All eyes on Baton Rouge: 2015 Legislative Session begins

When the clock struck high noon Monday, April 13, well over 4 million pairs of eyes turned collectively to Baton Rouge as the 41st Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature was called to order.
The session has garnered much attention locally, as well as others across the country, due to a $1.6 billion budget shortfall, higher education nightmare and Common Core to sort through, not to mention the likely national dreams of the outgoing governor’s political future.
But the work is falling to the legislators who will be around past January 2016 to fix those holes and other problems it has seen over the past year, or more.
That started Monday with the session officially convening and many prefiled bills to address the issues.
On the budget front, Greg Albrecht, the Legislature’s chief economist, estimates that 95 percent of this year’s tax bills would make individuals and companies pay more — a staunch difference from the administration’s typical modus operandi for Gov. Bobby Jindal’s previous seven years in office.
But, even Jindal himself, has seemed to trade ideals on the incentives. The governor, who addressed lawmakers to begin the session Monday, has presented one major tax idea in the weeks leading into the session.
His idea calls for ending the rebates that many companies receive when they pay the state inventory tax and 11 other taxes. Ending those rebates would raise $526 million. Naturally, business leaders aren’t too keen on the idea.
On the education front, colleges and universities across the state are bracing for more cuts once again due to the budget issues. That has not sat well with Rep. Jack Montoucet, D-Crowley, who was quick to point out how little taxes have been raised in recent years, but how much higher tuition has become.
“(Jindal) has not raised taxes, but he has raised the cost of colleges and declined Medicaid expansion for the people who can least afford it —I’m talking about the ‘working poor’,” said Montoucet.
Another about face by Jindal has come from the education sector when the governor openly called for the removal of Common Core and the PARCC testing associated with it.
“I care deeply about high, rigorous standards ... They were embedded in me at an early age,” Jindal said Monday in his address. “My father, who is here today, was not happy with straight As. If my brother or I got a 95 percent, he wanted to know what happened on the other 5 percent.”
The state is currently in its first full year of both the standards and testing. The decision to implement both came from the state Department of Education and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Now, Louisiana legislators are also taking up the mantle to end the state’s involvement and are suggesting replacement ideas.
Some have offered an amended return to the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) with prefiled House Bills 373 and 672. Others have looked to give Louisiana more power in defining standards, such as in House Bill 662.
Montoucet has also been vocal about Common Core in recent years, pointing mostly to the flaws in the implementation of the standards by the state.
“There weren’t enough resources to implement it,” he said. “Teachers didn’t have the resources.”
While not filing any bills about Common Core or the budget, Montoucet was quite busy in the prefiling stage ahead of the session this year, filing 13 bills to be argued, they include:
• House Bill 8: Authorizes the Crowley police chief to appoint, discipline and discharge police personnel.
The bill has been sent to the House Municipal, Parochial, and Cultural Affairs Committee.
• House Bill 28: Designates a portion of La. Hwy. 91 in Acadia Parish as the “Corporal Matthew Thomas Richard Memorial Highway.”
The bill has been sent to the House Transportation, Highways, and Public Works Committee.
• House Bill 147: Authorizes the town of Duson, in Acadia and Lafayette parishes, to levy and collect a hotel tax at a rate not to exceed 4 percent, subject to voter approval.
The bill has been sent to the House Municipal, Parochial, and Cultural Affairs Committee.
• House Bill 186: Requires that mammography and ultrasound reports provide a specific statement to patients regarding supplemental breast cancer screening.
The bill has been sent to House Health and Welfare Committee.
• House Bill 201: Provides for changes to the board of directors of the Acadia Parish Convention and Visitors Commission.
The bill has been sent to the House Municipal, Parochial, and Cultural Affairs Committee.
• House Bill 252: Levies an additional tax on cigars, cigarettes, smoking tobacco and smokeless tobacco and levies a tax on vapor products and electronic cigarettes.
The bill has been sent to the House Ways and Means Committee.
• House Bill 285: Removes the minimum fee and increases the maximum fee that the Structural Pest Control Commission may establish for each reported standard contract and each reported wood destroying insect report. It removes the authority to appoint a committee to make recommendations for the type of research needed.
The bill has been sent to the House Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development Committee.
• House Bill 447: Relative to the municipal fire and police civil service, requires persons selected for appointment to an entry level position as a firefighter in certain municipalities to complete a fire training academy prior to the start of the working test period.
The bill has been sent to the House Municipal, Parochial, and Cultural Affairs Committee.
• House Bill 477: Provides relative minimum cigarette pricing and related definitions, requirements, procedures and penalties.
The bill has been sent to the House Judiciary Committee.
• House Bill 636: Provides for registration fees for applications for exemptions on certain farming equipment.
The bill has been sent to the House Ways and Means Committee.
• House Bill 688: Relative to state Planning and Development District No. 4, authorizes the governor to designate another entity to represent the district.
The bill has been sent to the House Municipal, Parochial, and Cultural Affairs Committee.
• House Concurrent Resolution 8: Suspends the exemption for business utilities as to the 0.97 percent state sale and use tax levy for sales of steam, water, electric power or energy and natural gas until 60 days after the adjournment of the 2016 Regular Legislative Session.
The resolution has been sent to the House Ways and Means Committee.
• House Concurrent Resolution 15: Suspends until 60 days after final adjournment of the 2016 Regular Session of the Legislature the provisions of R.S. 47:305.54, 305.58, and 305.62 authorizing annual state sales tax holidays.
The resolution has been sent to the House Ways and Means Committee.
Meanwhile, Rep. Mickey Guillory, D-Eunice, has authored one prefiled bill: House Bill 641 which removes the requirement that the central computer monitoring system for gaming devices shall be located within the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, state police gaming division. That bill has been sent to the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee.
Across the way in the Senate, local legislatures have prefiled 10 combined bills.
Sen. Dan “Blade” Morrish, R-Jennings, has five on the agenda this year, including:
• Senate Bill 73: Defines a judicial agency for purposes of referring certain persons arrested for commission of a crime in housing or a temporary residence which is regulated by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
Action is pending in the Senate Judiciary B Committee.
• Senate Bill 76: Authorizes the Jefferson Davis Parish Assessment District to provide for an automobile expense allowance for the assessor.
Action is pending in the Senate Local and Municipal Affairs.
• Senate Bill 171: Provides for self-insured trust health insurance plans.
Action is pending in the Senate Insurance Committee.
• Senate Bill 172: Provides with respect to the Transportation Network Company Motor Vehicle Responsibility Law.
Action is pending in the Senate Insurance Committee.
• Senate Bill 216: Provides for the reorganization of the Louisiana Department of Insurance.
Action is pending in the Senate Insurance Committee.
Finally, Rep. Jonathan “J.P.” Perry, R-Kaplan, has put forth five bills. They are:
• Senate Bill 6: Names U.S. Highway 167 between the southern corporate limits of the village of Maurice and the northern corporate limits of the city of Abbeville in Vermilion Parish the “Deputy Allen Bares Jr. Memorial Parkway”.
Action is pending in the Senate Transportation, Highways, and Public Works Committee.
• Senate Bill 47: Provides technical changes to current law relative to the crime of driving while intoxicated.
Action is pending in the Senate Judiciary C Committee.
• Senate Bill 86: Provides relative to nepotism relating to school employees.
Action is pending in the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee.
• Senate Bill 87: Removes financial disclosure requirements for members of boards and commissions that do not earn compensation or per diem.
Action is pending in the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee.
• Senate Bill 119: Constitutional amendment to limit the number of constitutional amendments that may appear on a ballot. (Perry wants the number limited to no more than five amendments per election.)
Action is pending in the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee.