Enough is Enough

After researching the day to day operation of the special session held earlier this year by Governor Edwards and our legislators, it is obvious that something needs to change to curb the influence of the strong lobbyist groups operating at Baton Rouge.   Most government watch dogs have concluded that the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI)  basically controlled almost every revenue raising measure that was passed by that session.   Sadly, the LABI is only the tip of the iceberg regarding the lobbyist influences operating at our state Capital.

A great deal of this lobbyist influence can be traced back to the monies contributed to particular legislators’ re-election campaigns and the perks offered to them after re-election.   Therefore, it‘s time for a radical change, and I am up for the challenge.

The new plan would allow legislators to be elected for ONE five year term.  After the five years, the legislator can no longer serve in either legislative branch for two years.  This would prevent our esteemed legislators from gaming the term limit laws presently on the books.   While both the House and Senate limit members’ service to eight years, they are mutually exclusive.  After reaching term limits in one branch, a member simply runs for election to the other branch.  Thus, we have individuals like John Alario, Jr. who has flip-flopped back and forth among the House and Senate for 44 years.  Can you image how many lobbyist groups he has been beholden to during those 44 years?

Additionally, under my plan, no member of the legislature may be employed by any business, or corporation that presently does business with our state or receives future contracts for two years after leaving the legislature.

Some might argue against this proposal that our legislature would lose the important historical knowledge and stability that long term legislators bring to the table.  The just completed special session and current session speaks volumes about the fallacies of such an argument.   Realistic stable solutions to the state’s debt have failed to materialize from our ‘experienced legislators’.  In fact most are stuck in the old funding solutions of the past that simply no longer work.

I’m giving legislators five years to get the job done, without the stress of worrying about not getting re-election contributions because they alienated a lobbyist group.   Is it a perfect solution; most likely not.   Will it completely prevent groups like the LABI from dominating legislative sessions; not completely.   But the proposal might just make our representatives more attentive to the people they represent.  Heck with the exception of Governor John Bel Edwards and State Superintendent of Education, John White, I don’t even get the courtesy of a response to the many emails I have sent to some of our legislators over the years.  It’s like my emails fall into some kind of ‘Black Hole’ in outer space.  But then again, I have no perks that I can offer them.