Landry plan roars in, now facing strangulation

While Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s fiscal reform agenda may have come in roaring like a lion, as the Louisiana Legislature’s special session to vet it comes around the backstretch it may not be going out with whimper, but more like emitting the sounds of strangulation.

Special interests – not a new story when it comes to the history of dealing with the state’s convoluted fiscal structure that instills higher income and sales tax rates than necessary then tries to offset these with far too many carveouts exempting discrete industries who win lobbying battles – have done their best to pervert Landry’s plan of broadening tax bases in exchange for extending sales taxes to activities commonly subject to it in other states and eliminating income tax breaks. Enough Republican legislators have responded to these blandishments to deny the narrow two-thirds majorities each chamber would need to pass changes that reduce tax breaks or increase rates, while almost all Democrats have opposed them from the start since the reforms increase overall sales tax collection at the expense of income tax collections, and as income tax receipts grow faster than sales tax receipts the change would put a natural brake on the growth of government that arouses Democrats.

Snapping at the heels of legislators caused deletion of many activities that would have become taxable at sale, even as that bill continues hung up in the House. The Senate also ratcheted back severely some income tax exceptions that also detracted from revenue. In essence, that caused three major changes to the plan to make up for this, one of these indifferent in impact but the others not so good.

Career-threatening problems mount for Arceneaux

Over the past couple of months, Shreveport Republican Mayor Tom Arceneaux’s margin for reelection error has become quite a bit smaller.

Arceneaux attained office in the majority black, plurality Democrat city almost two years ago largely because he emanated an air of competence after the previous amateurish and detached rule of his predecessor Democrat Adrian Perkins and because he maneuvered his candidacy into a runoff with Democrat former state Sen. Greg Tarver who brought a controversial past and baggage of old political rivalries within the black community to a contest he would lose. With several black Democrats building power bases for 2026 that could challenge Arceneaux successfully, in order to win reelection he would have to govern well with as little drama as possible.

Not unexpectedly, when opportunity arises Democrat councilors oppose Arceneaux. Saddled with a consent decree on water and sewerage that forced higher property taxes in bond sales and higher rates (incrementally increasing over several years), Democrat councilors dragged their feet on the rate hikes and decried it all until (inevitable, given the decree) their approval, using that as a way to cast blame on Arceneaux and deflect it from themselves for the hikes.

More conflict ahead in Monroe govt, over DBE

Looks like heads needlessly will butt again in the future between Monroe independent Mayor Friday Ellis and rookie members of the Monroe City Council, this time over what proportion of contracts should go to disadvantaged business enterprises.

A DBE is a firm owned in the majority by individuals with a presumptive characteristic such as race or sex or any individual found to be socially and economically disadvantaged on a case-by-case basis. Federal law dictates for projects of a certain size eligible for federal funds in transportation they must set an approved goal, and Louisiana requires this as well for state money going to a local project.

New councilors Democrats Rodney McFarland and Verbon Muhammad at the start of their terms complained about DBE goals for work at Monroe Regional Airport. Using the standard methodology, that was computed at 8.31 percent, but they wanted it much higher. As the contract had been let, that could not be changed. This amount was higher than the aspirational goal set in Louisiana for aviation projects of 5.5 percent.

GOP's best plan at risk by greasing squeaky wheels

The same dynamic that sunk Republican former Gov. Bobby Jindal’s fiscal reforms of nearly a dozen years ago now threatens GOP Gov. Jeff Landry’s related measure.

In 2013, Jindal proposed sweeping but basically revenue neutral changes to the state’s fiscal structure that eliminated income taxes, increased business sales taxes, added services to taxation, got rid of some exemptions connected to mineral resources, and increasing the cigarette tax. In 2024, Landry has proposed an essentially revenue neutral plan that creates a low flat income tax with an increased filer deduction that eliminates income taxation for lower-income individuals, increases sales taxes, adds services to taxation, gets rid of some exemptions, and makes permanent a business utilities tax.

Jindal’s plan, which also included some attempt to rebate higher sales taxes passed through to individuals, foundered because it was complex in its attempt to make sure as few people’s taxes increased overall as possible. Only a bit less intensely does Landry’s plan try to do the same thing, and like Jindal’s has run into opposition from those most likely to suffer financially from the changes.

Education reform bonus for LA with Trump win

Republican former and Pres.-elect Donald Trump’s stated intentions concerning the federal government’s role in education, if at least partially pursued, would give a huge shot in the arm to Louisiana’s education reform efforts.

In recent decades, Louisiana hasn’t provided much in the way of policy leadership among the states, with the notable exception of education. First under GOP former Gov. Mike Foster, then under one of his implementers (at the level of higher education) then eventual successor Republican former Gov. Bobby Jindal, the state was at the forefront of expanding educational accountability and choice, acting as a pioneer with such things as charter schools, state intervention with failing schools, evaluations of schools and teachers, beefing up curricula, and increasing student expectations. Even as the momentum slowed considerably under Democrat former Gov. John Bel Edwards, who backed the government monopoly model of education with as little accountability as possible, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education narrow majorities typically counter to that and leadership especially from former Superintendent of Education John White and current Superintendent Cade Brumley kept reversal away and growth occurring at the margins. This culminated in recent years with the state escaping the bottom of state rankings in pre-K12 education to its reaching its highest placement ever this year – largely because while Louisiana children held the line in achievement during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic era, other states’ learners fell back.

And in this year’s legislative session, despite a small reverse at the margins, lawmakers returned to bolder reforms by creating a mild version of education savings accounts. It would provide, in stages, creation of these vehicles that give families control over state dollars designed to educate their children, starting with lower-income households. However, program operation and expansion are dependent upon separate appropriations in a budget environment in the near term that looks very uncertain whether the money would become available.

Landry shows skill with reforms easily advancing

So far, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has shown he has what it takes to advance historic and needed fiscal reform for Louisiana government, perhaps even if here and there pops up a disgruntled Republican over it.

A basket of bills Landry championed to remake the state’s fiscal structure has met with almost no resistance during an ongoing special session largely called to deal with the issue. His plan reduces income taxes but retains almost all of a temporary sales tax hike and expanding significantly the number of services subject to this tax while excising credits and exemptions from both, rejiggers state funding mechanisms to lower unfunded accrued liabilities of teacher pension plans and converts that into pay raises for them, forces local governments to accept the few sales tax exemptions left but lets them tax the new added services and optionally allows them to exit collecting subsidization from the state for the inventory tax credit by making them a large one-time payment, and moves certain items out of the Constitution to statute.

Everything made it out of House committees almost unchanged, and several have passed the chamber and head to the Senate. To date, GOP unanimity on these items has been nearly complete, with only Republican state Rep. Joe Stagni against measures as often than not, and on only one, extending the sales tax to some digital purposes, joined by any other Republican. Even bills which featured perhaps the heaviest lift of the session, eliminating the Motion Picture Production tax credit, passed easily.

BC graybeards seek votes via imprudent budget

Fearful that the public has caught on to their misrule of the past quarter-century, the longest in the tooth of the Bossier City Council graybeards now seek to complete the destruction as a method to save their political careers and legacies.

Last week, the Council took up the 2025 budget. In its introduced form, it would have given pay raises adhering to a compensation study recently completed for the city, meaning equity raises for some city employees, parity pay raises for police, and one-time bonuses for fire personnel up to a minimum of a five percent increase. But this plan would require taking back holding the line on property taxes decided this year by instead increasing rates back to pre-assessment levels that would hike property taxes paid by just about every land owner in the city as well as blow a $2 million deficit hole from greater spending tied to the city’s general fund.

Bossier City currently doesn’t have the means to give out pay raises, which the study confirmed was needed in a number of cases to keep up with peer cities, without raising taxes and engaging in deficit spending because of the enormous amount of debt it carries. At the end of 2023, the city had $392 million in debt, but adding in interest means (minus premiums and deferrals) actually the city is on the hook for $514 million. In the past quarter-century, approximately $200 million was spent on low-priority items that tended to benefit private interests: a money-losing arena, a high-tech office building (with the parish and state), a parking garage for a developer, and, most recently, a road mostly to nowhere that hardly diminishes traffic or travel times, which features a statue that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars on which is emblazoned the names of the Bossier City establishment over the decades – including graybeards Republican councilors David Montgomery and Jeff Free, Democrat Bubba Williams, and independent Jeff Darby.

Veterans Day, 2024

This column publishes every Sunday through Thursday around noon U.S. Central Time (maybe even after sundown on busy days, or maybe before noon if things work out, or even sometimes on the weekend if there's big news) except whenever a significant national holiday falls on the Sunday through Thursday associated with the otherwise-usual publication on the previous day (unless it is Easter, Thanksgiving Day, Independence Day, Christmas, or New Year's Day when it is the day on which the holiday is observed by the U.S. government). In my opinion, in addition to these are also Memorial Day and Veterans' Day.

With Monday, Nov. 11 being Veterans' Day, I invite you to explore the links connected to this page.

Session also to vet important judicial bills

Although fiscal reform is getting all of the attention in Louisiana’s third special session of the year, a couple of very consequential bills dealing with legislative and judicial behavior also have received vetting.

One deals with the topic of legislative continuances, or the ability of legislators and legislature employees to delay trials when they are parties to a case. Until recently, state law essentially allowed these individuals (or their opponents to finesse against them) with impunity to delay cases in the most extreme cases for years. Perhaps the most notorious involves Democrat state Sen. Katrina Jackson-Andrews who had received $40,000 from the family of an accused murderer for his defense, but who has used a series of continuances to keep him from coming to trial while he awaits, jailed for five years.

But last month the Supreme Court decided a case involving another defendant frustrated that his day in court has been delayed years, involving Republican state Sen. Alan Seabaugh and most recently GOP state Rep. Michael Melerine (who has been part of the case but only became a legislator this year). It its ruling it struck down the law as intruding upon the separation of powers, in that the Legislature interfered with the judiciary’s basic constitutional operations.

GOP retaining House majority gets Landry off hook

As Republican Gov. Jeff Landry tries to shepherd home far-reaching reforms in Louisiana’s fiscal structure that would enhance his political stature, it looks as if he avoided a major hit to that with his party retaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

While the solid victory of GOP former Pres. Donald Trump will return him to office next Jan. 20 and appeared to aid in a pickup of four U.S. Senate seats, it’s looking largely stasis for the House. With about a dozen races still not definitively decided at this writing but several leaning the party’s way, it seems the House will remain in Republican hands and, in fact, projected to have the same number of seats, 220.

That, of course, is good news for the state’s Republican majority delegation, but really good news for GOP Reps. Mike Johnson and Steve Scalise. Johnson serves as the speaker and Scalise the majority leader, the top two positions in the chamber. The unprecedented tenure of the pair coming from the same state in those positions can continue only if Republicans retain control of the House.