The 2015 regular session of the Louisiana Legislature was nothing if not interesting, says Jeremy Alford in his latest column.
“A $1.6 billion budget shortfall set the stage for a tumultuous gathering that was superheated by the re-election hopes of lawmakers and the presidential ambitions of Gov. Bobby Jindal,” Alford writes. “Or, as the governor’s legislative liaison, Troy Hebert, said of the combinations: ‘That’s an explosive gumbo right there.’”
Alford says the words of lawmakers and those who sought to influence and critique them were used as daggers and darts this session—that is, when they weren’t being used to mean nothing.
“For example, Jindal’s so-called SAVE tax credit fell under heavy criticism as the session’s linchpin policy proposal for offering cover against tax increases so the Legislature and governor could claim none were actually raised,” he writes, noting lawmakers described it as “nonsense,” “fiction,” “embarrassing,” “stupid,” “money laundering” and “a gimmick.”
Rep. Darrell Ourso, serving in his first-ever session as a true freshman, supported the convoluted tax credit scheme—and immediately regretted it, Alford says.
“As a kid my mother gave me castor oil,” Ourso said. “This vote was like that. Stinky, yucky stuff.”
Jindal’s entire budget proposal was cast as “smoke and mirrors” by many lawmakers, except for Rep. Julie Stokes, who, Alford says, clearly has a firm grasp on the science of wavelengths.
“It’s smoke,” Stokes said of the proposal. “Mirrors require light.”
So what did lawmakers do exactly during the 60-day session? Mostly, Alford says, they tried to keep the fiscal wheels from falling off of the budget. Rep. Rob Shadoin was more honest than most in regard to his job duties, saying, “(I’m) trying to keep the defecation from hitting the ventilation.”
“Tried as Shadoin and others did, I’m not so sure that particular mission was accomplished,” Alford writes. “Because the you-know-what definitely hit the fan and Louisiana’s budget woes are far from over.”
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.
