Lawmakers continue to rate session’s outcome highly

The Tri-Parish area legislatures highlighted their successes and failures this legislative session. Here’s a continued breakdown of what they had to say.

Sen. Butch Gautreaux, D-Morgan City

Victories:

Gautreaux said some of his success comes from killing bad legislation, as well as pay raises for state employees and teachers.

He highlighted one piece of legislation that created a levee district for St. Mary Parish.

“We just never saw that we had a need for a levee district to represent St. Mary Parish in the past,” said Gautreaux. “With Katrina and Rita, we had about 1,000 homes underwater in St. Mary Parish and we had water come all the way up to Franklin. So, we see where we need a concerted effort on the local level, just as Terrebonne has had for years to lobby for flood protection and hurricane protection.”

He also had a state Senate concurrent resolution pass to deal with the state’s waiver slot for the disabled problem. Currently there are 13,000 waiver slots the state cannot address financially.

“Congress has mandated that once you open a waiver slot for someone, you have to give them like a program that really gives a cafeteria plan of benefits that really most recipients don’t need,” said Gautreaux.

His resolution has a study group coming up with ideas for recommendations to Congress on how the state can better achieve satisfying the needs of most of the disabled and their families.

“What I’m told and what I learned through my investigation was that there are people that just need help. They don’t need the government to take over their responsibilities and take care of their loved ones,” said Gautreaux. “Some people just need relief for one day a week, where they can have a day off from providing care for their loved one. That would add to the quality of their life, in addition to the quality of life of the person being card for, because it would prevent burnout (among caregivers).”

He said he doesn’t know what will be decided by the study group, which will spend a year looking at the unmet needs of the disabled and their families.

“For years and years and years, the legislature has been faced with the dilemma of not even being able to come close to adequately address these needs because of extreme cost. And now, hopefully we will be able to come up with some ideas where we can satisfy some needs and help more people,” said Gautreaux.

He credited Sen. Reggie P. Dupre, D-Houma, with doing an outstanding job getting the legislature to get an inordinate amount of the states surplus put into coastal protection.

He also said Rep. Gordon Dove, R-Houma, did a great job getting money for the barrier island restoration project.

Defeats:

Gautreaux sees his biggest defeat as failing to stop an insurance bill, House Bill 678, which uses $100 million for incentive packages to try to bring insurance companies and windstorm and hail coverage back to south Louisiana.

“If it was an incentive to buy the Citizens’ policies, then I think that would have been money well spent. Or if it would have been to get the companies to lower the premiums to the policy holders in Louisiana, I think that would have been money well spent,” he said. “But it doesn’t do anything except put $100 million in the hands of the insurance industry.”

He said the insurance industry has a great lobbying arm in the state and it prevailed.

“Whatever money they spent in lobbying, they reaped in dividends from tax dollars,” said Gautreaux. “I just think that was an incredible thing to do with no guarantees.”

Grade:

Gautreaux said everyone from the delegation did a good job and would leave it up to his constituents to grade him.

Gautreaux on the end of Warren Triche’s 20 years in the House:

“He, like everybody else, has had victories and failures, but what Warren does comes from his heart,” said Gautreaux. “He’s got a unique style and some people, frankly, don’t appreciate it, but there’s no question where Warren stands on an issue. And I think that’s definitely a plus for him.”

Rep. Damon J. Baldone, D-Houma

Victories:

He said the number one success he wanted was getting money for the Morganza to the Gulf project.

“That’s always our first priority here in Terrebonne and Laforuche parishes,” said Baldone.

He also listed the $60 million or so for the LA 1 project and $200 million for coastal restoration as “huge successes.”

“I think we hit a home run this session I really do. We did very well for this area,” said Baldone.

Defeats:

Baldone said he had a couple of tax credits he wished he could have gotten through.

One would have raised the bottom scale of the income tax level so people below the poverty level would not have to pay state income tax. For example, a single person making $9,000 a year would not pay state income tax had the tax cut gone through.

“I can’t believe that we have a tax on people who are below poverty,” said Baldone. “That was my biggest defeat. I wish I could have gotten that through.”

Grade:

Baldone graded himself an “A” for this session.

He said if he could have gotten his tax cut, passed it would be an “A+,” but getting the money for coastal protection still warrants an “A,” because of its importance to the area.

Baldone on the end of Warren Triche’s 20 years in the House:

He said Triche’s departure from the House is going to be a great loss for the area.

“Warren was a fighter for south Louisiana,” said Baldone. “I wish him well and I’m sure he’ll be around helping out. He’s a good public servant and I think he intends to give back to the community like he’s always done. He’s a great guy and he’s going to be sorely missed by the delegation.”

Rep. Carla Blanchard Dartez, D-Morgan City

Victories:

Dartez cited the raises for police and firemen in the state as being a big success, as well as the raises for the state’s teacher and school support workers.

She characterized this session as having “the greatest investment we’ve ever made in Louisiana history for education” with such investments including the expansion of the LA 4 early childhood program, an increase to the Minimum Foundation Program, an investment of $25 million into the K-12 classroom technology program and an increase in funding for high school redesign.

She also pointed to tax cuts, a step toward ethics reform and a defeat of a bill that would have allowed insurance companies to increase deductibles on homes, as big victories.

Defeats:

Dartez said one of her defeats was a resolution to ask the Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors to study the possibility of relocating the LSU School of Medicine at New Orleans to Baton Rouge.

She voluntarily deferred the bill, explaining Gov. Kathleen Blanco would have vetoed it anyway. And she decided to focus more on a study on a regionalizing of the state’s charity hospital system.

She said she also wishes they could have done more with the state’s insurance problems, wanting to see more immediate relief. But was glad the legislature at least passed a bill to prevent insurance companies form dropping people who make multiple claims over a three-year period.

And she cites the failure of the passage of an ethics bill as a defeat.

“I’ll come back with a vengeance next year, if I’m blessed to be re-elected to take care of my constituents,” said Dartez.

Grade:

Dartez graded herself an “A,” saying she gave it everything she had.

Dartez on the end of Warren Triche’s 20 years in the House:

“I always have well wishes for him. He’s a good man,” said Dartez. “He’s my friend and I wish him well in anything.”

Rep. Loulan Pitre, R-Cut Off, could not be reached by press time.