Bad LA censorship law degrades election process

As election season winds down, maybe this will be the last conducted under an odious Louisiana law that chills free speech and degrades election decision-making.

Federal constitutional law sets only the most obvious and basic parameters regarding campaign communications. Basically, only the standards governing defamation apply: i.e., a public figure such as a contestant for office can have any expression made against him except those that are patently untrue and done with malice. And there’s no constitutional prohibition against making whatever claims about a candidate’s self, regardless of their veracity.

Just so. Except in those intentional defamatory cases, the political process should be allowed to play out to separate the wheat from the chaff, especially when this deals with claims made by a candidate about himself. If outright lies about past behavior or statements are made, electioneering by opposing forces quite often uncovers the falsity.

LA early voting doesn’t portend Democrat upsets

It’s madness to try to figure out election day results from early voting in Louisiana, but the best that can be derived is that Democrats won’t be as far behind as Republicans in the bellwether Senate race as has become typical.

Coming to this conclusion starts from a rough foundation. Early voting ended earlier this week, with final relevant numbers of whites casting 321,333 ballots to blacks logging 180,219, and Democrats having 222,806 voters to Republicans’ 206,278. As reference there were 1,854,793 white and 933,052 black voters registered, with 1,060,252 Democrats and 1,067,827 Republicans.

These results should start from the baseline of the last non-presidential election that featured a Senate race, 2022. Note, however, two important changes occurred between these dates. First, whereas then all elections on the ballot came as part of a general election under a blanket primary system, this time a few, most principally the presumed biggest draw the Senate contest, will feature the general election without possibility of runoff.

Build on upgrade by following reforms through

As Louisiana’s economic fortunes under Republican Gov. Jeff Landry continue to improve, it can’t rob Peter to pay Paul if it expects the progress to continue.

With the Legislature endorsing overall tax cuts and the Landry Administration hustling that grabbed hundreds of billions of dollars in new economic development, Fitch Ratings noticed and upgraded the state’s general obligation bond debt (it also recently has upgraded several other kinds of state issuances). That means in the constant revolving door of debt that state issues will come at lower interest rates, saving taxpayer dollars.

This will provide some minor relief from projected budget deficits beginning next fiscal year, which the state pegs will grow from $541 million next year to $1.23 billion by fiscal year 2030. Another debt-related maneuver that could ease the burden somewhat also would be to take the bulk of the recently-forecast surplus and pay down debt.

Reinvigorated office comes up aces on advice

Questionable spending of Louisiana taxpayer dollars by nonprofit organizations allowed by state government invites wondering why obvious fixes only now seem imminent to be put in place.

Recently, the Inspector General’s office, run by IG Angéle Davis, released a report questioning the $113.5 million doled out to various nonprofits for 2026 after a review uncovered questionable payments, inadequate financial reporting and other oversight failures. Several specific items that had been investigated posed problems according to state law, with their amounts totaling just over $1 million.

State government routinely apportions half of appropriated amounts to organizations as advance payments prior to producing documentation about spending. Agencies also appear lax in checking that. A report outlining these observations focused on only a few items, also detailing recommended changes subsequently approved to go into effect to try to mitigate problems. These include receiving reimbursements for documented expenditures rather than advance payments with exceptions allowed but capped at 25 percent, capping certain administrative expenses at 10 percent of the total, and increasing scrutiny of organizations controlled by a single individual or established shortly before receiving an appropriation.

Most, maybe all, LA amendments likely to pass

Despite the contrary musings of some, expect most, perhaps even all, constitutional amendments plastered on Louisiana’s ballot next month to pass voter muster.

Some questions about the chances of the 10 amendments up for vetting have come given that the last two elections featuring these saw every single one go down to defeat. While some speculation centered on whether this signaled a referendum of sorts on state government and its elected officials, more valid explanations focused on idiosyncratic reasons and, most importantly, the timing. Both factors will matter more favorably for the set that voters face this time.

Regardless of the often minimal attention most voters pay to these, content does matter. Many of the items of the past two years called for ambitious overhauls of the Constitution, especially in the area of state fiscal affairs. These are the measures that most optimally compel the voter with only a passing interest to turn out – and disproportionally negatively so, with the state’s long history of lukewarm or worse budgetary management. Compound that with the special interests that would lose out under new arrangements aggressively campaigning against these, and it’s a tough road to hoe.

LA black political leaders blame, refuse to learn

Recent comments made by some black political activists show how for them it’s not about advancing the black community, but about advancing black leftist political interests, with a little help from a writer a bit too eager to inject bias into recounting their musings.

A story about the impact that black voting turnout could have on elections a fortnight away solicited opinions from state and local elected, party, and interest group leaders revealed a narrowly-construed array of attitudes more indicative of an America of six decades ago than reflecting today’s reality. These also served as an indictment of failure of these leaders and those who have or had shared these beliefs in improving the prospects of the entirety of black America.

Admittedly, the journalist who authored the piece, Tyler Bridges, didn’t do them any favors in presenting their views. For example, in referring to the U.S. Supreme Court case Louisiana v. Callais, it misstates the decision, which reaffirmed that race could be a primary consideration in reapportionment only when there is identified intent of discrimination against a protected class. That ruling corrected a drift over the decades where intent had become superseded by outcome, or the belief that the proportion of black officials elected in a jurisdiction had to match roughly the proportion of blacks in the population; if that wasn’t the case, systemic bias existed despite laws that bent over backwards to ensure otherwise. The author instead injects opinion when writing the decision “weakened voting rights protections,” as if there was genuine justification to putting race foremost in mapping.

With surplus, resist urge to not pay down debts

Louisiana doesn’t need to get ahead of itself upon reception of impending budgetary good news.

Last week, the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget approved its typical October fiscal status statement, which is a report made by the Division of Administration on where it determines the state’s final fiscal picture relative to the budget that expired at the end of the state’s fiscal year. DOA now sees the fiscal year 2026 budget producing a surplus of $565 million. While predicted expenditures and other requirements were thought to have risen about $100 million to around $13.1 billion in general fund dollars, revenues shot up nearly $1 billion, with the difference being carryforwards and transaction timings.

Reasons why things turned out rosier than expected DOA didn’t say nor did any committee members ask. Likely a burst of economic activity during the term of Republican Gov. Jeff Landry primarily in the energy sector and in construction of data centers, soon the first of which will commence operations, explains this.

Entitled brats illustrate need for new initiative

One incident at the last Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors meeting encapsulates why another item on its agenda is so entirely needed.

As by the state’s open meeting laws, after ceremonial matters the Board solicited public comment on items part of the agenda. Whereupon a student from a campus radical organization began issuing constipated “demands,” contrary to the law which says if a public body chooses this option the comment must adhere to an agenda item, which that did not. That was announced at the start and online which noted requests to speak and the specific item for comment must be registered prior to the meeting. The student, setting a fine example, simply lied.

When it became clear that the student’s comments would not stick to the agenda, he was asked to leave, and then when he refused, he and his chanting confederates (who also requested public comment on the same item) were escorted out. Kudos to Board Chairman Lee Mallett for not letting the meeting become hijacked, when there are many in higher education made of much less sterner stuff who allow bullies free rein at meetings, as well as to officials who cut the microphone off.

Most items on full slate LA voters should approve

Louisiana voters face ten amendments this fall, half dealing with property taxes and most worthy of passage. Let’s see why or why not:

#1 – would allow surviving spouses of disabled veterans to continue receiving any property tax exemption at one subsequent location. Exemptions normally should be opposed with broadly-based lower rates preferred, but it’s already in place an exception can be made here for spouses whose spouses sacrificed with at least a 50 percent disability as a way for the state to thank their families. YES.

#2 – would allow jurisdictions more flexibility in setting millages. Currently, unless a jurisdiction keeps its rates always at the maximum approved by voters, it may lose that ability to go to the maximum if necessary. Letting rollbacks occur without forfeiting this possibility may encourage more jurisdictions not to set rates at the maximum once in the quadrennial period, reducing property tax rates in the aggregate. YES.

Arceneaux laps challenger field in mayoral forums

If viewers learned anything from a Shreveport mayoral forum doubleheader broadcast earlier this week on different television stations sponsored by the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, it’s that the huge fundraising lead that Republican incumbent Tom Arceneaux has extends also to his knowledge of city affairs and to his program going forward in comparison to his opponents.

The pair of events started with one concentrating on economic development and then moving on the next night to the other’s focus on infrastructure. It quickly became clear that his challengers had particular mantras to which they would stick adding little else, no matter how vacuous or even fact-impaired these might be. The participants chosen likely are the only ones that have a chance to break into double-digit percentages of the vote.

The simplest candidate of all was Democrat Caddo Parish Commissioner Stormy Gage-Watts. Navigating through her word salad proved challenging. Over and over again she asserted that hiring a city planner and creating an online “dashboard” – which as Arceneaux pointed out the city had already, at least for capital projects – to track city spending were the big answers to what ails the city. She charged that certain neighborhoods were neglected compared to others, such as in street lighting, and that all seven Council districts needed equal treatment – interesting statements considering she apparently lives outside the city, not at the domicile inside the city accepted in her qualification.