Displaying items by tag: Louisiana legislature
Louisiana High Auto Rates Task Force holds first meeting
On Tuesday, August 21, the Louisiana High Auto Rates Task Force held its first meeting at the Department of Insurance. The newly appointed task force was formed to look into high auto insurance rates in the State of Louisiana and make recommendations to the legislature for actions to lower rates. The 2018 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature passed a House Concurrent Resolution (HCR 47) and Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR 55) urging and requesting the Louisiana Department of Insurance to assemble a task force to address the high cost of auto insurance during the 2018 Regular Session.
2 Baton Rouge area, 5 New Orleans area legislators get perfect LABI scores
On Tuesday, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) released the 20th edition of its Legislative Scorecard highlighting the leaders who voted for a solid foundation of policies that promote economic growth and job creation across the Pelican State.
For the greater New Orleans region, Sen. Conrad Appel (R-Metairie) and Reps. Patrick Connick (R-Marrero), Raymond Garofalo (R-Chalmette), Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge), and Polly Thomas (R-Metairie) were named “Most Valuable Policymaker” (MVP) for earning a perfect score on major legislation that affected the state’s economy. Reps. Stephanie Hilferty (R-Metairie), Cameron Henry (R-Metairie) and Julie Stokes (R-Kenner) were named “LABI All-Stars” for scoring 90 percent or higher on legislation selected for analysis. Rep. Joseph Marino (I-Gretna) was given a “LABI Honorable Mention” for scoring 80 percent or higher on bills selected for the Scorecard analysis.
And you thought Louisiana legislature couldn't take a yoke? What about California?
For years, legislators in Louisiana have maintained a well-deserved reputation of irrelevance when it comes to substantively addressing a host of public issues. The mantra seems to be one of keeping a finger in the financial dike to get through the next fiscal year, and side stepping a host of idiosyncratic concerns that include bestiality, hair braiding and sports betting. But if you think Louisiana has an oddball legislature that leans toward quirky solutions to non- existent problems, check out California that has moved a notch ahead of us here in the Deep South.
Waguespack: The very long list of Louisiana's needs
by Stephen Waguespack, President and CEO of Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI)
In 1994, after two years under the Clinton administration and decades more toiling as the minority party in Congress, Republicans decided they needed a plan to better communicate with the American people and detail the specific actions they promised to take if they assumed leadership in Congress in the upcoming elections. They suspected their ideas would resonate with a country growing more conservative by the day, but they knew the President’s bully pulpit and rapport with the mainstream media made it difficult to get those ideas heard by voters around the country. They knew they needed a workaround. Thus, the Contract with America was born.
Louisiana still bottom feeding under Governor John Bel Edwards
In the same week that CNBC ranked Texas as the state with the best economy in the nation, Bankrate listed Louisiana as the 4th worst state in the nation to retire. Analyst Taylor Tepper cited the state’s “very high crime,” as one of the reasons for the poor ranking. This makes sense because retirees usually do not want to move to a state where they will be robbed or murdered.
Louisiana legislature needs better marks on preschool and child-care funding
Legislators were high fiving this week over the balancing of the state budget by increasing the already highest sales tax in the nation. Fully funding the TOPS tuition program for college students became the centerpiece for much of the discussion. But through all the euphoria of self-congratulation, lost in the shuffle was the failure to address or even discuss early childhood learning and funding the child-care assistance program.
Louisiana budget deal should provide stability not more cuts?
Fiscal Cliff fixed: Tyler Bridges gives Louisiana budget deal overview
Finally, after three special sessions and a regular one, it's time to relax, do the things that hard-working legislators (and governors) long to do after a long grueling hard-fought battle over the budget--pick up the pieces of one's life and, if at all possible, spend quality time with family, check out those hires burning at the office and hopefully take a moment of leisure.
The fiscal cliff, that seemingly insurmountable object in front of every legislative session since Bobby Jindal took his shot at taming the budget, is fixed. Yes, fixed. At least, on paper and hopefully, in reality, until perhaps, the next mid-decade.
The Louisiana legislators and governor, who have spent almost every day in session since mid-February of this year, have settled upon a budget deal that reduces the sales tax from five cents to 4.45 cents. Today, The Advocate reporter Tyler Bridges, who has been there with the legislators as each tick has tocked on the capitol clock, took a few moments to discuss with me--the session and the budget agreement. The interview occured via Facebook and Twitter Live.
Below is the video transcript of the relevant portions of the interview with Bridges, who will also soon post a "behind the budget deal scene" article for The Advocate.
Is Louisiana legislative session nearing agreement on sales tax increase?
According to a tweet by Times Picayune capitol bureau reporter Julia O'Donoghue, who knows, there might be some type of compromise in the legislature during the special session. The reporter indicated today that the "Talk is that the new sales tax rate that they will be trying to pass in the House is a 4.45 sales tax rate. That's between the 4.4 sales tax rate the House GOP wanted and the 4.5 sales tax rate".
Geymann talks Louisiana budget misalignment: Jindal, Higher Ed, Medicaid
Is there some way that Louisiana can gets its budgetary house in order? What is the problem? Did it begin under current Governor John Bel Edwards? Is Medicaid the culprit? Can we reform higher ed?
On Tuesday, I discussed the budget with former State Representative Brett Geymann, a budget hawk, who was term-limited and who left the legislature after the 2015 election. Geymann believes that the state budget should be tied to the economy and we will publish his thoughts on this tomorrow, as we went more into detail on that issue in the latter part of the Facebook, Twitter and Youtube Live discussion.
Dead Pelican
