On February 5, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards called a special session of the Legislature to meet on February 14. The purpose of the session is to focus on fiscal issues concerning the state, including a call for reductions in the state’s ordinary operating expenses, new legislation affecting rates and brackets for state income tax, new legislation with regard to state contracts, and new legislation addressing the state sales tax on telecommunications services. Additionally, the governor is asking for a state constitutional amendment relating to deductible items in computing state income tax. In all, the session will address 36 items.

The regular session of the Legislature is not scheduled to meet until March 14. The governor’s proclamation specifies the special session is to extend no later than March 9.

Photo of the Louisiana State Capitol by Bluepoint951 on Wikimedia Commons.

Lobbyists registering in Louisiana are now able to pay their registration fee online with credit cards. On December 1, the Lobbying Division of the Louisiana Ethics Administration Program announced this update for processing registrations for 2016.

If paying by credit card, a 2.5% convenience fee will be applied. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover are accepted. Payments by checks, cashier check, and money orders are also still accepted. The registration fee must be paid within 20 days of electronically filing a lobbyist’s registration.

The effective date of the registration will be the date the registration fee is processed.

On July 1, the maximum value for food, drink, or refreshment an individual may provide to an elected official or public employee in Louisiana for a single event increased from $58 to $60. This threshold value is adjusted each year by the Board of Ethics to reflect changes in the consumer price index.

The 2015 regular session of the Louisiana Legislature adjourned sine die on June 11, 2015.

Upon transmittal of a bill, Gov. Bobby Jindal will have 20 days to sign or veto the legislation.

Photo of the Louisiana State Capitol by Bluepoint951 on Wikimedia Commons.

Welcome back to yet another episode of the Statehouse Series. In this episode, we will journey south to Louisiana to learn about its capitol’s history.

Towering at 34 feet tall, Louisiana’s statehouse, although one of nine capitols without a dome, stands as the tallest state capitol. Recognizing this feature, architects added an observation deck on the 27th floor where one can look out over the meticulously managed, Versailles-like gardens. Along with the garden, many parts of the building symbolize Louisiana’s French roots with this style. However, the American roots can also be seen through the building’s Art Deco, a characteristic shared with the Chrysler building in New York and Cincinnati’s Union Terminal.

A grand building deserves a grand entrance, and so 49 steps lead to the main entrance of the statehouse, each step engraved with a state in the order in which they were admitted into the United States. Consequently, since there are only 49 steps, the last step features both Alaska and Hawaii. Adding to the building’s historic significance, the floor of the main hallway is made from lava from Mount Vesuvius, which buried the lost city of Pompeii in 79 AD.

Although many people worked to construct the building, it was beloved Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long who created the original ideas for the statehouse. Unfortunately, he was assassinated in 1935 during his presidential campaign. Yet his love for the statehouse was so much that his body was buried on its grounds, marked by his statue that still stands today.

We hope you enjoyed this series episode of the Louisiana statehouse. Be sure to visit again when we travel to another state capitol!

Photo of the Louisiana Statehouse by Farragutful on Wikimedia Commons.

The U.S. Statehouse Series is a project of the State and Federal Communications team of summer interns: Alessandra Dickos, Zack Koozer, Elaina Laikos, and Rachel Rodgers.

On July 1, the maximum value for food, drink, or refreshment an individual may provide to an elected official or public employee in Louisiana for a single event increases from $57 to $58.

This threshold value is adjusted each year by the Board of Ethics to reflect changes in the consumer price index.

The 2014 regular session of the Louisiana Legislature adjourned sine die on June 2, 2014. Upon transmittal of a bill, Gov. Bobby Jindal will have 20 days to sign or veto the legislation.

Photo of the Louisiana State Capitol by Bluepoint951 on Wikimedia Commons.

A bill introduced yesterday in the Louisiana House would require political committees, candidates, and other persons who file campaign disclosure reports to include a detailed explanation of the purpose of each expenditure. The explanation would be required to contain sufficient information to relate the expenditure to an acceptable use.

According to the Times-Picayune, Reps. Tim Burn and Greg Miller, the sponsors of House Bill 1079, want “better, increased disclosure and less ambiguity about the political or campaign purpose of an expenditure.” If passed, the new reporting requirements would take effect on January 1, 2015.

A lawsuit was filed in federal court this week challenging Louisiana’s $100,000 limit on contributions to political action committees (PACs).

The plaintiff in the suit is an independent expenditure-only PAC called The Fund for Louisiana’s Future. It is arguing that, because it only makes expenditures independent of any candidate, the limit violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

According to The Advocate, the PAC was created to support Sen. David Vitter’s future bid for governor or re-election bid for Senate.

On November 16, 2013, a special primary election will be held for the Louisiana state House District 87 seat. State Rep. Girod Jackson III resigned in August due to allegations of federal tax fraud.

If no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the special primary election, a special runoff election will be held on December 14, 2013.

A special election for the Louisiana 5th U.S. Congressional District has been called to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Rep. Rodney Alexander.

The special election will be held on October 19, 2013. If necessary, a runoff election will be held on November 16, 2013.

Alexander’s resignation, effective September 26, will allow him to become Louisiana secretary of veterans affairs.

A special election for Louisiana house district 79 has been set for March 2, 2013. Representative Anthony Ligi announced on December 14, 2012 that he is resigning on January 1, 2013 to work in the private sector, leaving his seat in district 79 vacant.

If necessary, a runoff election will be held on April 6.

California: “Bill would let voters impose greater disclosure requirements on political campaign spending” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Hawaii: “Cashing In: Hawaii’s Top Ten Campaign Donors” by Lindsey Txakeeyang in the Honolulu Civil Beat.

Louisiana: “Lee Zurik Investigation: Politicians owe the state thousands in fines” by Lee Zurik on WVUE Fox 8 News.

Nebraska: “Campaign finance donation removed from state tax return” in the Lincoln Journal Star.

“Romney’s campaign coffers have $60 million more than Obama’s” by T.W. Farnam in the Washington Post.

“Ask Kim Barker Anything About Campaign Finance (a Reddit Chat)” by Amanda Zamora in ProPublica.

The New Orleans City Council has voted to call a special election on November 6 in order to fill the recently vacated District E council member’s position. District E council member Jon Johnson had resigned after pleading guilty in federal court to embezzling FEMA funds to finance his 2007 campaign for state senate. In the interim, the vacant seat will be filled by the city council in an upcoming meeting.

The council’s statement on the special election can be read here.