23 June 2012

Legislative regular session rankings, 2012

And we here go, presenting the 2012 Louisiana Legislature Log voting index scorecard. To make annual note of how the scorecard is constructed, the final chamber votes on a bill are used, coded so that higher scores equal a conservative/reform vote while lower scores indicates a liberal/populist vote. Votes are selected on bills where there was controversy (defined as both chambers having at least one yes and one no vote on them) and weighed in accordance to the perceived importance of the bill. With one exception, as negative votes are defined constitutionally as failure to meet the minimum standard for passage of one half plus one of the seated membership of a chamber, for a bill where an affirmative vote indicates a conservative/reform vote, voting absent is scored as voting the liberal/populist preference, and where an affirmative vote indicated a liberal/populist preference, voting absent is scored as voting the conservative/reform way, except if a member has taken leave that day, where the vote is not scored and the overall score adjusted accordingly. Finally, because of the various different rationales governing votes on finances, budget bills are not used in compiling the index.

Two exceptions to the above apply. On SB 577, because the nature of the bill had changed substantially when it got voted out of the Senate, the concurrence vote was used. On SCR 99, those who did not vote were counted as absent since the seated majority requirement does not apply to resolutions (as a court will soon affirm), and scores adjusted.

The bills used, most featured among this space’s good and bad ones, and their weighings in index composition are as follows:

16 June 2012

Legislative regular session through Jun. 16, 2012


Even though ten days remain for gubernatorial decisions on vetoes, he had whipped out everything by yesterday. That means next week the scorecard for legislators and the governor will appear. Thus, unless a historic veto override session emerges, the final scorecard for the regular session is below.

THIS WEEK FOR THE GOOD: SB 9 was signed by governor; SB 21 was filed by the secretary of state; SB 273 was signed by the governor; SB 565 was signed by the governor; SB 766 was signed by the governor.

THIS WEEK FOR THE BAD: HB 1144 was signed by the governor; SB 106 was signed by the governor; SB 750 was signed by the governor.

09 June 2012

Legislative regular session through Jun. 9, 2012


You can reduce the vigilance you keep on your wallet; the Louisiana Legislature has adjourned its 2012 regular session. Now all that remains is the final executive disposition of bills.

THIS WEEK FOR THE GOOD: HB 9 was filed with the secretary of state; HB 10 was signed by the governor; HB 61 was signed by the governor; HB 209 was signed by the governor; HB 292 was signed by the governor; HB 873 was signed by the governor; HB 942 was signed by the governor; HB 950 was signed by the governor; SB 9 was sent to the governor; SB 21 was sent to the governor; SB 273 was sent to the governor; SB 565 was sent to the governor; SB 633 was signed by the governor; SB 766 was sent to the governor.

THIS WEEK FOR THE BAD: HB 1144 was sent to the governor; SB 106 was sent to the governor; SB 285 was signed by the governor; SB 577 had conference report concurred in, was sent to the governor, and vetoed by the governor; SB 625 was signed by the governor; SB 750 was sent to the governor.

02 June 2012

Legislative regular session through Jun. 2, 2012


As sometimes happens in the home stretch, a bill gets its body snatched by another for something late breaking. That happened to HB 1144, which was a bad bill to begin with, but its mutated form was just as bad, as it makes non-daily newspapers (see the issue here) in Orleans Parish able to run legal notices. It remains bad because it perpetuates the archaic, useless, and wasteful idea that legal notices by government must appear in hard copy by a private publisher.

THIS WEEK FOR THE GOOD: HB 61 was sent to the governor; HB 209 passed the Senate and was sent to the governor; HB 292 was sent to the governor; HB 314 was signed by the governor; HB 707 was signed by the governor; HB 873 was sent to the governor; HB 942 was sent to the governor; HB 950 was concurred in by the Senate and was sent to the governor; SB 7 passed the House and was sent to the governor; SB 9 was passed by the House; SB 21 with minor amendment passed the House and was concurred by the Senate; SB 174 was signed by the governor; SB 273 passed House committee and passed the House; SB 565 was passed by the House and sent to the governor; SB 633 was concurred by the Senate and sent to the governor; SB 766 with minor amendment passed House committee, with minor amendment passed the House, and was concurred in by the Senate.

THIS WEEK FOR THE BAD: HB 1144 with major amendment passed the Senate and was concurred in by the House; SB 106 with minor amendment passed the House and was concurred in by the Senate; SB 285 was sent to the governor; SB 577 passed the House; SB 750 passed the House, was concurred in by the Senate, and was sent to the governor.