Merge LA retirement systems to improve performance

At least some progress has come at the poster child for problems with Louisiana’s retirement systems, the Municipal Police Employees Retirement System, has taken and looks to take other steps to rein in the potential for abuse of retiree and taxpayer dollars. But risk unnecessarily exists unless more drastic changes make their way into law.

As previously noted, MPERS launched questionable investment strategies and compounded with lax oversight controls created a situation that accelerated poor financial performance and allowed siphoning off additional funds to fraud. As a result, retirees from almost all municipal police forces in the state draw lower pensions and taxpayers must pony up more money and/or forgo increased service to compensate.

To date a trio of bills, SB 2 by state Sen. Elbert Guillory, HB 426 by state Rep. Chuck Kleckley and HB 332 by state Rep. Kevin Pearson, seek to address fundamental shortcomings in managing the funds designed for state employees. Kleckley’s bill addresses three of the four major funds by adding state executive branch representation, while Pearson’s alters of the composition of MPERS trustees specifically and Guillory’s addresses the same for the small Registrars of Voters Employees' Retirement System, adding the potential for much more informed and professional management.

Still, it’s not enough at getting at the root of the problem. Part of the breakdown at MPERS came because the trustees, with the exception of ex-oficio members the chairmen of the respective House and Senate Retirement Committees who rarely attended trustees meetings, were all current or retired officers with little background in finance. Adding the executive branch officers can provide more sunshine and opportunities to interject expertise into governance, but appointed representatives still would predominate. At MPERS, it was this majority of trustees that approved implementation of unsound managerial practices in the first place.

But related to the potential for inexpert majorities to make unwise decisions is Louisiana simply has too many separate retirement systems. Besides the four major “state” systems, there are the nine other “statewide” systems (such as MPERS) and then 20 designed for specific local jurisdictions. All having separate boards of trustees and only the four state systems at present with any formal state executive branch presence (under the jurisdiction of the state treasurer), it creates a lot of appointed positions but little guaranteed expertise.

Much better would be to dramatically reduce the number of systems, perhaps even to the minimum of one as practiced in Maine and Hawai’i. It may not have to be even that low, as similar-sized states neighboring Mississippi and Oregon have only four, while larger Wisconsin has just three and much bigger Ohio has six and New York nine.

There seems to be no logical reason to have so many systems separated out as they currently exist in the state, other than decades ago as state and local agencies agreed with the advantages of offering retirement benefits to their employees these systems came into being in piecemeal fashion. Are the investment objectives, given their specific kinds of employment, so different among registrars’ employees, municipal police employees, and employees of most state agencies? Why cannot a single board invest on behalf of all?

Having fewer systems means fewer boards with inexpert trustees and the reduced possibility of their activities escaping oversight. It also increases investment options by having larger pools of assets to put to work and limits the impact that bad investments can make. True reform of the structure of retirement systems in Louisiana would consolidate the many systems into a very few and putting board membership policies into place that would maximize oversight and professional management – making a repeat of what happened at MPERS over the past dozen years much less likely.

Results confirm Democrat impotency, emerging shrillness

Reality, as much as they tried to deny it, finally came home to Louisiana Democrats as the Senate finally approved a congressional remap that conformed to what Republicans, especially Gov. Bobby Jindal, wanted. In a larger sense, the surrender confirms the transformation of Louisiana politics.

The House adamantly supported GOP preferences and had its bill HB 6 by state Rep. Erich Ponti forwarded to the Senate, with the argument that, given Jindal’s position that he would sign only a bill like it with two north-south districts, it had the only bill that realistically could go into law. Further, House leaders agreed with Jindal that if the Senate would not agree now to this, they were willing to end the session without this matter resolved. Enough Democrat senators had succeeded in blocking this bill and in passing an alternative that improved their chances of electing Democrats only through the aid of former co-partisans who had defected on these votes in order to satisfy what they saw as regional imperatives.

In the past few days, Democrats and their shills had tried a number of tactics to deflect blame from their obstructionism. They faulted Jindal for insertion of his intentions – ignoring the fact the Constitution gives him an explicit role in the process. They tried to claim somehow their idea of having northern and central bands as districts somehow had some kind of moral superiority – even as theirs’ ravaged at least as many community interests, were opposed by at least as many communities as they claimed supported it, and were at least as partisan as the majority’s plan. They sought to define a session that did not act on a congressional plan as a failure costing taxpayer dollars (despite their wasting of time in acquiescing to adjournments and in supporting resolutions arguing for completion of congressional remapping) – even as if they had bowed sooner to the reality that they did not have the power to pass their partisan plan the session would already have ended with a congressional plan in place.

Yet the Senate in committee took the bill and would not agree to pass it out unless it was altered radically, away from the established preference. That happened only because state Sen. Bill Kostelka, who opposed in principle the alteration, voted to get it to the floor to keep the process alive. This became crucial because House leaders reiterated that a Senate bill similar to the amended version simply could not pass and would not move it, and if that was the best the Senate could do, the session would not produce resolution.

This still did not quell Democrat desperation, born of protest against their new political world where they do not have majorities in any branch of Louisiana government. Perhaps the most persistent objector to the preferred plan was Democrat Pres. Joel Chaisson, who urged the Senate to reject amendments by state Sen. Neil Riser to put the bill essentially back in the form it had come from the House.

But the Senate finally saw it Jindal’s and the House’s way by approving Riser’s amendment fairly decisively. As a point of reference, three of the five switchers from Democrat to Republican in the past four years who had voted against Riser’s bill SB 24 that had been similar to Ponti’s voted for the amendment.

Chaisson basically threw in the towel at this point. But now black Democrats brought up their own previously-defeated, and very likely unconstitutional, two majority-minority districts, and state Sen. Lydia Jackson harangued its membership by saying repeated calls to call the question on the entire bill, which didn’t succeed, were racially discriminatory – as part of a larger kitchen-sink tactic to try to set up a legal challenge to anything that doesn’t fit their plan. Arrogantly, state Sen. Karen Peterson echoed the theme that racism lay behind rejection of that plan (which brought objection of her rhetoric from state Sen. Joe McPherson, even as he said he liked the idea because it would be a good district for him to run for Congress).

However, in the end, all the bullying and posturing amounted to nothing, with the defeat of this amendment and then passage of the bill in the Senate. Later, the House concurred in the Senate changes, sending it to Jindal for his expected signature.

In some ways, the exercise reminds of the scenes in the original version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, where alien life forms come to Earth as seedlings, grow into pods, subsume humans bodily, and then supplant them, although in the end humans prevent them from taking power. When the pod swallows the body was like when Riser’s amendment succeeded, signaling a substantive end for white Democrats as being able to control affairs of Louisiana government. After that, the emergence of the mutated human symbolizes the new Democrats in government, evidenced by their last-ditch amendment and associated rhetoric of now a voting minority party run by its racial minority members, and unable to wield power.

In historical perspective, the way to conceptualize the place of this session, and specifically on the issue of the congressional map, is to see it as the final stage of the transfer of power from Democrats, pursuing a populist, liberal agenda, to Republicans, following a reform, conservative agenda. And while the new majority will continue with its previous agenda, the powers that will run the now-minority will change its agenda. Look for it to become more shrill, based upon casting racist motives on the majority, and even more emotive and less analytical in its argumentation. Thus is the price of progress in improved policy-making in Louisiana.

Court stops try to make LA recognize same sex marriage

Finally, reasoning heads have prevailed when the full federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that other states’ laws do not have to alter Louisiana’s Constitution in an area where states have full autonomy to exercise power.

The court overturned earlier rulings by a district court and a three-judge panel of its to declare that Louisiana did not have to issue a birth certificate with the names of two males for a Louisiana child they adopted. In other states that permit adoption by a couple of the same sex they had adopted this child, and also benefitted from a same-sex marriage. Then they asked that both of their names be placed upon the Louisiana-issued certificate.

But Louisiana law says that adoption may occur only to a family of a single individual or of a married couple. Further, the Louisiana Constitution defines marriage as occurring between a single man and a single woman.

Futile plan opposition to continue at LA citizens' expense

After travelling a convoluted path, bills to redistrict the Louisiana House and Senate pretty much ended up where they started, while some less-than-honest legislators continued the spadework to throw a spanner into the process to satisfy their political agenda.

HB 1 and SB 1, the chambers’ plans, passed by large margins in the other chamber and now go for promised signature into law by Gov. Bobby Jindal. Neither is much different from their versions originally introduced, making necessary boundary shifts due to population and increasing the number of minority-majority seats that gets the overall proportion of such districts closer to, but not equivalent to and still below, the proportion of the state’s black population. Besides that goal, chamber leaders said the plans also focused on incumbent protection.

These outcomes are perfectly consistent with jurisprudence regarding redistricting and as such the plans suffer no constitutional deficiencies. Yet some black Democrat legislators, until the very end, either ignorant or disingenuous about the law, kept insisting otherwise. Understanding their political motives explains why.

Strange map maneuvers may reveal high-risk gambit

Even with the inevitability that interests aligned with Gov. Bobby Jindal will prevail at some point, publicity about Louisiana remapping of Congressional districts has taken away attention from a more curious dispute within the Legislature about how each chamber’s new districts are to look.

It’s unusual because the norm has been that each chamber takes care of its own lines and then the other defer totally to it, and vice-versa. But last week Republican House Speaker Jim Tucker declared that the Senate version SB 1 could not go through as is given the existence of non-contiguous precincts existing in a Rapides-parish based Senate district (the plan carves up the parish into four of them). Democrat Senate Pres. Joel Chaisson denied this and said Tucker was manufacturing the issue to hold the plan hostage for some unspecified reason. This touched off successive adjournments through the weekend presumably to work out matters.

Clearly, both leaders cannot be correct.

Inevitable remap plan slowed by other political purposes

Given the current lack of comity over redistricting questions in the Louisiana Legislature, I seriously doubt enough members could get together to Rick Roll anybody. But there’s plenty of political purpose spilling out of the struggle to carve out Congressional districts, and not just from those putting down the hammer on others.

As previously noted, the force holding all the cards on this question is Gov. Bobby Jindal because the Republican can veto with no realistic chance of override any plan he doesn’t like. Further, time is on his side because the longer legislators take to get something passed, the more inconvenient it will be for them and the more likely it is that political forces will favor Jindal’s allies inside and outside of the Legislature. For the U.S. House of Representatives’ plan, they don’t want to have to deal with it during either the upcoming or 2012 Regular Session or in another special session early next year. And if they don’t get it done now or in the session beginning in two weeks, by 2012 chances are Republicans will increase their majorities and Jindal will be reelected, strengthening their position even further.

If this reality was not already realized, a letter released by all Republican House members except Rep. Charles Boustany and endorsed by Jindal brought this home, which stated it was the preference of the signatories that the process be restarted in 2012.

Kennedy's misrepresentations undermine his credibility

Probably as a happy confluence of political ambition and real desire to reduce state spending, Louisiana Treasurer John Kennedy has not displayed any shyness in tossing out many ideas – most good, some already implemented, and a few unworkable – addressing the downsizing state government. But recent remarks of his on the topic have caused his credibility on the issue to take a big hit.

In a speech to a civic organization interested in politics, Kennedy threw out some bromides for cost-cutting about which he has stumped for some time, but then let go with one that may have left his listeners in disbelief: that the state has between 30,000 and 35,000 political appointees, who make an average of $80,000 a year. Subsequently, he repeated such numbers in a call into the Moon Griffon radio talk show.

As well the in-person and radio audiences should have felt in disbelief – because that simply is not true.

Jindal resolve will secure his preferred Congress remap

The last gasp of Democrats trying to retain power in the Louisiana for the foreseeable future came yesterday when the Senate bucked the plan preferred by Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal for Congressional redistricting. Aided by a few new Senate Republicans looking for political cover that they could exploit on this issue, when that assistance no longer can be forthcoming, then comes the flatline.

Jindal prefers SB 24 by state Sen. Neil Riser, which closely tracks legislation that already has cleared the House, that creates two north-south districts. This bill lost as narrowly as possible, 19-20, while the Senate passed a rival measure, SB 3 by state Sen. Lydia Jackson, 23-15, which creates a northern and a central band preferred by Democrats because it makes for a map that is more competitive for their candidates.

Riser’s measure lost because five southern Louisiana Senators who have switched from the Democrats to Republicans in the last four years, all but one in the last few months, went against it

Democrat, GOP leaders would rejoice at Fayard candidacy

Seldom does a high-profile politician come along that both Louisiana Democrats and Republicans fervently hope will run for office. One has emerged as a candidate for governor later this fall – all because, for different reasons and at different levels, she is such a useful idiot.

In fact, as far as these go, former lieutenant governor candidate for Democrats Caroline Fayard is about as useful an idiot as you can get. The term “useful idiot” came from European communist movements, to describe somebody that thinks of herself as an ideological ally of a group but instead is held in contempt by it and used for its own purposes that do not match hers. The modern formation of the classical definition describes well her relationship with state Democrat power brokers.

They face an ongoing crisis as Republicans now hold all levers of power in every single elective policy-making way – all executive branch offices, both chambers of the Legislature, the Public Service Commission and (counting the appointed members) the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

New Democrat powers push plan out of spite of LA citizens

Democrats look set to follow a scorched earth strategy as a final tactic to try to influence the drawing of legislatures’ district boundaries, as they come to grips with the fact that they no longer call the tune when it comes to that function and with the change in leadership that they are undergoing.

Evidence of this accompanied the introduction of HB 42 by independent Michael Jackson. He’s not currently a Democrat, but was for many years until he felt the white-based hierarchy of the party disregarded too thoroughly the contributions and aspirations of blacks in it and chose to play a spoiler that possibly may have cost it a Congressional seat. And this introduction itself showed how things have changed in three years as to runs the party now.

This map actually found a way to draw a second majority black district in Louisiana, in an exercise in convolution that contorts so that it’s a nonstarter constitutionally.