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Now that his freshman veneer has worn off, state Sen. Robert LeBreton “Bret” Allain II finds himself comfortably confident as he wades through the beginnings of the 2014 legislative session.
“It’s my third time around, I am no longer a virgin,” Allain said when asked of his approach to this year’s Baton Rouge get-together of lawmakers.
Combining tools he has honed through a lifetime of working as a sugar planter and business owner with new lessons learned during the earlier part of this, his first term, the 55-year-old Allain says he strives toward balance, between responsibilities to his direct constituents and toward the State of Louisiana as a whole.
“It is much more time-consuming and mentally challenging,” Allain said regarding the task of service overall. “Maybe I was naïve at first but it is more mentally challenging than I realized. It can be gratifying at times; I like helping people. All of that being said it is harder than I imagined.”
Allain is focused for now on the bigger picture of state budget issues, but is also looking for the entry points where items of local concern to his 21st district, which includes portions of Terrebonne and Lafourche along with Iberia and St. Mary parishes, are evident.
“I’ve been doing a lot of reading, doing the procedural stuff,” Allain said last week. “What we have been busiest with is getting familiar with the executive budget and seeing where we agree or if we disagree.”
Allain, who hails from Jeanerette, is communicating closely with local leadership in Terrebonne Parish, to be certain that he makes a proper pitch for capital outlays that will affect local projects.
Terrebonne’s plans for an emergency center located above Houma on La. Highway 11, Allain says, is a necessity that must be funded in this year’s state budget.
“We need an emergency center, in a central location and we think it is very important that we get that done, to help n the event of a hurricane or any other disaster.”
Allain’s legislative education has included the stark reality that the governor controls capital outlay, which means dialogue and politicking are necessary elements for a successful local outcome.
“The governor has every legislator up there pushing in one direction or another,” Allain said. “Each one is trying to make a better argument than the other guy. So we are working with his staff, but he makes a lot of final decisions.”
Decisions affecting the I-49 corridor are also a major focus of Allain’s energies, but he is pushing that project with diplomacy.
He has observed how unnecessary aggression during committee meetings, especially when it comes to projects that are of special concern to the executive branch, can be counter-productive.
“We are making strides all the time,” Allain said. “We have another overpass funded. If we can ever get through Lafayette and get the interchange done we would be Interstate compliant.”
Much of what relates to that project has been accomplished outside of the session, with meetings between Allain and other highway proponents and officials of the state DOTD, however.
But the capital outlay budget can make a difference in how federal authorities perceive the state’s overall I-49 commitment.
A big part of the session, for Allain, will include weighing in on bills filed by colleagues.
How he feels toward the overall volume of legislation is something he is playing close to the vest.
Allain serves on the finance, natural resource, health and welfare and agriculture committees; he is also vice-chair of the coastal protection committee.
The committee positions, Allain said, give him the opportunity to watch and hear the presentations proponents of certain bills are making.
He shied away from passing judgment for now on various instruments of fellow legislators, saying he would prefer to hear their pitches and those of advocates – as well as detractors – during committee hearings.
“That’s what those hearings are for,” he said.
He is aware that the federal Common Core curriculum is a source of heavy public attention, and that reform of legacy lawsuits – those brought against oil companies and other entities for past environmental damage – is being watched very closely.
“On all the rest, I haven’t gotten to the nuts and bolts yet,” Allain said.
It is too early in the session, he said, to get a handle on its tone. But to him the 2014 regular session “feels a little slower, not as hectic. That makes me a lot more comfortable with being a legislator.”
“Nobody teaches the political skills it takes to maneuver through it all, it’s the intricate part of being a legislator. The better ones learn quickly, by making good decisions. It’s your role to make good intelligent arguments about the needs of your people, represent your people well as persuasively as you can and communicate as effectively as possible.”
