State leaders fight to get special session

By J. Kojo Livingston
Contributing Writer

It is rare that a state treasurer will go against a sitting governor but that is exactly what is happening right now. State Treasurer John Kennedy backed a call for a special legislative session to address hundreds of millions in cuts that Governor Piyush “Bobby” Jindal waited until after the regular legislative session to push through. The post-session Jindal cuts threaten to close hospitals and correctional facilities and hurt other programs across the state.

Jerome “Dee” Richard, I-Thibodaux, has put for a proposal to convene a special legislative session to reconsider Jindal’s cuts. Others are lining up with him because of the extremity of Jindal’s action. Some feel that they have been bullied and deceived by the governor. “Since our adjournment in June, there has been almost a billion dollars in reductions to the state budget without any input from the Legislature. I believe it is time for us, as legislators, to aggressively reinsert ourselves into the budget process by using the constitutional rights given to us.”

Shreveport State Representative Roy Burrell says the public should be alarmed at both the cuts and the way the governor is going about making them. “He is leaving the legislature out of the process totally. This is not a good precedent.” Burrell was referencing the governor’s use of his ability to unilaterally cut certain line items below a certain dollar amount. Jindal has played that card extensively in recent weeks.

Kennedy was in Mandeville at a forum to address the planned closure of the Southeast Louisiana Hospital, a psychiatric facility. “This proposal is supposed to be because we don’t have enough money, and that’s just not accurate, folks” Not only is there supposed to be a surplus of $130 million that could help the facility but Kennedy suggests that money could be redirected from other areas, “I’ve read that Louisiana has as many as 19,000 consultant contracts. You want to save money? That’s where you start,” said Kennedy.

Burrell called a town meeting recently to find ways to protect the LSU Medical Center in Shreveport. At that meeting it was made clear what Jindal was trying to do and that he had the legal authority to do it. The question that was not resolved was what the public and elected officials should do about it.

Not long after Richard issued his call, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers issued its own call for a special session of the Legislature for different reasons. Richard wants to focus on the fiscal cuts but the federation wants to overturn Jindal’s education package. LFT President Steve Monaghan, said, “At the governor’s urging, the Legislature rushed through and rubber-stamped two poorly drafted, fatally flawed bills. They have fueled confusion and spawned litigation that could drag on for years. The best course for lawmakers is to reconsider them before public education suffers irreparable harm in our state.”

Some pundits question the effectiveness of Richard’s effort. Leaders of both the House and the Senate have come out against it, as has the governor. It is always difficult to get lawmakers to agree to come back to a special session. And even if they do re-convene, the governor could veto their decision. The question is would there be enough votes to override such a veto and prevent the closure of the hospitals and prisons slotted for closure.

Richards believes that it is necessary for the legislature to have the session, “We can either stand by and allow the administration to amend the budget or we can do what we were elected to do to represent our constituents.”

Rep. Pat Smith, D-Baton Rouge, said a special session might be necessary just to ensure that lawmakers get the information they need about the cuts occurring around the state. She noted that the closure of Phelps wasn’t discussed during the legislative session and that lawmakers learned of the decision only after it had been made.

“I think it’s abysmal,” Smith said. “I think what’s been happening has been so secretive, nobody knows what’s going on, there’s not enough information being given to legislators. It’s not the way we’re supposed to handle government.”

This article was originally published in the October 8, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper