End minority party committee head practice

With the accession of both legislative chamber leaders for the 2024-28 term of the Louisiana Legislature now settled, a question of whether to retain the practice of granting minority party members committee chairmanships is up for debate – and change.

This practice almost no other state follows. A few here and there will place a minority party member at the head of a temporary committee, or perhaps give one a vice chairman’s slot. Some allow for minority reports to be issued about legislation. But in today’s era, the only states that appear to do this (absent special situations where party representation in a chamber is even between the two major parties, or Nebraska’s unicameral/nonpartisan organ) are Louisiana and Texas.

Texas legislators appear to be making a conscious effort to back away from the process. This year, its Senate Republican leadership shed the last minority member who had been a chairman, while its House Republican leadership reduced its number to eight of 34 standing committees, and a deliberate emphasis to shunt Democrats as chairman to low-profile panels. Texas has small GOP majorities in each chamber at present.

In contrast, Republicans in Louisiana have supermajorities in both chambers, projected to grow slightly as a result of elections to conclude this weekend. Yet as of now, of the 16 House committees two retain Democrats as chairman and four others as vice chairmen. In the Senate, of 17 committees Democrats head up five and serve in the second slot on two of those and four more (with more committees and fewer senators, there are fewer choices).

By no means is this ingrained practice. Democrats had every legislative seat and of course the governorship from 1920-60, and only in 1964 did Republicans start creeping into the House and into the Senate in 1976, but none in 1980 when the first GOP governor in modern times Dave Treen took office. The custom of gubernatorial choosing of legislative leaders by then was decades old, but purely among Democrats’ factions.

Treen had no choice in the Senate and just ten of his party in the House, so nothing changed in that all leadership was Democrats. The tradition started when Democrat Gov. Buddy Roemer assumed the office, who ideologically on fiscal issues was closer to the 17 House and 5 Senate Republicans. He managed to have his preferred floor leaders installed (who about halfway through his term would be dumped by Democrat Gov. Edwin Edwards allies who restored his team from his previous term) who then appointed a few Republicans as chairmen.

When Edwards came back for his fourth term, after a contentious election where he relied upon Republican voters to return him (even as the GOP dropped their House total by one), he continued the practice as a larger, if indifferently applied, pledge to govern in a more bipartisan fashion. Then when Republican Mike Foster succeeded him, with 30 GOP House members and nine in the Senate, the momentum was unstoppable and a GOP governor had plenty to choose from.

The tables began turning, naturally, when during Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal’s terms the GOP took control in both chambers, so then it became a matter of accommodating Democrats. Again, keep in mind that the practice didn’t grow out of any desire to include the minority, but because of the custom of gubernatorial leadership selection and the particular combinations and circumstances of different eras.

Thus, there’s no real reason to continue it, particularly as during Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards’ terms, precisely because center-right majorities ruled the chambers in contrast to an avowedly (secretively at first, but much more openly after reelection) leftist governor, the Legislature began selecting leadership more independently. Now, there’s a return to a period – likely to be extensive – where the governor will align ideologically with a large majority of legislators.

Regardless of whether they consult with incoming GOP Gov. Jeff Landry, Republicans state Rep. Philip Devillier and state Sen. Cameron Henry should ensure every committee chairman or chairwoman comes from their party. The people have spoken loudly in favor of their conservative agenda, and if Democrats want to have any more than peripheral input into the policy-making process when it differs from Republicans, then they need to win elections.