changes everything," says Simon Johnson, who served as chief economist at the International Monetary Fund in 2007 and 2008, in a Bloomberg column. "The news isn't that Brown wants to make the financial system safer," says Johnson, noting that the senator has long made it a top priority. Rather, Brown says, the big news is that a conservative such as Vitter is now pressing the proposal, which would, among other things, require all banks with more than $500 billion in assets to hold a safety cushion of at least $15 in equity capital for every $100 in assets. The bipartisan push makes it all the more likely that the bill will be passed and the financial system will be strengthened, he says. "Intellectually, the tide has turned," Johnson writes. "The dangers of reckless behavior by global megabanks are now understood much...
House committee working on 2013-14 budget
Louisiana lawmakers are making their first changes to Gov. Bobby Jindal's $24.7 billion budget proposal today for the next fiscal year in the House Appropriations Committee. Among the largest points of contention facing those at the committee hearing is whether to use piecemeal financing from land sales, legal settlements and fund sweeps to pay for ongoing programs and services. The Associated Press reports conservative House Republicans say the patchwork budgeting causes repeated cycles of financial problems, leaving lawmakers to scramble to fill gaps when the dollars fall away. Supporters of the one-time funding, including the Jindal administration, say without those dollars, health care and higher education budgets would undergo unnecessary slashing. House leaders want to strip the patchwork funding in today's committee, to get the budget through the House—and to then reinstate some of the money in the Senate.
LaPolitics by Maginnis: Budget cuts emerge
The House Appropriations Committee will take up the budget bill next week, but its first move will prove unsettling to higher education officials and health care providers. Speaker Pro Tem Walt Leger, D-New Orleans, confirms that he is working with Appropriations Chairman Rep. Jim Fannin, D-Jonesboro, on an amendment to remove all non-recurring revenues, about $500 million, from the governor's proposed budget. The result will be to get a bill to the House floor next week that would be under the threshold for one-time money that, under House rule, would allow the appropriations bill to be heard without first getting a two-thirds vote. Once the bill gets to the Senate, the cuts could be restored.
Baton Rouge's definition of 'family' in UDC ruled unconstitutional
East Baton Rouge Parish Attorney Mary Roper says her office is planning to file an appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court on a ruling handed down Wednesday by 19th Judicial District Court Judge Janice Clark that found the city-parish's definition of "family" in its Unified Development Code to be unconstitutional and unenforceable. "We're already starting to prepare that to file," says Roper, adding her office will be asking for a stay on the ruling's effect until the matter is addressed by the state Supreme Court. The ruling is the result of a lawsuit the city-parish brought against landlord, attorney and one-time mayoral candidate Stephen Myers, in which the city-parish alleged Myers was not compliant with the UDC by renting a home to unrelated tenants in a neighborhood zoned A1 single family. Section 2.8 of the UDC defines "family," in part, as "two or more persons who are related by blood, marriage or legal adoption." In her ruling, Clark says: "there is no rational basis for the...
Kleckley says Medicaid expansion a no-go this year
House Speaker Chuck Kleckley says he doesn't believe any proposal to tap into the federal Medicaid expansion money will win passage in the Louisiana Legislature this year. Kleckley, a Republican from Lake Charles, says lawmakers are interested in differing models that could access money from the Affordable Care Act. He tells The Associated Press today that too many analyses disagree about whether the expansion would cost or save Louisiana money. The House speaker's comments came a day after the House health care committee rejected an expansion proposal. But senators are still considering the idea, and the Senate health care committee is expected to vote on an expansion bill next week. Gov. Bobby Jindal opposes the expansion. The House committee's vote fell along party lines.
Capitol Views: Crime prevention districts advance
Bills to allow three more Baton Rouge neighborhoods to form crime prevention and neighborhood improvement districts cleared their first legislative hurdles today. Goodwood Homesites and Sherwood Forest won approval in House committee, while Southern Heights got the green light in Senate committee. The bills would authorize the Metro Council, with voter approval, to assess parcel fees that could go toward "an increase in the presence of law enforcement personnel in the district."
La. House committee retains letter-grade formula for schools
House Education Committee members have backed a proposal requiring BESE to delay using new methods for calculating school performance letter grades. The Associated Press reports the new grading formula would include ACT test scores at high schools. It is set to apply to school and district performance scores to be released later this year. But the bill by Rep. Kenny Havard, R-Jackson, would require the state to use the formula and accountability policies applied in the 2011-12 school year until the House and Senate Education committees approve any change to the grading system. Supporters say that postponing the new standards would give school systems time to implement curriculum changes. The proposal now heads to the House.
Capitol Views: Panel backs Jindal on rejecting Medicaid expansion
A bid to effectively require the state to accept the expansion of Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act failed in House Health Committee today. After nearly five hours of testimony, the panel, with a Republican majority, voted 11–8 to defer House Bill 110 by Rep. Barbara Norton, D-Shreveport. Proponents argued that the expansion would save the state money in the short run and provide greater care to the uninsured, improving health care outcomes. They were grilled by Republicans on the committee about the number of people currently insured by private plans who would move to Medicaid. Department of Health and Hospitals officials faulted the Legislative Fiscal Office cost estimates for not factoring in future rate increases for providers, to be mandated by Congress or the courts, to satisfy the provision-of-care standards set in the Affordable Care Act. Rep. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, countered the opponents' arguments of uncertainties in the expansion by pointing to...
Tonight on 3rd Floor Theatre: Fisticuffs!
My more serious partners in the media have done a pretty good job of covering the legion of major items on tonight's Metro Council agenda. With that said, I figured it would be nice to have a convenient, easily referenced post to consolidate it all. So, here you go!
FuturEBR recommendations sent to Holden
The FuturEBR Implementation Team sent a list of recommendations to Mayor Kip Holden's office this morning, including a request that the city's unified development code structure be revised to align with FuturEBR initiatives within the next 12 months. The panel also asked the mayor's office to implement congestion relief projects as it works to identify potential funding sources. "We're going to make the prioritization of each of those projects and have that brought back to the FIT team with regard to identifying potential funding sources to implement congestion relief, capacity and connectivity," says John Price, newly appointed FIT chairman and assistant chief administrative officer for Mayor Kip Holden. FIT listed as possible funding sources to address congestion on as many as 30 streets: an extension of the Green Light Plan tax, a parishwide infrastructure bond issue, and tax increment financing. —April Castro
Legislators move bill to toughen collection efforts
An effort to centralize and toughen Louisiana's efforts to collect hundreds of millions of dollars owed to state agencies in delinquent accounts began advancing today in the state Legislature. House Bill 629 by Rep. Chris Broadwater, R-Hammond, would create a new debt recovery office in the Department of Revenue and give it the authority to revoke and suspend state-issued licenses for back debts. Broadwater says the state writes off as much as $125 million or more in debts each year as uncollectible because they have been delinquent for three years or more, adding that a centralized and focused collection effort could capture some of those dollars. The Associated Press reports the state has 174 agencies—and no unified collection system to handle all state government debts. The attorney general's office collects back-owed debt for a few agencies that have contracts with them directly. But such contracts aren't required. The House Ways and Means Committee approved the proposal...
Capitol Views: Last tobacco tax hike bill goes down
A proposed increase to the cigarette tax, which seemed almost a certainty a month ago, failed again in committee today, likely for the last time this session. House Bill 537 by Rep. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe, to increase the tax by 32 cents per pack, was voted down in the House Ways and Means Committee. That follows the defeat of a $1.05-per-pack increase Monday. Joining the usual opponents of tobacco and convenience store interests was the American Cancer Society, whose communications director, Andrew Muhl, said that the increase in Jackson's bill was not enough to affect behavior. He said cigarette companies could easily diminish the effects on smokers through coupons and rebates. Jackson, whose bill would dedicate revenue to Medicaid and medical training, said of the Cancer Society's opposition, "It is unconscionable that they would testify against this bill." Hanging over HB 537 was a promised veto by Gov. Bobby Jindal for any tax increase that was not offset by tax cuts.
CABL describes improvements and challenges for education
More fourth- and eighth-grade students in Louisiana demonstrated "basic"-level academic skills in 2012 compared to 2000, and graduation rates recently have improved at both high schools and universities. However, nearly a third of Louisiana students scored below grade level in 2012, and the state still lags the nation in the number of associate and bachelor's degrees conferred. That's according to the Report Card on Major Education Indicators released by CABL today. A thread of good-news/bad-news runs throughout the report. The state's high school graduation rate reached an all-time high of 72.3% in 2011-12. However, by 2018, the report says 51% of all jobs in Louisiana are expected to require more than a high school education, while only 29% of adults in the state have earned an associate's degree or higher. College graduation rates should continue to improve, thanks to higher...
Legislators focus on eye war
Besides the governor and the wealthy, the group most disappointed that the legislative debate over income tax repeal ended before it began were contract lobbyists. Many were signed up by businesses and trade groups to try to protect various exemptions or to avoid sales taxes on services. But after the whole matter was junked so early, many governmental consultants feared for a session lacking clients with issues.
LaPolitics by Maginnis: Legislators focus on eye war
Besides the governor and the wealthy, the group most disappointed that the legislative debate over income tax repeal ended before it began were contract lobbyists. Many were signed up by businesses and trade groups to try to protect various exemptions or to avoid sales taxes on services. But after the whole matter was junked so early, many governmental consultants feared for a session lacking clients with issues. Then along came the eye doctors. An all-out legislative battle over optometrists wanting to do some procedures that only ophthalmologists are now allowed to do has both sides lobbying up for a showdown in the House of Representatives. Scheduled for debate on Wednesday is House Bill 527, which would allow optometrists to perform certain surgical procedures on eyes and eyelids—at times using scalpels or needles—and to prescribe many drugs, including painkillers. Licensed optometrists go through four years of postgraduate optometry school, not medical school, before...
Bernhard sidesteps questions about his political ambitions
Jim Bernhard sounded more like a politician than a businessman this week, as he urged bipartisanship, railed against underfunding higher education and outlined antiquated exemptions in the state tax code. Still, the avid donor to Democratic candidates—including a $30,400 donation last year to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and two donations to President Barack Obama's re-election campaign—skirted questions about his own political ambitions. Asked about his future plans, Bernhard says he needs to take a breath and get his new company, Shaw Capital Partners, off the ground. "It only ended eight weeks ago," he says, referring to the February sale of the company he founded and led, The Shaw Group—Baton Rouge’s only Fortune 500 firm. In a 45-minute speech Monday to the Press Club of Baton Rouge, Bernhard praised New Jersey Gov.
Metro Council considers supporting bill to shrink BTR board
Among a number of notable items on the Metro Council agenda for the regular meeting Wednesday is a resolution to support a bill pending in the Legislature that would shrink the number of members on the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport Commission. There are currently 13 members on the board overseeing the airport and Greater Baton Rouge Airport District, a political subdivision that has authority to levy taxes across the parish, incur debt and issue bonds, among other things. The Metro Council appoints nine members to the commission, all with five-year terms, while members of the Legislature appoint the other four members. The positions of those four members—who do not have term limits and serve strictly at the pleasure of the legislators appointing them—would be eliminated from the board under Senate Bill 123 by Sen. Bodi White, R-Central, says Metro Councilman Trae Welch, who put the...
Jindal: Medicaid expansion is bad for Louisiana
With the Legislature set to begin debating the proposed expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act this week, Gov. Bobby Jindal has laid out seven reasons why he believes the expansion would be bad for the state in a new guest column. "The expansion of Medicaid will move up to 171,000 Louisianians off of private insurance and stop another 77,000 people from going into private insurance," Jindal gives as one reason. Another, he says, is "Medicaid expansion could cost taxpayers in Louisiana $1.7 billion over the first 10 years of implementation, and the cost will continue to rise." Jindal also says there's too much uncertainty in President Barack Obama's health care law, and that funding for the law is unstable, "which could encourage cost shifting to states." The issue is sure to spur spirited debate this week at the State Capitol. Democrats accuse the governor of putting his political ambitions ahead of citizens' health care. Several Republican lawmakers—particularly...
Obamacare's Medicaid expansion is bad for Louisiana
Editor's note: This is a guest column provided to Daily Report by the Office of Governor Bobby Jindal.
LaPolitics by Maginnis: Proposed tobacco tax hike burned by failed repeal
Proposed cigarette tax increases—just a question of by how much a week ago—stand to be snuffed out in committee on Monday, where income tax repeal bills were buried earlier this week. By themselves, they face opposition from GOP legislators and a guaranteed veto by Gov. Bobby Jindal, which he confirmed Thursday. The House Ways and Means Committee has scheduled for debate three bills to increase the tax on a pack of cigarettes by 24 cents, 36 cents and $1.05.
Governor assures veto of any cigarette tax without offset
Gov. Bobby Jindal says he'll veto any cigarette tax increase that wins passage from lawmakers, unless it's coupled with a corresponding cut in taxes somewhere else. He reiterated today that he will oppose anything he considers a net increase in state tax revenue, The Associated Press reports. A few weeks ago, the Republican governor was pushing for a $1.05-per-pack increase in Louisiana's 36-cent cigarette tax; however, he proposed the idea within a list of possible tax hikes he wanted to offset the cost of repealing the state income tax. The tax repeal appears dead for the session, and Jindal has abandoned his complex tax swap plan. Nevertheless, lawmakers are still considering a series of tobacco tax hikes. The House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to review proposals Monday.
Jindal won't seek legislative backing on LSU deals
Gov. Bobby Jindal says he won't seek legislative approval of his administration's LSU hospital privatization agreements, though both the House and Senate have voted that they want such decision-making authority. Jindal announced today that he believes the legislative resolutions that have received support in the House and Senate requiring budget committee backing of the lease agreements don't carry the force of law, reports The Associated Press. He says lawmakers would need to change state statute to get such approval authority. The Republican governor is pushing to privatize all but one of the university-run hospitals that care for the poor and uninsured. He attributes the legislative approval efforts to people trying to slow down the privatization. He says if lawmakers want to delay, they also need to offer an alternate plan to shrink hospital spending.
Capitol Views: EBR breakaway school district passes Senate committee
One of the most contentious bills of last session began its encore today as the Senate Education Committee approved a bill to create a new public school district in the southeast part of East Baton Rouge Parish. Senate Bill 199 by Sen. Bodi White, R-Central, needs two-thirds legislative approval and passage of a constitutional amendment in 2014. Last year, it passed the Senate but fell four votes short in the House. Proponents have argued that residents in the southeast part of the parish want to have the same opportunity as residents in high-performing Zachary and Central schools, which have their own districts within the parish. They cite discipline as a serious problem within the current school district. Opponents have warned that creation of a fifth school district in the parish would further balkanize public education in the parish. Parents of children enrolled in magnet schools and gifted programs warned that they would be damaged if the 10 schools in the proposed district were...
Publisher: Lessons from the Iron Lady; a challenge to BREC
Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister had the honor of meeting former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher when she was in Baton Rouge to deliver an LSU commencement speech. "I was a fan of this charming woman and principled, conservative leader. She was passionate, fearless and embraced change," McCollister writes in his latest column. "She battled the opposition and critics constantly and fiercely. And I see we have needed the same here in Louisiana for the past 25 years of battling for reform. There will always be those who want to 'turn back the clock.' I see it today in some legislators and The Advocate editorials." Along with honoring the legacy of the Iron Lady in his new column, McCollister discusses changes taking place at BREC. In an attempt to raise revenues, BREC recently convinced the Metro Council to allow it to sell alcohol at select facilities, such as golf courses and rental halls. He notes that BREC is reportedly losing $1 million a year on...
Library board to take up agreement with Spinosa again today
A spokesman for Tommy Spinosa says the cooperative endeavor agreement the developer has been negotiating with the city-parish over construction of the long-awaited Rouzan branch library is completed in principal, though details are still being finalized. But as of this morning, the head of the Library Board of Control, which meets this afternoon, says he won't be satisfied until the documents are signed and the infrastructure surrounding the facility is under construction. "I am disappointed it has not been resolved yet," board Chairman Travis Woodard tells Daily Report. "I would love to be surprised this afternoon to hear the deal is all done, but that is not my appreciation at this point." After years of delays, the library board finally gave Spinosa—who is donating to the city-parish the property within his development off Perkins Road for the library and is also agreeing to do the surrounding infrastructure work—a February deadline to either post a performance...
Jindal still urging lawmakers to eliminate income taxes
Gov. Bobby Jindal refused to declare an income tax repeal dead today, even though House leaders say such a measure has no chance of passing during the current legislative session. Asked repeatedly if plans to repeal the state's income tax were dead, Jindal repeated that the next step was up to lawmakers. "I continue to strongly encourage them to get rid of the income tax, send me that bill so I can sign it into law," was Jindal's response to reporters' questions on the issue, which came shortly after he addressed education leaders at the Leadership for Change conference. Earlier this week, state lawmakers declined to take up tax repeal legislation and the leader of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Joel Robideaux, R-Lafayette, announced the panel doesn't intend to hear them this session. The decision appeared to kill any chance for Jindal to get passage of his signature legislative agenda item. "If (lawmakers) decide not to act, I think it's a missed opportunity …...
Libertarian-leaning candidate takes shot at Senate
You probably wouldn’t give attorney and former Louisiana Supreme Court candidate Jeff Sanford much chance to win Mary Landrieu’s U.S. Senate seat in next year’s election. Right now, neither would he. "At this stage of the game, I don’t see how I can give myself much of a shot," he says. But he’s running anyway, and the election isn’t until November 2014, so who knows? Sanford describes himself as an independent libertarian who doesn’t see much meaningful difference between Republicans and Democrats. He says he wants to force the other candidates, who will include Landrieu, a Democrat, and current Baton Rouge Congressman Bill Cassidy, a Republican, to address certain issues, including how America’s foreign interventions impact the national debt and the "Monsanto protection act," which is how critics describe a provision of a recent law that they say allows large agribusinesses to plant genetically engineered crops even if a court orders...
Feds won't press for personal info on registered La. voters
The U.S. government has dropped its efforts to obtain personal information about every registered voter in the state, as well as all those who receive public assistance or disability services. Federal authorities were seeking databases containing identifying and demographic information for their lawsuit against the state of Louisiana over alleged violations of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act. The 2011 complaint claims that state officials have not routinely offered voter registration forms, assistance and services to the state's eligible citizens who interact with its agencies that provide public assistance or disability services. Initially, the information being sought from Louisiana included current and past home addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, drivers' license numbers, mothers' maiden names, telephone numbers, email addresses and digitized signatures. In a notice that it was dropping its request for the documents, Bradley Heard of the U.S. Department...
Jindal releases construction funding proposal
Included in Gov. Bobby Jindal's capital outlay funding proposal for the next fiscal year, released today, is $50 million for a renovation of Patrick F. Taylor Hall at LSU and $11.25 million for the Automotive Training Facility at Baton Rouge Community College. Another $14 million is allocated for additional widening of Interstate 12 in East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes. Other local projects included in the plan are:
• $11 million for planning, utilities, right of way and construction of Essen Lane widening project from Interstate 10 to Perkins Road
• $1 million each for renovations to the Old Engineering Shops Art Department at LSU as well as French House renovations on campus
• $2.5 million for planning and construction of Nicholson Gateway infrastructure improvements at LSU
• $350,000 for sewer and street improvements near the intersection of Jesse Stone Avenue and E.C. Harrison Drive at Southern University
Bill would double annual licensing fee for La. contractors
The state's contractors are supporting a bill that would double their annual licensing fee to $200 from $100, and dedicate the $1.7 million raised by the increase to the state's certified schools of construction management and technology. "Since higher education funding is so hard to come by in this state, we thought it would be a good way for the schools to fund their construction programs," says Ken Naquin, CEO of the Louisiana Association of General Contractors, whose membership is about 22,000. "We've got $60 billion worth of industrial construction coming to this state in the next few years, and we need our workforce to be ready." Rep. Erich Ponti, R-Baton Rouge, is sponsoring the bill, which would use a formula to allocate the money generated among the three eligible schools—LSU, ULM and Louisiana Tech. Half the funds would be evenly divided among the schools; the other half would be split based on the number of graduates from each school from the previous year. Naquin...
Moret says tax exemptions hurt higher ed funding
Greater use of the state's myriad tax exemptions over the past several years has been a major cause of budget cuts to higher education, says LED Secretary Stephen Moret. Almost half of the recent decline in state revenues (which impacts higher education funding) is attributable to greater utilization of programs such as the inventory tax credit and the film incentive program, he says. "While obviously we haven't gotten a lot of traction with tax reform, one of the opportunities in the long term is to reduce the number of exemptions, which would enable us to have a more stable funding base for all of state government and avoid the situation we've faced the last few years," Moret says. However, Moret expects the state's revenue picture to improve, thanks in part to major industrial projects. "We're going to have a much more favorable overall budget environment," says Moret, who addressed LSU's Transition Advisory Team today. Interim LSU President William Jenkins remarked that incoming...
Three interviewed to become legislative chief financial adviser
Three people have applied to become the Legislature's chief financial adviser, and the House and Senate budget committees interviewed the candidates today in closed-door meetings. At later meetings the committees will make their selection of who to recommend for the job of legislative fiscal officer. The full House and Senate must approve the person selected for the position. All three contenders for the job advertisement, which was posted nationally six months ago, come from inside the Louisiana Capitol. The applicants are: Greg Albrecht, chief economist for the Legislative Fiscal Office; Shawn Hotstream, senior fiscal analyst and section director for the Legislative Fiscal Office; and Chris Keaton, budget analyst for the House Fiscal Division. When the job was last open, in 2005, 30 people submitted applications. The fiscal officer leads an agency that advises lawmakers on financial decisions and that estimates the costs of spending and tax break proposals. The post is open because...
Capitol Views: Kennedy warns senators about vendor payment plan
Treasurer John Kennedy told senators today that he might move to try to block the administration's plan to set up a new payment system for state vendors. The Jindal administration is planning to contract with the Bank of America to replace payments by check with a program it calls ePayables that would make payments to vendors by depositing funds into merchant accounts. The vendors would pay Bank of America to get their funds. "The only winner in this will be Bank of America," Kennedy told the Senate Finance Committee during a budget review of his department. He said the arrangement could violate the state constitution, which places authority to disburse funds with the treasurer. "If we can't work it out, I will have to seek a declaratory judgment," he said. The administration has built $1.5 million in savings into the proposed budget, but Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols said annual savings could reach $3.6 million. LSU has been using a similar system since 2010. "What's...
Federal probe hangs over state government
The Baton Rouge offices of CNSI, in a nondescript, two-story building behind a beauty salon on Florida Boulevard, look like a neutron bomb went off there. Room after room of neat rows of desks sit ready and waiting for 100 or so employees, who likely won't be coming back. The place bustled with activity until a month ago, when it emptied with the cancellation of the firm's huge state Medicaid claims processing contract, after it attracted the interest of a federal grand jury.
LaPolitics by Maginnis: Federal probe hangs over state government
The Baton Rouge offices of CNSI, in a nondescript, two-story building behind a beauty salon on Florida Boulevard, look like a neutron bomb went off there. Room after room of neat rows of desks sit ready and waiting for 100 or so employees, who likely won't be coming back. The place bustled with activity until a month ago, when it emptied with the cancellation of the firm's huge state Medicaid claims processing contract, after it attracted the interest of a federal grand jury. The laid-off employees, many of whom had uprooted their lives and moved to Louisiana to work on setting up the new online system, are the first victims of a federal investigation that could claim more, both within CNSI and state government. The only other casualty so far is Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein, himself a former CNSI executive, who announced his resignation the week after a federal subpoena was made public. The subpoena ordered the Division of Administration to hand over...
Black Caucus scales back tax proposals
A day after a House committee declined to review several bills that called for phasing out Louisiana's income taxes, Rep. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe and chairwoman of the Legislative Black Caucus, is pulling caucus-backed bills that would have cut both personal and corporate tax rates. In a statement released late Monday, Jackson says the fiscal impact of the tax cuts, as calculated by the Legislative Fiscal Office, "are drastically different from the unofficial numbers previously discussed with us," jeopardizing a commitment to caucus constituents "to only offer legislation which positively enhances the state's budget." However, the caucus will continue to back "a unified tax court, a unified e-filing system," and an "internet sales collection structure," as well as House Bill 623, which raises taxes on cigars and cigarettes. The higher tobacco tax is expected to raise $64 million the first year and $129 million in subsequent years; 40% would be dedicated to the Medicaid Trust Fund,...
Parking tax
Gov. Bobby Jindal has given plenty of dense, lengthy speeches that might have lasted for hours if not for his rapid-fire delivery. His April 8 session-opening address to the Louisiana Legislature was, by contrast, a model of efficiency, clocking in under 15 minutes and focusing on a single topic: taxes.
Lessons from 'The Iron Lady'
I was saddened to learn of Margaret Thatcher's death April 8. My wife and I had the honor of meeting “Lady Thatcher” when she came to LSU to deliver a commencement speech, and I was a fan of this charming woman and principled, conservative leader.
Style and substance
When the Great Recession bore down on south Louisiana four years ago, hairdresser Nona Robillard absorbed the loss of business as people began to cut back on manicures, facials and hair color. As co-owner of the business, she took a cut in pay. Her salon lost about 12%, or $120,000, in income as a result of the economic downturn.
Start of session distinct from 2012
The fundraisers leading up to it and the big parties kicking it off haven’t changed, but the first days of this legislative session could hardly be more different from last year’s. At this point in the 2012 session, Gov. Bobby Jindal had lawmakers in lockstep on a forced march toward passing his major education bills in an unheard-of three weeks.
Your tax dollars at waste
CATS and its remarkably maladroit management team have wasted little time in making the case for why it's stupid to give unfettered tax-proposing authority to a government entity in which exactly zero folks running the agency ever—repeat, ever—have to stand before voters on election day and ask to keep their jobs.
The network factor
For most people, trying to calculate what part of an upcoming hospital stay their insurance will cover is akin to rolling the dice. Maybe your doctor and hospital are among your insurance company's “preferred” providers, so their services are covered by your policy. But who knows how many services you will receive in the hospital from people who are not in the insurer's provider network?
Ophthalmologists to battle optometrists in House committee
Lawmakers will get an earful over eye care later this week, when the House Health and Welfare Committee takes up a bill that would broaden the scope of medical procedures optometrists are allowed to perform on their patients. Optometrists—who are primary eye care specialists but not medical doctors—are pushing the legislation. They argue it would improve access to eye care in poor and rural areas of the state by giving them the right to perform a wide spectrum of basic ophthalmic procedures using a scalpel, allowing them to give injections, and also allowing them to prescribe all drugs except Schedules I and II. "This will increase access to improved eye care for the people of Louisiana," says James Sandefur, executive director of the Optometry Association of Louisiana, which has 400 practitioners. "These are very minor, very safe procedures." But the Louisiana Ophthalmology Association, which represents medical doctors who specialize in eye care, says the bill amounts to...
Audit says La. may owe feds for misspent storm aid
A new audit says Louisiana may be on the hook to the federal government for more than $115 million in disaster relief aid that was misspent or awarded to ineligible recipients. The money was designed to help property owners recover from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The legislative auditor's review of the Office of Community Development was released today. The Office of Community Development oversees the Road Home program, the Small Rental Property Loan Program and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. In a response letter, OCD Executive Director Patrick Forbes says his department is being aggressive in recovering money from suspected fraud cases or duplicated benefits, but homeowner recovery is prioritized over "recapture" in other instances. He says federal officials support the strategy.
House committee won't hear Jindal tax repeal
State lawmakers this morning declared Gov. Bobby Jindal's push to repeal Louisiana's income taxes dead for the session after the House tax committee refused to discuss the proposals. The Associated Press reports the House Ways and Means Committee deferred on all tax repeal bills, with the committee chairman, Rep. Joel Robideaux, saying the panel doesn't intend to hear them this session. The decision appeared to kill any chance for Jindal to get passage of his signature legislative agenda item. Robideaux, a Republican from Lafayette, says the House doesn't support a repeal because of the state's ongoing budget problems and because of difficulties coming up with new tax revenue to offset the lost income tax money.
La. tax collections in 2012 down 18% from pre-recession level
Total state tax collections in the United States approached nearly $800 billion in fiscal year 2012, a record high and the first total since the economic collapse to surpass pre-recession fiscal year 2008, reports Governing magazine, citing new Census Bureau figures. In all, 23 states recorded increases exceeding 5% on the year. Louisiana was not among them, though it did post a 1.2% increase from fiscal year 2011. The report also says Louisiana's total state tax collections in fiscal year 2012, at approximately $9 billion, were 18% lower than the $11 billion collected in fiscal year 2008. That decrease is largely due to reduced collections in individual and corporate income taxes, as well as lower sales tax collections. From 2008 to 2012, Louisiana individual income taxes declined from $3.2 billion to $2.5 billion, corporate income taxes fell from $703 million to $290 million, and sales taxes fell from $3.5 billion to $2.8 billion. You can read the full story and access a...
Survey: Most small-business owners favor federal tax reform
Due to the complexity of the U.S. tax code and inconsistencies within it, about one-quarter of small-business owners in the country say they spend 120 hours or more each year doing their taxes. That's one of many findings from the National Small Business Association's 2013 Small Business Taxation Survey, which concludes that most small-business owners favor a streamlining of the federal tax code. Also of note is that 14% of respondents said they spend 80 to 119 hours on their taxes, and 19% said they spend 40 to 79 hours. To cut down on the time they spend doing taxes each year, 84% of small-business owners say they pay an external tax practitioner or accountant for assistance. The NSBA says 66% of survey respondents say they support federal tax reform that would reduce corporate and individual tax rates, coupled with a reduction in business and individual deductions. "Our tax system punishes work, investment, risk taking and entrepreneurship, and is unquestionably broken," says NSBA...
LaPolitics by Maginnis: Jindal, House speaker weigh in on tax repeal
Gov. Bobby Jindal has restated that he will not let the lack of revenue neutrality get in the way of backing an income tax repeal bill this session. "We are open to any and all ideas," Jindal told reporters on Thursday. "We're not putting any barriers in the way of getting rid of the income tax." House Speaker Chuck Kleckley, R-Lake Charles, is not so open. He tells LaPolitics that he doubts the House will pass a bill phasing out the income tax without including a way to replace lost revenues. "If we eliminate income taxes, we're going to have to replace [them] with something," he says.
Metro Council administrator to retire in July
After 28 years of overseeing virtually all clerical matters related to the Metro Council, Brian Mayers will retire on July 19 as Metro Council administrator/treasurer. The council Wednesday approved Casey Cashio to replace him. Mayers says Cashio has been working alongside him for about 18 years. Cashio will be the new council administrator/treasurer effective July 6, meaning he'll have a few weeks working in the position alongside Mayers. Day to day, the council administrator/treasurer handles everything from Metro Council agendas, resolutions and minutes to issuing checks and conducting banking transactions. The position also requires attendance at council meetings, often serving as a reference for the Metro Council members. Upon his retirement, Mayers, 56, says, "I really don't have a lot of plans, I'm just going to try to enjoy my retirement." Mayers says he's enjoyed his role "in the background" of the council proceedings for nearly three decades, adding: "if we're in the...
AG says approval not needed for LSU hospital deals
Gov. Bobby Jindal's plans to privatize the LSU-run public hospitals that care for the poor and uninsured don't require legislative approval, the attorney general's office says. The opinion from Attorney General Buddy Caldwell's office was released today to Rep. Jared Brossett, D-New Orleans, who asked for the legal guidance. Jindal health care officials have said they didn't intend to seek a legislative vote for the individual privatization agreements because the law doesn't require approval. Assistant attorney general Jessica Thornhill, author of the opinion, wrote that before 2003, the LSU Board of Supervisors was required to get legislative approval for a hospital lease. But lawmakers amended the statute that year, "and in doing so specifically removed that requirement." Brossett responded today by saying he's pleased with a portion of the opinion that says the hospital leases must include a provision that assures the leased facilities continue to provide the same level of health...
Capitol Views: Early wrap on first week
State senators are home already, having adjourned for the week on Wednesday, and House members will be following early this afternoon, after sitting through their annual one-hour ethics briefing. Action resumes in earnest on Monday when the House Ways and Means Committee begins hearing members' bills to tax changes, including some to phase out the income tax over 10 years.
Fiscal office: Income tax phase-out could cost $23.7B over 10 years
Phasing out the state income tax could cost Louisiana government nearly $24 billion over the next 10 years, according to Legislative Fiscal Office projections. Analysts created the fiscal note for House Bill 271, by Rep. Hunter Greene, R-Baton Rouge. Of the several bills filed this session that seek to gradually eliminate the income tax, Greene's bill is the first to be analyzed by the fiscal office. The total includes a $78 million loss for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. In a commentary released today, CABL questions whether getting rid of the income tax is a smart move for a "low-tax state" that already "has cut spending by $2 billion since 2009." CABL doubts that there's much "bloat" left to cut, adding that polls don't seem to show a huge groundswell of public demand to...
Former La. governors convene next week to talk state, local government
Four former governors will make a rare joint appearance for a panel discussion next week on changes in state and local government over the last 40 years. Kathleen Blanco, Edwin Edwards, Mike Foster and Buddy Roemer will address the LSU Public Administration Institute Student Association for its PAISA Day on Wednesday at LSU, says PAI Director Jim Richardson. Jim Engster, host of 89.3 WRKF's The Jim Engster Show, will moderate the panel, titled "The Evolution of State and Local Government: A discussion about the last 40 years." Richardson says the day will be "an opportunity to hear from four people who have keen insight on the highest of state levels to talk about not only the past four decades, but where they see our state and local governments operating in the future." The panel discussion, which is open to the public, begins at 1 p.m. in the Business Education Complex on campus. —April Castro
Boé keeps sights set on full law enforcement consolidation
Discussion among the five-member committee that's looking into options for consolidating the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office veered away from full unification at a meeting Wednesday and tilted toward the creation of "metro squads." But Metro Councilman Joel Boé—who spearheaded the effort to form the committee and is one of the members—says that in no way means full consolidation is no longer being pursued. "Unification is still on the table," he says, adding that a local media report saying the committee threw out the idea of consolidation "is not correct." The establishment of "metro squads" was raised by Baker Police Chief Mike Knaps. While discussion of the idea—which essentially would involve various departments throughout the city-parish inking memorandums of understanding to work closer together and share more information in specific areas—took up much of the committee's second meeting, Boé maintains it's just...
Capitol Views: Panel signs off on B.R. hospital closure; bill to toughen TOPS requirements advances
With just five days to go before Earl K. Long Hospital in Baton Rouge becomes the first state hospital to close, legislators were still making changes and asking questions today on the transfer of services to Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center across town. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee approved an amendment to its agreement with OLOL by which it will take over operations of the LSU-run clinics as well as treat current EKL patients at the hospital. LSU doctors will still staff the clinics, but OLOL will manage the facilities. Legislators from across the state are paying attention to this public-private partnership because it is expected to serve as a template for partnerships in other communities. In the amendment, the state agreed to set a $60 million cap for reimbursing OLOL for treating uninsured patients at the clinics. This year, the operation of the clinics costs $48 million, but LSU officials explained that OLOL will operate a new 24-hour urgent care facility...
Mitch Landrieu stresses unity among La. cities
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu urged a Baton Rouge audience today to take a global view of the state and nation, and not forsake the good of other cities and regions when tackling major public issues like tax reform. Landrieu says it was a lesson he learned while serving as Louisiana's lieutenant governor. "We really are one state, and what happens in one part of the state affects the other parts of the state," says Landrieu, who was the featured speaker at a Rotary Club of Baton Rouge luncheon. Ongoing discussions about tax reform, he says, have been too narrow, forgoing consideration of the impact on the state as a whole. "You can't just talk about tax reform in light of, is it going to be income versus sale versus property that's important? But you also have to say, what impact is it going to have on the federal, local and state entities that are partners with delivering a service," he says. "What you're funding can't be divorced from the impact that it has on the ground."...
Livingston council looks at ways to avoid lawsuits
Still embroiled in a feud with a politically connected engineering firm, the Livingston Parish Council on Thursday will consider two proposals designed to prevent future conflicts. The first is a recommendation to hire a special legal counsel to represent the council in its pending lawsuits involving Alvin Fairburn & Associates. Councilman Chance Parent, who is proposing the measure, says he has concerns that in his role as parish attorney, Chris Moody also represents Livingston Parish President Layton Ricks, who was employed by Alvin Fairburn & Associates until taking office. "Chris Moody is a great attorney; don't get me wrong," Parent says. "But we're in a situation where the attorney we have is also representing the parish president, and the parish president is also involved in that litigation because he previously worked for that firm. I think it's a conflict of interest, and I don't feel the taxpayers are getting a fair shake." Moody, however, contends there is no conflict,...
Metro Council to consider Costco TIF
The Metro Council will consider today a proposal from Mayor Kip Holden's office to begin the process of creating a special "economic development district"—that is, set the boundaries for a tax increment financing zone—for the land on which a Costco superstore is planned. City-parish Finance Director Marsha Hanlon says specifics of the potential TIF structure have not yet been determined. However, while some TIF structures allow developments to charge additional sales tax on purchases made within to offset construction costs, Hanlon says, "As I understand it, this would be a rebate" for Costco. The city-parish could opt to rebate part or all of its 2% local sales tax to Costco, which is planning to build a $12 million, 148,000-square-foot superstore on Dawnadele Avenue, near the intersection of Airline Highway and Interstate 12. Plans also call for an adjoining gas station with 16 pumps. "The first step is to create the district and hold a public hearing on it," says...