Former Rep. Noble Ellington has been charged with violating the state Campaign Disclosure Law. See story here.

While recognizing that ignorance of the law is no defense for the law’s violation, Ellington nevertheless attempts to use it.

Despite being a lawmaker, apparently, Ellington failed to read the laws on which he voted.

Ignorance of the law on which one votes is even less acceptable that claiming to be ignorant of the law.

A lawmaker’s failure to read and understand the law which they require the rest of to abide should be an offense in and of itself.

C.B.

Not the job of state employees

In his Sunday column, The Advocate’s Mark Ballard discusses the recent effort by Team Jindal to “set the record straight.” See article here.

“Setting the record” straight is correcting factual errors, not issuing opinions and making personal attacks by public employees.

What Team Jindal is doing is using state employees and state funds to lobby for the passage Jindal’s education reform legislation. Both of which are prohibited by law.

LA R.S. 43:31(D) states: “No …[state] employee… shall expend funds of …[an] entity of state government to … lobby for or against any proposition or matter having the effect of law being considered by the legislature ….”

LA R.S. 43:31 (F)(2) states: “Any person who violates the provisions of this Section shall be assessed a fine by the court of not more than five hundred dollars.”

Regardless, of anyone’s feeling about the issues, the law is the law. I find no exception for Team Jindal and they are not or should not be above the law.

C.B.

A good ol’ boy

Yesterday the “Roads Scholar” announced that he had appointed a couple of former leges, Rickey Hardy and Mert Smiley, to the State Board of Pardons.

Membership on the Board is, by law, a full-time job with full-time salary. Additionally, the members cannot hold any other appointive or elective position. See law here.

The rest of the story

Not mentioned in Team Jindal’s press release was that, apparently, Smiley’s appointment is a temporary one. I say “apparently” because otherwise the appointment will be illegal. Last fall Smiley was elected as Assessor of Ascension Parish. He will not take office until January of 2013.

Hardy, who was defeated for reelection to the lege, will be rewarded with not only a job, but a nice boost in his retirement benefits. Hardy, a former local elected official, was one of a handful of leges who were “grandfathered” into the state retirement system.

Additionally, Hardy’s new gig will exacerbate the Unfunded Accrued Liability (”UAL”) of the State Employees’ Retirement system. If Jindal is serious about his just-announced, pension reform plans, he needs to stop making the problem worse.

Despite Jindal claims to be not like his predecessors; these appointments are examples of same-old-same-old.

C.B.

Our tax dollars

Below is a statement sent out last week by Aaron Baer, Deputy Communications Director for the governor’s office. In other words, your tax dollars paid for this commentary about a Louisiana citizen.

Regardless of how one feels about the “Road Scholar’s” education reform package or how one feels about the comments made, should the taxpayers of Louisiana should be paying for such commentaries?

Given the problems facing our state, one would think that public servants would have more important things to do. Especially, since the media has already covered the issue.

Mr. Baer, if you want to take a shot at me, please do so. However, do it on your own time with your own computer and email server.

C.B.
NOTE: As some of you may have seen, Michael Walker Jones, the Executive Director of the Louisiana Association of educators, recently made some incredibly offensive remarks about low-income parents saying they have “no clue” when it comes to choosing the best education for their children

For those that may have missed it (The Advocate), Mr. Jones FULL quote read like this “If I’m a parent in poverty I have no clue because I’m trying to struggle and live day to day.”

Without question, this type of rhetoric is insulting and inexcusable. As Governor Jindal put it yesterday, those comments are the type of top-down, elitist mentality that has hurt our public education system. In fact, it’s the exact reason why we need reform. Every parent and child – regardless of income – should have a choice in the school system. Mr. Jones apparently disagrees and thinks his union or the government knows best.

Given the opportunity to revisit his comments, after Governor Jindal and parents spoke out about his insulting remark, Mr. Jones was only able to muster the excuse that’s not what he meant. He then proceeded to defend his initial position.

What’s clear is that there are many questions left unanswered…

· Does Mr. Jones stand by these offensive comments?

· Has Mr. Jones spoken with parents directly to tell them he thinks they have “no clue” how to educate their child?

· Does Mr. Jones think only wealthy parents should have the choice of what school their children attend?

· Does LAE President Joyce Haynes or LFT President State Monaghan agree with Mr. Jones?

· Is it the position of Louisiana’s unions that they, not parents, know what’s in a child best interest?

Aaron Baer
Deputy Communications Director
Office of the Governor

“Watchcat” (a complimentary term) Jeremy Alford has written an excellent report on the fiscal “ticking time bomb” known as the Unfunded Accrued Liability (”UAL”) in our state retirement systems. See Report here.

While others have mentioned the UAL problem Jeremy explains how this massive debt will directly affect you and me. It will mean reduced government services while we pay the same or higher taxes.

Our state constitution mandates that payment of retirement benefits are the first priority on all available state revenues. In other words, all government services would have to cease if it became necessary to use all of our tax dollars to pay retirement benefits.

The UAL has grown from $5.8 BILLION, 25 years ago, to $18.5 BILLION today and this number is estimated to continue to grow exponentially.

The growth of this debt is proof that our elected officials have failed to address or to address adequately the problem.

It’s time to wake up and smell the coffee. Ask your leges what their specific plans are to address this problem.

C.B.

Thinking out of the box or in a box

For those looking for creative ways of reducing your business expenses I submit the latest effort by the board members of the New Orleans Regional Business Park.

The taxpayer-funded organization, in order to reduce costs because they have failed in their primary mission of attracting more businesses, has decided to simply stop paying some of its on-going expenses. ( See story here.)

Now, if they decide to stop paying their utility bill, they will be appropriately in the dark.

You can’t make this stuff up!

C.B.

Child on outside looking in

It’s impossible not to note the irony of two reports in the recent Baton Rouge Business Report’s Daily Report.

According to the two different reports Louisiana takes better care of animals than children.

We rank 48th (up from 49th) in the well-being of children, but rank 15th in the humane treatment of animals.

Both are important matters, but it makes one question where our politicians’ priorities lie.

C.B.

Only in Louisiana would the chairman and vice chairman of the board that oversees our Heh,Heh, Heh, Ethics Laws look for ways around the laws they are supposed to enforce.

There was a story in Saturday’s Monroe newspaper where vendors of the city of Tallulah were asking permission to give what amounts to a “kickback” to the city to avoid layoffs.

Board Chairman Frank Simoneaux of Baton Rouge and Vice Chairman Blake Monrose of Lafayette questioned …whether there was a way around [the legal prohibition].

It is just another Machiavellian approach to the laws that are supposed to keep our public officials honest.

The lack of enforcement of the Heh, Heh, Heh, Ethics Laws in Louisiana is already bad enough without the enforcers looking for loopholes. They should leave some work for us lawyers.

The next time I get a speeding ticket, maybe the Trooper will give me some tips on how to get the ticket voided.

C.B.

The budget solution

According to a story in the Advocate ( here) the state is facing an $895 Million budget shortfall for the 2012-13 fiscal year.

Ho-hum, here we go again; the colleges will close and the poor, elderly and young will no longer get healthcare.

Of course, this shortfall is based on maintaining the fiscal status quo in Louisiana which the governor and leges have maintained the last 3 years using all types of funding gimmicks to “kick the can down the road.”

This is getting old so I have a solution to avoid this chronic annual problem. The “can” needs to be kicked farther down the road.

Fortunately, there is a person at LSU that can assist. It’s time to bring in LSU’s All-American punter, Brad Wing.

C.B.

a.k.a. Jindal’s Endorsement

Below is from an alert from the Baton Rouge Business Report’s Daily Report.

Bobby Jindal’s decision not to make an endorsement must have come as a great relief to the remaining GOP candidates. Rick Perry’s campaign hit the skids the day Bobby endorsed him and never recovered.

Rumor has it that Newt Gingrich tried to make a deal with Perry for Perry to get Bobby to endorse Mitt Romney. Meanwhile high-ranking members of the GOP are allegedly working behind-the-scenes to get Bobby to endorse President Obama for reelection.

C.B.

News alert: Jindal will not make new GOP endorsement

Gov. Bobby Jindal, who gave his endorsement to Texas Gov. Rick Perry last fall, says he won’t endorse another GOP candidate now that Perry has dropped out of the race. “While I don’t plan to endorse anyone else in the primary,” Jindal tells Daily Report, “I look forward to supporting the nominee. America cannot afford four more years of Barack Obama.” Jindal says he had endorsed Perry because “he is a personal friend, he has a strong record of job creation, and he and the people of Texas helped our state during Hurricane Gustav.” Perry ended his campaign earlier today, just two days before the South Carolina primary, and gave his endorsement to Newt Gingrich. In doing so, Perry said: “Newt’s not perfect, but who among us is?”