Watch what politicians do, not what they say
3rd June 2019 · 0 Comments
“Watch what we do, not what we say,” was the advice Nixon’s first Attorney General, John Mitchell, gave the press in 1969. Clearly the press took him at his word. Eight years later, Mitchell would begin a 19-month prison sentence for his role in the Watergate Scandal, a watershed political crime that was exposed by Washington Post reporters.
While those words hail from a 20th Century politician, citizens do well to heed Mitchell’s advice when it comes to politicians at all legislative levels, national, state, and local.
It’s easy to ignore what they do in Louisiana; especially in New Orleans, where everyday people are barely scrapping by, yet working harder than ever to put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads, and pay bills on time.
Louisiana remains in the 20th Century when it comes to wages, job growth, and quality of life issues. That New Orleans’ number one economic generator is tourism is a disheartening reality for those seeking a living wage and career advancement. Even professionals are having a hard time remaining in the city they love because the leading industry is not committed to paying salaries comparable to the national average.
To be sure, top executives who oversee major attractions like the Superdome, Convention Center, and the vendors that promote and market them, hotels and Bourbon St. businesses, restaurants, parks, etc., are making bank. But for the majority of New Orleanians? No Ma’am and No Sir.
It’s important to watch what those who represent us do and listen to little of what they say, because they make laws that appropriate tax dollars, fund public entities, determine criminal penalties, and regulate our way of life. To paraphrase Heather Hyer, the anti-white supremacist protester, who was tragically mowed down by a white supremacist over a confederate statue, “If you don’t know what’s going on, you’re not paying attention.”
Whether we want to or not, it’s most certainly in our best interests to pay attention. Those who legislate hold the keys to economic opportunities, how much in taxes we pay, and whether we will live in a thriving community, where we can grow and maximize our potential.
For example, the Louisiana Legislature’s session will end on June 6. What have our elected officials been doing in the Louisiana Capitol?
Well, the 2019 session info shows several New Orleans legislators trying to make things better for their constituents.
Here’s a brief snapshot at what they have been doing:
State Senator Troy Carter has a bill pending for a Constitutional Amendment to establish a state minimum hourly wage of $9 and authorize the legislature to increase the minimum wage by law. Carter is also proposing automatic voter registration for those who apply for or renew their driver’s license or state ID cards. He’s also proposing a Constitutional Amendment to authorize ad valorem tax exemptions in Orleans Parish to promote affordable housing, and another bill which provides interpreters for non-English-speaking persons in civil protective order cases.
Representative John Bagneris proposed a bill to keep authorities from suspending a person’s driver’s license, if the person is financially unable to pay a criminal fine. It died in committee. Bagneris’ HB509 would have legalized and regulated the adult consumption of marijuana but it never made it out of the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee. Another of Bagneris’ bills failed. That bill would have parole violators serve concurrent sentences, for any crime committed while on parole, as opposed to a new consecutive sentence,
Senator Wesley Bishop’s bills include a call for a nursing education program at Southern University at New Orleans, where Bishop is Vice-Chancellor; a ten year plan to increase teacher salaries to “the highest in the nation,” and a decrease in homeowners’ insurance premiums, when the homeowner makes improvements or modifications to the property, among other proposals.
Senator J.P. Morrell filed a slew of bills this session. SB4 calls for a Constitutional Amendment to exempt diapers and feminine hygiene products from state sales and use tax. Another amends a law to add wage disclosure to the list of items in an anti-discrimination bill. If it passes, the bill will keep employers from making employees sign non-disclosure agreements as a condition of employment, which denies the employee the right to inquire about, discuss, or disclose the amount of her/his wages in pursuit of equal pay.
Morrell’s domestic violence-related bill limits the incarceration of victims of domestic violence and sex offenses who refuse to testify against their abusers, and his bill to authorize local governments to charge a fee on certain gaming winnings to fund local early childhood programs are waiting final passage in the House and Senate, respectively.
State Representative Joseph Bouie is known for pushing socially conscious bills that may not be popular among his northern colleagues, but he puts them on the table, anyway. Bouie’s HB 46 would have mandated the counting of incarcerated people for the purpose of all redistricting in the upcoming 2020 census. HB46 was involuntarily deferred in the House and Governmental Affairs.
Bouie’s bill which required any contractor, who enters into a contract with a public entity, to comply with the Louisiana Equal Pay for Women Act went down in flames in the House and Governmental Affairs Committee and another of the legislator’s bills, which would have created the Louisiana Employment Non-Discrimination Act died in the Labor and Industrial Relations Committee.
Hopefully, Bouie’s legislation for the collection and reporting of certain information relative to school safety and discipline including numbers of school resource officers and student suspensions, expulsions, removals to alternative settings, referrals to law enforcement, and school-related arrests, will make it out of the Senate Education Committee.
Royce Duplessis, elected in 2018, has hit the ground running. The Xavier and Howard University educated lawyer has legislation pending to study the protections, rights and services afforded children with incarcerated parents for the purpose of adopting a “bill of rights” for those kids. Duplessis is also calling for a health study into the treatment of victims of sexual assault.
On the safety front, Duplessis is proposing mandatory ignition interlock devices for DWI offenders. He also wants police to issue a citation to people with suspended, revoked or canceled driver’s licenses, in lieu of arrests.
However, Duplessis’ bill to allow parishes and municipalities to set their own local minimum wage rate and minimum number of leave days died in the House Labor and Industrial Relations Committee. The fate of Duplessis’ bill to extend the time period for filing an application for post-conviction relief DNA testing and for the preservation of evidence has yet to be decided by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senator Karen Carter Peterson’s SB204, which allows Orleans Parish voters to decide how dedicated hospitality taxes and food and beverage taxes collected by authorities are distributed, is pending in the Senate Local and Municipal Affairs Committee. Peterson’s legislation is in keeping with New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s efforts to get a “fair share” of tourism revenues collected by authorities, such as the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority and a slice of the hotel occupancy taxes.
State Representative Jimmy Harris wants public school students to be schooled in personal finance management and he wants parents to sign a statement attesting to the driving behavior of a minor child who has a learner’s license before that child is granted a Class E Intermediate Driver’s License at age 16. The child “must remain accident free, unless the licensee is not at fault, and receive no convictions for moving violations or violations of seat belt or curfew laws of this state or any law pertaining to drugs or alcohol use.”
Harris put forth a resolution urging the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans to study and report on the prevalence of lead user service lines in its drinking water distribution system, but it appears to be DOA in the House, Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs Committee.
Money talks and other stuff walks, so it’s no surprise that Harris’ bill to add structures located in opportunity zones to the properties eligible to participate in the Restoration Tax Abatement Program is already waiting for the governor’s signature. Present law authorizes the Restoration Tax Abatement program which allows owners of commercial structures or an owner-occupied residence in a downtown, historic or economic development district who expand, restore, improve or develop eligible property to pay ad valorem taxes for five years based on the assessed valuation of the property for the year prior to the commencement of the expansion, restoration, improvement or development.
Obviously, the Republican-dominated Louisiana State Legislature loves tax credits and any bills that benefits to its core constituents, so Harris’ bill to extend the sunset of tax credits for rehabilitation of historic structures to January 2026 will, most likely pass out of the Senate Finance Committee.
Like Karen Carter Peterson, Harris put forth legislation that will authorize the city of New Orleans to get a piece of the tourism industry pie. His legislation will allow the city to collect an occupancy tax on short term rentals of overnight lodging, not to exceed 6.75 percent. It’s another referendum voters will have to approve. This bill will most likely pass because the New Orleans & Company (formerly the Metropolitan New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau), will get 25% of this new tax.
At a legislative hearing last month, the company’s CEO J. Stephen Perry, called Mayor Cantrell’s bid to get a fair share of tourism revenue, including a chunk of the state money he receives for his marketing agency, “a very earnest attempt to take down and destroy the largest economic development corporation in Louisiana.”
The North fought the South over the South’s insistence of maintaining a chattel slavery system. Here in Louisiana, it’s always been the northern Louisianans fighting the South Louisianans, especially those in predominately Black New Orleans, over money that comes from our city’s greatest asset, it’s black culture.
Compromises are inevitable in politics, so we can expect give and take in the legislative process. For the most part, our New Orleans legislators are taking care of New Orleans’ needs. And for that they deserve our sincerest gratitude.
But note to legislators: We see you and we will continue to watch what you do…and vote accordingly.
This article originally published in the June 3, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
