Archive for March, 2008

Taking the Next Step

March 24th, 2008 | Posted by admin

Dear Friends,

 

Taking the Next Step

With the passage of both comprehensive ethics reform and tax cuts to stimulate our economy and help Louisiana families, we have already taken two great steps to a new Louisiana. Now, as the Legislature prepares to enter their regular session next week, I will work to ensure the passage of initiatives that aid our state’s workforce development.

 

I spent time travelling around the state last week, and I am pleased with the support that our initiatives have garnered throughout Louisiana. However, I still heard from many small business owners and others throughout the state that we must revamp our workforce development and give our workers better opportunities to succeed here in Louisiana.

 

Giving businesses the economic opportunities to succeed can only help so much – without a properly trained and prepared workforce we cannot reach our economic potential. As other states continue to improve their development programs, we must ensure that our workers are trained and ready to work their first day on the job.

 

And good available jobs exist in our state. While our state’s unemployment rate is hovering at its lowest point in the past 30 years, there are nearly 100,000 job opportunities across the state. These are good paying jobs that require trained workers.

 

We must meet potential workforce participants “where they are”, and specifically design programs that give them the fundamental needs to fill these jobs in the workforce.

 

Earlier this month, I presented my administration’s 2008-09 state budget to the Legislature. I have targeted specific programs within the budget that will greatly improve training initiatives for our state’s workers, and show potential employers that our state will make certain that we have a properly trained workforce in place.

 

We want to fund a “fast start” program to be used by postsecondary institutions, and primarily community and technical colleges, to provide free, customized, turnkey workforce training solutions for qualifying business expansion and recruitment projects.

 

It is also important to recognize that not all students will go on to college, and these students still must be prepared to enter the workforce as well. By increasing dual enrollment programs, we will be able to provide skill-based training to these students to keep them in school and meet the rising demand for a technically competent labor force.

 

Finally, we must fund the Louisiana Quick Start Initiative. This program will tailor training for workers to individual companies’ specific needs. We must provide a “day-one guarantee” to businesses that Louisiana’s workers are prepared. By providing more and better training, we are not only helping businesses, but giving our children more opportunities to realize their dreams right here in Louisiana.

 

I have included some links regarding the close of the first two special sessions and the upcoming regular session below.

 

“First and second steps taken, third on the way,” Southwest Daily News

“Lafayette road money touted,” Lafayette Daily Advertiser

“Surplus spending mostly hits the mark,” Shreveport Times

“Jindal trumpets tax cuts, heralds workforce development,” Houma Courier

 

Fighting Against Heart Disease

As the parents of a son born with a congenital heart defect, Supriya and I both understand the importance of improving both prevention and treatment of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular diseases are the number one killers in our state, and congenital heart disease is the number one cause of death in children under the age of one.

 

Supriya was pleased to work with the Louisiana Pediatric Cardiology Foundation (LPCF) to make a Public Service Announcement regarding the fight against congenital heart disease. We invite you to view the announcement and to learn more about the LPCF you may visit www.LPCF.com.

 
First Lady Supriya Jindal greets kids participating in the Mansion Foundation’s Annual Easter Egg Hunt.

Happy Easter!

I hope you and your family had a blessed Easter celebration this past Sunday! I hope you enjoyed the time in worship, and with family.

 

Supriya and I were very excited to welcome more than 700 local children from Baton Rouge-area Head Start programs to the Governor’s Mansion for the 11th annual Mansion Easter Egg Hunt. The kids found more than 1,400 hidden eggs on the grounds, and we all had a fantastic time. We are looking forward to next year already!

 

Video of the hunt is contained in the link below.

“Easter Celebrated Early around Baton Rouge Area”, WAFB

 

Sincerely,

  Bobby Jindal

Governor Bobby Jindal

Posted in website |

Thank You

March 17th, 2008 | Posted by admin

Dear Friends,

 

Thank You

I would like to thank you, the people of Louisiana, for all of your efforts through the first two legislative sessions this year. Real change cannot happen without the support of the people, and Louisianians continue to show that they will not stand for the way things used to be. We are transforming Louisiana into a state that the nation will look to as a leader, and not a punch line of jokes.

 

I hope you will join me this week when I am in your area as I travel around the state to thank you for your help. I visited Lake Charles and Lafayette earlier today and I have included my schedule below in hopes that I will see you.

 

Tuesday March 18, 11:00am

Diamond Grill Restaurant - Emerald Room, 1st flr. 924 3rd St., Alexandria, LA 71301

 

Wednesday, March 19, 2:15pm

Copeland’s Restaurant. 1534 Martin Luther King Blvd, Houma, LA 70360

 

Thursday, March 20, 11:00am

Bossier Parish Community College, Student Union. 6220 East Texas Street, Bossier City, LA 71111

 

Thursday, March 20, 1:30pm

International Paper Learning Center, 705 Colliers Ln Bastrop, LA 71220

 

Bringing New Opportunities to Louisiana

With the close of the legislative special session last Friday, we have taken another major step forward in making Louisiana a better place for not only ourselves, but our children and grandchildren as well. For too long, burdensome and unnecessary taxes have crippled the ability of our current businesses to grow and hindered potential future investments in our state, hurting Louisiana families along the way.

 

We have accelerated the elimination of the tax on business investments, such as machinery and other equipment. This will now be completely eliminated by July 1, 2009, ensuring that Louisiana will no longer be one of only three states to tax such investments. We have also sped up the elimination of the tax on business debt, which will allow businesses to invest more into their infrastructure, such as employment and expansion. This means more and better jobs for more Louisiana families.

 

We also abolished the “permanent penny” tax on business utilities, which has proven to cost companies already in our state tens of millions of dollars. If neighboring states can continue to provide a more attractive, less expensive avenue in which to do business, our state will continue to hemorrhage jobs and place larger burdens on our families.

 

Another tax deduction will also be offered to Louisiana families in order to offset the costs of schooling. The tax deduction will be available for tuition, uniforms, and other expenses for students statewide. We must continue working to make certain that every child in Louisiana has access to a quality education, and this tax deduction will be a great help.

With the eradication of these taxes, we have sent a sign to the nation and the world that Louisiana is open for business, and that we will continue working to be one of the best places to invest, grow, and create jobs. This means more opportunities for our children to stay in Baton Rouge or Shreveport or Monroe instead of leaving for Houston, Dallas, or Atlanta. And that is essential to the future of our state.

 

Improving our State’s Infrastructure

The special session also gave us the opportunity to invest in our state’s future by allocating funds from our surplus. We were able to invest in and set aside funds for critical improvements in levees, coastal restoration, roads, ports, and other important areas.

 

We have allocated $530 million for transportation and infrastructure projects throughout Louisiana, ensuring a significant improvement in our state’s roads, bridges, and ports. State and parish bridges will be repaired in order to prevent their closure, and rural roads across the state that are not eligible for federal dollars will be repaired as well. Legislation was also passed that dedicates monies that come from vehicle and licensing fees to what they are intended for — transportation needs, instead of disappearing in the general fund.

 

Our investments will also fulfill ALL the projects in the Port Priority Program, bringing funding to the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District, Greater Lafourche Port Commission, Port of South Louisiana, Terrebonne Port Commission, Port of New Orleans, St. Bernard Port, Habor, and Terminal District, Caddo/Bossier Port Commission, Greater Ouachita Parish Port Commission, and the Port of Iberia.

 

By investing in our ports like Mobile and Houston continue to do, we will keep our place as a leader in international trade as larger cargo ships reach the Gulf with the completion of the Panama Canal expansion in 2014. For example, our investment at the Port of Terrebonne will lead to thousands of additional skilled jobs, and one company has already agreed to create 1,000 new jobs with an average salary of over $50,000.

 

Funding will also be provided for important interstates and highways throughout the state, such as I-12, I-49, LA-28, and the El Camino East-West Corridor. Additionally, $57 million will be allocated to the Cyber Innovation Center at Barksdale Air Force Base to improve access via Interstate 220 and make the site more attractive to Cyber Command in the long term. This will retain several thousand jobs, and attract several thousand more, and position northwest Louisiana as a center for high tech and professional jobs.

 

We have also committed $300 million for hurricane protection and coastal restoration projects, the largest such commitment in our state’s history. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita showed that we no longer have the luxury to wait and study, and that action must be taken immediately. We cannot afford a repeat of 2005.

 

Finally, we have provided a $50 million capital investment in Pennington Biomedical Research Center, one of the world’s leading nutrition research centers. This will provide for a new clinical research building, new high-tech equipment, and recruitment of faculty who are worldwide leaders in their fields. This will also bring more than 1,100 new jobs, and provide an economic impact of more than $110 million annually.

 

I have also attached some links I thought you may find interesting regarding this past legislative session.

 

“Jindal ‘bats a thousand’ at session” - New Orleans Times-Picayune

“Jindal calls session a victory for state” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Jindal labels session ‘very productive’” – Shreveport Times

“Cutting tax on business helps state,” - New Orleans Times-Picayune

 

Sincerely,

 Bobby Jindal

Governor Bobby Jindal

Posted in website |

Bringing a New Era of Economic Development to Louisiana

March 13th, 2008 | Posted by admin

Dear Friends,
Governor Jindal speaks of investing in Louisiana so our children do not have to leave our state to pursue their dreams.

Bringing a New Era of Economic Development to Louisiana

Now that we have taken the first step towards a New Louisiana by adopting the nation’s toughest ethics laws, we must now move forward by ridding ourselves of cumbersome business taxes that hurt Louisiana employers, employees, and families.

 

Louisiana families are being torn apart by economic uncertainty. Our young people are leaving the state in search of better opportunities and our communities are struggling to meet needs in education and health care thanks to an uncertain economic base.

 

Louisiana must be a place where businesses can startup and thrive, where employers can put down roots, and where families can count on good careers.

 

This can be accomplished by investing in our businesses here at home first and removing the burdensome taxes that are hindering their growth. That is why I have called the Legislature into a second special session – to eliminate the burdensome permanent tax on business utilities, accelerate the elimination of the tax on business investment and accelerate the elimination of the tax on capital debt.

 

Taxing businesses that borrow money to grow and expand hurts all businesses, but it is especially toxic to the small and family-owned businesses that are the backbone of our economy. With these burdensome taxes, Louisiana cannot compete with surrounding states, and will continue to lose jobs and economic opportunities not only for ourselves, but for our children and grandchildren as well.

 

Every time businesses invest in other states and not here in Louisiana we lose more opportunities for our children and face another set-back in our work to ensure our children do not have to leave home to pursue their dreams.

 

Investing in our Roads and Ports

The second purpose of this session is to invest our state’s surplus to help alleviate problems that have plagued our state’s infrastructure for years, such as coastal erosion and unacceptable road and highway conditions. We also have the opportunity to invest in research and technology by investing in Cyber Command in Shreveport and Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.

 

Increased economic development requires that we ensure that our state’s infrastructure can handle the increased activity, and for too long we have ignored serious problems in this area. Thousands of miles of road in our state are in unacceptable condition, and there is a $14 billion backlog in unmet transportation needs. Too many of our roads are filled with potholes and congestion. This is costing our people hundreds of dollars in maintenance costs and hundreds of hours in wasted time.

 

That is why I am proposing that we dedicate monies that come from vehicle and licensing fees to what they are intended for — transportation needs, instead of disappearing in the general fund.  I am also proposing that we invest hundreds of millions of dollars to improve roads and bridges, as well as for expanding interstates and major highways throughout the state, such as I-12, I-49, and LA-28.

 

We can also work to improve our state’s ports and fully fund ALL projects in the state’s Port Priority Program. This includes funding for the Port of Iberia, the Greater Lafourche Port Commission, the Port of South Louisiana, the Caddo/Bossier Port Commission, the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District, and the Port of New Orleans.

With the widening of the Panama Canal expected to be completed by 2014, the Gulf of Mexico will see an increase in trade that can either go to Mobile, Houston or New Orleans. By providing funding to the Port of New Orleans, for example, we can help expand the terminal capacity by 45 percent, enable the port to secure a long-term commitment from of one of the world’s largest container carriers and ensure that the increased trade comes to Louisiana. An investment to expand the Port of Terrebonne will help bring 1,000 new skilled jobs to the area with an annual salary of $54,000.

 

I am also proposing that we dedicate $300 million, the biggest single investment in the history of our state, to coastal restoration and hurricane protection. While our state only has 30 percent of the nation’s coastal marshlands, we lose 90 percent of the marshland erosion. The hurricanes of 2005 brought to light the importance of fixing our coast, and we no longer have the ability to wait and study possible solutions. Now is the time for action.

 

Committing to Technology and Research

 

Louisiana must send a strong message to the rest of the nation by showing our commitment to technology and research.

The Shreveport-Bossier community has been working non-stop over the past few months to make Barksdale Air Force Base the permanent home of Cyber Command, the Air Force’s headquarters to protect our country in cyberspace. From my meetings with Air Force Secretary Michael Wynn and the President, I know the Air Force is looking for more than promises; they are looking for commitment through action.

 

That is why we must invest $57 million for Cyber Command, to ensure that it stays right here in Louisiana. Cyber Command will bring thousands of good, high-paying jobs to Louisiana and transform the entire I-20 corridor. 

We must also invest $50 million in Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, a worldwide leader in nutrition research. Currently, the University of Alabama-Birmingham receives more federal research funding than all of Louisiana’s public universities combined. This cannot continue.

 

Our investment in Pennington will help attract more skilled researchers and provide more than 1,100 new jobs, resulting in more than $40 million in earnings annually, and generating an economic impact of more than $110 million every year.

Let me be clear: these initiatives mean thousands of new jobs, new opportunities, and good-paying, rewarding careers so our Louisiana children don’t have to move away to other states to pursue their dreams. From Terrebonne to Bossier, we have to create opportunities for our young people right here at home.

 

Below are some stories regarding our investments that we will be making in the current special session:

 

“Money Well Spent,” New Orleans Times-Picayune

“Jindal Seeks tax breaks and surplus spending,” Associated Press

“Shift state revenue to roads-only fund,” Lafayette Daily Advertiser

“Jindal offers tax cuts, billions in spending,” New Orleans Times-Picayune

“1,000 jobs sweeten proposal,” Baton Rouge Advocate

 

Sincerely,

 Bobby Jindal

Governor Bobby Jindal

Posted in website |