Clancy DuBos: Calling Da Winnas & Da Loozas of the 2021 legislative session – NOLA.com

The final days of a Louisiana legislative session are always filled with political intrigue and hijinks. Last-minute deal-making on important legislation happens behind closed doors and in hushed tones. Majorissues often fall through the cracks, and only a handful ofinsiders know what's really happening in real time.

This year saw lots of that and some new wrinkles in the sausage-makingprocess. The Republican majority in the House and Senate pushed through theoperating budget early more than 10 days before the June 10 final day of thesession to force Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards to make line-itemvetoes before lawmakersadjourned. He used his veto pen to punish a few GOP adversaries, and no one made a move to override him.

Other hallmarks of this years session included deep divisions within the GOP caused by Rep. Ray Garofalos good, bad, ugly commentabout slavery; several new gambling measures won easy approval; conservative lawmakers pushed punitive measures aimed at transgender students; and the Legislative Black Caucus flexed its muscleto forceGarofalos ouster as chair of the House Education Committee.

Theres much more, of course, but one thing never changes: After adjournment, political carnage filled the Capitols marbled halls. Which brings us to our annual compilation of the victors and the vanquished: Da Winnas and Da Loozas. Heres a closer look, starting with

1. LABI & Tax Reformers The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) scored some huge wins this year, most notably by securing passage of a package of sales, income and corporate franchise tax reforms. The centralization of sales tax reporting and collections doesnt change what consumers pay, but it significantly simplifies things for businesses taking the state from 58 sales tax collectors to one. Its subject to voter approval of a constitutional amendment in the fall. Lawmakers also lowered personal and corporate income tax rates in exchange for giving up deductions for federal income taxes paid (which can vary significantly depending on Congress whims) if voters approve a separate constitutional amendment. The corporate franchise tax likewise will phase out under another measure. The package, designed to be revenue neutral, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. That took a lot of work.

The house always wins.

2. Gamblers and Gambling Interests How do lawmakers love gambling? Let me count the ways. They gave final authorization to sports betting, which will be available in casinos, racetracks, truck stop casinos, bars, restaurants and online. They approved a local option vote in St. Tammany Parish for a proposed casino in Slidell, and they okayed a new (to Louisiana, at least) form of gaming called historic horse racing. Its basically video poker with ponies instead of cards and with proceeds benefiting Louisianas horse racing industry by fattening racetrack purses. Note that the Slidell casino is hardly a done deal; Mississippi casinos will likely pour money into the St. Tammany referendum trying to kill it.

Puff puff didn't pass legalization.

3. The Cannabis Industry Someday, weed will officially be big business in Louisiana. Lawmakers approved bills to allow smokable medical cannabis and to decriminalize, but not legalize, possession of less than 14 grams. A bill to fully legalize it for personal use cleared a House committee, which is a first. Many conservative leges quietly concede its only a matter of time before Louisiana legalizes and taxes cannabis.

4. Infrastructure Advocates Everybody wants mo betta infrastructure, which makes one wonder why it took so long for lawmakers to find a way to finance it. This year, they opted to just raid the general fund. Leges hijacked Rep. Tanner Magees bill imposing a sales tax on smokable medical marijuana and turned it into an infrastructure financing measure. The reconstituted bill could ultimately dedicate up to $300 million a year in vehicle sales taxes to infrastructure projects with about $150 million a year dedicated to leveraging bonds for specified large-scale projects. The bills effective date was pushed back a year to give lawmakers and the governor time to gauge its impact on the state general fund, which currently receives vehicle sales taxes. Meanwhile, smokable medical cannabis wont be taxed at all. Dude!

That's the sound of da police.

5. Criminal Justice Reform Lawmakers passed several significant criminal justice reform measures, even as they killed others that deserved passage. In addition to decriminalizing possession of small amounts of cannabis, lawmakers passed a bill making citations rather than arrests the presumptive option for low-level offenses, unless an alleged offender poses a public safety threat. They increased the amount that can be paid to people who have been wrongfully convicted, from $25,000 to $40,000 for each year spent in jail, with a cap of $400,000. And they approved a measure requiring sustained complaints filed against a police employee or law enforcement officer to remain in personnel files for at least 10 years. Much remains to be done, particularly in the areas of expungements, solitary confinement, qualified immunity for cops and relief for persons convicted by non-unanimous juries.

House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales.

6.Speaker Clay Schexnayder I dont recall ever making an individual lawmaker even one in a leadership position a Winna or Looza, but House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, earned the accolade this year. Schexnayder held the line against Chalmette Rep. Ray Garofalos defiant, racially divisive antics after his good, bad, ugly comment about slavery and then pushed through the long-sought sales tax consolidation reform. He did all that even as the head of the state GOP blasted him, and some in the House sought to undermine his leadership, for holding Garofalo accountable.

7. The Legislative Black Caucus Black legislators flexed their collective muscle by holding out on key votes to force the ouster of Garofalo, R-Chalmette, as House Education Committee chair after his racist claims that slavery was good. Garofalo aided their cause by openly defying the Speaker, who had asked Garofalo to make a sincere apology and to refrain from chairing the committee for the remainder of the session. Garofalo did neither, giving the caucus the political as well as moral high ground.

State Rep. Ted James

8. Collegiate Sexual Abuse Victims Its too late for past victims, but lawmakers rallied behind a bill that imposes much stricter reporting requirements on colleges and universities for sexual assault and sexual harassment complaints. This measure was a direct result of hearings by the select committee on women and children, which heard heart-rending testimony from collegiate victims of sexual assault in recent months amid the sex abuse scandal at LSU.

9. New Orleans This may have been the best-kept secret of the session. Though lawmakers outside the city seriously dont like Mayor LaToya Cantrell, the citys delegation particularly the senators succeeded in bringing home money for City Park, the Morial Convention Center, the Lakefront Management Authority and various municipal agencies. They even helped the Superdome find a work-around after the House cut $90 million promised in prior years for dome renovations.

It took the sexual assault scandal that continues to rock LSU and state politics to galvanize legislators will to advance a passel of bills a

10. Education and Educators K-12 teachers got $800-a-year raises, which is less than they wanted but more than Gov. John Bel Edwards proposed, and college faculty got raises as higher-ed saw increased funding overall. Thats a refreshing change, but its more a reflection of the state being flush with cash than lawmakers suddenly recognizing the importance of education. Community and technical colleges also scored a big win with adoption of a scholarship program named for the late Gov. Mike Foster, a huge supporter of comm-tech colleges. One glaring loss: Early childhood education got table scraps at best.

Chooglin'.

11. Children and Youths This Winna didnt win them all, just many of the ones that counted. The biggest loss was lawmakers decision to cut early childhood education out of the operating budget, opting instead to carve out a portion of the proceeds from sports betting but theres no telling what that might be. The good news: Lawmakers made kindergarten mandatory statewide; adopted a Foster Youth Bill of Rights including rights to privacy, a safe and supportive environment, access to ongoing care information and more; extended the states Earned Income Tax Credit through 2030, which greatly helps working class families with children; approved the pink tax exception for diapers and feminine hygiene products; approved tax credits for companies that hire youths 18-24; and eliminated court fees in juvenile courts statewide.

12. Mississippi River Pilots River pilots associations are perennial powerhouses in state politics. They convinced lawmakers to kill a pair of industry-backed bills that would change the way Mississippi River pilots are regulated. They even scuttled a House resolution to study pilot regulations. Efforts to trim their sails are becoming perennial showdowns.

People look over the Ochsner Community Health Brees Family Center.

13. Ochsner Health System The states largest private hospital system beat back attempts by other hospitals and the state medical society to limit the use of its physician non-compete clauses in hospital contracts. This, too, could become a perennial battle.

14. New Orleans Homeowners A proposed constitutional amendment would cap the rate at which property assessments could increase on owner-occupied homes in New Orleans at 10% a year. If approved by voters statewide and in Orleans Parish next year, the amendment would ease the sticker shock felt by local homeowners after quadrennial reassessments. Thousands saw their home assessments spike by more than 50% in the last two years.

15. Public Defenders Lawmakers killed a bill that would have eliminated the state Public Defender Board and replaced it with a governor-appointed czar over the states public defender system and its funding.

Republicans didn't further undermine voting rights this year.

16. Early Voters A new law will expand in-person early voting for presidential elections to 11 days from the present 7 days.

17. College Athletes College athletes in Louisiana will soon be able to earn compensation for the use of their names, images or likenesses subject to some restrictions. Which brings us to

Rep. Ray Garofalo, R-Chalmette, failed to pass his racist education bill.

1. The Republican Delegation Their successes were overshadowed by internal strife over Rep. Ray Garofalos good, bad, ugly comment in the course of touting his bill to outlaw the teaching of critical race theory a decades-old academic term that has become a rallying cry for right-wingers who oppose accurately teaching the history and legacy of slavery in America. At one point, the head of the state GOP railed against House Speaker Clay Schexnayder for ousting Garofalo as Education Committee chair after Garofalo openly defied the speaker. Not a good look for the majority party.

2. Women In a year dominated by headlines about sexual abuse and domestic violence, women deserved to fare much better. While some bills benefitting women did pass, others failed to make it through the process. Most notably, the Senate Finance Committee killed a bill to extend Medicaid coverage for qualifying pregnant women for a year postpartum. They currently receive benefits for only two months. Elsewhere, a bill to create a unified definition for domestic violence failed on the sessions final day. Also killed was a measure that would prohibit employers from requiring prospective employees to consent to pre-dispute arbitration of a sexual harassment claim as a condition of employment.

In the early days of the Trump era as the breadth and depth of his nationalist America First agenda were just becoming clear, The Atlantics

3. Laid-off Workers A last-minute deal will end Louisianas acceptance of the federal $300-a-week boost to jobless benefits as of July 31. Under the deal, the states regular unemployment benefits will increase $28 a week starting next year. Many employers have complained for months that the federal enhancement has caused a worker shortage. Worker advocates say employers should pay a living wage. Employers won that debate.

Polluters once again won in Baton Rogue.

4. Environmentalists Lawmakers adopted several fox-in-the-henhouse measures, including one that allows polluters to report and correct their own violations in exchange for reduced fines and keeping some information under wraps. The same measure also allows the state Department of Environmental Quality not to hold public hearings on applications for new permits for major source polluters, or for amendments to existing major source permits if no one asks for public hearings. Lawmakers also approved a bill that allows employees of major polluters in the Baton Rouge area to serve on the local groundwater commission without facing ethics violations, even though they are regulating their employers.

5. Abortion Rights Advocates Lawmakers passed several anti-abortion measures, which is not unusual. One bill requires doctors to advise women taking a pair of abortion pills that the process could be halted midway through the process. Another makes it more difficult for teens who seek to bypass required parental consent to find a judge legally eligible to hear her case.

Transgender and gender-nonconforming citizens have long been at the forefront of fights for human rights, equality and freedom in the United S

6. Transgender Students Its not enough that they get bullied at school almost daily. Lawmakers had to get into the act by passing a bill that bans transgender girls and women from participating in sports based on their gender identity. The measure literally attempts to solve a problem that doesnt exist, because the Louisiana High School Athletic Association already has rules in place to address the issue. Moreover, the NCAA has threatened to pull events from venues that dont guarantee equal rights to all students and New Orleans is set to host the Final Four next year.

7. Solar Power Advocates Lawmakers passed a concurrent resolution which has the force of law but cannot be vetoed blocking solar projects from being eligible for industrial tax breaks. At the urging of farmers, they also passed a bill that will delay implementation of a rural solar lease program.

Gov. John Bel Edwards was a small 'l' looza this year

8. Audubon Park Audubon used to be the fair-haired child of governors and lawmakers, but no longer. Its request for state funding was significantly cut this year again.

9. Gov. John Bel Edwards The guv is a small l looza this year, mostly because his agenda wasnt very ambitious. It lacked a defining Big Idea or centerpiece, and on lots of major issues he remained behind the scenes if not on the sidelines. Lawmakers largely agreed with him on how to spend the federal pandemic relief money, and his early vetoes went unchallenged but otherwise his agenda was a gallimaufry of proposals on which others, not Edwards, did the heavy lifting. He proposed a $400 pay hike for teachers, but the GOP majority gave them $800. He favored funding for early childhood education, increasing the minimum wage and closing the gender pay gap, but lawmakers balked at all three.

Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser made a bigger push for early childhood education than did Edwards, in fact. A bigger challenge may yet await: If he vetoes some of the controversial bills enacted by the GOP majority in the final days, will they convene a veto override session? And if they do, will they succeed? On that front he could yet become a winna, but for now not so much.

Overall, I have to agree with Edwards when he said this session, for all its sideshows, accomplished a lot. Thats probably why I count more Winnas this year than ever. Congrats to them all. And to the Loozas: Dont take it personally. Theres always next year.

State lawmakers seem determined to prove that no one is safe in life, limb or property as long as they are in session. Even as they take the r

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Clancy DuBos: Calling Da Winnas & Da Loozas of the 2021 legislative session - NOLA.com