Legislative regular session wrapup -- Senate & Blanco scorecard

In this week’s wrapup we’ll look at voting records in the Senate and for the governor. To remind, 13 bills were selected to compile to the scorecard. Eleven of these appeared as good or bad bills in the Log prior to and during the session, while the other two, HB 685 and HB 699, developed into litmus-test bills during the session. These bills were chosen because they represented important issues on which there was some dissension within the chambers.

A point scale was assigned to each, with more important bills comprising a greater proportion of the index, where low scores represent a very liberal/populist ideology and high scores represent a very conservative/reform ideology. Both the House and Senate were graded on all the same bills except for two, HB 853 which failed in the House and SB 700 which passed the Senate but was prevented from being considered in the House. House members only were scored for the former, Senate members only for the latter.

The bills and their proportions: HB 685 and HB 699 – 13 percent each; HB 1028 and HB 1129 – 11 percent; HB 815 and HB 194 – 9 percent; HB 1130 and HB 853 or SB 700 – 7 percent; SB 18, SB 382, SB 742, and SB 747 – 5 percent.

Usually, not voting was counted as voting against a bill, since that is the practical effect given the minimum thresholds to pass bills (53 in the House except for some matters where it is 70; 20 in the Senate except for some matters where it is 26). However, if a member had asked for an excused absence for that day, a “nay” was not recorded and that member’s figure would be adjusted by not including that vote.

Some things to note:

The Senate is more attenuated than the House, with a range of only 57 compared to that of 91. However, it is barely more liberal/populist, with the average score being a 45 to the House’s 46.

There’s also more partisan mixture at the top. Democrats hold down the tied-for-second, seventh, and eighth most conservative/reformer places. Overall, Republicans average just a 55 while Democrats average a 39. These Democrats, Sens. Mike Smith, Nick Gautreaux, and Ann Duplessis, are even above the GOP average.

Only two GOP senators score at or below the Democrat average. One, Sen. Sherri Smith Cheek, also scored low last year. But the lowest scorer is a surprise, Sen. Craig Romero, at 37. He’s also the biggest relative mover from last year, having gone from second-highest to thirteenth lowest. Whether this has anything to do his challenge for the U.S. House District 3 seat is an open question, and while he is picking up all kinds of conservative and Republican support, his legislative record of this year makes one wonder why.

As he did last year, Sen. Max Malone scored highest. Interestingly, his district encapsulates almost in its entirety the district of Rep. Mike Powell, the most conservative/reformer member of the House in the 2006 regular session. Clearly, the area which straddles the Red River in southern Shreveport and southern Bossier City would seem to be the most conservative in the state.

And, some statistics on Gov. Kathleen Blanco: adjusting for the fact that HB 194, HB 853, SB 382, and SB 700 never made it to her, computing her score on the basis of the bills signed or vetoed, she scored a 38, below last year’s 42. Again, this makes it hard for her to claim she is either conservative or a reformer.

Malone Republican 72
Hollis Republican 64
Michot Republican 64
Quinn Republican 64
Smith, M Democrat 64
Theunissen Republican 64
Gautreaux, N Democrat 63
Duplessis Democrat 61
Boasso Republican 60
Barham Republican 59
Kostelka Republican 55
Fontenot Republican 54
Dardenne Republican 53
Schedler Republican 53
Amedee Democrat 52
Adley Democrat 48
Cain Republican 48
Chaisson Democrat 48
Ellington Democrat 48
Hines Democrat 48
Lentini Republican 48
Dupre Democrat 46
Marionneaux Democrat 45
Cheek Republican 39
Fields Democrat 39
Murray Democrat 37
Romero, C Republican 37
Shepherd Democrat 34
Jackson, L Democrat 33
Ullo Democrat 32
Cravins, Sr. Democrat 31
Broome Democrat 28
Gautreaux, B Democrat 28
Jones Democrat 28
Heitmeier Democrat 27
McPherson Democrat 24
Nevers Democrat 24
Mount Democrat 19
Bajoie Democrat 15

Legislative regular session wrapup -- House scorecard

In this week’s wrapup we’ll look at voting records in the House. By next week, the governor should have decided what vetoes to issue so we’ll look at the Senate’s voting record and hers (in essence) for the 2006 Regular Session.

Thirteen bills were selected to compile to the scorecard. Eleven of these appeared as good or bad bills in the Log prior to and during the session, while the other two, HB 685 and HB 699, developed into litmus-test bills during the session. These bills were chosen because they represented important issues on which there was some dissension within the chambers.

A point scale was assigned to each, with more important bills comprising a greater proportion of the index, where low scores represent a very liberal/populist ideology and high scores represent a very conservative/reform ideology. Both the House and Senate were graded on all the same bills except for two, HB 853 which failed in the House and SB 700 which passed the Senate but was prevented from being considered in the House. House members only were scored for the former, Senate members only for the latter.

The bills and their proportions: HB 685 and HB 699 – 13 percent each; HB 1028 and HB 1129 – 11 percent; HB 815 and HB 194 – 9 percent; HB 1130 and HB 853 or SB 700 – 7 percent; SB 18, SB 382, SB 742, and SB 747 – 5 percent.

Usually, not voting was counted as voting against a bill, since that is the practical effect given the minimum thresholds to pass bills (53 in the House except for some matters where it is 70; 20 in the Senate except for some matters where it is 26). However, if a member had asked for an excused absence for that day, a “nay” was not recorded and that member’s figure would be adjusted by not including that vote. The same applied to the newest member of the House, seated with the session partly through.

House members are allowed to change their votes within a legislative day as long as changing it does not change the overall outcome of the vote. However, for the purposes of this scorecard, to emphasize that legislators need to be on top of their jobs, they were scored on their original votes.

Some things to note:

Only one member was “perfect” one way or the other, Rep. Mike Powell who scored 100 as the perfect conservative/reformer.

The leadership was pretty much at the extremes. Republican Delegation House leader Rep. Jim Tucker scored a 94, third-highest overall and among Republicans. Democrat Caucus leader Rep. Eric LaFleur scored the lowest of all, a 9.

Interestingly, House Speaker Joe Salter was the most conservative/reformist Democrat at 61, behind 26 Republicans and the independent Rep. Joel Robideaux.

But, he was ahead of 14 Republicans, including all three party switchers from last year. While Rep. William Daniel IV was close at 57, third-lowest Republican was convert Rep. Ernest Wooton, and second-lowest convert Rep. Blade Morrish.

The lowest scoring Republican was Rep. Joe Toomy at 28, while the typical House Republican scored 64. The Democrat average was a 34, meaning only he, Morrish, and Wooton scored at or below that, while obviously no Democrat scored above the Republican average.

Relative to last year’s position, the biggest mover was Rep. Billy Montgomery, rising from tied for second-lowest scoring to fourth-highest Democrat at 56. (Rumor runs rampant that term-limited Montgomery in 2007 wants to run as a Republican in the theoretically most conservative Senate district in the state, District 37 now held by Sen. Max Malone).

Powell, M Republican 100
Schneider Republican 95
Tucker Republican 94
LaBruzzo Republican 93
Scalise Republican 88
Kennard Republican 87
Lambert Republican 86
Burns Republican 82
Katz Republican 80
Greene Republican 77
Walsworth Republican 77
Beard Republican 75
Crane Republican 74
Lancaster Republican 74
Bowler Republican 70
Winston Republican 69
Geymann Republican 68
Smiley Republican 67
Alexander Republican 64
Crowe Republican 64
Smith, JH Republican 64
Waddell Republican 64
Bruneau Republican 63
Dove Republican 61
Johns Republican 61
Pitre Republican 61
Robideaux Independent 61
Salter Democrat 61
Erdey Republican 60
Hebert Democrat 60
Alario Democrat 58
Daniel Republican 57
Montgomery Democrat 56
Martiny Republican 54
Hutter Republican 52
Smith, G Democrat 52
Trahan Republican 52
Chandler Democrat 52
Faucheux Democrat 51
Bruce Democrat 50
Frith Democrat 46
Morrell Democrat 46
Odinet Democrat 46
Strain Republican 46
Ansardi Democrat 45
Hammett Democrat 45
Powell, T Republican 45
Baudoin Democrat 44
Cravins, Jr. Democrat 44
McVea Republican 44
Fannin Democrat 43
Smith, JR Democrat 43
Triche Democrat 43
White Republican 41
Hopkins Democrat 40
Carter, R Democrat 39
Downs Republican 39
McDonald Democrat 39
Townsend Democrat 39
Kleckley Republican 37
Damico Democrat 36
Guillory, E Democrat 36
Jackson, M Democrat 36
Romero, R Democrat 36
Durand Democrat 35
Richmond Democrat 35
Badon Democrat 34
Baldone Democrat 34
Carter, K Democrat 34
Heaton Democrat 34
Kenney Democrat 34
Pinac Democrat 34
Ritchie Democrat 34
Wooton Republican 34
Hunter Democrat 32
LaFonta Democrat 32
Cazayoux Democrat 30
Farrar Democrat 30
Glover Democrat 30
Hill Democrat 30
Morrish Republican 30
Thompson Democrat 30
Dartez Democrat 29
Toomy Republican 28
Walker Democrat 28
DeWitt Democrat 26
Guillory, M Democrat 26
Jefferson Democrat 24
Baylor Democrat 24
Curtis Democrat 23
Gallot Democrat 23
Gray Democrat 23
Honey Democrat 23
Marchand Democrat 23
Quezaire Democrat 23
Barrow Democrat 23
Doerge Democrat 21
Harris Democrat 21
St. Germain Democrat 21
Arnold Democrat 18
Pierre Democrat 18
Smith, JD Democrat 14
Burrell Democrat 10
Dorsey Democrat 10
LaFleur Democrat 9

Legislative regular session through Jun. 24

Back from a week hiatus because it didn’t make much sense to give a week’s summary right before the end of the session, let’s recount what happened the last nine days of the 2006 Regular Session. In a couple of more weeks the final wrapup will appear with all gubernatorial actions, as well as scores for legislators and the governor.

THIS WEEK-PLUS FOR THE GOOD: HB 58 had rules suspended to be heard on the Senate floor, was passed by the Senate, had amendments concurred in and was sent to the governor; HB 108 passed Senate, had amendments concurred in, and was sent to the governor; HB 109 was signed into law; HB 604 passed Senate, and was sent to the governor; HB 707 passed Senate and had conference report adopted; HB 850 passed Senate and was sent to the governor; HB 760 was signed into law; HB 992 had conference report rejected by House; HB 1260 passed Senate and was sent to the governor; SB 18 with minor amendments passed House, had amendments concurred in, and was sent to the governor; SB 25 passed House and was sent to the governor; SB 27 with minor amendments passed House, had amendments concurred in, and was sent to the governor; SB 33 was signed into law; SB 382 was indefinitely postponed by the House; SB 645 with minor amendments passed House, had amendments concurred in, and was sent to the governor; SB 647 with minor amendments passed House, had amendments concurred in, and was sent to the governor; SB 681 passed House and was sent to the governor; SB 742 with minor amendments passed House, had amendments concurred in, and was sent to the governor; SB 746 had amendments concurred with by Senate and was sent to the governor.

THIS WEEK-PLUS FOR THE BAD: HB 126 had rules suspended to be heard on the Senate floor, was passed by the Senate, had amendments concurred in and was sent to the governor; HB 194 had rules suspended to be heard on the Senate floor, and failed to pass the Senate, HB 1028 had rules suspended to be heard on the Senate floor, was passed by the Senate, had amendments concurred in, was sent to the governor who vetoed it; HB 1129 was signed into law; HB 1130 had rules suspended to be heard on the Senate floor, was passed with minor amendments by the Senate, had conference report adopted and was sent to the governor; SB 513 with minor amendments passed House, Senate rejected amendments; SB 613 with minor amendments passed House, had amendments concurred in, and was sent to the governor; SB 747 passed House and was sent to the governor.

SCORECARD:
Total House introductions: 1404; total Senate introductions: 755.

Total House good bills: 31; total Senate good bills: 19.

Total House bad bills: 19; total Senate bad bills: 22.

Total House good bills heard in House committee: 46; total Senate good bills heard in Senate committee: 24.

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

Total House good bills passing committee: 16; total Senate good bills passing committee: 15.

Total House bad bills passing committee: 11; total Senate bad bills passing committee: 9.

Total House good bills passing House: 12; total Senate good bills passing Senate: 11.

Total House bad bills passing House: 6; total Senate bad bills passing Senate: 6.

Total House good bills heard in Senate committee: 10; total Senate good bills heard in House committee: 11.

Total House bad bills heard in Senate committee: 6; total Senate bad bills heard in House committee: 5.

Total House good bills passing Senate committee: 10; total Senate good bills passing House committee: 11.

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

Total House good bills passing Senate: 10; total Senate good bills passing House: 10.

Total House bad bills passing Senate: 4; total Senate bad bills passing House: 3.

Total House good bills going to the governor/secretary of state: 8; total good Senate bills going to the governor/secretary of state: 10.

Total House bad bills going to the governor/secretary of state: 4; total bad Senate bills going to the governor/secretary of state: 2.

Total House good bills signed into law/on ballot: 4; total good Senate bills signed into law/on ballot: 2.

Total House bad bills signed into law/on ballot: 1; total good Senate bills signed into law/on ballot: 0.

Floor action, Jun. 19: HB 1281, SB 454

DID YOU KNOW?
During debate in the House on the conference report for HB 1281, Rep. Mike Powell sniffed out the fact that the bill, which was supposed to address a Supreme Court decisions about the applicability of tax increment financing, added such an arrangement to aid the Tournament Players Championship golf course in Jefferson Parish. Powell noted this was the first existing course getting this designation, that it could have a ripple effect for others, and it would cause of a loss of funding at the state and local level. Handler Rep. John Alario said the arrangement would spur economic development (and that it could be used to offset the state contract with the course forcing it to pay the course for rounds of golf unplayed) but Powell said since the course already was there the TIF did not serve that purpose. He pointed out that this precedent could be applied to many existing facilities, in essence transferring state wealth to private interests for “economic development” purposes.

However, the house majority did not share Powell’s concern, as the conference committee report was adopted 58-32.

DID YOU KNOW?
SB 454 has been rewritten by amendment several times, so the House finally got a crack at its latest incarnation via conference report. Handler Rep. Jim Fannin explained the bill would create a panel of three representatives who would determine when a gallon of ethanol minus federal subsidies was equal to or less than a gallon of gas, only then would the requirements of Act 313 kick in. (He said incorrectly, in response to a question, that one representative was selected by the Commissioner of Higher Education; it's the Revenue Secretary.)

Rep. Mike Walsworth asked more information about the pricing mechanism’s determination. He also noted that the determination of equality or less for 60 days occurred only once, then the mechanism would be scuttled (meaning if the prices subsequently diverged with ethanol going higher, the mandate of Act 313 still would stay in place).

Rep. Steve Scalise wanted to know why the “hard trigger” written into statute by the House was removed, replaced by a more subjective process. Fannin said it was part of the process and now was not the time to reopen the bill, just to decide on the report. “This is the best instrument we have” he insisted. Responding to questioning, he said it was a fairer deal because this measure asked for parity and over a 60-day period, whereas the discarded amendment had a ten cent buffer for 30 days.

Rep. Jim Tucker lamented that this was a Hobson’s Choice, either taking no action or approving a bad compromise. He said a bad law was better than none and would vote for it. “We need to revisit this next year, meanwhile, the Louisiana consumer is getting screwed.” Rep. Francis Thompson argued that including the federal subsidy was appropriate because oil producers got subsidies, he said.

It seemed the House took Tucker’s advice to heart, as the report was adopted 97-1.

QUOTES OF THE DAY
How long is this open audition process going to last?
Rep. Robby Carter, noting a series of acting speakers were running the House.

This is the last train leaving the station today
Fannin, noting if SB 454 didn’t get dealt with today, the matter would not be dealt with at all as the session ends.

The greatest legislators and legislature ever are right here today.
Special guest Jay Chevalier, before singing the new state recovery song on the House floor.

Floor action, Jun. 16: SB 723, SB 382, SB 753

DID YOU KNOW?
The handling SB 723 broke into a spat among local legislators. Rep. Billy Montgomery was handling this bill, which altered the terms and composition of members of the Caddo/Bossier Port Authority. But Rep. Ernest Baylor complained that Montgomery, who was handling the bill for Sen. Max Malone, was cutting out Rep. Cedric Glover, who was absent but on his way to the Capitol (it already had been delayed because of Glover’s absence for personal reasons). Montgomery was concerned that if the bill got sent back to the calendar it might not get brought up again, but consented to Baylor’s request.

Apparently, it took Glover more time than the 15-20 minutes Baylor said. A couple of hours later, the bill was brought up but again returned to the calendar. A half-hour later it was brought back, and then yanked yet again.

It finally came up in the afternoon. Montgomery got an amendment by consent to change the designees of the cities involved (Shreveport and Bossier City) done by the governing authority (city councils) rather than mayors (its original form). It passed without objection.

Glover wished to amend the bill to make representation on the body proportional rather than geographically-based, calling the bill in that form a form of “geographic affirmative action;” the governing authority would make selections without any geographic criteria. He claimed it was a unifying amendment. It passed 61-21.

Even though Glover won on this, he said he still wouldn’t vote for the bill. He said Shreveport dominated the economy, and thus needs to maintain the increased proportion of membership under present law. Montgomery disagreed, saying Shreveport should not have an automatic majority on the port commission, that it should have meaningful input. He said it was a better bill amended, and should be passed. It did, 54-44.

DID YOU KNOW?
SB 382 would eliminate essentially gifts to legislators of a sporting and cultural nature. Rep. William Daniel IV stated this, but admitted with a restrictive amendment concerning sports events from the Senate that he didn’t quite know what it did, in terms of pricing some offers, and said he had an amendment to strip the other to simplify matters. Daniel said the bill was really intended to ban free tickets and stripping the amendment would produce clarity.

Rep. Troy Hebert was asked why the bill was needed. Daniel said he didn’t think free tickets influenced anybody, but that author Sen. Jay Dardenne thought the appearance of impropriety was causing image problems for the Legislature. Hebert said appearances were deceiving so there was no need for the bill. Daniel said perhaps the public resented legislators getting free tickets. Hebert said sometimes legislators gave these away to the public.

Daniel said basically the bill said anything the public had to pay for, legislators had to pay for, even if an offer of a gift was made. Rep. Avon Honey wondered whether press passes counted; Daniel said no.

Daniel’s amendment would allow universities to offer these kinds of tickets. Rep. Charlie Lancaster pointed out that universities could lobby under this amendment, but not private sector interests. Rep. Charlie DeWitt called the bill a smokescreen that would do nothing, there was lots of pressing business, and asked for bill postponement. Daniel said he had to object. The motion to postpone passed 51-41.

DID YOU KNOW?
SB 753 by the father of handler Rep. Don Cravins would authorize the state attorney general or local district attorney to issue a cease and desist order after discovering an employer has hired undocumented aliens. This would create procedure to enforce existing federal law. In fact, Cravins had an amendment to take out filing an affidavit by businesses that they had not knowingly hired illegal aliens, to prevent the possibility of federal mail fraud charges being filed, which passed without objection.

As he had in committee, Rep. Steve Scalise proposed an amendment to place sanctions against the illegal workers themselves. Rep. Monica Walker said it shifted the burden of the legislation to the workers rather than employers, changing the intent of the bill, which Scalise disputed. He said laws already covered potential reporting of businesses. Rep. Eric LaFleur suggested leaving in the employer sanction, as did Rep. Kay Katz, who subsequently asked Cravins to temporarily defer the bill to put in an amendment like Scalise’s without removing employer sanctions. But Cravins refused, saying federal safeguards were enough on the illegal employee issue.

Scalise noted the bill as it stood would allow for harassment of some businesses by other businesses or government, and said his amendment would deal with the root of the problem. The amendment failed 28-59. The bill then passed 91-5. (Cravins noted after his father’s bill passed that his father had killed one of his last year at this time, but he did not retaliate this year. Speaker Joe Salter said “you acted wisely.”)

DID YOU KNOW?
Rep. Jalila Jefferson-Bullock got permission for an absence, and an hour later delivered a son. Somebody unannounced won the betting pool for his delivery time and weight.

QUOTES OF THE DAY:
I’m a little confused.
Join the club.
Is a ticket to cockfighting a sporting or cultural event?
I think that would be a gaming event.
An exchange between Daniel and Rep. Don Trahan concerning SB 382.

I wanted to vote no.
Daniel, when a motion to grant him more time to answer SB 382 questions, because of an objection, passed.

I never felt the urge to have a cigarette until now.
Daniel, as the relentless questioning and criticism about SB 382 continued.

I’ve never seen so many bad bills in one day without my name on them.
Rep. Jack Smith.

That’s why they call it “acting.”
Rep. Jim Tucker, when turning over his acting speaker role back to Salter; earlier, a member had told him “you’re mother is watching [the Internet feed] and says you need to straighten your tie.”