Bobby Jindal
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Archive for June, 2008
VETO Legislative Pay Raise
June 30th, 2008 | Posted by adminDear Friends,
Today, I vetoed the legislature’s bill to increase their pay, S.B. 672.
I have opposed this pay from the very beginning. A doubling of legislative pay that takes effect prior to the next election is clearly excessive and is bad policy. This bill would also have set up a system to give legislators automatic pay raises in the future without additional legislative votes, which provides an unacceptable level of accountability.
I clearly made a mistake by telling the legislature that I would allow them to handle their own affairs, and as with all mistakes, you can either correct them or compound them. I chose to correct my mistake by vetoing this bill.
I had previously stated that I would let this bill become law without my signature because I did not want to give legislators any excuse to slow down the momentum of our reform movement here in Louisiana. It turns out this is an unsustainable position. I have come to realize that the reforms I have been fighting for are simply incompatible with this legislative pay raise. The bottom line is that allowing this excessive legislative pay raise to become law would so significantly undercut our reform agenda, and so significantly diminish the people’s confidence in their own government, that I could not let it become law. So, I have vetoed the bill.
I am looking forward to tackling the many challenges facing our state…there are roads to build, jobs to create, business to open, and kids to educate.
I want to thank you, and all the citizens of Louisiana, who have become so vocal on this issue and so involved in the process, and ask you to stay involved. There is a lot more to do. Don’t tune out or stop paying attention to the political process now. This government belongs to you; it is your business. I’m going to need your help.
Sincerely,
Governor Bobby Jindal
Closing Another Historic Session
June 27th, 2008 | Posted by adminDear Friends,
Closing Another Historic Session 
The reforms that we have made over the past six months have truly been historic and will help change the face of our state for generations to come. Our first Special Session addressed ethics reform, and transformed our state from one that sits at the bottom to top in the nation in disclosure. Our second Special Session transformed our state’s business tax structure, making Louisiana an attractive place for businesses to grow and expand, bringing more jobs and putting more dollars in workers’ pockets.
Just as our two special sessions earlier this year, the regular session proved to be an historic one. We have instituted important reforms in our education, health care, and workforce systems, and have continued to restructure our tax system so that more of your hard earned dollars stay in your pockets.
Our accomplishments this session are many and are great first steps to the New Louisiana that we all are working toward. A New Louisiana that is the best place in the world to raise a family, get a quality education and pursue a great career. Word is spreading that Louisiana is changing, but we still have a lot more work to do.
Biggest Income Tax Reduction in State History
Earlier this week I was joined by Senator Buddy Shaw in Shreveport to mark the signing of the largest income tax reduction in our state’s history by removing the burdensome Stelly Tax.
As WDSU-TV reported, this is the sixth tax cut I have signed since taking office in January, and I have pledged to continue to cut taxes. The elimination of the Stelly tax gives more than $300 million back next year to the hard working families across our state, and more than $1 billion over the next five years. I am a strong believer that people can spend their money better than government and I will continue to be a strong advocate for putting more of the taxpayers’ money back in their pockets and giving families across the state more economic opportunities.
Reforming Workforce Development
As we continue to reform many of our state’s outdated policies and procedures, the revamping of our state’s workforce development system is one that will help reverse a trend and help ensure we have the trained workers necessary to fill the jobs currently available and those that will be created when companies build and expand. In recent years, many employers have chosen sites in Alabama, Texas, and other neighboring states because they did not feel Louisiana had the workforce in place to support their companies. With our reforms, that will change.
The workforce development reforms that the Legislature passed will, as reported in the Houma Courier, “streamline the state Labor Department and help it to better respond to regional workforce issues.” These reforms update the state’s past policies that were created for the 20th century economy to one that reflects the 21st century economy that we currently face. We will do a much better job of matching training classes to potential jobs, and are offering our graduates a “Day One Guarantee” that they will be trained on the first day of their new jobs, or our community and technical colleges will retrain them for free.
As reported by the Associated Press, the revamping of our workforce development system “will help better connect employers with a pool of skilled workers to fill thousands of job vacancies in Louisiana.” By increasing dual enrollment programs throughout the state, we are providing students in high school with earlier opportunities to begin training for future employment. These reforms will help grow our state’s economy, putting more money in the pockets of our families and businesses alike.
Education Reform
Our greatest investment is our children. Our educational reforms will help give teachers the tools they need to help ensure that all our children receive a quality education.
We have passed a Teacher’s Bill of Rights, giving teachers the knowledge that we stand behind them in the classroom and will not allow bad behavior to prevent our students from receiving a quality education. The Teacher’s Bill of Rights is, as the Opelousas Daily World stated, “an important first step in giving back to teachers the minimum things needed for them to teach properly.” The Daily World also wrote that it will “give teachers a stronger hand when they must deal with undisciplined and disruptive students who probably shouldn’t be in the classroom in the first place - and with parents who think their unruly kids should be allowed to do as they please wherever they please.”
Other education reforms include:
- Giving teachers a more than $1,000 a year pay raise in order to keep their salaries in line with the Southern Regional average,
- Reducing duplicate, burdensome paperwork for teachers, allowing them instead to use that time teaching our children,
- Investing in a Literacy and Numeracy Initiative to train our school leaders, and reading and math specialists to better prepare students struggling with their reading and math skills.
The effects of these changes will be felt in classrooms throughout the state, and will allow positive trends, such as our increasing LEAP scores for our 4th and 8th graders, to continue to improve in the future.
Protecting Our Children
As the father of three young children, I understand how vitally important it is that we keep them safe from violent criminals and sexual predators. During this legislative session, we strengthened our laws to protect our children from those who seek to do them harm, and protect them from these vile and disgusting acts.
We have doubled and tripled the sentences for those who harm our children – especially for those sex offenders that prey on our kids through the Internet, and have broadened the penalties for computer-aided solicitation of minors to include text messages. And, once someone is convicted of a sex crime, we now require them to register as a sex offender for the duration of their life – not just 15 years – but their entire life. Victims have to live their entire lives with the memory of what happened to them; perpetrators should not face a lesser sentence.
Health Care Reform
We have also taken great steps to help modernize our health care system, improve patient outcomes, and lower costs. I will soon sign into law legislation that creates a website which will allow patients to compare and contrast the costs and performance of health care facilities throughout the state. The Associated Press reported that the bill will allow patients to, “search data on complications, mortality rates, bed sore rates and post-operation infections to know which hospital or clinic they want to visit.”
We have also strengthened our state’s mental health system, a system that was flawed, but was crippled greater by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. One example of legislation that was passed was Nicola’s law, named after slain New Orleans Police Officer Nicola Cotton, which allows a judge to order mandatory outpatient treatment for mentally ill patients who may be a danger to society when not provided with supervision. We have also passed legislation that will create mental health crisis centers, which, as WWL TV reported “would relieve hospital emergency rooms of caring for mental health patients and give police officers a place to bring people with mental health needs.”
Through aggressive outreach efforts, we have helped add 11,000 uninsured children to the Louisiana Children’s Health Insurance Program, surpassing enrollment goals for the year and showing a commitment to ensure that all of Louisiana’s children have access to health care. With the implementation of this expansion and online application, LaCHIP now covers more that 646,000 children throughout the state that might not otherwise have access to care.
Finally, during this session Louisiana was chosen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as one of the first four states to take part in a national Medicare demonstration project that will help pay physicians to move to using certified electronic health records to improve the quality of patient care. Electronic medical records have the potential to revolutionize our health care system, decreasing mistakes that cost the lives of thousands of Americans every year and making it more efficient, cost-effective, and able to provide quality care to more people.
Youth Art at the Mansion
As reported by KATC TV, this week my wife Supriya announced that for the first time artwork by Louisiana youth will be displayed prominently on a regular rotating basis at the Governor’s Mansion, joining dozens of other pieces on loan from galleries, museums, art collectors featuring Louisiana artists. Different young artists will be featured every month.
This month’s artists are winners of the Louisiana Art Education Association’s annual contest, with winners from the Governor’s Office of Environmental Education and Alcoa Art and Art Literature competition (pictured) being featured in July.
I can think of no better way to showcase the talent of the youth of our state than to feature their work in the Governor’s Mansion.
The Baton Rouge Advocate also did a feature article this week on Supriya that shares with everyone else what I already know – she is an incredible wife, a loving mother and an amazing First Lady for our state.
Sincerely,
Governor Bobby Jindal
Repealing the Stelly Tax
June 16th, 2008 | Posted by adminDear Friends,
Repealing the Stelly Tax
The passage of SB 87, which repeals the burdensome Stelly Tax, marks our sixth tax cut since taking office in January and marks the biggest single income tax repeal in the history of our state. This puts money back where it belongs - in the pockets of hard-working families in our state.
As reported in the Baton Rouge Advocate, this legislation will “initially cut state income taxes by $359 million per year.” This is great news for the hard working families of our state.
Taxpayer money is not an open checkbook for government to spend at will, and I am a firm believer that people can spend their money better than government. I will continue to work to instill fiscal discipline and responsible use of your money.
But as the Baton Rouge Advocate points out in an editorial, “the appetite for stuffing the pork barrel appears not to be decreasing, but instead increasing in the Legislature.” That must end. Let me be clear — pork-barrel spending does not have a place in our budget, and that I will veto any projects that do not meet specific criteria. As the Advocate concludes, this standard is “one of the correct ways to analyze whether state money ought to be spent,” and vetoing this type of spending would “be a healthy step forward for
Improving our Health Care System
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This past week our mental health package was passed almost unanimously by the Legislature, ensuring a new future for our state’s mental health system. As the Lafayette Daily Advertiser said, these bills “will serve the state well in dealing with what many consider a crisis in mental health care,” and “we salute the governor for pushing such needed legislation.”
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita served to highlight the problems our mental health system was faced with even before the storms, and this is a great step forward in providing proper mental health care for all Louisianians. Chief among these bills is “Nicola’s Law,” which allows a judge to order mandatory outpatient treatment for mentally ill patients who may be a danger to society when not provided with supervision. The bill has been named after slain New Orleans Police Officer Nicola Cotton, who was allegedly murdered by a mentally-ill patient who had been in and out of mental institutions and was off his medication.
Additionally, I was pleased to be joined by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt in Baton Rouge last week to announce that Louisiana has been selected as one of the first four states to take part in a national Medicare demonstration project that will help pay physicians to move to using certified electronic health records to improve the quality of patient care. As the Baton Rouge Advocate noted, this is an issue that has been important to me since I served as Secretary of DHH, saying “there is no doubt that Jindal has been involved in the issue for years.” Indeed, we have provided $18 million in our budget to encourage physicians and hospitals to use electronic health records.
Electronic medical records have the capacity to completely transform our health care system, making it more efficient, cost-effective, and able to provide quality care to more people. More than 100,000 Americans die each year from avoidable medical errors, and studies have shown that nurses spend an hour filling out paperwork for every hour of care they give at many hospitals. This program will be a huge boost to fixing these issues, and I am very pleased that
Investing in
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Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated
A new initiative, announced last week, will use debris from the old Interstate 10 Twin Span bridges damaged by Hurricane Katrina, to help shore up our levees and help support our marine wildlife, saving the state upward of $15 million. As reported in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, these efforts will strengthen “breakwaters off the coast to help reduce storm surge in the lake.”
This is a first for Louisiana, and will be an incredible interagency effort to provide not only an important habitat for our marine wildlife, but to help support the levee and flood protection systems in and around New Orleans. The reefs will be constructed of rubble from the demolition of two 500 foot spans of the Twin Span Bridge, and their construction is scheduled begin next year.
Protecting our Teachers
The Legislature also passed the Teachers Bill of Rights last week, an important part of my education reform package. We must ensure that our teachers have the support of administrators and families alike, and that they will be protected against violence in the classroom. This bill of rights will give teachers the confidence that we stand behind them to do their jobs.
For too long our state has been losing quality teachers at an alarming rate, and those leaving list classroom discipline as a major factor in their choice to leave. In fact, Louisiana was ranked 39th out of 40 states surveyed by a national education publication in terms of classroom discipline. In order to provide every child in our state with a quality education, we must ensure that there are quality teachers here to guide them. This bill will go a long ways towards that goal, and I look forward to signing it into law.
Traveling the State
I was honored to be joined earlier today in Leesville by Congressmen Jim McCrery and Rodney Alexander, among other public officials, to honor our armed forces. We met with community and military leaders to sign a covenant to ensure continued support and partnership development in concert with
Our servicemen and women are true heroes, and they are very important to both the present and future of our state. To underline the importance of
Also, our hurricane preparedness tour made a stop in
Once a storm comes it is too late, stressing the importance that every family has their own plan in place. I once again encourage you all to visit www.GetaGameplan.org for ideas and suggestions as to how to prepare for hurricane season.
Sincerely,
Governor Bobby Jindal
Ensuring Quality Health Care for Our Children
June 10th, 2008 | Posted by admin|
Dear Friends,
Ensuring Quality Health Care for Our Children
I was proud to join Secretary Alan Levine of the Louisiana Department of Health (DHH) and Hospitals at the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana in Monroe last week to announce that, as the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported, “Aggressive outreach efforts have helped the state add 11,000 [uninsured] children” to the Louisiana Children’s Health Insurance Program (LaCHIP) since January. DHH has already surpassed its enrollment goals for this program for the entire year, showing a commitment to ensuring that all of Louisiana’s children have access to health care.
One of my first acts as Governor was to secure approval to expand LaCHIP to insure children up to 250 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. We have also recently created an online application for those wishing to find coverage under LaCHIP, increasing access to the tools and materials needed in order to apply for the program. With the implementation of this expansion and online application, LaCHIP now covers more that 646,000 children throughout the state that might not otherwise have access to care. Since LaCHIP was started, as I was ending my tenure as Secretary of DHH, we have decreased the portion of uninsured children in our state from 25 percent to five percent.
The story of one of these children was told in the Monroe News-Star. Taryn Eldridge, a recent college graduate who had to move back in with her parents following a divorce, suddenly found herself without the ability to provide her child, Reese, with health insurance. However, she was one of the first to sign up for LaCHIP’s expansion program, and Reese now has insurance. “I was so excited to hear that my baby would have insurance,” she said.
Taryn and Reese’s story is important because it signifies how LaCHIP encourages working families to become self-sufficient and allows working parents to pay premiums. Currently our system rewards those without jobs by providing them with free health insurance, among other things, but then cuts them off once they have found employment. Hence, without LaCHIP, Taryn would have been unable to provide care for Reese after gaining employment, in effect punishing her for finding a job. We must stop discouraging people from working, and instead provide them with opportunities that encourage them to work.
It is absolutely critical as move forward that we make certain all Louisianians, especially those from lower income and working families such as Reese Eldridge, have access to high-quality affordable health care, and working to increase the enrollment in health insurance programs for children is a vital part of that mission. This will improve our state’s overall health care system as well, decreasing the number of unnecessary emergency room visits and the accompanying health care costs. It will also help in ensuring that our children are healthier, which will in turn lead to them missing fewer school days and increase their academic performance.
We will continue working to find ways to increase access to quality, affordable health care for every Louisianian, and this is certainly a great start.
Signing Legislation into Law
I have recently signed a number of bills into law, including House Bill 770 - which broadens the crime for computer-aided solicitation of minors to include text messages. We must continue to strengthen our laws in order protect our children from those who seek to do them harm. As the father of three young children myself, I certainly understand the importance in protecting them from these vile and disgusting acts, and I have made this an important part of our legislative package.
For too long, many criminals have been able to get away with these horrible acts with little more than a slap on the wrist. It is time that we sent them a message that Louisiana will no longer stand idle, and that they will be punished accordingly. We must continue to dramatically strengthen the laws against those who would hurt our children, especially through the Internet, and I look forward to continuing to work with the Legislature to this end.
I also signed two additional bills that will have an immediate impact. House Bill 544 permanently gives the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) the flexibility to enter into design-build contracts, saving the state both time and money and giving drivers more miles of new roads. One example of how this works is with the widening of Interstate 12 from four lanes to six lanes from O’Neal Avenue in Baton Rouge eastward, allowing the state to build further than originally planned.
Second, Senate Bill 133 will require the Department of Agriculture to abide by the public bid law. This will ensure that taxpayer money is being used in the most efficient method possible and not to the whims of special interests. Increasing governmental transparency and accountability are paramount to building a new Louisiana, and this legislation is a positive step forward.
Continuing Hurricane Preparedness
This past week I visited Houma and with the Louisiana National Guard at Camp Beauregard in Pineville to spread the word about hurricane preparedness. As KALB TV reported, hurricane preparedness starts with each individual family creating a preparedness plan. As quoted in the Houma Courier, “the state has improved communications between law enforcement and other emergency responders, audited evacuation plans for hospitals and invested millions of dollars into plans to prepare the state for hurricane season.”
The Daily Advertiser said that “preparations at the state level appear to be strong,” and one reason is our National Guard. It was also great to visit with the members of our National Guard, and let them know how much we appreciate what they do for our country and for our state, be it overseas or within Louisiana. As I was quoted in the Shreveport Times, “As primary responders following a natural disaster, they are critical to the response following a disaster, as they show the courage and strength to run towards danger, not away from it. As I was standing before rows of Army vehicles and other equipment, I was quoted in the Shreveport Times as saying, “As important as this equipment is behind us, what’s more important than the equipment is the men and women trained to use this equipment who are ready at a moment’s notice to be deployed.”
I encourage you all once again to visit the state’s new preparedness website, www.GetaGameplan.org, and utilize the tips and information found there to ensure that your family is prepared this hurricane season.
Focusing on the New Louisiana
With Senator McCain’s visit to Louisiana last week, the spotlight was once again on Louisiana and many in the national press noted the progress that we have made toward a New Louisiana. The Wall Street Journal sums it up best — “In office, Gov. Jindal has pushed a nuts-and-bolts agenda. On his second day as governor, he began revamping regulations that had severely hampered the state’s recovery from Katrina. Then he pushed through one of the strictest ethics laws in the nation. Since then he has won approval for five tax breaks…and spent more than $800 million on crumbling levees and infrastructure.”
This type of article reiterates to others around the nation that Louisiana is open for business and is a great place for businesses to come and invest.
Heading to Rosenblatt
Congratulations to the LSU Tiger Baseball Team on winning the Super Regional and earning a spot in the College World Series. The victories by the team and the atmosphere created by the fans were a perfect sendoff for Alex Box Stadium. This year has been a remarkable and historic year for a team that worked hard, believed in their abilities and never gave up.
It is great for LSU to return back to their second home - Rosenblatt Stadium - to bring another national championship back to Louisiana. Geaux Tigers!
Sincerely, Governor Bobby Jindal |
Instilling Fiscal Discipline
June 3rd, 2008 | Posted by adminDear Friends,
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Instilling Fiscal Discipline
For decades our state has looked for ways to spend your hard earned money - sometimes even before the state had received your money - to create new programs, increase funding for others and dedicate other monies to put a future burden on taxpayers. This is not fiscally responsible and is reminiscent of the old Louisiana mindset that has hampered reforms in the past.
As The Times-Picayune stated in an editorial this past weekend, this type of spending “has limited the state’s ability to trim the budget in tough times or to redirect money to new needs.” It also puts areas such as health care and higher education, where we have some of our state’s greatest needs - at risk of being cut. These are two areas that we must focus on to continue building a better Louisiana, and we cannot continue to see them punished by those seeking to spend funds just to spend.
This practice must end. That is why I will veto any legislation that directs or mandates new funding to new specific programs, because, as noted in the Monroe News-Star, “it is bad fiscal policy” and “such dedications take away budget flexibility.” Too often, politicians in years past have locked up our money on wasteful projects only to later threaten drastic budget cuts or tax increases when revenues fall short.
The Times-Picayune editorial concluded by saying that “Louisiana has gone overboard (with specific budget allotments) and further restrictions could end up hurting health care and higher education. Gov. Jindal is smart to try to prevent that.”
We must spend responsibly with the future in mind. Although state revenues have recently been high due to record oil prices and recovery-related income and expenditures, state economists expect those figures to decrease in coming years and leave our state with a projected budget deficit by 2010 if we do not act now.
By being fiscally responsible today, we can ensure that our state’s future is fiscally sound for our children.
Protecting Our Teachers
This past week the Legislature passed an important part of my legislative agenda, House Bill 757. This legislation will increase the penalties for committing assault or battery on a teacher, making our classrooms safer for everyone. HB 757 will quintuple the fine, from $1,000 to $5,000, for assaulting a teacher, and double the minimum jail time.
As the Lafayette Daily Advertiser wrote, “the potential for violence against teachers will be significantly reduced” by this legislation. It is time that we stood up against violence in the classroom, and ensured that our teachers are in a safe working environment. Louisiana loses hundreds of teachers each year, many of whom say the lack of discipline in the classroom was an important factor in their decision.
The classroom should be a safe haven for students and teachers alike, so that our educational system can fulfill its purpose of giving our future leaders the best chance possible to succeed. I am pleased that the Legislature has passed this important bill, and I look forward to signing it into law.
Preparing for Hurricane Season
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| Governor Jindal addresses members of the New Orleans Saints |
With the start of hurricane season officially beginning yesterday, I have been travelling for the past few weeks bringing our “Get a Gameplan” hurricane preparedness campaign to cities throughout South Louisiana, including Baton Rouge, Lafayette, New Orleans, and Houma.
While we have worked hard to ensure that government is better prepared than 2005 to handle a disaster, it is important that citizens take personal responsibility by getting a gameplan. I have stressed to people that preparedness is the key to surviving a natural disaster, and that, as The Times-Picayune noted, “doing it now is much easier — and safer — than waiting until a storm is bearing down on us.”
The Times-Picayune editorial also encourages residents “to take advantage of” a storm-preparation web site, www.GetAGameplan.org, that the state has launched to aid residents with their storm preparations.
Recent surveys have found that a majority of residents do not have an emergency plan in place for their family if a hurricane were to strike. Preparation is key and there is no better time to get a gameplan than now. As New Orleans Saints General Manager and Executive Vice President Mickey Loomis said in the Baton Rouge Advocate, “the Saints never go into a season or game without preparing, and residents should adopt the same strategy when it comes to hurricane season.”
I would encourage you all to take a look at the site, and make certain that your family has its own plan ready. As a Times-Picayune editorial points out, the “Get a Game Plan” campaign is an “inventive way to get that (preparedness) message across” by utilizing LSU Coach Les Miles and Louisiana Band Better than Ezra in public service announcements that will soon start airing. While we all certainly hope this will be a quiet hurricane season, we still must be prepared.
Welcoming John McCain to Louisiana
Louisiana will again be on the national stage this week when Senator John McCain visits our state and this will be a good opportunity to show the nation once again that Louisiana is open for business and is a great place for businesses to come and invest. It is also a great chance for you to see Senator McCain in person and hear of his plans for our country.
Senator McCain will hold a rally at the Pontchartrain Center in New Orleans tonight and a town hall meeting at the Baton Rouge River Center on Wednesday morning. Below are details of the events, as well as how to RSVP to attend. I hope to see you all there!
Today, Tuesday, June 3 - RSVP Here
Rally at the Ponchartrain Center
Doors open at 6:00 p.m., event begins at 7:30 p.m.
4545 Williams Blvd.
Kenner, LA 70065
Wednesday, June 4 — RSVP Here
Doors open at 8:30a.m., event begins at 10 a.m.
Baton Rouge Town Hall Meeting
Rooms 5-8, Baton Rouge River Center
275 South River Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Sincerely,
Governor Bobby Jindal
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