LaPolitics: How did you get involved with the National Association of State Lobbyists?
NASL President and Louisiana lobbyist Ryan Haynie: It was founded about 25 years ago, and it’s basically an association of one top lobbying firm from every state. We get together annually, and the purpose of the group is to share experiences, hold each other to a high ethical standard, and develop best practices in the profession, like any other kind of professional organization. My dad was a founding member. I’ve been working my way up through the ranks, through different leadership positions, and was honored to be named president last year (to a two-year term). We get to hear what are the big issues in each state. Last year, we had a huge conversation around data centers and the power needed to power data centers. Louisiana is just starting to have that conversation now.
How will the most recent regular session be remembered?
Well, we didn’t do that much on the tax front. In the fiscal sessions when you’re limited to five bills, all lawmakers really want to see their five bills be successful. They tend to be very passionate about the issues that they’re pushing. So these short sessions ended up being pretty jam-packed. Even though we weren’t working every Thursday and Friday, the days we did work were action-packed. It was full throttle. So not many dull moments. Typically in a tax session, you will see a lot more tax bills. But since we met in November on tax issues, the main issues that I think the session will be remembered by are insurance initiatives and the budget.
Do you think lawmakers should get more than five non-fiscal bills?
I’m of the mindset that we’ve got plenty of laws, and a lot of what I do is play defense for my clients. A lot of my corporate and business clients want to just be left alone to operate their businesses. So from a very selfish standpoint, I’m fine with the limited number of bills because it is a limited amount of time. And with term limits, lawmakers are still having to be educated on each of these new subjects, especially the freshmen if they haven’t had to debate about them before. And if you throw too many different subjects and too many big bills into the mix in a short period of time, I think inevitably you’re not going to get the highest quality of legislation. We have plenty of instruments to handle the most important issues in the state, and each of those pieces of legislation really needs the amount of time and attention that they deserve.
What do you expect will be the biggest upcoming issues?
I think education is going to continue to take an important role. I think the biggest thing that we have coming down the pipe is reaction to the federal spending bill. If they make major changes to the Medicaid reimbursements, it could throw our providers and hospitals into a negative situation and cause some budget concerns. I think that’s one of the leading drivers that would consume at least the budget conversations, either in a special or next year. My hopeful thinking is that they give states time to react so we don’t have to rush back into an emergency session.
Do you see a lot of folks in your business incorporating AI into their work? What other trends do you see coming for your sector?
I don’t use AI to draft bills, but doing research by using AI is an amazing tool. You can quickly get data that you otherwise would take a lot longer time, maybe even staff, to discern. Lawmakers are using AI to come up with creative solutions to problems. I think it affects this business, just as it affects any other business, in that it’s the way folks now ascertain information. As far as trends in lobbying, things change, but they also stay the same. It’s still about hard work, relationships and integrity.
— THEY SAID IT: “The president is saying we’re giving $3 million to Iraq to produce ‘Sesame Street.’ Maybe we could use that money for something else.” — U.S. Sen. John Kennedy on the Senate floor
