Archive for February, 2008

Bringing Transparency to Government

February 25th, 2008 | Posted by admin

Dear Friends,

 

Bringing Transparency to Government

Thanks to the hard work of the Legislature over the past two weeks, we are now on the verge of passing strong ethics reform legislation called for by the people of Louisiana. Transparency and openness are the foundation of the new Louisiana, and these reforms will help move our state from the bottom five states to the top five in terms of strong ethics laws.

 

Transparency is critical to changing our state’s image and building a better Louisiana not only in the present, but for our children and grandchildren as well. Recent studies by both LSU and Forbes have shown that the most important issue Louisiana must address to entice more companies to locate in our state is a dramatic strengthening of our ethics laws. Thanks to the Legislature and your help, we are on the brink of accomplishing that goal.

 

For example, House Bill 1, one of the cornerstones of my ethics reform plan, will strengthen our state’s disclosure laws, making elected officials’ and many appointees’ financial records public and available on-line. This legislation has passed both the House and Senate and the final details are being worked out in a Conference Committee before being sent to my desk for signature.

 

Two other bills are also in Conference Committee- Senate Bills 1 and 8 - that will prevent state officials from obtaining state contracts and will put an end to the lavish meals that elected officials are currently able to accept.

 

These bills are critical to our efforts to reform our state’s ethics laws. These bills, along with others, are awaiting final passage by the Legislature, and are a testament to both the new Legislature and the people of Louisiana.

 

The cry for change has been heard, and, as we enter the final week of this special session, now is not the time for rest. There is still work to be done as these bills and many others are worked out in Conference Committees, and we still need your help to ensure their passage.

 

I have attached links to a few stories I believe you might find interesting regarding our ethics session.

 

“Key Bills in Ethics Reform Package Moving Toward Passage” The Daily Advertiser

 

“Jindal’s Ethics Plan on Track” The Baton Rouge Advocate

 

Meeting with Fellow Governors

 

I was pleased to attend part of the National Governors Association’s winter meeting in Washington, D.C. this past weekend. The meeting allowed me to meet with other governors to discuss and share ideas pertaining to transportation, education, and energy, three issues that are critical to the future of our state.

 

Many governors asked about the ethics reforms we are currently pursuing and expressed their support for these measures. The nation is taking notice that this is not the same old Louisiana, and that we are on the rise.

 

Sincerely,

Bobby Jindal

 Governor Bobby Jindal

Posted in Uncategorized, website |

Shining the Light of Transparency

February 19th, 2008 | Posted by admin

 Dear Friends,

Shining the Light of Transparency 

The House and Senate took a great step forward last Friday in passing HB1 and SB1, respectively. I was particularly pleased that the Senate passed legislation requiring significantly more transparency from lobbyists, banning of free tickets, ending lavish meals, and preventing conflicts of interest by ending the practice of legislators having contracts with the state. The House also passed one of the nation’s toughest financial disclosure forms and applied it to all elected officials and several appointed officials.  

These bills are the critical first step in turning our state around, and we are still working in order to ensure their overall passage. 

We have been given a unique opportunity to erase the sins of our state’s past, and build a better Louisiana for our children and grandchildren. Failure is not an option, and I will not rest until our state’s image has been rebuilt. 

While we have taken this important first step, we still need your help. Ethics reform is not something that can be accomplished without strong public support, and I encourage you to continue to let your elected officials know that Louisiana is ready for change and that you agree with the strong legislation moving through the Legislature. I have also included a link below that I think you may find interesting regarding our ethics package. 

“Cozy Corruption Should End Soon,” New Orleans City Business 

Taking FEMA to Task 

Many of you may have seen the announcement made last week by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that they have discovered high levels of formaldehyde in FEMA trailers in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast. As a Congressman, I called for Congressional hearings to investigate this matter almost a year ago, and it is absolutely unacceptable for there to be such a delay in addressing this situation. 

The federal government must now provide care to those living in FEMA trailers that were affected by this mistake, as well as provide more in-depth details as to their plans for relocating the 36,000 people living in temporary housing along the Gulf Coast. It has been over two years since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the time for talking is over. Action must be taken.

 Honoring Louisiana’s Longest-Married Couple 

Supriya and I were honored to be joined by Ferdinand and Emily Cavalier, Louisiana’s longest-known married couple, at the Governor’s Mansion on Valentine’s Day. The Cavaliers, of Schriever, were married in 1931, and have since been joined by ten children, two dozen grandchildren, three dozen great-grandchildren and nine great-great-grandchildren. 

It was great to see a husband and wife still so much in love after 77 years of marriage, and it truly speaks to the power of this great institution. Supriya and I wish them many more years of happiness.  

Sincerely,

 Bobby Jindal

Governor Bobby Jindal

Posted in Uncategorized, website |

Show Your Support for Ethics Reform

February 12th, 2008 | Posted by bobbyjindal

Show Your Support for Ethics Reform

Yesterday we embarked on the single most important endeavor for the future of Louisiana - bringing comprehensive ethics reform and transparency to our state. I called the State Legislature into session solely to tackle these issues, and I am looking forward to working with the Legislature to ensure that our ethics laws become the gold standard in the nation.

The actions that will be taken over the coming days will have a lasting impact on generations to come and help erase Louisiana’s image created by generations past.

In recent months, LSU and Forbes, in separate studies, found that the most important issue Louisiana must address to attract investment and jobs is a dramatic strengthening of our ethics laws at the state and local levels.

There will be those who want to see this fail, but failure is not an option. I need your help to ensure that no attempt to derail our movement for lasting change is successful. I’m sure we will hear many arguments against reform. There will be those who say it is too burdensome, too transparent, and too restrictive, but it is the right thing to do.

You made your voice for change heard last fall, and now it is time to let your Legislators know that your support for reform is stronger than ever. I urge you to call or email your State Representatives and Senators today and let your voice be heard.  I also encourage you to attend one of the upcoming hearings at the State Capitol this week in Baton Rouge.  You can visit House Committee Room 6 and the John J. Hankel, Jr. Room in the Senate today and tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

What They Are Saying

Newspapers, media outlets and organizations from around the state agree that we must pass real ethics reform, sending a strong message to the rest of the nation.  I thought I would share some of the comments with you below.

New Orleans City Business says that, “Jindal is striking while the iron is hot. Those interested in molding a more effective state will allow him to do so and encourage him as he rebrands our dubious national reputation into one of progressive integrity.”

The Alexandria Town Talk says “Citizens want this — all of this. They said so when they elected Bobby Jindal to lead the state through fundamental change… (Governor Jindal) knows that long-entrenched special interests will fight him, tooth and nail.”

The New Orleans Times Picayune said that our ethics reform proposals “are the most ambitious ethics reform package the Legislature has seen in decades.  Approving it would not only help repair Louisiana’s battered image but also would go a long way in improving our state’s business and civic climate.”  They concluded that “The Legislature has an opportunity to make a dramatic shift away from the so-called Louisiana Way. They should do it.”

The Monroe News-Star cautioned against amending the agenda we submitted to the Legislature. They said, “If the governor’s plan must be amended, it should be amended with the goal of making it stronger.  That’s because Louisiana’s political reputation has sunk so low in some corners of the country that only a total triumph in ethics reform will cause the country to take notice.”

Good government groups have also expressed the importance of passing comprehensive ethics reform. Council For a Better Louisiana (CABL), in supporting ethics reform, wrote that “Governor Jindal has set the stage for something Louisiana has never really had in recent years – an intensely focused public debate on a wide range of ethics reforms that are ambitious and, in many cases, have never been seriously discussed at the Legislature before.”

As I have said before, the war on corruption will be tough.  There will be those who will resist change and reform, and I cannot fight this battle alone. I need your help. Let your voice be heard today. Get involved. Together, we can pass real ethics reform and bring lasting change. We are better than our state’s national reputation of corruption and incompetence and we deserve nothing less than the national gold standard for ethics reform.

Sincerely,
Bobby Jindal
Governor Bobby Jindal

Posted in website |

Achieving the Gold Standard

February 7th, 2008 | Posted by bobbyjindal

Dear Friends,

Achieving the Gold Standard

On Sunday, Louisiana will take a bold step forward to setting the national gold standard for ethics reform when the Legislature convenes in special session.

We have been given the best opportunity of our lifetimes to change our state’s image, and I will not rest until we have done so.

We must strengthen lobbyist disclosure laws and enforce real penalties for those who break them. We must make all public officials’ records as transparent as possible and eliminate conflicts of interest, making a clear distinction between those who want to serve the state and those who want to do business with the state. The public has a right to know how their hard earned tax dollars are being spent, that no conflicts of interest exist and exactly who is lobbying elected officials to try and influence them.

A recent study by the Forbes Strategic Research Group found that the most important issue Louisiana must address to entice more companies to locate in our state is a dramatic strengthening of our ethics laws.

Many groups agree and have come out praising my ethics package, including the Louisiana Municipal Association, Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association, Louisiana Assessors’ Association, Louisiana District Attorneys’ Association, Council for a Better Louisiana (CABL), and LA Ethics 1. This widespread praise is critical as we move forward in this process.

In fact CABL called my ethics reform agenda “the most comprehensive single package of reforms proposed by any governor since the creation of the ethics code itself.”

I have added some links below that I think you may be interested in reading regarding the upcoming ethics special session.

Spreading the Word on Ethics Reform

This week I am traveling all over the state to make certain that citizens just like you throughout Louisiana know that we have an aggressive, bold agenda for overhauling our ethics laws and the important role that everyone will play once the Legislature begins voting on these items. I have been to Monroe, Alexandria, New Orleans, Lake Charles and Lafayette so far, and will visit Shreveport on Friday to let residents know that corruption and incompetence may have been part of our state’s past, but it will not be part of our future.

The response I have received is overwhelming, and it proves how ready the people of our great state are for real change. The war on corruption and incompetence will not be easy. There will be those who will try to stand in the way of a New Louisiana. Our state cannot afford failure.
Governor Bobby Jindal speaks with Lance Armstrong during a recent Habitat for Humanity event in New Orleans.

The Legislature will begin taking up our agenda beginning Monday and I need your help. Let legislators know that the time to pass ethics reform is now. One way to make a big impact is by attending the House and Governmental Affairs Committee on Monday at 9 a.m. in Room 2 as they begin debate on financial disclosure legislation. The Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee will begin debate at 9 a.m. on Monday in Room F on legislation pertaining to conflicts of interest. By having a strong public presence, we will send a message to legislators that ethics reform is the first step in building a New Louisiana where what you know is more important that who you know.

Sincerely,
Bobby Jindal
Governor Bobby Jindal

Posted in website |