And now, the final disposition of bills from the 2009 regular session of the Louisiana Legislature, as well as Gov. Bobby Jindal’s legislative scorecard.
THIS MONTH FOR THE GOOD: HB 148 was signed by the governor; HB 765 was filed with the Secretary of State; HB 902 was signed by the governor; SB 2 was signed by the governor; SB 195 was signed by the governor; SB 223 was signed by the governor; SB 267 was signed by the governor.
THIS MONTH FOR THE BAD: HB 179 was signed by the governor; HB 458 was signed by the governor; HB 538 was signed by the governor; HB 591 became law without the signature of the governor; HB 612 was signed by the governor; HB 855 was signed by the governor; HB 898 was signed by the governor; SB 43 was signed by the governor; SB 245 was vetoed by the governor; SB 256 was signed by the governor; SB 259 was signed by the governor; SB 277 was signed by the governor.
SCORECARD:
Total number of bills, House: 904; total number of bills, Senate: 351.
Total number of good bills, House: 34; total number of good bills, Senate: 18.
Total number of bad bills, House: 45; total number of bad bills, Senate: 20.
Total House good bills heard in House committee: 29; total Senate good bills heard in Senate committee: 12.
Total House bad bills heard in House committee: 39; total Senate bad bills heard in Senate committee: 14.
Total House good bills passed by House committee: 12; total Senate good bills passed by Senate committee: 9.
Total House bad bills passed by House committee: 14; total Senate bad bills passed by Senate committee: 8.
Total House good bills approved by House: 9; total Senate good bills approved by Senate: 8.
Total House bad bills approved by House: 10; total Senate bad bills approved by Senate: 8.
Total House good bills heard in Senate committee: 8; total Senate good bills heard in House committee: 8.
Total House bad bills heard in Senate committee: 9; total Senate bad bills heard in House committee: 7.
Total House good bills approved by Senate committee: 8; total Senate good bills approved by House committee: 7
Total House bad bills approved by Senate committee: 9; total Senate bad bills approved by House committee: 7
Total House good bills approved by Senate: 5; total Senate good bills approved by House: 7.
Total House bad bills approved by Senate: 8; total Senate bad bills approved by House: 6.
Total House good bills going to governor: 4; total Senate good bills going to governor: 4.
Total House bad bills going to governor: 7; total Senate bad bills going to governor: 6.
Total House good bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 4; total Senate good bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 4.
Total House bad bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 7; total Senate bad bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 5.
Jindal will be rated using on the one bill that was used in the House and Senate rankings that passed both bodies in identical form. Several others were chosen from among the other good and bad, with the following weighings:
HB 591 (10 percent) – relaxes lobbyist rules to allow groups of at least 10 legislators to get more food and drink paid for at certain events; a conservative/reform action is to veto
HB 612 (15 percent) – lowers graduation standards for some students; a conservative/reform action is to veto.
HB 898 (10 percent) – continues without end corporate welfare for the film industry; a conservative/reform action is to veto.
SB 2 (25 percent) – permits greater flexibility in budgetary deficit situations; a conservative/reform action is to allow it to become law.
SB 195 – (15 percent) – requires appointees to offices to report campaign contributions given to those who appointed them of $1,000 or greater; a conservative/reform action is to allow it to become law.
SB 223 (15 percent) – gives greater latitude for schools to remove disruptive students and notification of parents of that behavior; a conservative/reform action is to allow it to become law.
SB 267 (10 percent) – provides greater ability to transfer money among funds in a budgetary deficit situation; a conservative/reform action is to allow it to become law.
Jindal signed or allowed to become law without his signature all of these bills, thus he scored a 65, slightly more conservative/reformist than the House and much more than the Senate. It must be noted that because of the very different scales, however, these scores are not directly comparable.
Until next time, probably the next regular session, the Log signs off.
11 July 2009
Legislative regular session wrap-up and rankings: Senate, 2009
This week will be presented the scorecard for Senate members for the 2009 regular session. Senators will be graded on their votes on a bill which passed both chambers, one that passed the Senate but not the House, two which passed both chambers in different forms, and three which failed to pass the House only which are similar bills to those that failed to pass the Senate only. The highest score of 100 represents a perfect conservative/reform voting record, while the lowest score of 0 represents a perfect liberal/populist voting record. The seven bills and their weighings are:
HB 591 (10 percent) – would relax lobbyist rules to allow groups of at least 10 legislators to get more food and drink paid for at certain events; a conservative/reform vote is against.
HB 689 (25 percent) – would reverse tax deductions that began in 2009; a conservative/reform vote is against.
HB 340 (10 percent) – would strengthen religious freedoms in the state Constitution; a conservative/reform vote is for.
SB 183 (5 percent) – would allow universities to raise tuition and fees without requiring a two-thirds vote of the Legislature; a conservative/reform vote is for.
SB 335 (25 percent) – would reverse tax deductions that began in 2009; a conservative/reform vote is against.
SB 37 amendment #2343 (15 percent) – vote on an amendment for the bill which would have forced unelected tax authorities to put millage increases to a vote during regular state or federal elections before they took effect, which removed so many jurisdictions as to effectively moot the bill; a conservative/reform vote is against.
SB 186 (10 percent) – would have banned smoking in almost all commercial establishments that serve food; a conservative/reform vote is for.
(Since an absence is counted as a “no” vote, that also is reflected in these ranking unless the legislator asked for leave on the day of the vote. In that case, the vote if the overall vote was a defeat is removed from the ranking and the score adjusted to reflect only those votes that occurred when the legislator was not on leave. Votes on amendments, which have different passage rules, that are part of the rankings are adjusted for absences regardless of whether leave was taken.)
The Senate turned out much more liberal/populist than the house, with an average score of just under 37. Only eight senators even were above 50, and two of these were Democrats meaning 10 from the GOP scored below. A quintet of Republicans scored as high as 90 but no perfect scores were reached unlike in the House, but two perfect scores in the opposite were registered by Democrats, Lydia Jackson and Eric LaFleur. Some reversals were stunning in their scope as compared to last year among Republicans; swinging at least 30 points away from conservatism/reformism were, in order of magnitude, Danny Martiny, Blade Morrish, Sherri Smith Cheek, Julie Quinn, and (representing a drop from 70 to 25) Gerald Long, while swinging at least that much towards conservatism/reformism were, in order of magnitude, A.G. Crowe, Jack Donahue, and (representing a gain from 55 to 90), Buddy Shaw. Amazingly, last year’s (tied for) most liberal/populist Republican, Robert Adley, actually continued in that direction scoring just a 12 and ranking closer to this end than all but seven Democrats.
In sum, because the six that were above 50 scored well above it, the GOP average was still above 50 at about 57, while Democrats averaged around 26. Nick Gautreaux, a Democrat, and Republicans Mike Walsworth and Neil Riser were the only senators to score high this year as well as last, while making significant moves in the liberal/populist direction (moving down at least 30 points, in order of magnitude) were Francis Thompson, Jackson, Pres. Joel Chaisson, Reggie Dupre and, with an incredible 55 point drop, David Heitmeier.
Next week will feature the governor’s score and a wrapup on all bills. Here is the complete list of senators:
Appel 90 Republican
Crowe 90 Republican
Donahue 90 Republican
Shaw 90 Republican
Walsworth 90 Republican
Riser 85 Republican
Gautreaux, N 75 Democrat
Smith, J 65 Democrat
Alario 47 Democrat
Marionneaux 44 Democrat
Claitor 40 Republican
Hebert 40 Democrat
Kostelka 40 Republican
Gautreaux, B 30 Democrat
Mount 29 Democrat
Quinn 29 Republican
Cheek 25 Republican
Erdey 25 Republican
Long 25 Republican
Nevers 25 Democrat
Broome 24 Democrat
Amedee 20 Democrat
Duplessis 18 Democrat
Martiny 18 Republican
Morrish 18 Republican
Dorsey 15 Democrat
Gray Evans 15 Democrat
Guillory, E 15 Democrat
Michot 15 Republican
Morrell 15 Democrat
Thompson 15 Democrat
Adley 12 Republican
McPherson 10 Democrat
Chaisson 5 Democrat
Dupre 5 Democrat
Heitmeier 5 Democrat
Murray 5 Democrat
Jackson, L 0 Democrat
LaFleur 0 Democrat
HB 591 (10 percent) – would relax lobbyist rules to allow groups of at least 10 legislators to get more food and drink paid for at certain events; a conservative/reform vote is against.
HB 689 (25 percent) – would reverse tax deductions that began in 2009; a conservative/reform vote is against.
HB 340 (10 percent) – would strengthen religious freedoms in the state Constitution; a conservative/reform vote is for.
SB 183 (5 percent) – would allow universities to raise tuition and fees without requiring a two-thirds vote of the Legislature; a conservative/reform vote is for.
SB 335 (25 percent) – would reverse tax deductions that began in 2009; a conservative/reform vote is against.
SB 37 amendment #2343 (15 percent) – vote on an amendment for the bill which would have forced unelected tax authorities to put millage increases to a vote during regular state or federal elections before they took effect, which removed so many jurisdictions as to effectively moot the bill; a conservative/reform vote is against.
SB 186 (10 percent) – would have banned smoking in almost all commercial establishments that serve food; a conservative/reform vote is for.
(Since an absence is counted as a “no” vote, that also is reflected in these ranking unless the legislator asked for leave on the day of the vote. In that case, the vote if the overall vote was a defeat is removed from the ranking and the score adjusted to reflect only those votes that occurred when the legislator was not on leave. Votes on amendments, which have different passage rules, that are part of the rankings are adjusted for absences regardless of whether leave was taken.)
The Senate turned out much more liberal/populist than the house, with an average score of just under 37. Only eight senators even were above 50, and two of these were Democrats meaning 10 from the GOP scored below. A quintet of Republicans scored as high as 90 but no perfect scores were reached unlike in the House, but two perfect scores in the opposite were registered by Democrats, Lydia Jackson and Eric LaFleur. Some reversals were stunning in their scope as compared to last year among Republicans; swinging at least 30 points away from conservatism/reformism were, in order of magnitude, Danny Martiny, Blade Morrish, Sherri Smith Cheek, Julie Quinn, and (representing a drop from 70 to 25) Gerald Long, while swinging at least that much towards conservatism/reformism were, in order of magnitude, A.G. Crowe, Jack Donahue, and (representing a gain from 55 to 90), Buddy Shaw. Amazingly, last year’s (tied for) most liberal/populist Republican, Robert Adley, actually continued in that direction scoring just a 12 and ranking closer to this end than all but seven Democrats.
In sum, because the six that were above 50 scored well above it, the GOP average was still above 50 at about 57, while Democrats averaged around 26. Nick Gautreaux, a Democrat, and Republicans Mike Walsworth and Neil Riser were the only senators to score high this year as well as last, while making significant moves in the liberal/populist direction (moving down at least 30 points, in order of magnitude) were Francis Thompson, Jackson, Pres. Joel Chaisson, Reggie Dupre and, with an incredible 55 point drop, David Heitmeier.
Next week will feature the governor’s score and a wrapup on all bills. Here is the complete list of senators:
Appel 90 Republican
Crowe 90 Republican
Donahue 90 Republican
Shaw 90 Republican
Walsworth 90 Republican
Riser 85 Republican
Gautreaux, N 75 Democrat
Smith, J 65 Democrat
Alario 47 Democrat
Marionneaux 44 Democrat
Claitor 40 Republican
Hebert 40 Democrat
Kostelka 40 Republican
Gautreaux, B 30 Democrat
Mount 29 Democrat
Quinn 29 Republican
Cheek 25 Republican
Erdey 25 Republican
Long 25 Republican
Nevers 25 Democrat
Broome 24 Democrat
Amedee 20 Democrat
Duplessis 18 Democrat
Martiny 18 Republican
Morrish 18 Republican
Dorsey 15 Democrat
Gray Evans 15 Democrat
Guillory, E 15 Democrat
Michot 15 Republican
Morrell 15 Democrat
Thompson 15 Democrat
Adley 12 Republican
McPherson 10 Democrat
Chaisson 5 Democrat
Dupre 5 Democrat
Heitmeier 5 Democrat
Murray 5 Democrat
Jackson, L 0 Democrat
LaFleur 0 Democrat
06 July 2009
Legislative regular session wrap-up and rankings: House, 2009
This week will be presented the scorecard for House members for the 2009 regular session. Representatives will be graded on their votes on a bill which passed both chambers, one that passed the Senate but not the House, two which passed both chambers in different forms, and three which failed to pass the House only which are similar bills to those that failed to pass the Senate only. The highest score of 100 represents a perfect conservative/reform voting record, while the lowest score of 0 represents a perfect liberal/populist voting record. The seven bills and their weighings are:
HB 591 (10 percent) – would relax lobbyist rules to allow groups of at least 10 legislators to get more food and drink paid for at certain events; a conservative/reform vote is against.
HB 689 (25 percent) – would reverse tax deductions that began in 2009; a conservative/reform vote is against.
HB 340 (10 percent) – would strengthen religious freedoms in the state Constitution; a conservative/reform vote is for.
SB 183 (5 percent) – would allow universities to raise tuition and fees without requiring a two-thirds vote of the Legislature; a conservative/reform vote is for.
HB 889 (25 percent) – would raise taxes on tobacco; a conservative/reform vote is against.
HB 705 (15 percent) – would introduce by the law the comparable worth concept into how many private businesses in the state would have to base salaries; a conservative/reform vote is against.
HB 844 (10 percent) – would have banned smoking in almost all commercial establishments that serve food; a conservative/reform vote is for.
(Since an absence is counted as a “no” vote, that also is reflected in these ranking unless the legislator asked for leave on the day of the vote. In that case, the vote if the overall vote was a defeat is removed from the ranking and the score adjusted to reflect only those votes that occurred when the legislator was not on leave. Votes on amendments, which have different passage rules, that are part of the rankings are adjusted for absences regardless of whether leave was taken.)
The results were interesting for several reasons. First, unlike in past years the eligible range of bills was fairly narrow, due to a high incidence of legislation passing at least one house unanimously. Second, a huge gap opened between Republicans and Democrats, with the former averaging close to 80 and the latter just over 35 (even though three scored a remarkable 90, the highest ever for any Democrat), representing a huge ideological split in the body (the three independents, two of whom lean to the Republicans and one to the Democrats, averaged 56 2/3’s.) Third, while in past years rarely did any Republican score a 100 and no Democrat ever took home a 0, this time 3 from the GOP bagged perfect scores, and an amazing 10 Democrats scored perfectly in reverse.
As a whole, the body averaged around 57. Jim Fannin, Mickey Guillory, and Major Thibaut were the three high-scoring Democrats, and 16 others were above 50. At the very bottom were Elton Aubert, Jared Brossett, Roy Burrell, Herbert Dixon, A.B. Franklin, Rick Gallot, Rickey Hardy, Reed Henderson, Girod Jackson, and Patrick Williams. For Republicans, the three scoring perfectly were Tim Burns, Franklin Foil, and Hunter Greene. Only two of them scored below 50, Ernest Wooton and Hollis Downs.
Here is the complete list (recall that District 40 is vacant), to be followed by senators and the governor next week:
Burns, T 100 Republican
Foil 100 Republican
Greene 100 Republican
Burford 90 Republican
Cortez 90 Republican
Cromer 90 Republican
Dove 90 Republican
Fannin 90 Democrat
Guillory, M 90 Democrat
Hazel 90 Republican
Henry 90 Republican
Hutter 90 Republican
Kleckley 90 Republican
LaBruzzo 90 Republican
Monica 90 Republican
Pearson 90 Republican
Schroder 90 Republican
Thibaut 90 Democrat
Waddell 90 Republican
Morris 85 Republican
Perry 85 Republican
Pope 85 Republican
Smith, J 85 Republican
Talbot 85 Republican
Barras 80 Democrat
Billiot 80 Democrat
Burns, H 80 Republican
Connick 80 Republican
Guinn 80 Republican
Katz 80 Republican
Ligi 80 Republican
Little 80 Republican
Lopinto 80 Republican
McVea 80 Republican
Mills 80 Democrat
Nowlin 80 Republican
Ponti 80 Republican
Pugh 80 Republican
Richard 80 Independent
Richardson 80 Republican
Simon 80 Republican
Smiley 80 Republican
Tucker 80 Republican
Wilmott 80 Republican
Badon, B 75 Democrat
Carter 75 Republican
Champagne 75 Democrat
Chandler 75 Democrat
Geymann 75 Republican
Hoffman 75 Republican
Johnson 75 Democrat
Landry 75 Republican
Robideaux 75 Independent
White 75 Republican
Templet 70 Republican
Arnold 65 Democrat
Gisclair 65 Democrat
Armes 60 Democrat
Hill 60 Democrat
Hines 60 Democrat
Howard 60 Republican
Jones, S. 60 Democrat
Carmody 55 Republican
Danahay 55 Democrat
Ellington 55 Democrat
Ernst 55 Republican
Harrison 55 Republican
Lambert 55 Republican
Montoucet 55 Democrat
Roy 55 Democrat
Wooton 45 Republican
Baldone 40 Democrat
Downs 40 Republican
LeBas 40 Democrat
Abramson 35 Democrat
Chaney 30 Democrat
Doerge 30 Democrat
Smith, G 30 Democrat
Badon, A 25 Democrat
Barrow Ashford 20 Democrat
Stiaes 20 Democrat
Anders 15 Democrat
Jackson, M 15 Independent
LaFonta 15 Democrat
Leger 15 Democrat
Ritchie 15 Democrat
St. Germain 15 Democrat
Honey 10 Democrat
Jones, R. 10 Democrat
Norton 10 Democrat
Peterson 10 Democrat
Richmond 10 Democrat
Edwards 5 Democrat
Smith, P 5 Democrat
Aubert 0 Democrat
Brossett 0 Democrat
Burrell 0 Democrat
Dixon 0 Democrat
Franklin 0 Democrat
Gallot 0 Democrat
Hardy 0 Democrat
Henderson 0 Democrat
Jackson, G 0 Democrat
Williams 0 Democrat
HB 591 (10 percent) – would relax lobbyist rules to allow groups of at least 10 legislators to get more food and drink paid for at certain events; a conservative/reform vote is against.
HB 689 (25 percent) – would reverse tax deductions that began in 2009; a conservative/reform vote is against.
HB 340 (10 percent) – would strengthen religious freedoms in the state Constitution; a conservative/reform vote is for.
SB 183 (5 percent) – would allow universities to raise tuition and fees without requiring a two-thirds vote of the Legislature; a conservative/reform vote is for.
HB 889 (25 percent) – would raise taxes on tobacco; a conservative/reform vote is against.
HB 705 (15 percent) – would introduce by the law the comparable worth concept into how many private businesses in the state would have to base salaries; a conservative/reform vote is against.
HB 844 (10 percent) – would have banned smoking in almost all commercial establishments that serve food; a conservative/reform vote is for.
(Since an absence is counted as a “no” vote, that also is reflected in these ranking unless the legislator asked for leave on the day of the vote. In that case, the vote if the overall vote was a defeat is removed from the ranking and the score adjusted to reflect only those votes that occurred when the legislator was not on leave. Votes on amendments, which have different passage rules, that are part of the rankings are adjusted for absences regardless of whether leave was taken.)
The results were interesting for several reasons. First, unlike in past years the eligible range of bills was fairly narrow, due to a high incidence of legislation passing at least one house unanimously. Second, a huge gap opened between Republicans and Democrats, with the former averaging close to 80 and the latter just over 35 (even though three scored a remarkable 90, the highest ever for any Democrat), representing a huge ideological split in the body (the three independents, two of whom lean to the Republicans and one to the Democrats, averaged 56 2/3’s.) Third, while in past years rarely did any Republican score a 100 and no Democrat ever took home a 0, this time 3 from the GOP bagged perfect scores, and an amazing 10 Democrats scored perfectly in reverse.
As a whole, the body averaged around 57. Jim Fannin, Mickey Guillory, and Major Thibaut were the three high-scoring Democrats, and 16 others were above 50. At the very bottom were Elton Aubert, Jared Brossett, Roy Burrell, Herbert Dixon, A.B. Franklin, Rick Gallot, Rickey Hardy, Reed Henderson, Girod Jackson, and Patrick Williams. For Republicans, the three scoring perfectly were Tim Burns, Franklin Foil, and Hunter Greene. Only two of them scored below 50, Ernest Wooton and Hollis Downs.
Here is the complete list (recall that District 40 is vacant), to be followed by senators and the governor next week:
Burns, T 100 Republican
Foil 100 Republican
Greene 100 Republican
Burford 90 Republican
Cortez 90 Republican
Cromer 90 Republican
Dove 90 Republican
Fannin 90 Democrat
Guillory, M 90 Democrat
Hazel 90 Republican
Henry 90 Republican
Hutter 90 Republican
Kleckley 90 Republican
LaBruzzo 90 Republican
Monica 90 Republican
Pearson 90 Republican
Schroder 90 Republican
Thibaut 90 Democrat
Waddell 90 Republican
Morris 85 Republican
Perry 85 Republican
Pope 85 Republican
Smith, J 85 Republican
Talbot 85 Republican
Barras 80 Democrat
Billiot 80 Democrat
Burns, H 80 Republican
Connick 80 Republican
Guinn 80 Republican
Katz 80 Republican
Ligi 80 Republican
Little 80 Republican
Lopinto 80 Republican
McVea 80 Republican
Mills 80 Democrat
Nowlin 80 Republican
Ponti 80 Republican
Pugh 80 Republican
Richard 80 Independent
Richardson 80 Republican
Simon 80 Republican
Smiley 80 Republican
Tucker 80 Republican
Wilmott 80 Republican
Badon, B 75 Democrat
Carter 75 Republican
Champagne 75 Democrat
Chandler 75 Democrat
Geymann 75 Republican
Hoffman 75 Republican
Johnson 75 Democrat
Landry 75 Republican
Robideaux 75 Independent
White 75 Republican
Templet 70 Republican
Arnold 65 Democrat
Gisclair 65 Democrat
Armes 60 Democrat
Hill 60 Democrat
Hines 60 Democrat
Howard 60 Republican
Jones, S. 60 Democrat
Carmody 55 Republican
Danahay 55 Democrat
Ellington 55 Democrat
Ernst 55 Republican
Harrison 55 Republican
Lambert 55 Republican
Montoucet 55 Democrat
Roy 55 Democrat
Wooton 45 Republican
Baldone 40 Democrat
Downs 40 Republican
LeBas 40 Democrat
Abramson 35 Democrat
Chaney 30 Democrat
Doerge 30 Democrat
Smith, G 30 Democrat
Badon, A 25 Democrat
Barrow Ashford 20 Democrat
Stiaes 20 Democrat
Anders 15 Democrat
Jackson, M 15 Independent
LaFonta 15 Democrat
Leger 15 Democrat
Ritchie 15 Democrat
St. Germain 15 Democrat
Honey 10 Democrat
Jones, R. 10 Democrat
Norton 10 Democrat
Peterson 10 Democrat
Richmond 10 Democrat
Edwards 5 Democrat
Smith, P 5 Democrat
Aubert 0 Democrat
Brossett 0 Democrat
Burrell 0 Democrat
Dixon 0 Democrat
Franklin 0 Democrat
Gallot 0 Democrat
Hardy 0 Democrat
Henderson 0 Democrat
Jackson, G 0 Democrat
Williams 0 Democrat
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