Dispatch of ethics reform prelude to term extension?

I wish this sounded far-fetched, but could it be that the rejection of SB 82 sets the stage for the revival of HB 80?

The Senate bill by Jay Dardenne, which would have banned entirely commercial ticket gifts to legislators, died a coward’s death in the House and Governmental Affairs Committee when four members, by accident or design, were absent from the hearings on the bill. Rep. Billy Montgomery moved to vote on the bill but Rep. Jeff Arnold substituted in a motion to table (which takes precedence). A vote to table would have been forthcoming – if anybody had objected, which one would think the previous motioner Montgomery would.

His memorable response, which any crafty future electoral opponents of his would be wise to tie endlessly to him: “I don’t want to make anybody vote.” Thus the vote never came, and the measure effectively is dead. It also demonstrates Montgomery’s request had been fishing for a way to get the bill tabled – had it been genuine, he would have objected.

But credit committee chairman Rep. Charlie Lancaster (who with Montgomery complained months ago that the present monetary limit on ticket gifts was too low) about for the parliamentary wherewithal to know when to arrange an optimal time to put a minimum of the committee’s members (five voting ones being a quorum) on the record. Those absent were asked (by the ever-inquisitive Robert Travis Scott) about their whereabouts:

Rep. M.J. "Mert" Smiley, R-St. Amant, said he left the room to make "an important phone call." Rep. Loulan Pitre Jr., R-Cut Off, said he had to meet for a few moments down the hall with a senator. Rep. Jalila Jefferson-Bullock, D-New Orleans, was absent, dealing with one of her own bills in another committee. Rep. Juan LaFonta, D-New Orleans, said he was out checking on one of his bills about to be heard in another committee room. "It wasn't one of those conveniently timed walks," LaFonta said later, asserting that he wanted to vote against the Dardenne bill.

Those others who were there were Reps. Rick Gallot and Peppi Bruneau. And, who knows, with free tickets (even if still “too cheap” by Lancaster’s and Montgomery’s standards) still out there as an incentive to remain in office, maybe this will entice a few extra House members to vote for Bruneau’s HB 80, the stalled bill that does something laudable, but at too high of a price.

That bill would amend the Constitution to set state elections concurrent with federal ones in presidential election years. This would have salutary effects for democracy (but note that, at present, no costs savings would be realized unless RS 18:402, because of Art. IV Sec. 3 and Art. III Sec. 5 of the Constitution is changed, to put at least the primary election on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November).

But the bill also provides that an extra year gets put on current terms. Just as the cost-savings argument at present is a diversionary tactic, so is the argument that this extension must be done to avoid the stricture that terms cannot be reduced in the Constitution. Since this is an amendment to it, this can change terms by whatever way it likes, with perhaps the best way making the current term three years to catch onto the 2006 elections, and then another two-year term until 2008 (with language that would clarify the term limits restriction).

Best of all, perhaps the “extra” year could be exchanged for terms limits applied not merely to the present office held, but any legislative office. That would prevent term-limited guys like Montgomery who are thinking about switching houses from doing so.

HB 80 got a clear majority but fell a few votes short of the two-thirds level necessary to be presented to voters as an amendment (and it still would need Senate passage). It sits on the calendar, waiting for an opportunity for Bruneau to put it back in play. Please, not without the proper amendments outlined above; the death of SB 82 is more than enough of the “good-old-boy” treatment for one session.