After a session that yielded strict fiscal constraints and bitter divides over everything from unemployment compensation to school board reform, members of the Capital Region Legislative Delegation say they’re focusing on the positive, burying hatchets and moving forward. Another billion-dollar shortfall is probably around the corner, they argue, and the coming months will be vital to the region’s future.
There are already phone calls being made to set up stakeholder meetings, similar to the ones conducted earlier this year, and delegation members plan on regrouping after a brief break in July. On the policy front, a new political action committee could soon be formed to promote the region’s priorities. Additionally, with the 2010 U.S. Census quickly approaching, the CRLD is planning an intense review of the area around interstates 10 and 12 that could begin as soon as August.
Disagreements crop up every session, and Baton Rouge-area lawmakers weren’t exempt from the perennial trend this year (for more, see the recent Business Report story here). In the past, these differences would fester, but the delegation—formed just last year—met weekly during the session and openly discussed the policy feuds in an effort to move past them. “The (delegation) is coming into its own,” says Senate President Pro Tem Sharon Weston Broome, a Democrat. “Through growing pains and political pressure, the delegation has addressed issues, stayed together and become stronger for the challenges we’ve faced.”
Rep. Steve Carter, the CRLD’s Republican chairman, highlighted accomplishments from the session and didn’t gloss over the need to move forward. “We cannot dwell on the past,” Carter says. “This delegation was never organized before and now we no longer have that as an excuse for not working to ensure the needs of this region are addressed. Today and over the past year, the Capital Region’s Legislative Delegation has spoken with one voice and will continue to do so. Make no mistake about that.”
The political end game of the regular session that adjourned last week suggests that the unified approach is producing results. More than $103 million in federal stimulus and state surplus funds were secured for transportation initiatives.
Rep. Hunter Greene, a Republican, says roads and highways have long been a priority for the delegation and its membership held several meetings during the past year with the administration outlining priorities in a greater-good fashion. “None of these projects are specifically in my district or any of the majority of our member’s districts,” says Greene, chairman of Ways and Means Committee, “but as part of our regional efforts we all realize that working together to fund key infrastructure projects will benefit not only the Capital Region but the entire state.”
Among the delegation’s accomplishments were:
—$72 million in federal stimulus funds for the widening of I-10 from Siegen Lane to Highland Road.
—$24 million in state surplus funds for the continued widening of I-12 from O’Neal Lane to Walker.
—$4 million in state surplus funds for the I-10/Pecue Lane Interchange.
—$3 million in state surplus funds for the La. 415 bridge at Intracoastal Canal.
—$8.6 million for the replacement of hot and chilled water lines at Southern University.
—SCR 130, which expresses support for and provides authority to the LSU Board of Supervisors for the strategic collaboration between LSU and Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center.
—Successful negotiations with Transportation Secretary William Ankner to minimize roughly $300,000 in cuts headed to the Capital Area Transit System.
