If there’s anything senators like discussing more than politics, it’s themselves, which was evident last week when the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee debated a resolution to create a special designation for former senators, writes Jeremy Alford in his latest column,
SR 45 by Sen. Yvonne Colomb, D-Baton Rouge, would bestow the generic title of “Senator Retired, District No.” to former members, but only those who completed a full run of 12 years.
“For those of us without a full term because their predecessor was indicted, can we get an amendment?” asked Sen. JP Morrell, D-New Orleans, who handled the bill during the committee hearing, sparking a debate before the amended resolution moved on to receive full Senate approval.
The resolution is one of many examples of the distractions lawmakers are encountering as the regular session reaches its midpoint. With many senators and representatives more concerned about their re-election bids this fall, the session has reached a point where most of the major bills are on a set trajectory.
This leaves a lot of room for external politics, Alford writes.
Read Alford’s full column about the wheelings and dealings going on as lawmakers reach their halfway point for the session.
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, atLaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
