Lawmakers rate 2011 session

Understanding how the 2011 regular session of the Louisiana Legislature went depends on who is offering their assessment. Among the Tri-parish’s eight-member delegation, reviews are mixed.

After much debate and haggling, lawmakers passed a balanced $25 billion operating budget and with it were able to avoid cutting pay for state workers, who were required to deposit more into benefits, and selling off property including three state prisons.

The state’s public colleges were given authorization to increase tuition up to 10 percent for the fall semester of 2011 as four-year and technical institutions were offered permission to match charges to students. Originating with House Speaker Jim Tucker (R-Terrytown), HB-549 offers colleges and universities greater autonomy while requiring fuller accountability in spending.

A bill sponsored by Rep. Joe Harrison (R-Houma) was intended to put the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium in Chauvin under direct authority of Nicholls State University. When HB-56 ran into opposition, it was changed to call for a feasibility study on the proposition. With that modification, Nicholls State was offered full partnership in the consortium with LSU, Tulane, the University of New Orleans and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

“We do not know which form the bill is in at this point in time,” Nicholls State University President Stephen Hulbert said when asked about LUMCON legislation. “As such, we cannot respond in regard to the action that may have been taken. LUMCON remains inevitably important to Nicholls for its research value.”

Following a battle between legislators and Gov. Bobby Jindal, voters will be given an opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment that would make the state’s 4 cent a pack cigarette tax permanent. This tax, through the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, is designed to ease the costs of public education with the generation of an estimated $12 million generated from tobacco sales.

State Sen. D.A. “Butch” Gautreaux sponsored SB-6, which requires public schools that draw money from the Teacher’s Retirement System of Louisiana, which was itself given $40 million from tobacco settlements, to repay the system the school district’s share of retirement debt.

Several bills presented this session targeted sex crimes and banned the use of social networking sites for sexual activities involving minors.

Lawmakers passed one bill that allows video screens that show DVDs in the front seats of motor vehicles. Another law requires contractors to verify legal citizenship of workers or face a three-year ban from public projects.

Two of the most controversial of measures that failed to become law were the abolishment of a state income tax and a proposed merger of the University of New Orleans with the Southern University at New Orleans.

By Friday evening, a total of 117 House and Senate bills had become law, while leftover pieces of legislation were either killed, died in committee, were listed as commendations, or had yet to receive the governor’s signature.

Reviewing what they brought to the session and their opinions on the results, regionally elected officials offered their assessments.

State Sen. Norby Chabert (R-Houma)

Stating that he does not value swamping a session with multiple proposals, state Sen. Norby Chabert placed his full sponsoring effort into SB-240, which would have placed controls on oyster leases and addressed losses from last year’s BP oil spill, the offshore drilling moratorium and freshwater flooding from this spring.

“This was a bill with a lot of moving parts,” Chabert said. “We decided to do a study resolution and come back next year with some findings to try to move forward.”

Chabert characterized the overall legislative session as contentious. “The governor is really taking his lumps,” he said. “It is one of those situations where there is a serious lack of leadership from the House or the Senate or the governor. Individual senators and representatives tended to run the session.”

State Sen. D.A. “Butch” Gautreaux (D-Morgan City)

“This is it,” Gautreaux said less than 30 minutes after the adjournment call was made. Because of term limits, this session marked the end of a 16-year run for Gautreaux, who said he has no future political aspirations and declined to reveal plans for after working in Baton Rouge.

Gautreaux had presented 11 pieces of legislation during his final Senate session. Among them, SB-3 boosts retirement benefits for sheriffs and allows for the transfer of service credits to pension funds.

Bills presented by Gautreaux that failed included provisions to change eligibility requirements and calculation of state employee retirement plans, and one that would establish a cap on the TOPS system. He also sponsored a series of resolutions that would investigate boosting state employee benefits.

Gautreaux did not finish his final session before taking jabs at Jindal. From the Senate floor he said in a prepared statement, from which he diverted on a regular basis, that Jindal had harmed the state more than helped it. Gautreaux blasted the governor as the most traveled elected official in the state’s history. He also claimed that Jindal’s policies had resulted in the cutting of government jobs and loss of educational financing.

“I look forward to a lot of good things for my district and the state of Louisiana,” Gautreaux said, taking on a more positive tone as he prepared to end his day. “I feel good about the accomplishments I made.”

State Rep. Damon Baldone (D-Houma)

“My bills weren’t too successful this year,” state Rep. Damon Baldone said. One effort made by Baldone that did not succeed was his attempt to recall redistricting measures passed during an added session at the first of this year.

“[That was] trying to put Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes back together,” Baldone said. “That one did not succeed. I don’t know why.”

Other bills presented by Baldone died in committee. He did offer one resolution that calls on Congress to fund regional counterdrug training for local law enforcement agencies.

“It was a really tough session with the fiscal crisis we had,” Baldone said. “There are cuts to education and health care that I don’t think are necessary. The governor didn’t allow us to do the wishes of the people.”

State Rep. Gordon Dove (R-Houma)

As chairman of the House Natural Resources committee, Rep. Gordon Dove said he was pleased with having secured approval for $444 million in coastal restoration projects. “I thought we got what we needed,” Dove said.

Dove said that $2.5 million had been allocated for the John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University. “This was really a jobs creation bill,” he said. “Remember, every supply boat, every drilling rig, every oilfield and restaurant have cooks and chefs. So, the culinary institute is really a job creator.”

“We got done some of the things we needed and got other things to look at next year,” Dove said.

State Rep. Jerry “Truck” Gisclair (D-Larose)

“It’s been a tough session,” state Rep. Jerry “Truck” Gisclair said. “It’s just a tough time for Louisiana with shrimp prices down and oil fields just gearing up [after last year’s BP oil spill].”

Gisclair introduced five bills and two resolutions this session. Of the bills that passed, one requires sex offenders that attend state colleges to register with campus police within 24 hours of their first day of class.

A measure presented by Gisclair and backed by the Greater Lafourche Port Commission, calls for specialized training for local chiefs of police from the Department of Homeland Security.

A so-called mullet bill was signed into law and allows the taking of mullet for use as bait by commercial fishermen in Louisiana.

One resolution presented by Gisclair and adopted into law calls for a uniform construction code to be utilized throughout the state. “This one is very important,” Gisclair said. “[It] is directing the construction code council to study and recommend changes to the state uniform construction code.” The point of this measure, Gisclair said, was to head off selective enforcement of codes and require third party inspections.

“Hopefully, we made the turn,” Gisclair said of the controversial session. “[Perhaps we] will see better days ahead of us.”

State Rep. Joe Harrison (R-Gray)

“Probably one of the worst experiences of my life,” state Rep. Joe Harrison said when asked for his assessment of the legislative session. “There was a lack of direction, a lack of planning and leadership.”

Of the five bills presented by Harrison, one that advanced beyond committee doubles the number of names that can be submitted for consideration of appointment to freshwater districts.

Resolutions backed by Harrison included those calling for studying the practice of credit scoring as related to insurance coverage. Another calls for a feasibility study of Medicaid by the Department of Health and Hospitals and the Department of Education to fund school nurse positions.

“Our strategy [this year] was how you feel the day you wake up,” Harrison said. “This part-time job is killing me. I’m ready to come home.”

State Rep. Sam Jones (D-Franklin)

“I think we did as good as we could [on the state budget] given the circumstances and lack of revenue on it,” state Rep. Sam Jones said.

“One thing we did of interest for the Tri-parish, is we concurred on an additional supplement bill that put aside $2.5 million to reimburse the St. Mary Levee District for cost charging on the Bayou Chene project,” Jones said. “I think it saved flooding of Terrebonne as well as St. Mary Parishes, and lower St. Martin and Assumption parishes.”

Jones confirmed that FEMA reimbursements are expected to cover the balance of an estimated $5 million cost to construct a sunken barge complex on Bayou Chene during May flooding from the Atchafalaya Basin.

Jones pulled one bill he had introduced that would have ended a requirement of continued education for Realtors over the age of 65. He said a modified version of this bill could be introduced next year.

“Sometimes you are concerned how [a legislative session] will work out,” Jones said. “This one we were not sure. It was democracy at its best and at its worst.”

State Rep. Jerome “Dee” Richard (I-Thibodaux)

Disappointment was the word most commonly used by state Rep. Jerome “Dee” Richard regarding the legislative session. “I’m disappointed that the merge of [UNO and SUNO] didn’t happen,” he said. “I’m disappointed that there is no reform in state government. I’m disappointed in the budget.”

Richard presented a proposal for additional charges in tuition set by colleges and universities that failed. However, his call for a 10 percent reduction in state professional, personal and consulting service contracts made it through the system.

One bill presented by Richard called for a reduction in the number of positions in the executive branch of state government. The measure would reduce the size of state government and save taxpayers, according to Richard, $300 million. The measure was last seen held up in committee.

Tri-parish lawmakers agreed that the legislative session of 2011 was at best a challenge. Among their numbers, some considered themselves winners, while others were upset with what their time in Baton Rouge did not produce. The question they all agreed upon was one of uncertainty on how the results of this session might impact their constituents and what might be expected next year.

Louisiana state Sen. Norby Chabert (R-Houma), left, talks with Gov. Bobby Jindal in the Louisiana State Senate chamber on the final day of regular legislative session in Baton Rouge. GERALD HERBERT