WEDNESDAY: HB 80, HB 337, and HB 415 are scheduled to be heard in the House and Governmental Affairs Committee; HB 146 and HB 242 are scheduled to be heard in the House Health and Welfare Committee; SB 146 is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.
THURSDAY: SB 283 is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Education Committee; SB 47 are scheduled to be heard in the Senate Local and Municipal Affairs Committee.
WEDNESDAY: HB 80, HB 337, and HB 415 are scheduled to be heard in the House and Governmental Affairs Committee; HB 146 and HB 242 are scheduled to be heard in the House Health and Welfare Committee; SB 146 is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.
THURSDAY: SB 283 is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Education Committee; SB 47 are scheduled to be heard in the Senate Local and Municipal Affairs Committee.
COMMITTEE ACTION: Term limits were on the minds of the House and Governmental Affairs Committee as it heard HB 80, HB 337, and HB 497. Interestingly, none of these bills had anything directly to do with them, but some involved in the testimony asserted the link.
The first two bills would change the state election cycle to having these elections every fourth year divisible by four, i.e. presidential election years. Rep. Bobby Faucheux spoke for his bill, HB 337, by stressing the amount of money the state would save. The author of HB 80, Rep. Peppi Bruneau, spoke next pointing out that 43 states already have some or all of their state elections during national elections and that participation in them ought to increase.
Bruneau also volunteered that this legislation was not an extra year dodge of term limits. He reminded his listeners that the Constitution prohibited shortening of current terms so there was no choice but to extend terms a year.
Without objection, the committee sailed his bill through, missing a chance to use these bills to correct the big problem in length of service – the fact that term limits apply only to consecutive service in a chamber, not the entire Legislature. An easy amendment to make would have been to get rid of this loophole, giving officials an extra year in exchange for terms limits the way they ought to be.
Perhaps even more interesting was Rep. Jack Smith’s bill, which calls for a constitutional convention in August wherein the delegates are the 144 members of the Legislature. Smith said "goofballs" say we're trying to weaken term limits and that “everybody” knew the Constitution needed fixing.
Smith ate those remarks awhile later when former legislator and now head of the Louisiana Family Forum Dan Richey identified himself as the “goofball” in question and reiterated his opposition to the convention, among other things, as a backdoor attempt to get rid of terms limits. Smith apologized for the monnicker but said Richey’s opinion was “goofballish” because he contemplated no such move against term limits.
Committee chairman Rep. Charlie Lancaster tries to substitute in a motion for more restrictions on the open-ended convention (which would need voter approval of any of its products) but only Rep. Mert Smiley joined him. They also were the on the losing end of the 4-2 vote approving the bill.
Interestingly, Rep. Loulan Pitre voted for this bill even though his HB 157 would have a much more limited convention called; his vote against could have killed it. His thinking here may have been that with his bill, now pending floor approval, would put in place the limits not there in HB 497.
FLOOR ACTION: HB 98 is an example of good intentions gone awry. Rep. Monica Walker’s motivation is to prevent people from refusing to take a sobriety test and being able to keep their license. She seemed to discount the possibility that those arrested were not guilty yet they would automatically lose use of their license (although it could be reinstated). She also did not see it as a problem, as Reps. Rick Gallot and Derrick Shepherd pointed out, that these citizens would then have to go through administrative process, even if the charges immediately were dropped and somebody was not guilty. Bruneau blasted the measure, arguing it took away the presumption of innocence.
(Let me tell you, from personal experience, I have known people pulled over and arrested for DWI who had not had a drink in 24 hours, because of overzealous law enforcement especially around the end of the month, after “inconclusive” breathalyzer tests. Despite what Walker thinks, it can happen. Thus, innocent people can get railroaded into having their licenses yanked under HB 98.)
Walker still said driving still could be legal, one would have to go through the process. But what she doesn’t recognize is the additional burden this places on innocent citizens. Fortunately, the House recognized this danger to our civil liberties and defeated the measure 57-36.
QUOTES OF THE DAY: “You might as well put on the crash helmets on Harrison Avenue in New Orleans”
Rep. Peppi Bruneau, on the propensity of senior citizens to swerve around Lakefront New Orleans on Mondays which could get them pulled over for DWI.
“This might **** some people off … oh, sorry Mr. Speaker!”
Walker during her closing remarks on HB 98.
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