When Republican state Rep. Taylor Barras of New Iberia secured the Louisiana Speaker of the House’s gavel last week, it was a significant victory not just for him and the GOP, but also for Acadiana.
But, as Gannett Louisiana reports, the lack of any appointment north of Interstate 10 is making northern and central Louisiana lawmakers nervous.
The speaker wields great power over policy and projects, as does the Senate president and chairmen of what are consider the four “money committees” in the Legislature—Appropriations and Ways and Means in the House, and Finance and Revenue and Fiscal Affairs in the Senate.
Barras’ victory solidified Acadiana’s clout in what has shaped up as a decidedly New Orleans-area landscape in the power positions of the Legislature, with New Orleans Democrat JP Morrell announced as chairman of Finance and Democrat Eric LaFleur of Ville Platte, considered part of Acadiana, as chairman of Revenue and Fiscal Affairs.
“The needs of New Orleans aren’t the same as the needs of central Louisiana and northern Louisiana,” says state Sen. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, who was chairman of Revenue and Fiscal Affairs for eight years under former Gov. Bobby Jindal, but will chair the Labor Committee in the new term. “I want to make it clear that (LaFleur and Morrell) are both talented and capable. I’m just disappointed that there wasn’t more distribution of the power chairs in the Senate and in the way it’s shaping up in the House.”
Because of Barras’ unexpected victory, he hasn’t yet made the final decisions on his chairmen, although members believe he’s leaning toward Republican Rep. Cameron Henry of Metairie for Appropriations and possibly Democrat Rep. Neil Abramson of New Orleans for Ways and means.
“I’ve expressed my interest in Ways and Means to the speaker,” says Rep. Jay Morris, R-Monroe. “I believe it’s appropriate that all of Louisiana be represented on the money committees, but right now it’s tilting heavily toward southern Louisiana.”
