Legislative regular session through May 1, 2010

THIS WEEK FOR THE GOOD: HB 51 failed to pass the House; HB 68 with minor amendments passed House committee; HB 94 with minor amendments passed House committee; HB 401 passed House committee; HB 407 was withdrawn; HB 556 passed House committee; HB 617 with minor amendments passed the House; HB 1370 passed House committee; HB 1408 passed the House; SB 310 passed Senate committee; SB 334 with minor amendments passed Senate committee; SB 348 with minor amendments passed Senate committee.

THIS WEEK FOR THE BAD: HB 157 was involuntarily deferred; HB 292 passed Senate committee; HB 529 passed House committee; HB 799 with major amendments passed committee; HB 800 with minor amendments passed committee; SB 122 was withdrawn; SB 259 was substituted for by SB 791 and in doing so was made non-objectionable.

SCORECARD:

Total number of bills, House: 1467; total number of bills, Senate: 791.

Total number of good bills, House: 65; total number of good bills, Senate: 33.

Total number of bad bills, House: 31; total number of bad bills, Senate: 26.

Total House good bills heard in House committee: 39; total Senate good bills heard in Senate committee: 7.

Total House bad bills heard in House committee: 11; total Senate bad bills heard in Senate committee: 5.

Total House good bills passed by House committee:18; total Senate good bills passed by Senate committee: 3.

Total House bad bills passed by House committee: 6; total Senate bad bills passed by Senate committee: 2.

Total House good bills approved by House: 4; total Senate good bills approved by Senate: 0.

Total House bad bills approved by House: 1; total Senate bad bills approved by Senate: 2.

Total House good bills heard in Senate committee: 0; total Senate good bills heard in House committee: 0.

Total House bad bills heard in Senate committee: 1; total Senate bad bills heard in House committee: 0.

Total House good bills approved by Senate committee: 0; total Senate good bills approved by House committee: 0.

Total House bad bills approved by Senate committee: 1; total Senate bad bills approved by House committee: 0.

Total House good bills approved by Senate: 0; total Senate good bills approved by House: 0.

Total House bad bills approved by Senate: 0; total Senate bad bills approved by House: 0.

Total House good bills going to governor: 0; total Senate good bills going to governor: 0.

Total House bad bills going to governor: 0; total Senate bad bills going to governor: 0.

Total House good bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0; total Senate good bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0.

Total House bad bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0; total Senate bad bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0.

Committee action, Apr. 28: SB 348, SB 334, HB 959

DID YOU KNOW?

SB 348 by Sen. Rob Marionneaux would ban smoking in bars and casinos. He told the Senate Health and Welfare Committee this would protect workers in these environments from the deleterious effects of second-hand smoking. He said if other places can do it, so can Louisiana. He also read statements from casino operators in Louisiana from other states supporting those kinds of laws.

Opponents pointed out they predicted a decline of business that would have an adverse impact on government revenues. Also, the decision whether to allow smoking should be left in the hands of the business, since their customers can choose whether to patronize smoking establishments. Sen. Karen Peterson wondered whether any offset in revenues would be matched by reduction in expenses for health care. She said a tobacco tax could compensate. Sen. Joe McPherson said he actually was liking it because it might cut down on gambling. He said money that could have been spent on gambling them might be spent on another productive activity that the state could gain revenue from. Sen. Sherri Cheek said many employees in these environments did not have employer-sponsored insurance so the state would have to pick up health costs.

Marionneaux said money concerns should not get in the way of health concerns. He said if something like prostitution can be regulated, so should smoking. He also questioned whether there would be a significant economic impact for the worse. Without opposition the bill was passed.

DID YOU KNOW?

HB 334 by Marionneaux would do what the previous bill did except allow smoking in bars where food was not served at all. He immediately offered an amendment to make the cutoff 10 percent, called this a way of getting rid of a “loophole” that allowed what really were restaurants to allow smoking ,and called the bill as a whole a “fallback.” The amendment was adopted unanimously.

Some of the same opponents spoke. The said this would create an unlevel playing field among establishments and complicate licensing requirements. Marionneaux said this bill was needed despite the other because of the uncertainties of the legislative process, and would close the loophole. The bill was passed without objection.

DID YOU KNOW?

HB 959 by Rep. Walker Hines presented his bill to the House Health and Welfare Committee but without the moratorium on the Resource Allocation Model, amending it only to require studies and reports to make sure that use of the model is being used in a way that supports more efficient use of monies. Originally, the bill would have halted use of this policy by which decisions were made to apportion home-based care for the elderly and disabled because it was not being applied to all settings, such as nursing homes. He didn’t know the cost because no fiscal note was provided, so he assumed it was negligible. He pointed out that unused beds in nursing homes numbered about 9,000 out of 34,000, or $23 million the state paid for these that could have gone to waivers.

Chairwoman Rep. Kay Katz wondered if the information legally could be collected. Hines said yes. Witnesses in state government argued that for federal law it would work but was not as sure concerning state law since it was more individualized. They also said it seemed possible to collect this data. Rep. Neil Abramson said information was good and there should be no reason to further disseminate it, especially since most already was being collected. Rep. Bernard LeBas wondered if this wouldn’t create an extra layer of bureaucracy, but Hines argued that it really would not. LeBas said maybe some could be incorporated into another bill.

Rep. Rickey Nowlin said he couldn’t support the bill but thought it should be incorporated into his similar bill (HB 1185) due on the House floor tomorrow. Hines accepted the offer. He also reiterated that more information was better for all providers concerned and taxpayers.

Supporters argued that the matter would not get the attention it deserved unless this bill passed and in the form of a statute, not a resolution. Afterwards, Hines said in the interests of realism in getting the intent of his bill to move forward he would voluntarily defer and work with Nowlin to include his language in that bill. The committee indulged him.

Legislative regular session through Apr. 24, 2010

Bill filing finished this week, so the only additions from here on out will be for bills that are mutated through major amendments or for substitutes.

THE GOOD: HB 1337 by Rep. Joel Robideaux would simplify and make more actuarially sound the state’s retirement systems; HB 1370 by Rep. Fred Mills would increase the chances of closing down unsafe abortionists.

THE BAD: HB 1332 by Rep. Regina Barrow would increase the costs of state government by mandating recycling; HB 1402 by Rep. Roy Burrell would needlessly establish a quota system for state contracting; SB 762 by Sen. Sharon Weston Broome would needlessly duplicate housing laws and unnecessarily discourage residential development.

THIS WEEK FOR THE GOOD:

HB 224 with major amendments failed to pass the House; HB 248 with minor amendments passed House committees; HB 302 with minor amendments passed House committee; HB 450 was substituted for with HB 1407; HB 617 with a major amendments passed House committee; HB 1208 was substituted for with HB 1408; HB 1247 with minor amendments passed House; HB 1407 passed House committee; HB 1408 passed House committee; SB 185 passed Senate committee.

THIS WEEK FOR THE BAD: HB 251 with major amendments passed House committee.

SCORECARD:

Total number of bills, House: 1459; total number of bills, Senate: 790.

Total number of good bills, House: 66; total number of good bills, Senate: 33.

Total number of bad bills, House: 31; total number of bad bills, Senate: 28.

Total House good bills heard in House committee: 29; total Senate good bills heard in Senate committee: 3.

Total House bad bills heard in House committee: 7; total Senate bad bills heard in Senate committee: 4.

Total House good bills passed by House committee:13; total Senate good bills passed by Senate committee: 0.

Total House bad bills passed by House committee: 3; total Senate bad bills passed by Senate committee: 2.

Total House good bills approved by House: 2; total Senate good bills approved by Senate: 0.

Total House bad bills approved by House: 0; total Senate bad bills approved by Senate: 1.

Total House good bills heard in Senate committee: 0; total Senate good bills heard in House committee: 0.

Total House bad bills heard in Senate committee: 0; total Senate bad bills heard in House committee: 0.

Total House good bills approved by Senate committee: 0; total Senate good bills approved by House committee: 0.

Total House bad bills approved by Senate committee: 0; total Senate bad bills approved by House committee: 0.

Total House good bills approved by Senate: 0; total Senate good bills approved by House: 0.

Total House bad bills approved by Senate: 0; total Senate bad bills approved by House: 0.

Total House good bills going to governor: 0; total Senate good bills going to governor: 0.

Total House bad bills going to governor: 0; total Senate bad bills going to governor: 0.

Total House good bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0; total Senate good bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0.

Total House bad bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0; total Senate bad bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0.

Floor action, Apr. 19: HB 224, SB 492, HB 51

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DID YOU KNOW?

HB 224 by Rep. Kevin Pearson would allow for suspension of retirement benefits while a state retiree is incarcerated, but would allow benefits to go to an innocent spouse.

Rep. Jack Montoucet pointed out that people convicted of the same crime might get different sentences (incarceration vs. probation) and thus be treated differently. Pearson said he could not control judges. Montoucet also wondered about garnishment. Pearson said his approach was needed in order to allow garnishment for victims. He also noted that since the incarcerated had all expenses paid by the state, there was no need for benefits for them paid out at that time.

Rep. Jeff Arnold noted that this could suspend benefits for any reason, not just related to the job. Pearson pointed out Social Security treated benefits this way. Rep. Reed Henderson said even a few months could cause big disruptions in people’s lives, and maybe judges could use the power of conviction to selectively use the law politically.

Legislative regular session through Apr. 17, 2010

Bill filing continues:

THE BAD: HB 1280 by Rep. Rosalind Jones would allow unelected bodies to levy a tax on cigarettes; HB 1284 by Rep. Girod Jackson would enforce soft quotas on any contract received from the federal government by state and local governments; SB 694 by Sen. Butch Gautreaux would force teachers employed by charter schools into the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana; SB 695 by Sen. Lydia Jackson would water down educational accountability standards.

THIS WEEK FOR THE GOOD: HB 51 passed House committee; HB 59 with minor amendments failed to pass House; HB 228 passed House committee; HB 247 with minor amendments passed House committee; HB 410 passed the House; HB 718 was substituted with HB 1292; HB 765 was involuntarily deferred; HB 1212 with minor amendments was involuntarily deferred; HB 1247 with minor amendments passed House committee; HB 1292 passed House committee.

THIS WEEK FOR THE BAD: HB 384 with minor amendments failed to pass the House; HB 732 was involuntarily deferred by House committee; SB 490 passed Senate committee and Senate; SB 492 passed Senate committee.

SCORECARD:

Total number of bills, House: 1299; total number of bills, Senate: 702.

Total number of good bills, House: 64; total number of good bills, Senate: 33.

Total number of bad bills, House: 29; total number of bad bills, Senate: 27.

Total House good bills heard in House committee: 22; total Senate good bills heard in Senate committee: 1.

Total House bad bills heard in House committee: 5; total Senate bad bills heard in Senate committee: 4.

Total House good bills passed by House committee: 8; total Senate good bills passed by Senate committee: 0.

Total House bad bills passed by House committee: 2; total Senate bad bills passed by Senate committee: 2.

Total House good bills approved by House: 1; total Senate good bills approved by Senate: 0.

Total House bad bills approved by House: 0; total Senate bad bills approved by Senate: 1.

Total House good bills heard in Senate committee: 0; total Senate good bills heard in House committee: 0.

Total House bad bills heard in Senate committee: 0; total Senate bad bills heard in House committee: 0.

Total House good bills approved by Senate committee: 0; total Senate good bills approved by House committee: 0.

Total House bad bills approved by Senate committee: 0; total Senate bad bills approved by House committee: 0.

Total House good bills approved by Senate: 0; total Senate good bills approved by House: 0.

Total House bad bills approved by Senate: 0; total Senate bad bills approved by House: 0.

Total House good bills going to governor: 0; total Senate good bills going to governor: 0.

Total House bad bills going to governor: 0; total Senate bad bills going to governor: 0.

Total House good bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0; total Senate good bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0.

Total House bad bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0; total Senate bad bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0.