When it comes to political entertainment, old-school maneuvering and borderline—or sometimes over-the-line statements—Louisiana’s representatives and senators, along with all of those who fuel the State Capitol, are our not-ready-for-prime-time players, says Jeremy Alford in his latest column.
“Now stick all of them inside of that Alabama limestone building in Baton Rouge for the better part of six months, turn up the pressure for a record number of consecutive weeks and you can start to imagine an environment that was ripe for colorful oration—and regretful politics,” Alford writes.
‘It was as hysterical as it was historical,’ Rep. Malinda Brumfield White, D-Bogalusa, is quoted as saying shortly after the fourth session (including two special sessions, a regular session and an organizational session held before the first special session) adjourned near midnight last Thursday.
Alford says that ending brought with it a grand total of $1.6 billion in tax and fee increases and changes, or new money for the state. Of that amount, he notes, $1.1 billion will come off of the books in 2018, meaning another shortfall looms.
It also means more of a reprieve than a resolution was found by lawmakers and the administration this year, Alford writes.
During the organizational session in January, lawmakers found themselves sitting through ethics training, he recalls. When House members were reminded that text messages were subject to public records requests, an unidentified representative shouted from the rear of the floor: “Even pictures?”
It was short and anything but sweet, Alford writes. But it set the tone for the first special session of the year a month later in February.
“There were 154 bills introduced for a quickly-called special session and some of the proposals were hastily drafted,” Alford writes. “We should have known a bumpy road was ahead when fiscal analyses had to be applied to the legislation.”
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
