The Old River Road

Happy Independence Day

Best wishes to all for a safe and happy 4th of July!

-Charlie Buras

Leges have to meddle in everything, don't they?

Today Gov. Jindal signed two bills that illustrate how the tentacles of government extend to just about every aspect of society.

HB 400 requires schools to provide at least 30 minutes of "moderate to vigorous physical activity" for 7th and 8th grade students -- currently the law only requires 30 minutes for Kindergarten through 6th grade. Oh and public school boards now have to establish "school health advisory councils" -- made up of parents and community leaders -- to advise the board on all things fitness.

HB 767 lays out precisely what types of beverages can be offered in school vending machines -- and it reads like a contract rider for a diva:

Bottled water
No-calorie or low-calorie beverages that contain up to 10 calories per eight ounces.
Up to 12 ounce servings of beverages that contain 100% fruit juice with no added.
sweeteners and up to 120 calories per eight ounces.
Up to 12 ounce servings of any other beverage that contains no more than 66 calories per eight ounces.
At least 50% of non-milk beverages shall be water and no-calorie or low-calorie options that contain up to 10 calories per eight ounces.
Low-fat milk, skim milk, and non-dairy milk.

Quite honestly, I couldn't care less if schools made their students take a daily aerobics class and stocked the vending machines with bottled water and V8 -- but is this really something that requires the meddling of our State Legislature?

-Charlie Buras

Man that was some stimulus

Think back for a moment to February during the brief debate over the 1,400 page $789 billion stimulus bill that was rushed through Congress in the name of jobs. Charlie Melancon was firm in his support:

With our economy in freefall and millions of Americans losing their jobs, doing nothing is not an option. We must act now to turn our economy around, or we will slip even deeper into recession.

Mary Landrieu assured us:

The bill will create and sustain millions of private sector jobs, strengthen national infrastructure and reduce taxes for families and businesses.

So how's that working out for us? Oh right, 467,000 jobs lost in June, an unemployment rate of 9.5 percent (highest in 26 years) and over 2 million jobs lost since the stimulus was signed into law.

-Charlie Buras

Budget flexibility just wasn't a priority

Since April all we heard from our leges was that their hands were tied -- with a $1.3 billion budget shortfall and funds tied up in dedications, higher education and healthcare were forced to absorb the brunt of the cuts.

And, they told us, things are only going to get worse. House Approps Chairman Jim Fannin said as much, "This is offering an umbrella to you today. Three years from now, we’ll need an ark if we don’t handle this budget in a proper way."

With that kind of doom and gloom, one would think our leges would have made SB 1 a priority, right? If you'll remember, SB 1 was a center-piece of Jindal's legislative agenda, and if ratified by the voters it would have given us some budgetary flexibility. Instead of only being able to cut funding up to 5 percent on dedicated items, we could cut up to 10 percent, thus taking higher ed and healthcare (partially) off the chopping block.

Well our leges just didn't have the time to consider budget flexibility, and it died in conference committee. Despite being a "fiscal session," there were just too many other pressing issues -- red light cameras, seat belt laws, hand-held cell phone bans, a new religious freedom amendment, boating safety classes, 10-year lithium batteries in smoke detectors, setting hunting seasons, the gay adoption issue, making sure the left lane is for passing only and many other issues that were just more important than ensuring we have the ability to spread budget cuts around in FY 11 and FY 12.

So when our leges come back next year and give us the same ol' "our hands are tied" routine, just remember they had an opportunity to loosen the knot.

-Charlie Buras

A taste of the pork Bobby Jindal left in the budget

Today Gov. Jindal announced 53 line item vetoes in HB 881, the supplemental appropriations bill that our leges stuffed with pork in the final hours of the session. But the Gov was a bit too cautious with his veto pen, leaving in place funding such as:

• $375,000 for Tipitina's Foundation, Inc.
• $300,000 for operating expenses for City Park in New Orleans
• $200,000 for the Special Olympics Louisiana, Inc.
• $200,000 for the Eddie Robinson Museum
• $150,000 for the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame and Museum
• $125,000 for the ALS Association of Louisiana
• $125,000 to Westwego for a Farmers & Fishermen's Market
• $100,000 to the Rapides Parish Police Jury for rural life preservation and cultural development
• $100,000 for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
• $100,000 to the Iberia and St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Offices for litter abatement
• $75,000 to Alexandria for cultural programs
• $50,000 to Denham Springs for public parking
• $20,000 to Natchitoches for the Christmas Festival

And good luck trying to find a method to his madness. Whereas the Eddie Robinson and Political Hall of Fame museums received funding, Jindal vetoed funding for the Louisiana Arts & Science Museum and Northeast Louisiana Children's Museum. Likewise, the Special Olympics and ALS Association got money but Jindal vetoed funding for the Girl Scouts and Louisiana Association of United Ways.

How about we take the guesswork out of this and veto any and everything that isn't a necessary function of government?

-Charlie Buras

This is Louisiana, it's okay to act a fool

For any of my fellow Louisianians worried that the House floor "sample" by Hurricane Chris once again made our state the laughing stock of the nation, your worries are misplaced. As Rep. Barbara Norton reassures us, we were the laughing stock long before her godson's performance:

They were making a joke out of Louisiana and politics even before I came to the House of Representatives, so they're not just now making a joke out of Louisiana. Louisiana has always been a joke.

Lord, please deliver us from the idiots.

-Charlie Buras

HT to Jim at My Bossier via Central La Politics.

So much for 'personal choice'

During the just-concluded legislative session, Gov. Jindal via his executive counsel Jimmy Faircloth, argued in favor of a repeal of the motorcycle helmet requirement. Testifying before the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, Faircloth said:

On the basis of personal choice, the Governor’s Office fully supports this.

Fast forward to today, and the Governor has signed one of Nanny-in-Chief Nickie Monica's bills, HB 499. So beginning on August 15, all passengers in the car -- not just those in the front seat -- will now be required to buckle up.

Just so we don't get confused:

Riding in a car with no seat belt -- bad
Riding a motorcycle with no helmet -- personal choice

Anyone care to explain the rationale behind that?

-Charlie Buras