Nancy Rollins
February 1, 2008Grand Isle voters to elect mayor
February 6, 2008With a special session days away and the start of the regular legislative session set to begin in March, the Tri-parishes will be well represented in key committees.
State Sen. Reggie Dupre (D-Bourg) will head the Senate’s Natural Resources Committee, a post that wields considerable clout over coastal restoration issues.
State Sen. D.A. “Butch” Gautreaux, in the meantime, has been appointed to the Coastal Restoration and Flood Control committee, as well as Consumer Affairs and Technology and Homeland Security.
On the House side, newly elected State Rep. Jerry Gisclair (D-Larose) will sit on the House Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works, as well as the Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture and Rural Development and Natural Resources committees. All three play important roles dealing with issues of the 54th representative district such as infrastructure improvements, coastal erosion and farming and fisheries.
Rep. Damon Baldone of Houma is expected to play a key role as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Joint Legislative Committee on Capital Outlay, which play important roles in tax matters and the distribution of funding for state construction projects.
Baldone will also serve as vice chairman of the House Criminal Justice Committee.
New state Rep. Jerome “Dee” Richard (I-Thibodaux) also fared well for a freshman representative, landing positions on the House and Governmental Affairs Committee and on the House Ways and Means Committee as well.
Rep. Gordon Dove of Houma is slated to chair the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Environment, making both House and Senate panels led by local leaders. The committee has jurisdiction over mineral, oil and hunting and fishing issues as well as coastal resource and reconstruction matters.
Another political newcomer who fared well was Rep. Joe Harrison, a Republican from Napoleonville. Harrison landed a position on the House Appropriations Committee, which annually drafts spending priorities and the eventual state budget.
Local political observers came away satisfied that the power base of local officials was spread out well over the various committees to give the area needed representation on key legislative panels over the next four years.
