In a sign that the final week of the legislative session will serve as a pressure cooker for lawmakers on key votes, sources tell LaPolitics that the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry is considering changing its endorsement rules, effective immediately.
That means lawmakers would have to finish the session voting in line with LABI more than ever before to secure support from its political action committees.
Currently lawmakers must go along with LABI 75% or more on select legislation from a session to obtain what long has been an automatic endorsement, which comes with PAC money for their re-elections. Now, however, the board and staff at LABI are quickly moving toward a decision to do away with the 75% mark altogether.
“There would be no minimum at all and the PAC members would have more flexibility to decide where LABI’s support should go,” said a source with the organization who wishes not to be identified. “This is something that is happening right now.”
—At the same time Revenue Secretary Tim Barfield is playing a lead legislative role for Gov. Bobby Jindal this session, others are encouraging him to run for mayor of Baton Rouge. Barfield, who has been charged by this administration with playing point on revenue and tax bills, recently confirmed the recruitment effort to LaPolitics over a lunch of chicken parmesan poboys at Digiulio’s.
“I’ve never had any interest in running for public office,” he said, fiddling with the sugar packets on the table, then looking up. “My wife, even less so.”
Soft-spoken at times, Barfield is a product of the Jindal brand, having previously served as the governor’s executive counsel and as director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission. His full-time focus over the last two months or so has been on the session, balancing his position of revenue secretary with that of a special legislative liaison role.
When lawmakers have questions about whether bills satisfy the governor’s definition of revenue neutral, it’s Barfield who issues the answers.
“I’ve met with the governor quite a few times this session, but I meet with his staff daily,” he said. “The biggest challenge has been trying to get a compromise that the administration finds acceptable and that is acceptable with the House and Senate. It’s like getting Mars and Jupiter and the moon in line. You need a political solution for the Legislature and we want a practical solution that doesn’t have the state making cuts in six months.”
Critics complain that Barfield is pushing a plan that places Louisiana in a zero-sum game, where revenue equals reductions. But lawmakers have said they appreciate Barfield’s approach to negotiations, with many citing his corporate background. He was previously CEO of The Shaw Group and chief development officer for Amedisys.
Is a return to the private sector in the cards for Barfield as Jindal’s term comes to an end, or at least in the foreseeable future?
“I think that’s very likely,” Barfield said. “I’m really focused on getting through this session. There will be time later to sit down and look at all of the options.”
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.
